Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
C rete was the most beautiful place I had ever seen. It had clear blue skies, even clearer seas and an air-conditioned taxi keeping us cool from the thirty-degree heat that almost melted me as I stepped off the plane. A heatwave back home was unbearable, but this felt perfect.
“This is Agios Nikolaos,” Zack said with an impressive accent as we drove through a busy town. “We’re nearly there now.” He looked around in wonder at the place he had spent many summers when growing up.
There were streets lined with shops and restaurants. The marina was full of yachts and there was an actual cruise ship in the port too! I spied all the touristy shops full of knick-knacks and tat. I loved those shops. They all sold the same stuff for the same price, but I still always felt the need to go in and buy something I would never buy at home. Like a ceramic Hercules, which I am sure every Cretan has in their home. I would need a mini statue of a Greek god to take home with me. If anything, purely because my mum would hate it. I wondered whether they might have one of Medusa that I could gift her.
“Could we come back and do some shopping?” I asked.
“Of course! We can do whatever we like. We have two whole weeks here.” He reached for my hand. “There will be plenty of time for shopping, exploring, sunbathing, relaxing. Anything you want.”
The taxi wove down narrow roads and out of the town. We passed huge five-star hotels and eventually made our way down a long driveway with a few villas dotted about. They were all painted white, with blue shutters on every window, and perfect manicured lawns out front with Greek pots decorating the doorways. All I could think was that ‘villa’ was a very modest term for these mansions, although I did not say that to Zack.
“And we’re here!” Zack squeezed my hand before getting out of the taxi. The driver was already at the boot getting our cases out for us.
“Hello, travellers!” Alistair came out of the palace before us, looking tiny in comparison to it, with his arms open wide to greet us. “How was the flight? Was there a long wait for your suitcases? I do hope there wasn’t any traffic. Oh, let me pay for the taxi.” He finally stopped to take a breath, whilst moving his sunglasses to the top of his pink head as he pulled his wallet from his pocket.
“Where’s Mum?” Zack asked.
“She’s just having a siesta.” He handed some money to the driver. “She’s been out in the garden all morning, seeing to the flowers. Tired the poor old girl out.” He picked up my suitcase once the taxi pulled away. “Don’t tell her I called her that.” He winked and led us both inside.
The entrance hall could have been a room on its own. In fact, I initially thought I was walking into the sitting room, as there were two large sofas as well as a coffee table. He took us to the bottom of the stairs in the far corner and plonked down my case.
“I’ll let Zack give you the official tour, I have to get back to Stan. He’s got the football on at his place and, whilst the ladies are having their afternoon naps, we aren’t getting any complaints.” He chuckled. “I will see you two kids later on.”
He put his sunglasses back on and sauntered through another door and out of sight.
“Who’s Stan?”
“Stan and Beverley, my parents’ friends who own the villa next door. They’ll be here with their daughter, Chloe.” Ah yes, the twenty-something who would be living next door to us for a fortnight. Marvellous. Zack picked up our suitcases. “Come on, I’ll race you upstairs.”
“Woah,” I laughed, “slow down, you cheater! You know where we’re going, I don’t.” I grabbed his arm. “Won’t we wake your mum?” I didn’t want to annoy her on my first day there.
“Not a chance, their room is in the opposite direction to ours.”
Looking up to the landing, I felt like I was in Downton Abbey . I don’t think I could even call it a landing. It was more like a gallery, with a huge window in the tall ceiling, allowing the sun to beam down the stairs. I followed my giddy boyfriend to the top and then down the corridor and through a door.
“Well, this just won’t do.” I followed him in and shook my head at the ridiculously large room. “It’s not even remotely big enough for the two of us.” I sat on the king-size bed, looking up to the double doors which led out to a balcony. There were two double wardrobes, a grey patterned chair in the corner next to a desk, and some shelves filled with books. If I were to wear a pedometer and walk once around the room, I was pretty sure I would have hit the recommended daily step count.
“Not big enough for you, m’lady?”
“Nope, sorry, you’ll need to sleep somewhere else. We can’t possibly both fit in here. I have standards, don’t you know?”
He put the cases down in front of the wardrobes and made his way to join me on the bed, pushing me so I was lying on my back, and climbing on top of me.
“You would kick me out of my own room?” He nuzzled at my neck, kissing me in the right places.
“Absolutely. You’d need to sleep in the servants’ quarters.”
“I’ll be right back.” He kissed me once more, and then bounced back off the bed and through another door.
“Where does that door lead to? Cinema? Recording studio?”
“Just our own private bathroom, nothing that exciting.” He smiled and closed the door behind him. There was even an en suite. I may never be persuaded to leave this place.
I got up and walked to the double doors. Clicking the latch, I slid them open and let the sun hit my face for a moment. It didn’t feel as uncomfortable as Rome had. The heat was different here somehow. In Rome, I knew I would be walking around for hours and hours in the heat, but here, there was a pool at my disposal and an ocean not too far away.
Stepping forward, I walked out onto the balcony and viewed the surroundings. I could see a few villas dotted around. There was no one else about, so maybe everyone was having an afternoon snooze. I glanced down at the pool and smiled to myself. It didn’t matter that it was shared with Alistair and Miranda’s friends, it was still private. We wouldn’t need to compete with other families or children wanting to splash about. Also, it was huge, and there were a dozen sun loungers around it as well as couches and umbrellas for shade. I could see the outdoor kitchen area with a large dining table just visible under a canopy. I was in heaven. Maybe I could be brave and wear one of my bikinis later on, to top up my tan.
