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‘Let’s take a look at you,’ said Jess, giving Hannah’s lips a final brush with red lipstick. Hannah stood up and did a twirl. She was wearing a leopard print playsuit borrowed from Gaynor, with silver trainers and huge hoop earrings.
‘Ugh, you look gorgeous. That playsuit looks WAY better on you, and you totally have the legs for the whole cute outfit and trainers thing.’
‘AND you won’t have sore feet at the end of the night,’ grumbled Jess. ‘It’s not fair.’
Hannah beamed, looking at the cool, sexy woman in the full-length mirror and wondering what Graham would think if he could see her now. ‘Where’s Trish?’ she asked.
‘Still getting ready,’ said Gaynor with a grin. ‘She’s got Rob in her sights and she’s going for full blow-out and battle dress.’
‘Are you talking about me?’ asked Trish, strutting into the room and giving them a twirl in a fog of perfume and hairspray. She was wearing a black minidress with chiffon bell sleeves and silver strappy sandals, her hair piled up into a messy beehive. With smoky eyes and scarlet lipstick, she looked like a supermodel.
‘Holy shit,’ said Gaynor. ‘You look fantastic.’
‘If I can’t bag Rob in this, he’s either gay or blind,’ said Trish.
Don’t be jealous, thought Hannah, swallowing down the hot, acid taste in her mouth and trying not to feel frumpy by comparison.Be cool and fun, remember?She popped Jess’s lipstick and her phone into her pocket and headed back to her room to take a selfie for Sam.
‘So, Puerto Banus?’ said Olly, climbing into the minibus and sliding the door closed. ‘You all scrub up nicely, so they’ll let us in the best places.’
‘Fine by us,’ said Trish, who’d managed to annexe Rob on the back row of seats. Hannah was at the front, now being overpowered by Olly’s aftershave.
‘Onward, Pedro,’ said Olly. ‘Take us to the finest bars in Puerto Banus.’
‘His name’s Ben,’ said Hannah, wishing she could hide under the seats.
‘Whatever,’ said Olly, eyeing Hannah’s legs. ‘You look a million euros, by the way.’
‘Shame I’m not for sale,’ muttered Hannah, looking out the window as the minibus made its way down the winding hillside.
‘I’ve never paid yet,’ said Olly, like this was some kind of crowning achievement. Hannah turned in her seat to chat to Jess, who was sitting in the row behind, sneaking a glance at Rob at the same time. He was trying to be attentive while Trish jabbered on about how many pins were holding her hair up. As if sensing her eyes on him, he turned his head towards her gaze, hovering on her for a second, a small smile forming on his lips before looking away again. The familiar throb of desire washed over her, and as the miles ticked by she stared out of the window and silently vowed to stay away from Rob tonight. However hard she tried to be cool, the reality was that being in his company made her giddy. So she’d keep him at arm’s length, maybe chat to some other people outside the group, and make it really clear to everyone that she was happily single and didn’t need attention from him or anyone else. This was her trip, her time, and she didn’t want or need a man in her life. And if Trish managed to bag Rob, then that was a great result for everyone. Even in her head, that didn’t sound very convincing.
Hannah had been worried that Olly would take them to some noisy sports bar full of drunken stag and hen parties, but the bar he directed Ben the driver to was classy and stylish, with an art deco vibe and leather booths lining the walls around a circular cocktail bar. At the back was a dancefloor with a DJ playing noughties R&B, but at 9.30 p.m. there were only a couple of groups of women dancing. Hannah liked it, and for a moment was willing to forgive Olly for being so obnoxious.
They all ordered drinks at the bar, and Hannah purposely turned away from Rob and tried to relax as she chatted to Aaron and Nick in one of the booths. Neither of them seemed particularly confident around women but they were happy to talk about tennis instead, and after forty minutes of good-natured arguing about the best female player of all time, Hannah had finished her second cocktail and headed to the bar to get a glass of water. She’d discovered it was the only way to ward off a crippling hangover.
‘Hi,’ said a man waiting at the bar, trying to catch the eye of the barman. ‘I’m Matt.’
‘Hannah.’ She didn’t really want to chat to him, but wasn’t that what she’d told herself to do this evening? Stay away from Rob, spread her wings a bit, make new friends? Matt wasn’t particularly good-looking, but he had kind eyes, so maybe ten minutes in his company would provide a brief but welcome reprieve from thinking about Rob.
‘What can I get you?’ asked Matt.
‘I’m fine,’ said Hannah, holding up her empty glass. ‘I’ve only just finished this one, so I was just going to get some water.’
‘Water’s no fun,’ he said with a smile. His accent was generic home counties with the tiniest hint of posh, and he seemed nice enough. Hannah glanced back towards the group – Jess and Gaynor were now dancing to Rihanna with Nick and Chris, Olly and Aaron hovering at the edge of the dancefloor chatting to a couple of women from another group. Trish had Rob pinned into the leather booth she’d just vacated; Hannah could see his gaze searching round the bar as Trish talked at him, and their eyes met just as Matt was handing her what was evidently a gin and tonic. She smiled happily as she took it, not wanting Rob to think she was looking to be rescued.
‘Thanks,’ she said, refocussing her attention on Matt, who she was going off by the second. Didn’t she just tell him she wanted water? ‘I need to go and join my friends.’
‘Why?’ said Matt with a flirty smile. ‘You can hang out with them any time, we’re just getting started.’
‘Wow, this is strong,’ said Hannah, taking a sip of the drink.
‘They don’t bother measuring the gin here,’ said Matt. ‘Much better value.’
Hannah did a mental calculation while she still could – a glass of Cava while they were getting ready, wine over dinner in the hotel, and two cocktails. Right now her head was swimming happily, but she’d be a right mess if she didn’t stop after this one.
‘You have gorgeous eyes,’ said Matt. ‘Please tell me you’re single.’
Hannah nodded and forced a smile. ‘Very happy that way, though,’ she said. ‘And no plans to not be single any time soon. I don’t want to waste your time.’
