by Mandy Baggot
‘Yan,’ she said, breathy with lust. She drew his head away.
* * *
With the taste of her skin still on his lips he let go, raising his head to her command. His eyes met the rosy glow of her face, the wide eyes and dilated pupils, the pert blush of her mouth. He was breaking every rule for this woman and it had happened so quickly.
She spoke. ‘I want you to stay.’
His body contracted at her words, the meaning so obvious it burned him. It was too soon. Even though their time together was going to be short, he didn’t want it hurried. It had to mean something and that meant slowing things down.
He caught her mouth with his again, his fingers at her breast, teasing the skin with short, gentle strokes.
He wanted to hold her, all of her, naked against him and just forget everything else. But that wasn’t fair, not on her, not on him.
‘Not yet.’ He didn’t know what else to say. It wasn’t enough. It didn’t explain anything but it categorically told her no.
He grazed her breastbone with his fingers, travelling upwards and away from the skin his touch had scorched.
He could see the disappointment in her eyes and it affected him. He didn’t want to disappoint her. He wanted the same thing but ...
‘I understand,’ Ellen spoke.
Her voice was laced with emotion and he watched her swallow. What was he doing? She was bare-chested in front of him, looking beautiful and he was backing away. He bent to the floor and picked up her top.
* * *
Everything was sensitised. He’d lit up every inch of her with his tender touch. But now he was going, when she was alert, needy and desperate for more. She watched him pick her blouse up and hold the fine material in his hands. She didn’t move, just looked at him, pensively.
He straightened it, shaking the material loose and holding it out. Gently he placed it over her head and she slipped her arms into the sleeves. Minus a bra but covered and almost proper again. Suddenly she felt abandoned.
‘I do not want to leave,’ he started. A loaded sigh left his lips.
‘Then ...’
‘I must.’ He nodded. ‘But, I see you tomorrow?’
He was really going and she shouldn’t act like a child who’d been denied sweets. He was doing the sensible thing. She nodded back.
He pulled the door open and as he stepped back he walked into something. He picked the bag up and held it out to her. ‘Your clothes.’
She took it but said nothing.
‘Ellen ...’
She threw her arms around him then, holding him tight. Even if it was only a holiday romance it was important to her. It was so important.
He drew away, kissing her mouth. ‘Goodnight.’
‘Goodnight,’ she whispered.
27
‘Good morning.’ Yan high-fived a passing child as he made his way to breakfast. ‘Hello, good morning Uri, we have water exercise this morning at ten.’
The Russian waved a hand and headed left.
The sun was sizzling hot already, the sky was cloudless and he felt amazing. Better than ever. He had a spring in his step, his thoughts only of today. He’d pushed everything else to the very corners of his mind. He wondered if Ellen would be in the restaurant at breakfast now. He wanted to see her. To see her and remember what they had shared together the night before. Affection, mutual passion. He felt goose bumps start on his arms despite the heat. He had to keep his feelings for her under control. They only had a few days together and he wanted to make the very most of it. If they were found out that would be the end, for the relationship and for his job.
‘Yan!’
Tanja’s shout had the excited goose bumps turning into chills. He turned just before the steps leading to the main hotel complex and faced his boss.
She was dressed in uniform, her dark hair clipped back, an unreadable look on her face.
She began to talk speedily in their native tongue. ‘Good morning to you. I have you for water exercise, trip to Perithia and football today.’ She checked things off on her clipboard.
‘Yes. No problem.’
‘And you have done report, yes?’
Yan knew she would ask this. That’s what the chills over his skin were about and he had no answer prepared. He needed to think on his feet, something he was well-practiced at. He wet his lips.
‘Not yet.’ He paused, watched Tanja’s face fall into not amused. ‘It is so very hard to go back.’
‘What?’ She creased up her forehead appearing not to understand.
‘It was a ...’ He paused, looked down at the floor then back up again. ‘I have bad dream. The look on face of the boy ...’
