Chapter 19 #2
‘Go on, call Ajax,’ she said stiffly. ‘I’d be happy to tell him about your different identities – perhaps it’s about tax evasion.’ Ariana would like that.
‘What? Are you crazy?’
‘You must be loaded. Why bother renting out a small property?’
He hesitated.
‘Come on, you do owe me an explanation, considering how rude you’ve been since I landed, treating me like some manic fan. I came here to get away from my problems. So much for that.’
A member of the bar staff appeared with a tray of cocktails.
‘Efcharisto, Sofia,’ he said and took two cocktails.
He passed one to Carrie. Their fingers brushed and she almost jumped with the electricity, before gripping the glass tightly.
His fingers tightened around his glass. Perhaps the tingle had hit him too.
‘Yamas,’ he said and raised his glass in the air.
Begrudgingly, she responded in the same manner.
‘Okay. But let’s not do this now,’ he said after a sip.
‘I have family, friends…’ He waved his arm across the increasing sea of guests filling the room.
‘Meet me on the beach tonight? At sunset? I should be able to get away easily by then. Stay if you wish. There will be music performances, lots of food.’
‘Wow. You expect me to hang around for over eight hours? Forget it,’ she said. ‘As long as I can continue to rent and you stop threatening me with arrest. No offence, but you aren’t my type. I prefer men who don’t lie about who they are.’
Before he could reply she headed outside, leaving the drink behind.
The woman called Sofia passed by and Carrie grabbed another cocktail and took a large swig.
The last sentence she’d said to him came back to her sharp as a knife.
Guilt ran through her as if she were drinking it from the glass.
She’d lied too, on social media, about who she was.
It hadn’t felt like lying at the time. Wearing the fake designer clothes, filtering her face, she’d become wrapped up in the whole Insta experience, like her followers.
Damn Dimitrios for bringing out the hypocrite in her.
Carrie downed the cocktail and headed towards the gate, but a woman crossed her path, beaming.
‘Yassou, Carrie!’
‘Nana!’ Her hair was tied back with a pretty orange head scarf and she wore a polka dot blouse.
‘I didn’t know you were a friend of Dimitrios’s.’
‘Friend’ was stretching it. ‘I’m renting his villa on the hillside.’
‘Ah yes,’ she said in a sorrowful tone.
Carrie studied Nana’s face. Why the sadness?
She recovered and smiled. ‘Come. Let us go inside. There will be dancing soon, my doll. Ouzo will flow! And The Bar’s amazing souvlaki, moussaka, gyros. What luck this is my day off. My cousin is furious that he has to work!’
‘Why wasn’t the party at the weekend?’
‘Many people here are in business and that is when we make most of our money, in the shops, bars, the restaurants… The winter is a hard time for us, income-wise, so we make the most of the warmer weather and visitors.’ She took Carrie’s hand and led her back inside.
Nana waved at Dimitrios and went to say hello. Carrie stood awkwardly and bristled when Ajax came over.
‘You need to speak to Dimitrios,’ Carrie said.
Ajax gave a little bow. ‘He has told me. I humbly apologise for the misunderstanding. I hope you will forgive me.’
‘Why is he so anti-fans? They put him on a pedestal, they make his career possible.’
‘It is not my place to explain, Carrie. I’m sure Dimitrios will, in time.’ A downbeat tone had crept into his voice, just like it had into Nana’s. He bowed again and disappeared.
Carrie chatted with Nana about the island and her family business, sharing about her job at The Niterie and skirting around the real reasons she’d left England, simply saying she needed a break after a stressful year.
Nana laughed when Carrie took a tissue out of her pocket and the bag of cheese fell onto the floor.
‘A woman can never have enough cheese,’ Nana said and grinned.
‘It’s not for me – it’s for the cats.’
‘You English really love your animals!’ Nana waved across the room and a woman came over and was introduced as Dafni, who ran a cat rescue centre farther up the hillside from Carrie’s villa. You couldn’t miss her with the hair, dyed every colour of the rainbow.
‘You must be very busy,’ said Carrie.
Dafni nodded, her plaits swinging as she did so.
She wore a short skirt with a top that had cat paws printed all over it.
