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CHAPTER TWELVE
The Luna Lounge was a small, dimly lit cocktail bar half a mile down the steep hill from the hotel – an easy walk down hundreds of steps that weaved between villas and apartments, then a thigh-burning workout or a taxi back up. They’d all decided to worry about that later, and in the meantime were relaxing at a table by the window overlooking the twinkling lights of Andalusia. Hannah liked it; it was less chaotic than the bar in Marbella last night, and the crowd was definitely less drunk. A band was warming up in the corner, after which a DJ would take over until the bar closed at four.
‘Isn’t that the coaching team?’ said Gaynor, narrowing her eyes as the group of men pushed through the doors and towards the bar.
‘Looks like it,’ said Hannah, noisily sucking the dregs of her cocktail through the straw.
‘How are they all so hot?’ mused Jess. ‘Like, what comes first? Do they become tennis coachesbecausethey’re hot, or does being genetically hot make them want to be tennis coaches?’
‘Ski instructors are the same,’ mused Gaynor. ‘Never met one I wouldn’t fuck.’
Hannah observed the group with the rest of them, using it as an excuse to watch Rob snake through the crowd. She’d spotted him about five seconds before Gaynor, because she’d been surreptitiously glancing at the door since they’d first arrived, wondering if he’d heard their conversation earlier about which bar they were going to. And now he was here, and she had no idea what, if anything, that signified, or why she even cared. He was off limits along with all other men, but there was something about Rob that kept creeping into her thoughts. Part of it was physical, obviously – he was insanely good-looking and the complete opposite of Graham – but there was something else that she couldn’t put her finger on. It was just a feeling she got when he looked at her, and she’d caught him looking several times.
She wiped her sweaty hands on her yellow dress – another Sam-inspired purchase with puffed sleeves and a cute skater skirt that fell to mid-thigh. She’d teamed it with a pair of silver trainers and asked Trish to pin her hair up into a pile of curls.
‘Gay, wave them over,’ said Trish, digging a lip gloss out of her bag and hastily applying it with the tiny stick. Hannah saw Rob survey the crowd, his eyes locking onto hers for a fraction of a second before he returned Gaynor’s wave. He leaned over to the other coaches and said something, then they all looked over and smiled.
‘I think we’ve got company incoming,’ said Jess.
‘Could be worse,’ replied Trish, draining her glass. ‘Remember those awful golfers from Birmingham last time?’
‘Didn’t one of them drop a lit fag in Jess’s handbag?’ said Gaynor.
‘Mmm,’ said Jess. ‘Set fire to a box of tampons. I grabbed it and tried to throw it out the window, but instead scattered twenty-four flaming Tampax across the bar. Everyone was screaming.’
The six coaches made their way through the crowd, leaving one of them behind at the bar to order drinks.
‘Rob, can you introduce us to these beautiful ladies?’ said Olly.
‘Of course,’ said Rob, raising his eyes ever so slightly. ‘This is Gaynor and Jess and Trish and Hannah. And these are my fellow coaches – Olly, Chris, Nick and Jonno. Aaron’s getting the drinks in.’
‘Nice to meet you,’ said Olly, grinning like a politician at a community barbecue. ‘We’ve been admiring you from afar but it’s gratifying to see you’re equally as lovely close up.’
Hannah snorted with laughter and caught Rob’s eye. He mouthed the word ‘sorry’ and rolled his eyes.
‘So what brings you to this little bit of Spanish paradise?’ said Olly. ‘Your first time at Club Colina?’
Gaynor sighed and put her glass down, giving Olly a hard stare. ‘No, Olly, it’s not our first time. We were here a few years ago, with our friend Carla.’ She smiled, waiting for the penny to drop, but he looked blank. ‘Surely you remember Carla? You tried to fondle her tits so you could tick off the “married” box on your pathetic bingo card.’
‘Oh shit,’ laughed Chris as the colour drained from Olly’s face. ‘I remember that. Wasn’t she a black belt in judo or something?’
‘Taekwondo,’ said Gaynor.
‘She had him in a headlock,’ Jonno told Rob and Nick. ‘It was fucking epic.’
‘We all weigh less than you,’ said Jess, munching an olive off a cocktail stick. ‘Two of us are happily married, none of us have fake tits, and none of us are old enough to be your mother. Bad luck.’
‘For the record, can I just say that I actively object to this game,’ said Rob, putting his hand up.
‘Pat on the head for you,’ said Jess witheringly. She tilted her head at Olly. ‘So are you going to buy us a drink, or have we pissed on your bonfire?’
‘I’m actually semi-hard right now,’ said Olly with a wolfish grin. ‘What are you all having?’
‘So tell me more about this bingo,’ said Hannah, shifting her weight onto one hip and pointing her left foot down, the knee bent. When Gaynor stood like this it looked cute and sassy and drew attention to her slim ankles, but now Hannah was wondering if she just looked like a flamingo. Rob was both far too close and not nearly close enough, and Hannah had no idea what she was doing. In her head this felt like a good opportunity to try chatting to a man, ahead of a time in the future when she might actually want to indicate her openness to a date. It felt a long way off, but there was no harm in getting some practice in. And Rob was as good a man as any.Oh, who are you kidding, Hannah?
‘It’s a stupid game the coaches play,’ Rob said dismissively, glancing at Olly and Nick, who had wriggled their way onto the table and were wheeling out all their best lines. Chris, Aaron and Jonno had all dispersed to pursue easier targets.
‘Is that why you came out to find me last night?’ she asked. ‘So you could tick me off the list?’
