Olivia
‘Again? But we’re so close.’
‘Honestly, it’s just up there.’ He pointed in the distance.
‘BOTH hands on the handlebars, please!’
‘Sorry, my bad.’ He turned and flashed her an apologetic grin.
‘And keep your eyes ON the road.’
She dropped her head and rested the top of the helmet against his back, trying her best to follow the movement of Jacob’s body as it leant left and right.
‘Look!’ Jacob shouted excitedly. ‘You can see it now.’
With caution, Olivia lifted her head. Where moments ago
there had been a wall of dense vegetation, there now lay a glistening stretch of ocean, as though it had simply dropped from the sky and appeared before them. She had to admit it was spectacular.
‘See, didn’t I tell you it was a good surprise?’ Jacob chuckled, steering the bike down a rocky dirt track. The smell of salt and the sound of waves hit them as they slowed to a halt, parking at the edge of a deserted enclave of golden sand.
‘Cool, huh?’ Jacob took off his helmet and admired the view.
‘It’s amazing
.’ Olivia felt the anxiety drain from her immediately. ‘How did you even find this place?’
‘What can I say? I got talking to some locals, asked for some recommendations, said I had a very
important person to impress, and … voila.’ He gestured to the secluded beach. ‘Here we are.’
‘Yeah.’ She smiled shyly. ‘Here we are.’
Olivia took a moment to absorb the view, before rifling in her bag for her phone.
She knew that Kate would want to hear about every single detail of the trip – therefore making photographic evidence mandatory – but also, Olivia had a sneaking suspicion that this would be a day she’d want to look back on.
‘You ready?’ Jacob asked.
‘I’m just trying to find my phone.’ She dug deeper into the depths of her rucksack. ‘But I can’t see … one second.’
‘I’m not surprised – even Mary Poppins would struggle with that thing.’
‘It’s not funny, Jacob, I need my phone.’ Her searching grew increasingly frantic as her anxiety spiked. ‘I would never have left without it.’
‘Maybe you left it on charge and forgot,’ he offered casually, her mild hysteria having no effect whatsoever on his mood. ‘I used to do it all the time.’
‘Shit.
’ Through the thick fog of panic came a vision. Olivia plugging her phone in to charge. A last-minute decision to attempt to get as much battery as possible. To be as prepared as possible. And then what? How had it slipped her mind?
The bike.
Jacob and his ridiculous bike appeared.
She swallowed the angry accusation building in her throat, knowing deep down she couldn’t blame him for her mistake.
‘How could I have been so stupid?’
‘Hey.’ Jacob bent down next to her as she began to repack her bag. ‘It’s going to be fine. We have everything we need right here.’
‘But what if there’s a problem?’
‘There won’t be.’
Olivia looked up into Jacob’s calm face and felt her worry ease a little.
‘There’d better not be.’
‘I promise you. We’re in paradise, remember? Nothing goes wrong in paradise.’ Jacob stood up and flung his arms out ahead of him. ‘Now, shall we go and enjoy the delights of having a beach to ourselves?’
‘Fine,’ she conceded, ‘if we have to.’
The cove was completely empty, except for a few stray dogs seeking refuge in the slivers of shade, and so the pair settled themselves right in the very centre.
Olivia could feel the sand scorching her through the denim of her shorts.
Sweat began to bead across her forehead as the sun bore down on them.
‘Tell me you have a bikini packed in this freaking suitcase of yours?’ Jacob nudged Olivia’s bag with his toe. ‘And some sun cream. Even I think I’m at risk of frying today.’
‘Who do you think I am?’ She fished out a bottle of factor fifty and handed it to Jacob. ‘Some kind of novice?’
‘Nope, you’re a lifesaver.’ He whipped off his T-shirt and turned himself away from her. ‘Will you do my back?’
A pang of longing struck her hard at the sight of his mahogany skin.
‘Sure.’ She took the bottle and began to spray the cream liberally, trying not to laugh as he squirmed.
‘God, that’s cold.’
‘Sit still, or it will be patchy!’
Olivia ran her hands up and down the length of him, the muscles in his back firm beneath her touch, the tugging in her stomach growing sharper and more intense.
‘There we go. All done.’
He craned his neck over his shoulder. ‘Promise me you haven’t drawn something rude in the cream so I’ll wake up with a beautifully artistic burn on my back?’
‘Really?’
‘What! It’s good to check.’
‘Not everyone is as immature as you, Jacob. The thought of doing that wouldn’t even have crossed my mind.’
‘You never know – you’re already quite different from the Olivia I met in Delhi.’
‘Am I?’
‘Definitely.’ He looked her up and down, her skin tingling wherever his eyes touched. ‘You seem, I don’t know …’ He dropped his head to the side. ‘You just look different.’
