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‘I don’t really do photos,’ said Hannah, wrinkling her nose. Scrumpy clambered beside her and shook himself vigorously, showering her with cold water.
‘Is that a church hangover? Like, vanity is a sin?’
Hannah glanced at Rob to check he wasn’t laughing at her, but he looked genuinely interested. ‘It feels self-indulgent, I guess. I took a couple of selfies last week and sent them to Sam; he’s the guy who helped me buy clothes for this trip. I felt a bit awkward and guilty about it, which is stupid. I don’t have a single social media account.’
‘Do you ever swear?’ Rob asked.
Hannah laughed. ‘What kind of question is that?’
‘It’s a genuine enquiry. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you swear.’
She wiped the cold water off her face with the palms of her hands. ‘The tennis girls thought that was weird too. It wasn’t approved behaviour in my family, so I guess I’ve never got into the habit.’
‘So what do you say instead? Like, I’d say “fucking hell, this water’s cold” – what’s your equivalent?’
Hannah thought about it. ‘I’d probably say “wow”, or “oh my goodness”. Although, admittedly, sometimes that doesn’t quite capture the scale of my emotion.’ She laughed, thinking about how lost for words she’d been when Rob had soaked her in beer the first night they met.
‘You should try it,’ he said, giving her another challenging look. ‘Swearing. It’s quite invigorating.’
Hannah shook her head, enjoying his playful mood. ‘So I hear.’
‘Come on. You’re in the arse end of Spain, and nobody’s listening. Scream “fuck” as loud as you can.’
Hannah laughed. ‘I can’t. I’ll lose my ticket for the second coming.’ A ghost of a smile flickered on Rob’s lips, and she wondered if he was thinking that he’d quite like a front row seat for her second coming.
‘Yeah, but it might be worth it,’ he shrugged.
‘Fine. Fuck,’ said Hannah quietly, enjoying the frisson of sinfulness that would, as a child, have earned her a very heavy talking-to from her mother about keeping the devil at bay, followed by a soul-cleansing trip to prayer group.
‘Nope, sorry, not loud enough,’ said Rob, boosting himself up onto a ledge at the edge of the waterhole and leaning back on his elbows in the sun. He had broad shoulders and a hard, athletic body that sent Hannah’s sinful thinking in all kinds of colourful directions.
‘FUCK,’ she shouted, tilting her head to the sky and holding her arms aloft like she was praising the heavens. Scrumpy clambered out of the water and joined her on the flat rock, shaking furiously.
‘Come on, one more time,’ laughed Rob. ‘Give it everything you’ve got.’
‘FUUUUUUCK,’ yelled Hannah, listening to her voice echoing off the canyon walls. ‘SHIIIIIT. WAAAAAAANK. BASTAAAAAARD.’
She turned in triumph to face Rob, just as a group of pensioners walked past with hiking poles and map pouches hanging around their necks. They all studiously looked the other way, tutting and chuntering under their breath.
‘Let it all out, dear,’ whispered an elderly woman at the back of the group with a conspiratorial grin. ‘Whatever you’ve been through, leave it all right here in this canyon.’
Hannah smiled and nodded, wishing she could stop her for a proper chat. But the group had already moved on, so the woman waved her stick in farewell and hurried to catch up.
‘Better?’ asked Rob with a grin.
‘So much better,’ said Hannah. ‘Let’s have lunch.’
Club Colina TITS on Tour
Hannah: Went for a hike today, it was amazing
Gaynor: Because of the amazing outdoor sex you had with Rob?
Hannah: NO. But I did shout FUCK really loudly in a canyon
Gaynor: WOOOAHHHH FUCK
Hannah: I KNOW