‘Yes. We have a no-kill policy. Always lots of work to do. Cleaning out. Big gardens to tend for the cats. Busy, busy with fundraisers – and popular in the summer as tourists visit.’
Dafni’s Greek accent was strong, the sentences stilted, but Carrie was in awe of how many locals spoke English. It put her to shame. She’d have to work on improving her Greek.
‘I’d love to come and see it some time,’ said Carrie. ‘I have’ – had – ‘a cat back in England.’ She found a photo of him on her phone and showed Nana and Dafni. Dafni laughed at the patch over his eye.
‘We are always on the look out for volunteers, if interested,’ said Dafni.
‘I do my bit once a week,’ said Nana. ‘All the fun with the cats and no responsibility.’
‘Cleaning litter trays is fun to you? What an angel,’ said Dafni and gently punched her friend’s arm.
Dafni went to show Carrie photos on her phone of her rescue cats when a cake was brought out and everyone cheered.
A shame, as Carrie wanted to find out more about the rescue centre.
She also wanted to speak to Nana privately and ask her more about Dimitrios, but she picked up on a protective vibe that Ajax gave off too, as well as other people as they greeted him with big hugs, old and young, men and women.
A man in a wheelchair got up and on sticks, walked over to the table with the cake.
She’d noticed Dimitrios talking to him earlier.
They’d danced a few steps together, Dimitrios helping him back to the chair.
He smiled at Carrie once the candles had been blown out.
‘Yassou. English? Nice to meet you. I am Markos.’
‘Carrie,’ she said. ‘Great party.’
‘Yes. Good to see Dimitrios enjoying himself. You are a friend of his?’
‘Not sure I would go that far,’ she said and quirked her eyebrow to make light of it.
The man roared with laughter. ‘Be careful. He has a way of sticking. Like fig syrup. Or pomegranate molasses.’ He patted her arm. ‘When he does, you realise how sweet he is. Not that I would ever tell him that.’
What a strange thing to say, she thought, as Markos smiled and limped away.
If Dimitrios stuck, she was sure he’d be more like an annoying piece of chewing-gum.
Carrie mingled, making polite conversation, she picked at food, drank some wine, but not with real sincerity.
She was celebrating the birthday of someone she couldn’t trust.
Loosen up and have fun, girl, he’s hot! Rae would have said.
If the policeman is on his side, he can’t be all bad, Ariana would have pointed out.
When Nana left to talk to some friends, a man picked up the guitar and started to play a jazz tune.
Carrie sat rapt, taken back to the nights she’d play in her room, when Mum would knock softly on the door and come in, and she’d sit on the bed and listen, tapping her feet.
Carrie had dreamt of playing onstage – rock, jazz, pop, anything that got people moving.
She’d close her eyes and move with the instrument to every chord as if strumming her own heart.
Mum persuaded her once or twice to go to an open jam night in a local pub.
God, the spark that had run through her veins, due to that validation from an audience that was made up of more than one person in your bedroom…
But then Mum fell ill and Carrie’s dreams were boxed away with her instrument.
Carrie got up and left. She found a café in the village and ordered a traditional Greek coffee and slice of honey cake.
Then, pumped up with caffeine and sugar, she took out her phone and searched on WhatsApp for the group chat that hadn’t been used in so long now.
She spent a long time wording the message, went for a walk to clear her head and then found another café.
Before she knew it sunset was imminent. Maybe she would meet Dimitrios, out of curiosity more than anything, and nothing to do with those dark eyes of his that were more like a secret journal than an open book.
Quickly, she paid for the lemonade and a slice of pizza she’d eaten, then she hurried towards the beach.
The Bar was still full, with pop music blaring out now, fairy lights lit up outside.
Nana and Dafni were dancing with two men.
Keen for a bit of peace, Carrie walked down to the sea’s edge and sat on the sand, slipping off her sandals.
The water lapped against her feet. She took out her phone and read the message she’d carefully drafted.
Hi both of you,
How are things in Manchester?
I… I miss you, here in Greece. Paros to be precise – an island in the middle of nowhere. Jez made me pick it by closing my eyes and putting my finger on a map. The first time I’ve really taken a chance in my life.
