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‘Or you could dispense with them entirely,’ said Trish provocatively. ‘We promise not to look.’
Nick caught the challenge in her eyes and grinned, before dropping his shorts and vaulting over the railing with a howl, one hand flailing as the other covered his manhood. Aaron paused for a second, clearly undecided, before following suit, his lily-white backside glowing like a lighthouse. Hannah heard the splash and the whoops and smiled at Rob.
‘Unexpectedly, Aaron came out of that better than Nick,’ said Trish, leaning over the side of the boat to peer into the crystal clear water below. ‘He needed both hands.’
‘Trish, he’s about fourteen,’ said Gaynor. ‘You’re practically old enough to be his mum.’
‘He’s twenty-four,’ said Jonno. ‘And I’ve seen a picture of his mum. You’re way hotter.’
‘Jesus,’ muttered Trish. ‘Is this my life now?’
‘You can’t say we didn’t offer,’ said Olly mildly. ‘Any one of us could have saved you from all this. But you latched on to Reverend Rob and look how that turned out.’
‘Why do you call him that?’ asked Hannah.
Olly gave Rob a withering glare. ‘Because he thinks he’s a better man than the rest of us. Like he operates on a higher plane of virtue.’
‘You set a pretty low bar, to be fair,’ laughed Rob. Hannah could see he was trying to keep things light and friendly – just a bit of lads’ banter, as Olly would say. She was also trying to be charitable to Olly, who had clearly understood the need for her to overwrite the memories of Monday with an evening like this.
‘I’ll get over it,’ said Trish, trying to break the tension by pulling a face at Rob. ‘A girl can handle rejection when the man in question is rejecting everyone else too. At least you know it’s him and not you.’
Hannah forced a smile, feeling both guilty and relieved that nothing had happened with Rob, and thankful she hadn’t told them about last night’s conversation.
‘Right, come on, ladies,’ said Trish, standing up. ‘That includes you, Olly.’
‘Hannah?’ said Jess. ‘You coming swimming?’
‘I’ll be there in a minute,’ said Hannah. ‘Cramps.’ She rubbed her hand over her belly and Jess gave her a pitying look.
‘Poor you,’ she said. ‘Drink more Cava, it will numb the pain.’
‘Rob, you coming?’ said Jonno.
‘Give me a sec,’ said Rob. ‘I’ll just clear up all these glasses.’
‘Christ, you’re a fucking saint,’ said Olly, rolling his eyes as he pulled off his T-shirt and sucked in his abs. Hannah clambered over to the open deck at the front of the boat, watching Rob busy himself with putting empty bottles in a crate so they didn’t roll around. Aaron and Nick scrambled up the ladder, no longer bothering to hide their nakedness. Hannah politely looked away, trying not to blush.
‘Not swimming?’ she asked Rob as he picked his way across the deck to join her.
‘In a minute,’ he said. ‘Right now I’m wondering how Aaron manages to carry that around all day without hurting himself.’
Hannah watched as Aaron did a star jump off the side, his giant cock flapping against his belly like a wet salmon. ‘Wow,’ she said. ‘That’s . . . quite a spectacle.’
‘And that’s in cold water,’ laughed Rob. ‘In full sail that’s going to be a monster.’
Hannah laughed, woefully conscious that her frame of reference was entirely Graham, who definitely hadn’t looked like that. ‘I can’t believe this is all over on Saturday,’ she said. ‘It’s been quite an experience.’
‘Don’t forget the end-of-week party tomorrow,’ he said. ‘That’s the highlight of the week.’
‘Really?’
‘No,’ laughed Rob. ‘It’s totally lame. All the guests are forced to hang out together even though they have nothing in common apart from tennis, and we coaches have to smile and tell everyone how much they’ve improved. Mark says it guarantees repeat bookings for next year.’
‘I can’t wait,’ said Hannah, laughing at Trish, who was attempting some synchronised swimming moves with Gaynor.
‘Come in!’ shouted Jess, waving at them both.
‘We should swim,’ said Rob. ‘We don’t want to be the party poopers.’
