The Summer Flings Travel Club

by Aimee Duffy

  ‘Is this your first time sailing?’ Milo asked, noticing her excitement.

  She shook her head. ‘When I was little we went on a boat trip in Tenerife. I didn’t get to see any dolphins or wales though.’

  She’d been gutted about that.

  ‘There are a few dolphins out this way.’ He pointed to the right. ‘They hunt for food there.’

  Elle must have heard them talking because she shouted at Zack. ‘Take us left! I’m not being tipped to my death by shark wannabes.’

  ‘Learn to sail and you can take it wherever you want, Elly,’ he shouted back.

  Milo chuckled. ‘They’re always like this?’

  She nodded, rolling her eyes.

  ‘This is mild,’ Gem said. ‘You should see them when they really go for it.’

  Elle gave them an insight to the real problem – Zack – and threw in a good few examples to make her case stronger. So she wasn’t dragged into the debate, Ciara went down to the galley to make up a pitcher of mojitos with all the ingredients they’d brought. She’d never have guessed a boat could have such a pretty kitchen with appliances for absolutely everything. And it wasn’t small either. She reckoned the Muirs could fit a good few chefs in here and have a party on deck in the middle of the ocean.

  Maybe that was the point in having it, though god knew why when they had a house the size of theirs.

  She took the pitcher and a load of plastic glasses up to the deck and realised they’d stopped moving. The ocean really was beautiful and she could see the whole curve of the island with the white houses scattered around greenery and more rural, rustic areas.

  ‘There’s something you don’t see every day,’ Zack said, appearing beside her.

  ‘I can make things myself you know, I don’t need to ask the staff to do it for me.’ She held up the jug to prove her point.

  ‘What’s got you all fired up? I was talking about the view.’ He jerked his head to indicate the island across the water.

  ‘Nothing,’ she lied.

  The truth was, she’d been too scared to ask if he was joining them in Ibiza, but had been losing sleep wondering if he’d come. No one had mentioned it, not even Zack and she’d tried to bring it up but they were always busy and she didn’t want to spoil the time they had left.

  ‘You’re a crap liar,’ he said with a grin. ‘But I’m not going to push. Let’s get this party started.’

  He took the pitcher to the front where the others were sprawled on sun loungers.

  ‘You better be careful. Elle will freak if the captain of the ship gets sloshed,’ she teased, pushing aside the fact this might be their last full day together.

  ‘You’re absolutely right,’ Elle said, sitting up on her sun lounger. ‘No cocktails for you!’

  Zack shook his head and handed his cousin the jug and cups. When Elle handed Ciara a glass, she took a long drink and silently thanked Gem’s super fast internet for the recipe.

  ‘I’ll just have to enjoy it this way,’ Zack said and then pulled her into a not-so-friendly kiss.

  His tongue left no inch of her mouth untouched and she was gasping for air in seconds.

  ‘Ew, do you two mind? Anymore of that and I’ll need to bleach my eyeballs. And the sockets,’ Elle complained.

  Ciara reluctantly pulled away and saw the mischievous glint in his eyes, giving her an idea. ‘I think we should go swimming.’

  ‘I think the two of you need your baby making bits removed,’ Elle countered. ‘It’s really not normal.’

  ‘She must have a resilient fufu,’ Gem said, making Ciara’s cheeks burn and her chin drop.

  Milo tried to smother a giggle and failed.

  Bitches, all of them.

  ‘Elle go worry about your own sex life, or lack thereof,’ Zack said.

  Even though she knew he was sticking up for her, she gave him a light dig on the shoulder. ‘That’s mean.’

  He raised an eyebrow, then lowered his voice. ‘When you get off this boat I’ll show you how not-mean I can be.’

  She barely heard the retching sound – probably from Elle, not when he looked at her like he wanted to eat every inch of her.

  ‘Last one in…’ she said, taking off to the railing.

  Zack was over faster, then did a perfect dive into the water sending some spray back onto the deck. Gem cursed and Ciara giggled, thinking it served her right for the vag joke.

  He surfaced all wet and sexy, so she decided to show off a little and somersaulted off the boat. It backfired when she landed dodgy and lost her bikini top along the way.