He watched Tanja’s face soften a little, saw his performance was working. A part of him contracted, knowing it wasn’t right, but self-preservation was paramount here.
‘I realise it was a very sad and difficult situation. It is something we all hope not to go through but reports have to be filed.’
Yan nodded his head and ground his teeth together. It wasn’t going to get him out of it completely – he knew that – it was just buying time. He just needed the day.
‘I will let you off the football. I will ask Dasha. You will do report before evening animation program.’
She’d given him what he wanted. He could have kissed the ground in relief. Now he just needed to speak with Ellen.
‘Yes, OK,’ he replied, keeping his tone sober.
‘Good.’ Tanja nodded then turned away, heading off in the direction of the kids’ club.
Yan let out his breath and realised then just how tight he’d been holding on to it. He wiped the perspiration from his brow and looked toward the restaurant.
A hand squeezed his forearm.
‘Hello, lover. I think you’ve been avoiding me.’
Monica’s scent invaded every sense.
* * *
Ellen ran a brush through her hair, looking in the mirror. With each stroke she glanced to the side, looking over at Lacey’s empty bed. Her sister hadn’t come back to the room the night before. The strangest thing was, instead of feeling angry or agitated, she didn’t really feel anything. No worry, no disappointment, nothing.
Lacey had made a choice and Ellen wasn’t to blame. It wasn’t her job to guard her from all life’s crossroads, not matter what their father might think. Whatever path Lacey was going to tread was on Lacey.
Ellen put the brush on the nightstand and picked up the sun cream. Squeezing some onto her fingertips she closed her eyes, rubbing the lotion across her shoulder and down the top of her arm. All the places Yan had caressed the previous night.
She was still glowing inside from what they’d shared. This holiday had taken on a whole different perspective and it was saving her. She had three more nights to squeeze the life out of it before she faced her fate back home.
And what was that exactly going to be? Facing the consequences of her relationship with Ross? Looking for her dream job? Reclaiming her business executive mantel?
She looked down at the cheap sandals on her feet. In this heat Louboutins would pinch and stifle. There was no call for power shoes on this idyllic island. And here, under a cloudless sky, the only thing spiking her memory was how free she’d felt when she’d jumped off the rocks in Sidari.
She looked at her watch. It was almost nine. She wasn’t going to wait for Lacey to appear, not when there was a chance she could catch Yan.
* * *
The sun was ferocious and Ellen was glad she’d applied sunscreen. She joined the main path that led to the dining room then stopped. Just up ahead, to her right, was Lacey. Unashamedly dressed in last night’s outfit, laughing out loud, platinum hair tossed back, Sergei holding her hand. Holding her hand. In the complex. For all to see.
Ellen swallowed as the full, simple intimacy of the scene hit home.
Instead of calling out, instead of shouting and waving and catching her up, Ellen let her go. What was there to say that hadn�
�t been explained in what she’d seen?
‘Good morning. Lovely day, isn’t it?’
She looked at the approaching person and her eyes met with Monica.
‘Yes, it’s lovely.’
‘Will you be joining us for water exercise this morning?’
Sergei didn’t seem to care who saw him and Lacey together. He was an archetypal holiday lothario. She watched the couple disappear behind the main building of the hotel.
‘Water exercise?’ Monica repeated.
‘Sorry, yes, maybe I will,’ she answered.
Monica let out a sigh. ‘I’ll be sorry to leave tomorrow. Yan is so sexy, isn’t he?’
Now Ellen focussed on the woman, taking in the heavy make-up and cherry red lips.
‘If only I could take him home with me,’ Monica added.
Ellen swallowed, not knowing how to respond.
‘Still, I’m hoping our last night will be one to remember.’ Monica smiled and lasciviously licked her lips. ‘If you’re going to breakfast I’d avoid the hams today. I saw a toddler with his grubby, little fingers all over them.’
28
‘Hello.’