Then again.
Maybe I won’t.
My eyes nearly fell out of my head as I spotted the girl I assumed was Chloe the neighbours’ daughter. The twenty-something. A twenty-something with the body of a Victoria’s Secret model, and breasts perky enough to poke your eye out, clearly displayed in her barely-there bikini. I’m only thirty-one, and I’ve never had children, but I still felt like I should be wearing a burkini instead of a bikini, for decency. This was supposed to be a relaxing holiday, now I’d feel like I was competing with her. I couldn’t possibly do that.
Two arms came from behind and pulled me close.
“Enjoying the view?” Zack asked.
Not as much as he probably was. How many summers had he spent here with her looking like that? There was almost a ten-year age gap, but still, summer loving and all that.
“It’s amazing.” I looked back up to the actual scenery. “Although I’m disappointed I can’t see the sea from here. As well as the tiny bedroom to put up with, it’s not to my taste. I won’t be leaving a good review on Tripadvisor.”
“The sea is on the other side.” His hands were wandering now. “I’ll show you later. We can even have a wander down to the beach once we’ve eaten, and watch the sunset, if you’re not too tired. It should be cooler by then too.”
“Is that Chloe?” I had to ask. Probably not my smartest move, alerting his eyes to that whilst he fondled my body.
“It is.” He glanced down for a second to check, before returning his attention to me.
“Does she always dress like that?”
“Only when her parents aren’t looking, they’re quite conservative. Especially her mum. You’ll like Chloe though, she’s a lot of fun.” His hand found my bra, which he undid in record time. “Come on, let’s get you unpacked.”
“We are so glad you’re here!” Miranda said, clinking my glass of wine against hers. Alistair had just cooked a delicious meal. I was conscious of trying not to eat too much, worried I would gain too much weight, but the more wine Zack’s mum poured for me, the less I cared.
“It is such a beautiful house!” I exclaimed. “I swear, I almost got lost when I nipped up to the bathroom.”
Zack and his parents laughed. He held my hand. It was strange to see him in a different environment. It was usually just us, and I loved that it was just us. I was seeing a completely different side to him when he was with his family though, and it made me love him even more.
“I just wish I’d been awake to greet you.” She playfully slapped her husband’s arm. “You should have woken me up.”
“Oh, I know better than that, my love.” He leaned forward and kissed her cheek.
“Don’t worry, it’s fine, Zack had to give me a tour anyway.” And see that I was sufficiently satisfied atop every piece of furniture in our room.
“Well,” she gulped the last of her wine, her eyelids seeming heavy, “I think we’ll leave you kids to it for a few days. Let you enjoy yourselves without us old fuddy-duddies. We won’t get in your way. Do what you like, but we will be having a big meal here one night this week along with next door, so I hope you’ll join us for that.”
“Of course.” I grinned. I loved Miranda. If this were my mother, she would have a military-planned itinerary for us, with a different excursion every day and a very strict schedule to keep. There would be no chance of any alone time. “We can help out.”
“Not at all. Once that barbeque is lit, Beverley and I are banished from the cooking area. All we need to do is pick out the wine.”
“That seems like a serious job, I am willing to help,” I happily offered.
“I’m glad to hear it.” She squeezed my arm. I wanted her to adopt me.
“Well, my dear,” Alistair piped up, placing his empty glass on the table, “that’s today’s wine allowance used up. Shall we call it a night?”
“I think we should.”
We all stood up to say goodnight to each other, with more hugs. I loved this family. I began clearing away the plates, but Miranda stopped me, telling us both to enjoy our first evening and to leave the used plates and glasses out to be cleaned away in the morning.
“Fancy a skinny-dip?” Zack whispered, as soon as his parents were out of earshot.
“What’s gotten into you?” I blushed. “You’re never usually this daring. How much wine have you had?”
“Not a lot, I hate the stuff. Come on, no one will see. Their room faces the other side.”
And so, filled up on expensive wine, I stripped down to my birthday suit and my thirty-one-year-old boobs and I joined my naked boyfriend for a quick dip in the pool.
By the time we climbed into bed shortly afterwards, I knew I was ready for a long and deep sleep. I checked my phone first, and there was a message from Sarah. No words, just a photo of Bing, curled up asleep in her new armchair, looking quite at home. Zack got in next to me and I showed him the message.
“Have you spoken to her yet?”
“No.” I put my phone on the side table and laid down, sinking into the pillows.
“Just let things cool down whilst you’re here. Try and talk to her when we get home. Best to do it face to face anyway.”
I realise I’ll have to talk to her at some point. After all, she does have my cat in her care. But what on earth would I say to her? Do I apologise for storming out? Is she in the wrong? I don’t need to think about it yet. I have two weeks of living in paradise ahead of me. My relationship with Sarah is a problem for another time.
It was a relief to tell Zack about it on the plane. Luckily, he understood why I was so upset, and didn’t feel worried that I might still have had feelings for Dan. He said it would all blow over soon enough. I did hope so. I needed to brag that I’d just swam naked in my boyfriend’s parents’ pool and had sex on a sun lounger, and there was only one person in my life who would appreciate such gossip.