  ‘Bugger,’ she said, kicking her feet out and spinning to see if she could find it.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Zack asked, swimming closer.

  ‘I’ve lost my top!’ She tried searching with her hands next and got a mouthful of bitter, salty water.

  ‘Is that an Irish expression or are you being serious?’ he asked.

  ‘I’m serious! Can you help me look for it please?’ She spun around again, hoping to see a scrap of pink glinting on the surface. No such luck. It was only water all around and if it slipped under the boat she was in trouble.

  Zack pulled her to the back end of the yacht and she kept a look-out, hoping he’d seen something she hadn’t.

  ‘Here will do,’ he said, then pulled her against his chest.

  He was strong enough to keep them both above water, and that distracted her a little as she wrapped her legs around his torso to stay afloat. Then she noticed the sexy grin he sported and realised he’d dragged her back here for another reason.

  ‘Zack! I need to find it,’ she whispered.

  ‘You’re looking at this all wrong, Ireland,’ he said with a grin. ‘It’s just one less thing I’ll need to take off.’

  ‘We can’t do that here!’ But when his hands cupped her bare breasts she lost her train of thought.

  ‘Can’t isn’t a word I have in my vocabulary,’ he said, then kissed her slowly, smoulderingly.

  Feck it! She held onto his neck, upping the intensity of the salty kiss and before she knew it Zack had shoved her bikini bottoms to the side and was rubbing her in a way that should be illegal.

  Moaning ‘more’ seemed all she could manage and his groan sounded like sweet surrender. He freed himself from his shorts and pulled her down until she was filled by him. The stab of heat was instant and she knew it wouldn’t be long until she was coming hard. Using her hold on him, she tilted her hips and rode him until she was biting her lip to hold in the cries of relief.

  Someone screamed and both she and Zack froze. She could see the lust haze faze from his eyes until they became sharp and more aware.

  ‘Get out of there!’ Elle shrieked.

  They looked up to see her at the ladder. For the second time in forever, Elle looked scared but now it was closer to terror.

  Ciara was glad the water wasn’t as clear out here because Elle would have seen a lot more than she bargained for beneath the waves.

  ‘What’s up, Elle?’ he asked, discreetly unjoining them.

  That was until her red hot cheeks gave them away.

  ‘Sharks! You’re going to be dinner if you don’t move now!’ Elle shouted, pointing across to the front of the boat.

  Ciara knew she should be swimming for that drop down ladder as fast as she could, feck the bikini top she’d lost. But she couldn’t move. Even her legs were frozen in a vice grip around Zack’s waist.

  Four or five dark grey fins protruded from the water up ahead, but they were closing in fast and then they disappeared below the surface.

  She started to tremble.

  ‘It’s okay,’ Zack said, cupping her cheek. ‘There aren’t sharks out here. It’s probably dolphins.’

  ‘Have you lost it? Zack get my best friend out of there now!’

  But he didn’t and all Ciara could do was imagine a sharp, incomprehensible pain in her thighs as the sharks took chunks out of her and dragged her under.

  ‘Don’t panic, the
y won’t hurt us. They’re probably just curious.’ He didn’t look scared at all, in fact the excited glint in his eyes made him look younger.

  Just then one of the creatures broke the surface and the sound of dolphins singing stunned her. She’d heard it before on Elle’s silly relaxing nature tapes and from the beak on the animals that popped out around them she knew they weren’t sharks.

  ‘Elle, they’re dolphins.’ She reached out to one but it backed away, opening its mouth to yatter something.

  ‘Look at those teeth! That’s no dolphin,’ Elle shouted from the deck.

  Gem and Milo laughed so hard they had to hold their stomach’s for support.

  ‘I’m positive it is. Now stop freaking out or they’re going to swim away,’ Zack said.

  Elle fisted her hands and glared, but since they were relaxed now the potential danger was over, she aimed her anger at Gem and Milo then stormed away out of sight.

  ‘I suppose I should give you this back now,’ Zack said, pulling something out of his back pocket.

  Not something. The missing part of her bikini! She snatched it out of his hand. ‘That was mean.’