Ellen didn’t even bother to lower her sunglasses. She could see, even through the tinted lenses, that Lacey was already playing Little Miss Contrite. It made her nauseous. ‘Hello.’
She didn’t flinch, just carried on reading her book. It was only twenty minutes before water aerobics and she was both gut-wrenchingly nervous and excited about seeing Yan.
‘Hello? Is that really all you’re going to say?’ Lacey stuck her hands on her hips and looked affronted.
‘Are you going to sit on the lounger? Because standing right there you’re blocking my sun.’
Lacey let out a loud snort and dropped her towel to the sun bed.
‘Well, this is nice. I spend the whole night not in our room and you’re not even interested. I half-expected the Greek army to be starting a search party.’
Ellen shook her head. This was typical Lacey behaviour. She’d spent all night cheating on her fiancé and she wanted a Mexican wave.
‘I would have sent the Greek army straight to Sergei’s room.’ She paused. ‘Or is Gary Barlow on Corfu?’
‘What?’ Lacey turned her body towards Ellen and stiffened up.
‘What would you like me to say here, Lacey? Would you like me to clap you on the back for sleeping with Sergei or berate you for cheating on Mark? You tell me which and I’ll do all the words and the corresponding faces.’
‘It isn’t like you think ...’ Lacey began.
‘No? Wait, don’t tell me, you didn’t sleep with Sergei, you spent all night swapping nail varnish tips with Dasha.’
‘No, I ...’ Lacey started again.
‘Oh no. No. Don’t say what I think you’re going to say.’ Ellen removed her sunglasses to get a better look at Lacey’s expression. ‘Don’t say Sergei told you he loved you. Don’t tell me he said you were the only one for him and declared eternal devotion.’
‘It wasn’t those exact words ...’
‘Oh Lacey! You’re a fool!’ She stood up. ‘He says that to everyone! He no more loves you than he loves ...’ She looked around the pool area. ‘The grandmother of that family from Scunthorpe.’
‘Sit down,’ Lacey hissed. ‘You’re making a scene.’
‘And you’re making a big mistake. Lacey, he’s a Romeo. And not the loyal Shakespeare kind, the love-them-and-leave-them kind. The kind that hurts girls.’ She swallowed, choking back the emotion that had arrived. ‘Girls like you.’
Lacey tutted. There was only one thing for it.
‘And he has a girlfriend. There! I’ve said it. Sergei has a girlfriend back in Bulgaria!’
‘Will you stop? I know that. What d’you think I am? Dumb or something?’
Ellen sank back down to her lounger, stunned. What did she mean?
Lacey sat down and crossed her legs under her, turning to face Ellen.
‘I know exactly who Sergei is, Ells. He gave me all the lines, the moves, but I knew that. I knew he was going to give me that.’
Ellen had no idea what was going on here. She had to be misunderstanding. It sounded like Lacey had gone into this fling with her eyes open, knowing the score and didn’t need protection from her elder sister.
She didn’t know what to say. A wasp hit her parted mouth and she swiped at it with her hand.
‘I slept with him. So what? It was sex.’ Lacey unfurled her legs, stretching them out over the lounger. ‘He says it’s undying love and I laugh because I know he’s talking out of his arse. But it doesn’t matter.’
‘But it’s not right,’ Ellen stated. She’d hoped to think of something better to say but she couldn’t find the words.
‘I know that, too. If I want to have sex with Sergei, if I’ve cheated on Mark, then that isn’t fair.’
‘Well ...’ Ellen began.
‘So I’ve done the only thing I could do. I’ve told Mark it’s over.’
The book fell out of Ellen’s hands and hit the floor. She couldn’t stop the gasp escaping or her stomach from falling to somewhere near the Earth’s core. ‘What?’
‘It’s all thanks to you, Ells. You were right. About what I was feeling for Sergei and about Gary Barlow. The relationship isn’t right if I’m going about snogging and sleeping with other men.’