Now I’m taking another chance – on trying to win back your friendship. I’m not giving up. I’m so very sorry.
I can’t take back what happened, but I should have stayed in Reddish and fought for the most important two women in my life – since Mum died you’ve been my only family.
So I’m going to keep messaging and hope one day you’ll find it in your hearts to reply.
Eliza is fun in the emails we exchange. Thanks for agreeing to meet her.
I’ve made a friend called Nana, and now I’m going to meet that pop star Giannis GoGo on the beach.
Sounds exciting and romantic? Hardly, he’s a complete prat and ever since I’ve arrived, has being trying to get me arrested. He owes me an explanation.
I hope you’re all doing okay. I bet you’re busy at the travel agency, Ariana – I found a lovely villa, on the hillside, to rent, open plan with no walls and a balcony. Rae, great that Newcastle United won their match last night. Four-nil. I hope you celebrated.
Love and scrum hugs,
Carrie xxx
Carrie read it again and deleted the words ‘and scrum hugs’.
They sounded flippant, even though she meant them sincerely.
She pressed send as someone cleared their voice behind her.
She got to her feet and turned around. Dimitrios stood there…
shattered and looking so much older than the man back in the bar, dancing, singing, mingling, handing out drinks and hugging grandmas.
‘Hi. Sorry I’m a bit late,’ he said.
‘I hadn’t noticed,’ she said and crossed her arms. ‘Believe it or not, I’ve not been breathlessly waiting all afternoon to see you.’
‘I deserve that.’
Oh.
‘Right. Okay. Let me explain…’ he said.
‘Could take you a while. But maybe start with why you assumed a random female visitor had come over solely to find you? I get the whole fame thing, but why the aggressive attitude? Why assume they aren’t simply after an autograph?’
‘It’s because… you see… this time last year… well, a week after my birthday…’
‘How about an easier question? Why would a global pop star bother renting out a villa?’
‘It used to belong to…’
‘Don’t tell me – a Greek god? What scammy tale do you give tourists?’
He stepped back. ‘Wow. Is that what they call the English sarcasm? Look, let’s just say I have a sentimental attachment to it.’
‘What, you had your first three-way there?’
His eyebrows shot up, his eyes twinkled and then he laughed quietly, a noise that, actually, she could listen to forever, like rain falling or birds singing. Carrie caught his eye and, damn, she was laughing too. Dimitrios bent over, then stood up. ‘Thanks. I needed that.’
Carrie gathered herself. Nana had sounded sorrowful at the mention of the villa. Ajax too… Sentimental. What was the story of that building? ‘Why assume the worst about me?’
He went to speak, his cheeks flushed, but then he pursed his lips as if what he really wanted to say wouldn’t come out. ‘You’re right. I… I’ve got a big ego. Normally my friends here keep me in line and stop me focusing on the likes and follows.’
Ouch. Relatable.
‘Likes and follows I want, without having to constantly interact with fans when I’m just being me, on the island that’s my home. But that’s no excuse. I wholeheartedly apologise. My dad would be ashamed of the way I’ve behaved.’
Since the secret about her fake account had come out, that’s what Carrie had thought about her mum, too. Maybe Carrie and Dimitrios did have the teeniest bit of common ground. She wondered why he hadn’t mentioned his mother.
‘I’m sorry about you needing a fresh start, Carrie. You sounded… upset yesterday.’
She rolled her lips together and nodded.
‘I hope you will let me make it up to you. How about I give you a tour of Parikia, say, on Friday?’
What? She hadn’t expected that. Yet she did want to see the capital. The deep orange of the sunset reminded her of a cocktail they served at The Niterie called Second Chance. It was what she was asking for with her friends.
‘Well, I have always wanted to travel in a sports car.’
‘The bus is easier.’
‘And be treated like a VIP.’
‘I wear black sunglasses for a reason.’
Carrie put her hands on her hips. ‘So what exactly is in this trip for me?’
‘A day out with the sexiest man on the planet, of course.’
‘Trust me, there’s nothing remotely sexy about being known as Doritos.’
‘You sure?’ Eyes twinkling, he unbuttoned his shirt and swayed his hips in an exaggerated manner. Damn, Carrie couldn’t help laughing again as she did her best to avert her eyes.