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‘Because . . . shit, let me in.’
Hannah unlocked the door to her room and headed inside, feeling stressed and breathless.
‘I wanted to check you were OK,’ said Gaynor. ‘I saw Chris, he told me Mark caught you and Rob in bed.’
‘What?’ howled Hannah, covering her face with her hands. ‘That’s absolutely NOT true. We were just talking – NOTHING happened.’
‘Whoah, I believe you,’ said Gaynor, holding up her hands. She took Hannah’s arm and led her to the bed. ‘Sit down for a minute.’
Hannah sat and took some deep, calming breaths. ‘Where are the others?’
‘They’re down by the pool. After we saw Chris I was sent to find you. Jess was worried.’
Hannah raised her eyebrows. ‘What about Trish?’
‘Trish was worried too.’ She gave Hannah a hard look. ‘Come on, Hannah – she’s just been told that the guy she’s been really into for this whole trip is in bed with her mate. How would you feel?’
‘Yeah, OK,’ said Hannah, remembering exactly how she’d felt earlier in the week when she thought Rob had turned his attention to Trish. ‘I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.’
‘I believe you,’ said Gaynor, giving her a playful punch on the arm. ‘But you’re in one piece, and it’s still our last night, so we need to make the most of it.’
Hannah sighed heavily. ‘Yeah, OK. I need a drink.’
Trish ran over as soon as she saw Hannah, her face set to ‘brave acceptance’. ‘I heard about what happened,’ she said breathily, resting her hand on Hannah’s arm. ‘It’s OK, I’m not angry about it.’
‘Thanks,’ said Hannah, suddenly reminded of her mother’s ongoing application for sainthood. ‘But it’s not true. I’ve never even kissed Rob, we were both fully dressed when Mark turned up.’
‘SEE, I told you Hannah wouldn’t,’ said Jess. ‘She’s not the type.’
‘Like me, you mean?’ snapped Trish. ‘Are you saying I’d have shagged him?’
‘Well, yes,’ said Jess, shaking her head in confusion. ‘Wouldn’t you?’
‘Totally,’ said Trish.
‘So what happens now?’ asked Jess, turning to Hannah. ‘Has he been fired?’
Hannah shook her head. ‘Not yet. He has to see Mark tomorrow morning.’
‘Yikes,’ said Trish. ‘What do you think Mark will do?’
‘I suppose if Rob can’t convince him nothing happened, he might get kicked out and have to go back to the UK.’
‘And would you go with him?’ asked Jess.
Hannah’s head snapped up. ‘What? No, of course not. I’m off on my road trip. There’s absolutely nothing between Rob and me.’ She thought about how close they’d been just now, and her stomach did backflips.
‘I fancy a swim,’ said Gaynor, breaking the tension. ‘Who’s coming in?’ She slipped off her dress and underwear before anyone could answer, then held her nose as she jumped into the pool, gasping as she came up for air.
‘You’re insane,’ laughed Jess, already pulling off her miniskirt.
‘It feels lovely,’ said Gaynor. She swam to the edge and grabbed the bottle of Cava, pulling off the foil cage and pushing the cork out with her thumbs so it fired off into the darkness. Jess stripped naked and jumped in next to her.
‘Shall we?’ asked Trish, tilting her chin in a final show of forgiveness. Hannah grinned, kicking off her trainers and yanking off her dress and knickers, then jumped into the water before anyone could pass comment on the dark shadow of her natural pubes. The cool water washed away the heat and stress of the evening, her skin tingling at the memory of how Rob’s arms had felt around her, even if it was just for a few seconds. She swam to the edge and sat with her back to the wall of the pool, relishing the strange feeling of freedom that came with not wearing a bikini. Jess, Gaynor and Trish joined her, gasping for breath as they passed the bottle along the row so they could all take a swig.
‘Well, this has been quite a week,’ said Gaynor.
‘I reckon Rob will be fine,’ said Trish, clearly trying to be conciliatory. ‘He’s a really good coach – how are they going to replace him at such short notice?’
