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‘I’m not asking you to marry me,’ said Matt with a laugh, his eyes drinking in her body. Not very kind at all, now she thought about it. ‘But you’re on holiday, we can have a little fun.’
‘I’m really not interested,’ said Hannah firmly. ‘But thank you, I’m flattered.’ She wasn’t really, but it felt like the kind of thing she should say so he didn’t get upset. And now she was annoyed with herself for trying to make a complete stranger feel better about her rejection. She didn’t owe him anything – why did women do this?
Matt looked mutinous. ‘Well, at least have a drink with me,’ he said. ‘Then I’ll let you go, even though it seems like a massive waste of a beautiful opportunity for us to get very naked and sweaty.’
‘Are you OK?’ said Rob, appearing at Hannah’s side, Trish trailing in his wake and throwing Hannah a dirty look. ‘I’m just heading to the bar.’
‘I’m fine,’ snapped Hannah, annoyed that Rob felt the need to check in on her, particularly with Trish hanging off his arm.
‘All right, mate,’ said Matt, an edge in his voice. ‘Anything we can do for you?’
‘No, thanks,’ said Rob, clearly forcing himself to sound friendly. ‘Just saying hi.’
‘Move along then,’ said Matt as Rob pushed past towards the bar. ‘That your little brother?’
‘No,’ said Hannah, looking over towards Jess and Gaynor again. The crowd had thickened between the bar and the dancefloor and she couldn’t see them any more. She took another gulp of the drink, which really did taste disgusting, then put the glass on the table.
‘You not going to finish that?’ asked Matt.
Hannah shook her head as she started to edge away. ‘Bit strong for me, I’m afraid. I’m going to join my friends, it was really nice to meet you.’
He reached out to take her hand, then lifted it to his lips and kissed it. ‘Nice to meet you too, lovely Hannah.’ She suppressed a shudder before pulling away and pushing through the crowd, wanting to get as far away from him and everyone else as possible. Her head felt fuzzy and she could feel herself sweating, so she swerved for the door to the street outside, then changed her mind and headed to the toilets in case she was sick. She pushed through the swing doors but there was a queue a mile long, and now the room was starting to spin.
I need air, thought Hannah, wobbling back into the bar and towards the main doors. She felt like she was suffocating, and her head was full of cotton wool – how much had she drunk? The cool air felt blissful, so she leaned against the outside wall away from the smokers and took deep breaths, her eyes closed against the neon glare from the club opposite. The music was too close and too loud.
‘You OK?’ said a voice. ‘I was a bit worried about you.’
Thank God, it’s Rob, she thought, but when she opened her eyes it was Matt, not Rob.
‘I’m fine,’ she said, wondering vaguely why her voice was echoing in her ears and she could see three Matts, all of them fuzzy around the edges. ‘Just needed some air.’
‘Come with me,’ he said, putting his arm tightly around her waist and practically lifting her feet off the ground as he led her away. ‘I’ll look after you.’
‘No,’ said Hannah, ‘I need to go back.’ The street was spinning like she was on a carousel, and now she was in some kind of doorway that smelled of hot bins and Matt was much too close, his face swimming in and out of focus.
‘Stop,’ she gasped as his hand disappeared up the shorts of her playsuit.
‘Come on, we both know this is what you want,’ he whispered, his hands groping everywhere and fumbling over the buttons. ‘How the fuck do you get into this thing?’
‘Don’t,’ said Hannah, trying to push him away, but her arms felt limp and spongy. He kissed her hard, and she felt the metal taste of blood as his teeth crashed into hers and bit her lip. There was noise and heat and swirling colours as Matt suddenly retreated into the darkness and other hands, softer this time, reached out to touch her.
‘Sit her down on the bench,’ said a female voice.
‘Fuck, she’s completely out of it.’
‘Where’s Rob?’
‘Chasing after him.’
‘We need to get her back to the hotel. She’s hammered.’
‘She can’t be that hammered, we’ve barely been here an hour. He must have spiked her drink.’
‘Should we call an ambulance?’
‘Hannah? Hannah? Can you hear me?’
Hannah half-nodded, wondering why everyone was still talking, then lurched forward and threw up the entire contents of her stomach into a potted palm tree.