  His grin was wicked. ‘I’d say I more than made up for it.’

  Her cheeks flared again, but the heat spread to other parts too. She tied the bikini on then went in for a quick kiss. ‘You did. But I don’t think we both finished.’

  He laughed a little. ‘I think the dolphins are a bit young to see that.’ More seriously, he added, ‘And we don’t have any protection. Later, I promise.’

  What a thing to forget! Still, he hadn’t finished. And she was on the mini pill to regulate her periods so the risk was minimal. ‘I’ll hold you to that.’

  ***

  After swimming with the dolphins they’d gone back to the boat in time for lunch. Drying off in the sun next to Zack was the perfect way to spend a lazy afternoon as far as she was concerned. As they all listened to Elle and her cousin try to top each other with the most embarrassing stories, Ciara felt at peace, like that antsy need to get up and do something had completely deserted her.

  She couldn’t hold out hope that it would last. The restlessness was buried too deep inside. She’d even debated with Gem that it could be hereditary and her friend, though not quite an expert in the gene field, had been swayed a little by that argument.

  But now she could pretend for a while that she was different and being held by Zack certainly helped. This close to him she almost felt normal. Like a woman experiencing what it was like to be happy, carefree and without a tenth of the worries she had.

  Until Elle went and ruined it.

  ‘Zack, did you manage to book a seat on our flight?’ Elle asked.

  Since Ciara was leaning on his chest, she could feel every muscle go rigid. Oh God, he wasn’t coming and now Elle was going to make him say it and ruin her perfect day.

  ‘I’ve got a meeting in Munich first,’ he said.

  She didn’t understand why the vein at the side of Elle’s head became pronounced like it did when she was mad, or why her friend’s eyes became icy cold chips that looked sharp enough to cut through leather.

  ‘You’re. Going. To. Munich?’

  Okay, mad was an understatement. Elle was using her livid-disbelief tone.

  She looked to Gem for some kind of hint at why that was a bad thing, but Gem just shrugged.

  ‘Careful, Elle. I’m not in the mood. We have a meeting there with one of the buyers.’ Zack didn’t sound so pleased either, but when she tried to pull away so she could turn round and see him, he held her so close she struggled to breathe.

  ‘We?’ Elle asked through clenched teeth.

  ‘I’m going with Granddad. After that I’ll be straight on a plane to Ibiza,’ he said.

  She relaxed back into him, closing her eyes with relief. Elle was probably pissed that she was missing out on some deal, even though for a second she’d been worried it might have more to do with the things Zack refused to tell her. Again, not her problem and definitely not worth worrying about after a day like today.

  ‘I’ll miss you,’ she said, linking her fingers through his.

  He turned her around and his easy smile knocked the breath out of her. ‘You too. Make sure my cousin doesn’t get you into any more trouble.’

  ‘I thought you were only going to be gone for a day?’ Elle bitched.

  His eyes tightened a little. ‘I will.’

  She couldn’t be sure whether it was the sibling rivalry these two seemed to have acquired over the years or something else, but she wasn’t going to dwell on it since now she knew for sure she’d see him again.

  Instead she kissed him like they were alone and thanked her lucky stars that this part of her holiday didn’t have to end just yet.

  Ibiza

  Chapter Fifteen

  Since they only had four full days in what Gem called the clubbing capitol of the world, they didn’t waste time unpacking and hit the shops the second their bags were dumped on the hotel room floor.

  As they sauntered along the little market stalls looking at tack and skimpy swimwear, Elle was unusually chatty, probably because Gem had been glum since Milo bent her over in the airport and kissed her with movie-esque finesse.

  ‘Is it just me or do you feel like we’re slumming it in that hotel?’ Elle asked.

  Gem shrugged.

  ‘It’s five star, Elle. What more do you need?’ Ciara asked.

  It wasn’t quite the Muir style of living the girls were used to on this trip, but it was hardly the pokey rooms Ciara had to share with her family when they’d travelled abroad. They were in the penthouse apartment of the fanciest hotel in Ibiza.

  As well as having separate ensuite rooms, there was a living room, dining room and even a spa room.

