Chapter Eleven
Vassilis had brought her to a cocktail bar this time.
She had spent hours getting ready, and she knew she looked good; the red dress clung to her curves in all the right places and showed off her golden skin, her makeup was carefully sculpted, her hair fell gently over her shoulders and the sun was bringing out the natural highlights she used to have as a child.
She was on her second mojito and was feeling a pleasant mix of contentment and excitement as Vassilis reached across the table in the courtyard of the bar, running his fingers over the inside of her wrist. The rhythm of his touch, quite chaste really but also somehow suggestive, was drawing her into a dream of more.
Dragging her mind back to the here and now, she glanced around at the bar; another luxurious place.
Vassilis has insisted on paying for dinner last time they’d gone out, though she’d tried to persuade him to split the bill.
At least here she could buy a few rounds of drinks.
‘This is lovely,’ she said. ‘It’s so – it’s a real treat, you know, a special occasion kind of place. ’
He nodded. ‘Of course.’
‘And you know I love getting dressed up and coming somewhere like this, but – it doesn’t always have to be something so glamorous; sometimes something quieter can be nice too, can’t it?
’ She didn’t want to suggest that he couldn’t afford to keep this up, and she had been enjoying having a bit of glamour in her life.
But she didn’t want him to feel under pressure to do this every time they went out.
‘Oh well this is good to know. Perhaps next time I’ll cook for you, yes?’ He grinned. ‘This is a good plan. My fire alarms need a test.’
Nina laughed. ‘I’m sure you’re not that bad.’
He pulled a face. ‘Is better we don’t find out. But tonight we are here so . . . you want to dance? You’d like some music, yes?’
She wasn’t really the clubbing type, quite honestly, though she and Heather had enjoyed a good few nights of drunken dancing when they were younger.
Lately she had preferred a quiet drink in a bar with girlfriends or a romantic meal out or a simple night in snuggled up with Sam on the sofa watching a film.
Not that there had been many of those, she realised. Sam often spent evenings at the gym, and even if they were both at home, he’d have his laptop open, work taking priority.
Tonight, she wanted to let her hair down.
Why should she not have fun? She was young, she was free, she was out with a gorgeous man who kept finding reasons to touch her.
And she needed to take her mind off the last few days of stress over stupid protesters and seeing Theo so angry and upset with Maria.
Tonight was about Nina. It was about having fun.
She nodded and took a large sip of mojito, savouring the crisp, fresh flavour and enjoying the immediate buzz.
‘Club sounds perfect,’ she said.
They finished their drinks and he led her away, his arm warm around her waist, through streets that thronged with holidaymakers and partygoers, lined with restaurants and bars.
On the other side of the road, the dark water of the harbour glistened, and there was a part of Nina that wished, briefly, to be walking on the other side of it, away from the crowds, hand in hand and sharing stories as they slowly opened up to each other.
But tonight wasn’t that; tonight she needed to drink and dance, to forget any troubles and feel light and bright in Vassilis’s company.
They walked across the road and down another street, buzzing with bars, until they finally reached a queue of people waiting outside a club, mostly tourists, Nina guessed.
The crowd seemed young to Nina – teenagers and kids in their early twenties, dressed up and drunk, hoping for a good time.
Groups of girls talking loudly and giggling with each other while eyeing up the boys, groups of boys messing around and laughing while glancing at the girls to ensure they were making an impression.
Nina remembered those nights, the taste of alcopops and regret as she staggered home, her hair smelling faintly of smoke or vomit or both, having kissed a stranger who was too drunk to stand steady in some dark corner.
She supposed it had been fun at the time. But the thought just made her tired now. Thank god she was here with a mature man who wanted to be with her, who was making an effort to impress her, and not on the lookout for some boy who didn’t know or care about her at all.
She’d had just about enough of that.
Vassilis took her hand and walked confidently past the queue to the door, where he greeted the bouncer with a nod. The bouncer smiled as they approached, shaking Vassilis’s hand as they spoke in Greek.
The bouncer slapped Vassilis on the back and smiled at Nina, then pulled the rope aside to allow them through.
Immediately the beat of music greeted them, thrumming through the floor and reverberating off the walls.
Nina, blinking in the darkness, felt it in her chest as he led her down a corridor and into a room that felt like walking into a wall of sound; the beat of the music deafening, throbbing through her body, combined with the chime of laughter and voices straining to make themselves heard.
Yellow strips of neon light zigzagged across the ceiling and the air was thick with the smell of sweat and spilled drinks as bodies heaved in time to the music.
The staff seemed to recognise Vassilis, smiling and coming over as they entered the room.
He spoke to the suited man who greeted them, and they were shown to a private area up some steps with a velvet sofa and vases of flowers on glass tables.
Nina tried to lower herself elegantly onto the low sofa, although the half-light and the mojitos weren’t helping and she ended up flopping down in a rather ungainly fashion.
Vassilis didn’t seem to notice, but sat next to her and leaned in, and she felt giddy with the intensity of his gaze as she breathed in the citrus tang of his aftershave.
‘You look beautiful tonight,’ he said. He had one hand on her arm, twisting her mum’s bangle around her wrist, the other gently pushing the hair from her face. His lips were so close. Nina closed her eyes, waiting and longing for the kiss.
He pulled back, and when she opened her eyes she saw the suited man flourishing a bottle of champagne in a cooler and two glasses. Vassilis smiled. Nina tried to; all she could think about was how it would feel when they eventually kissed. She’d never been less thrilled by the arrival of champagne.
It would be rude not to drink it, though, she thought as she accepted the glass, bubbles fizzing gently in golden liquid.
