‘Okay. I don’t want to ruin your evening but also I wouldkillfor a nice cold beer. So I’m thinking I’ll have the lagerandsomething more…’
‘Cocktaily?’
‘Cocktaily. The exact word I was looking for.’ He orders the bar special, which they’ve called ‘Sexy on our beach’, clearly aimed firmly at English-speaking tourists.
As we carry our drinks outside, I’m suddenly horrified with myself. I gotstupidlycarried away there by the whole we’re-in-this-idyllic-cocktaily-location thing. This is Callum, who used to behave ridiculously on nights out. While under the influence. Which is entirely (I think) what split us up.
‘Callum, I’m so sorry. I literally just nagged you into drinking when you didn’t want to. I donotwant to be one of those people who does that. I’mnotone of those people. Please don’t drink the cocktail if you don’t want to.’
‘Emma. It’s two drinks over a whole evening and I won’t finish them if I don’t want to. Honestly, I know you aren’t someone who nags people to drink more than they want to and I won’t. Really.’
Two seconds later he takes a sip of the cocktail and says, ‘Oh my God, that’sdisgusting.’ He holds it out to me and I take a sip and gag slightly.
‘Wow.’ I’m shaking my head. ‘It looks so pretty and I always like a punny name, but it’s so sweet and soapy.’ I gag a bit again.
‘Aftertaste just hit you?’ Callum asks, taking a big gulp of his lager. ‘Oh, that’s better.’
When I’m sure that I’m not actually going to vomit I drink some of my own cocktail.
‘This one’s very nice,’ I tell him. ‘Try some.’
He screws his face up doubtfully.
‘Trust me,’ I say.
‘That’s what people say when they’re luring people to their death.’
‘I just tasted it and it’s really good and I have not been poisoned.’
‘Fair point.’ He tastes it and then shakes his head and takes another sip of lager, fast. ‘No, no, no. You havebadtaste.’
Which, for no good reason at all, because clearly it isn’t at all funny, makes us both laugh. I think maybe we’re intoxicated by each other’s company. I am, anyway. Maybe Callum’s just laughing in sympathy.
We laugh more, we talk a lot, we laugh some more, and then, after the Italian people next to us say they’re going to order someof the cocktails that Callum got and I tell them theycan’tbecause it’sdisgusting, we get talking to them.
‘Come and dance on the beach,’ one of the women asks us maybe fifteen minutes later. ‘You can’t say no – it’s my birthday.’
I look at Callum and say, ‘It would be rude not to.’
‘It wouldn’t really?’
‘Fun, though?’
He laughs. ‘Okay, true.’
‘What scares me is that I think you might have gone even if I hadn’t been here,’ he says as we follow our new friends out of the opposite side of the bar from where we arrived.
‘Mmm, maybe but maybe not. I’ve got wiser during the course of my trip.’
‘What?’ Callum’s hand shoots out and grasps my wrist. ‘Emma? Has anything bad happened to you?’
‘Noooo, not really.’ I look up at Callum and my breath catches at the murderous look on his face. He looks as though hereallycares.
‘Tell me.’
‘Honestly. It was fine in the end. I met some new people and went for a drink and one of the men tried it on a little too heavy-handedly and I wasfine, but if I’m honest, only because two other women spotted what was happening and helped me. But it did kind of shake me up and when I met someone a couple of weeks later who seemed quite sleazy I got a bit spooked and decided thatlotsof people are sleazy and I’ve been very sensible ever since.’
‘Bloodyhell, Emma.’ Callum hasn’t let go of my wrist. ‘I’m so glad that I’m here with you now.’