Olivia held out her freckled arms. ‘Less ghostly white?’
‘Maybe, although still at risk of becoming a lobster if you don’t cream up.’ He reached out his hand. ‘Shall I do your back?’
The thought of Jacob’s hands on her body made her want to scream in ecstasy and die from embarrassment all at once.
‘Yes, but I need to change into my swimsuit first.’
‘Good point.’
‘Do you … erm … do you mind maybe …?’ She gestured in the opposite direction to where he was facing.
‘Oh! Of course. I’ll look over here.’
‘Thanks.’
Jacob dutifully turned away from her, as Olivia awkwardly removed her clothes and tried to put on her bikini as quickly as possible. Why had she not done this at home? Everybody knew it was impossible to change into a swimming costume without accidentally flashing a boob or worse …
‘You OK back there?’
‘Uh-huh,’ she replied, squirming her way into her bikini bottoms, hoisting them up along with a bucketload of sand. ‘Although I have to say, that seemed much easier when I was thirteen.’
‘Isn’t everything?’
‘Maybe …’ Olivia’s thoughts drifted to her younger self at her thirteenth birthday party, her sister so sick she was in the hospital with both her parents, her grandma trying her best to pretend nothing was wrong.
‘Is it safe for me to look?’ Jacob’s question cut short her trip down memory lane.
‘Oh, right.’ She brushed the sand from her legs. ‘Yes, I’m done.’
He shifted to face her, taking the cream from her lap and
holding it proudly aloft. ‘Turn around then, and let me do your back.’
‘I swear, if I feel even a hint of you drawing something …’
‘Come on
. Do you think I’m stupid enough to mess with you? My life wouldn’t be worth living.’
Olivia was glad that Jacob couldn’t see the little smile that had appeared on her face.
‘Now, it’s going to be a bit cold …’
‘Jesus!’ she yelped, as his hands made contact with her skin.
‘I told you.’ He carried on, sweeping the cream up and down her shoulders. ‘Cute freckles, by the way.’
She peered over at the sprinkling of spots that were dusted over her skin. ‘Thanks. My brother always used to tease me about them, said they were dirt marks.’
‘How charming of him.’
‘That’s Kyle for you.’ She shuddered as Jacob’s fingers tickled the sides of her. ‘When we were young, he convinced my sister that they meant I had an incurable disease and was going to die. Which wasn’t very funny at all, considering …’
Jacob’s hands stopped still. ‘Considering?’
Shit.
‘What?’
‘You said “considering” … I was asking what you meant?’
‘Well.’ She sat up, angling herself to face the sea in front of them.
‘Considering she was like five years old! She didn’t know it was a joke, you know?
She got upset, and it took ages for my parents to convince her I was fine.
’ Olivia’s voice was growing louder and more forceful as she continued with the lie.
‘Sounds like your brother is a bit of a joker.’
‘You can say that again.’ Olivia felt Jacob’s hands slow their movement.
‘There we are, madam, you are well and truly sun-creamed. The penis on your back should be burnt on in around an hour or so, but I’ll check back in and see how it’s cooking in a few minutes.’
‘Jacob!’ She slapped him hard on the arm. ‘Don’t you get tired of being such an arse all the time?’
‘Surprisingly …’ He flipped on to his stomach and lay down next to her. ‘No.’
‘I didn’t think so.’ Olivia raked her fingers through the warm sand. ‘Although there will be times in life when you’re going to have to.’
‘Like?’
‘I don’t know. When you’re at work. When you’re buying a house. When you’ve got kids who depend on you.’
‘Yeah, but that’s for adults.’
‘Right, and you don’t count yourself as one of those, then?’
‘Nope! I’m Peter Pan. Travelling this earth and having adventures until the end of my days.’
‘That’s your grand life plan?’
‘It is indeed. Why? Do you have a problem with my plan?’
Where should she start?
‘I mean’ – she was trying to be as tactful as possible – ‘it’s all well and good now, but what happens when you get to eighty and you aren’t able to hop around from place to place so easily?’
‘And why do you care what I’ll be doing at eighty?’ He lowered his sunglasses and smirked.
‘I don’t care about you
specifically. I’m just curious as to the logistics.’
‘Oh.’ He nodded smugly. ‘I see, the logistics.’
Olivia turned away and stared ahead at the ocean.
‘Why? What’s your big plan?’ He nudged her gently.
‘In life or work?’
‘Aren’t they one and the same?’
‘Not really. Not to me.’
‘OK then.’ Jacob turned on to his side. ‘Give me your high-level plan for the next ten years.’
‘You really want to know?’
‘I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t.’
Olivia closed her eyes and brought to mind the handwritten plan she kept stuck to her mirror in her bedroom. It was something for her to look at every day. A constant reminder of the direction she was heading, and the hurdles she had to conquer.