The first sip was crisp and cool, and she soon found that she’d had a couple of glasses as she and Vassilis sat close together, his hand on her thigh, the heat from his touch radiating through her skin.
Their attempts at conversation had limited success as the music pounded through them.
‘You don’t need to spoil me, you know,’ she bellowed over the music. ‘It’s all lovely but I’m not some kind of princess.’ The words brought a sting of heat to her cheeks as she remembered the mean accusations George had made. ‘I’m happy with something simple.’
Vassilis just gave a lazy smile. ‘It is all you deserve.’ He grinned and tapped his nose. ‘And anyway, owner is a friend of mine. I have the connections, you see!’
She laughed and took another sip, feeling a little easier now she knew the night wasn’t going to cost either of them a fortune.
She didn’t have cash to splash like she’d had in her old life, and she wasn’t some spoiled kid who expected everything to be paid for by someone else. Despite what some people said.
At last Vassilis put his glass down, then took hers from her and placed it on the table. ‘Dance?’
And she gladly followed him. She swayed a little as she stood, the room slipping sideways for a moment, and she wondered if the drinks were getting the better of her.
She’d thought they were going out for dinner and so hadn’t eaten before she came out.
What she would give, she thought dreamily, for Theo’s gyros now.
As soon as she was on the dance floor she forgot everything else; the beat of the music ran through her and the sway of the bodies all around was mesmerising.
The space was crowded, and she and Vassilis were forced close together, so that she could feel the heat of his body and smell his skin as he began to sweat.
He moved easily, twisting in time to the beat, his dark curls flopping over his forehead.
Nina lost herself in the music, dancing until her feet burned in the heels she wore and her dress began to stick to her hot skin.
Vassilis stepped closer, his hand on her waist, pulling her in, and they moved together, effortlessly, as she slipped her arms around his neck.
He gazed at her, looking deep into her eyes, and though she knew the room was full, she felt like they were the only people there.
When he took her hand and led her away, her heartbeat quickened.
She followed him out to a terrace lit by fairy lights that overlooked the harbour.
A few smokers and vapers lingered out there, but he took her to a quiet corner, where the faint thud of the music combined with the gentle calls of gulls on the water.
His arm was warm around her waist and he pulled her close, so that she could feel his firm chest beneath his shirt, feel the heat of him through the light material.
Her breath caught in her throat. This was it, the kiss was finally going to happen, and it was everything she wanted; she could think of nothing else.
He stroked the hair from her face as he leaned down and their lips met. He kissed her passionately, pressing her against the railings of the balcony, and she responded, her breath coming fast and sharp, her arms around his neck, and it was everything she’d dreamed it would be.
She arrived home at four in the morning, still dazed and dreaming of Vassilis, reliving the kiss over and over.
Taking off her shoes she crept in, startled to find Theo sitting at the kitchen table in the light of a lamp, his expression careworn.
He looked older in that light, the hollows under his eyes darker and the lines around his mouth etched deeper.
‘Antheia,’ he said softly. ‘Where have you been?’
‘Baba . . .’ Nina glanced at her phone, and only then noticed the five missed calls from him. ‘Baba, I’m sorry, I was just out with Vassilis. Were – you weren’t worried, were you? You know I’m a grown woman.’ She smiled as she said this, sitting opposite him and taking his hand.
He sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes, smiling a little. ‘I know, I know, but you’re still my daughter. You said you were out for dinner and it got so late . . .’ He waved a hand dismissively. ‘Ah. I’m just stupid old man.’
‘No, Baba.’ She squeezed his hand. ‘I’m sorry, I should’ve messaged. I will next time. But I’m fine, see? Just been having a nice night out.’
And though she keenly felt the pain of causing him such worry, she found she was smiling just a little too much. Theo watched her shrewdly, then raised his eyebrows and shook his head, beginning to chuckle.
‘Oh you like this boy?’ He nodded. ‘Good Greek boy.’
The smile spread, and Nina had no control over it. ‘Well, it’s early days, you know, just nice and fun for now but . . .’
Theo nodded, tapping his nose. ‘Good Greek boy. I told you all along this was what you need.’
Nina snorted a laugh. ‘You told me nothing of the sort!’
He shrugged, spreading his palms and raising his eyebrows. ‘I say this all the time, you need to listen to your old baba.’
He had literally never said it once. She laughed. ‘Okay then, if you say so.’
‘See, you know I’m right.’
His words were light, but the careworn expression hadn’t quite lifted. He rubbed a hand over his eyes. Nina bit her lip; it wasn’t like him to be so anxious. She thought again of his raised voice in the argument with Maria; it wasn’t like him to be angry, either.
‘Why were you and Maria arguing earlier?’ she asked, keeping her voice soft.
He looked startled, then annoyed. Frowning, he waved his hand. ‘Oh this silly old woman, she is causing trouble that’s all. Talking gobbledenook.’
Nina didn’t correct him. She watched as his lip drooped and he clutched his hands together. ‘You okay, Baba?’
He sighed. ‘I’m just tired. No need to worry about me, Antheia.’ He smiled, but she wasn’t convinced by it. ‘Oh it’s just – this place.’
‘Is it – the memories?’ Nina’s palms began to sweat. He never talked about her mum; perhaps now was the time. ‘You and mum, here to –’
A look of pain shot across his face, and he stood so quickly that his chair scraped across the floor, the screech of wood on tile making her wince. ‘Very late, time for bed.’
And Nina sat at the table, as the first chorus of birdsong began and the sky lightened through the cracks in the shutters, watching him go.