‘That wasn’t ...’ Was that what she’d said? Was this the conclusion she’d been hoping for? It certainly wasn’t the one she’d been expecting. She’d thought Lacey would get the infatuation out of her system and then be ready to commit to Mark. But that wouldn’t have been right – to hide what had happened, to let everything that happened in Corfu stay in Corfu. She was just so shocked. ‘What did he say?’
Visions of Mark weeping into his golf bag and their dad having to deal with the fallout came to mind. Mark was a crier. They’d watched Watership Down at Christmas and he’d excused himself from the room for twenty minutes after the end credits.
‘He didn’t say anything. I left him a message.’
It was all Ellen could do not to hurl. ‘What? Lacey ... you didn’t ... you can’t. You broke up with him on ... voicemail?!’
‘iMessage actually. No kisses, not even a smiley face because I didn’t want him to think there was a chance of getting back together. Because there isn’t ... not ever ... like, ever.’
‘Oh my God, Lacey. You can’t break up with him by text. You’ve been going out so long and ... He deserves better.’
‘I couldn’t actually speak to him.’ Lacey’s determined façade began to slip just slightly. ‘He would have cried. You know he’s a crier. When we watched Harry Potter he cried for a week when Dumbledore copped it.’
‘And you don’t think he’s going to want to talk when he sees that message? The very first thing he’s going to do is call.’
Ellen didn’t believe this was actually happening. Through every hour of uncertainty in her life there had been Lacey’s big, fat Greek wedding to cling to. It had been her distraction, her purpose, her chance to redeem herself. Was that why she was so shocked and a little angry? For her own loss, not for Lacey and Mark’s?
‘Phone’s off. And that’s the way it’s going to stay until we land in England.’
‘Lacey, you can’t do that.’
‘It’s done. It’s my decision. If he starts calling you you’ll have to switch your phone off too.’
* * *
It took less than fifteen minutes for Ellen’s phone to start ringing. Mark. She knew she should answer it, speak to the poor guy, but she really had no idea what to say. The phone throbbed again and she looked left at the caller display.
‘Don’t you touch it. Turn it off,’ Lacey ordered.
‘I can’t turn it off. I need it for work.’ A small lie, since she’d avoided just about every call from Lassiter’s so far.
‘You’re on holiday!’
‘Yes and what a great one it’s turned out to be! So far I�
�ve watched you throw away your relationship, won a limbo competition and saved a drowning boy.’
‘And there are so many positives in there.’
Ellen grabbed the phone and turned it to silent. She felt so sorry for Mark. Dumped by iMessage and now everyone was ignoring him when he needed answers.
‘Water exercise for you?’
She hadn’t even noticed Yan approach, that was how much this was affecting her. And there he was, her one chink of light in this whole sorry mess. Standing just in front of her sun bed, looking tanned, toned and gorgeous.
‘Yes,’ she replied, standing up. ‘Yes, please.’ She looked to Lacey. ‘We’ll finish this conversation later.’
‘It is finished. The conversation ... and everything else.’
* * *
‘You are OK?’ Yan whispered as she followed him to the edge of the pool.
‘Yes. It’s just Lacey.’ She blew out a breath. ‘Everything’s Lacey.’
‘It is about Sergei.’
She stopped walking and raised her head. ‘She’s dumped her fiancé.’
‘Dumped a what?’
‘Sorry. The man she was going to marry. She’s ended things. Said goodbye and auf wiedersehen. It’s over.’
‘You speak German.’
He wished he had not made a joke when he saw her close her eyes. She looked so sad, as if it was her relationship that was over. They were standing so close and he just wanted to touch her, to give her the comfort he was sure she needed.
‘You would like for me to speak with Sergei?’ he offered.
She shook her head. ‘No. This isn’t his fault. Not really.’
Yan didn’t know what else to say. He was angry with Sergei. He had no real feelings for Lacey and now, because he couldn’t keep himself in check, a marriage would not happen.