  ‘It’s no Santorini beach house,’ Gem said on a sigh.

  ‘Gem, snap out of it. Remember we’re going to Amnesia tonight! Dave Call will be there,’ Elle said.

  Ciara didn’t even know who the DJ was until Elle got to reception and asked who was playing in the clubs that night. Apparently he was famous – despite the ridiculous name. And according to Gem, he was gorgeous. Still, that didn’t seem to snap her out of the Milo withdrawals.

  Since Ciara missed Zack just as much, she could sympathise completely.

  ‘It’s not like we’d get within a hundred feet of him, he’ll have security,’ Gem said, and Ciara had to bite her lip before she asked if her friend knew that through her stalker experience. This so wasn’t time for teasing.

  Elle frowned. ‘Where did my friend go? I want the girl back who strutted into a celebrity party and chatted up a movie star without blinking an eye.’

  ‘She’s heartbroken.’ Gem even stopped to cup her hands over the organ in question.

  Elle pffd. ‘You’d think someone who studied the human body would know how impossible that is.’

  ‘Actually, it’s quite possible for a heart to break. It’s what keeps heart surgeons in a job,’ Gem retorted, but Ciara had hope it was a good thing since her friend had some of her spunk back.

  ‘Honey, if anyone is going to be heartbroken it will be the man you left behind. You’re resilient and officially on the rebound. Over here.’ Elle grabbed Gem’s arm and dragged her over to a stall.

  ‘He’s probably over me already,’ Gem grumbled.

  ‘Unlikely,’ Ciara said, trailing behind. ‘You teased me for having a resilient vag but yours must have held up its own.’

  Elle wrinkled her nose, but recovered quick. ‘Not to mention all the spa treatments and facials he had with us. I’ll bet he misses us more than you miss him.’

  That made Gem smile. ‘You’re right.’

  True to form, the idea that she was pined over snapped Gem right out of her funk.

  ‘I’m always right,’ Elle said, then pulled a dark blue sundress off the rail of the stall. ‘And I’m going to be right once more saying this is the dress that’s going to get you laid tonight.’


  She held out the material to Gem, whose eyes got all wide and excited. ‘It’s perfect!’

  It really was, and would look great with her new sunglow and fire red hair.

  A golden scrap of a bikini hanging above the owner of the stall caught Ciara’s eye. It was daring, but all the wild sex and walking for miles in the last week meant even her white linen trousers were hanging off her. The croissants were a distant memory. For the first time in a long time she was toned and her stomach was completely flat. If there was ever a time to pull something like that off it was now.

  ‘Can I see that?’ she asked the woman behind the counter, pointing to the bikini.

  ‘And you were wondering where I went? I think it’s Ciara we should be worried about,’ Gem said.

  She turned to stick her tongue out at them while the woman brought the bikini over.

  Elle’s eyes were shiny and her smile was proud as punch. ‘Our baby’s all grown up.’

  ‘Eejits,’ Ciara mumbled and took the offered bikini from the woman. It would never cover all her lady bits fully, but thankfully the bikini wax was one of the treatments she’d subjected herself to in Santorini.

  And when she saw it was a measly thirty Euros, she decided there and then that it was going to be hers.

  ‘I’ll take it,’ she told the woman, digging into her bag for her purse.

  ‘And I’ll take this!’ Gem said, slapping the dress down on the counter and pulling out her Amex.

  The woman shook her head at the card and Gem pouted. ‘Everywhere takes Amex.’

  ‘I don’t think that applies to stuff you buy at markets, Gem,’ Ciara said, pulling some notes out to cover both purchases. ‘It’s okay, I’ve got it.’

  ‘I love you, Ciara!’ Gem said, hugging her so hard her boobs got squished against Gem’s. ‘Maybe even in a gay way.’

  ‘Ew,’ Ciara said, pushing her away with a laugh. ‘I like the dicks too much to turn, even for you.’

  ‘Yeah me too,’ Gem said, then sighed. ‘I think I need to concentrate on finding a replacement for Milo.’

  ‘Well I’m not playing the fifth wheel again so I guess I’m on the lookout too,’ Elle said from the other side of the rack. ‘What do you think about this?’