Sunburnt

by Joey Jameson

  Tulip and Del Rey gave each other a look and started to move.

  “Well we’re gonna hit up Bora Bora down the beach for some drinks, you wanna come with?” Tulip interjected, standing and draping her tiny frame in a hooded beach wrap.

  “Uhh, actually, I think I’ll just chill here a bit longer. You staying?” He motioned to Bambi, who nodded in response.

  “Right, you lot have fun then. We’re going to get drinks.”

  “And maybe some blokes!” Tulip joked.

  “Don’t even think about bringing any randoms back, ladies. Remember we have dinner reservations at nine,” Bambi scolded.

  “Hey, if no one else around here is interested in getting some, then I might as well. We’re on holiday, aren’t we?” Tulip said.

  They all blew air kisses to each other before Tulip and Del Rey scuttled away down the beach.

  As soon as they were out of earshot, Bambi turned to Lenox, lowering her sunglasses so she could stare him straight in the eye. Lenox did a double take upon feeling her sensors taking him down before lowering his own shades to meet her gaze.

  “Penny for your thoughts, Mister Winter?” she asked coquettishly.

  “Whatever do you mean, Miss Von Dutch?” He toyed with her.

  “Don’t feign innocence with me, Lenox. What’s on your mind? You okay?”

  Lenox glanced away for a moment and pretended to look for something further down the beach.

  Bubbles seemed to sense the tension in the air and sat up abruptly to better take in the situation. “What’d I miss?”

  “Lenox is about to reveal a secret, I can tell!”

  “You’re so wrong, I’m afraid. Nothing much to tell…”

  “Nothing much? So, you admit, there is something!”

  “Hardly…” He looked away to avoid the girls’ penetrative stares.

  “Come on, Lenox, what is it?” Bubbles asked, getting in on the game.

  Lenox took another moment before sighing heavily. “Oh, fuck it. This morning. On the beach…”

  “You went to the beach this morning?” Bambi interrupted.

  “Not the point of the story!”

  “Sorry. Continue.”

  “So, I went to the beach as the sun was coming up—”

  “Oh, my God, we’re getting so old!” Bubbles exclaimed, once again halting Lenox’s story in its tracks. “Remember the good old days when we would still be out when the sun was coming up?”

  Lenox didn’t respond. Neither did Bambi. Instead, they just stared at her from over the rims of their sunglasses.

  “Sorry. Did it again. Please, go on…”

  “Anyways. There’s not much to tell.” Lenox shrugged. “But when I was walking…I saw this guy…”

  “Ooh, really? What’s his name?” Bambi asked quickly.

  “Was he cute?” Bubbles jumped in again.

  “What’s he look like?” Bambi said.

  “Well, I don’t…I mean, I didn’t…”

  “Didn’t what? Is he staying close by?” Bambi shot back quickly.

  “I don’t know…”

  “What do you mean you don’t know? What did you say to him?”

  The questions were coming quickly now, like wild fire; faster than he could muster up his pathetic response.

  “Actually, I didn’t say…Anything…”

  “What? Why not?”

  “I…I don’t know. I just, kept on walking…”

  The girls were finally quiet as they took in Lenox’s inherent shyness and the sad reality of the situation.

  “Oh,” Bambi said, a full stop quite apparent in her tone.

  Lenox studied their faces and saw the two girls make eye contact quickly and sheepishly. “What? Oh, go on, say it.”

  There was another silent exchange between the girls before Bambi opened her mouth to speak.

  “I think I speak for both Bubbles and I when I say ‘typical Lenox’…”

  “Typical Lenox? What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means that chickening out in the presence of a good-looking guy is typically you!”

  “I don’t chicken out in front of guys…”

  This time both ladies shot him a double dose of a look that said really?

  “Well, I don’t do it often…And who are you both to talk?” He gestured towards them both in a less-than-subtle way to redirect the topic of conversation away from himself.

  “No, no, no, don’t even try to deflect,” Bambi countered, shaking a finger in his direction.

  “Well, you must at least remember something about what he looked like?” Bubbles said, gently coming to his rescue.

  Lenox looked out to sea for a moment as he thought of how best to describe the man from earlier.

  “Well, he had these beautiful, long blond dreads—”

  “Dreadlocks?” Bubbles shot back.

  “Really, Lenox? Dreads? Since when do you like dreads on a guy?”

  “Right. I knew I should have kept my mouth shut. Never mind. Forget I said anything.”

  Lenox stood up abruptly and brushed the sand off his shorts before grabbing his towel to leave.

  “Lenox, come on. We’re just teasing you. Really. Sit down and tell us more about your dreaded friend,” Bambi joked, high-fiving Bubbles without diverting her gaze from Lenox.

  “Yeah, don’t be such a prissy pants. Sit, tell us more.”

  But Lenox had made up his mind. And as much as it was a tad on the dramatic side, his sudden self-awareness and vulnerability had given him cause to leave.

  “I’m gonna go. I’ll catch you both back at the villa.”

  “Lenox, don’t. Come on, we’re just joking.”

  “It’s all good. I’ll see you later.”

  He grabbed his flip-flops and turned to go.

  Chapter Six

  THEN

  Lenox was in a funk for the rest of the afternoon. After he deserted Bambi and Bubbles, he found himself walking down the same stretch of beach as that morning in the hope of locating his now officially missing phone. But also in the hope of spotting the music guy again. A vain sense of optimism tickled his insides as he searched the throngs of people gathered around umbrellas. He inwardly scolded himself when disappointment flooded through him as he realised there was no “mystery man” to be seen. And no phone. He sighed but made a mental plan to give it at least another day before going online and reporting his handset as missing. He’d be phone-free for the rest of the holiday, which was inconvenient to say the least, but would get a replacement, and perhaps a well-needed upgrade, when he got back to the UK.

  After a quick swim on the less-crowded Figueretas beach, he returned to the villa to have a nap and get himself ready for dinner with the girls.

  Their reservation was at Las Dos Lunas, one of the island’s swankiest and most iconic restaurants near San Rafael. Lenox remembered visiting with his parents when he was younger and sitting opposite who he would learn to be Mick Jagger, only one of the many celebrities who visited the posh establishment on a regular basis.

  Tonight’s crowd was a mixture of posh Ibiza locals and bohemian beauties, draped in colourful layers of sheer fabric and jewels that caught the vibrant overhead lights of the restaurant, casting glittery shadows on the walls. But as much as the patrons themselves rivalled the glitterati of London, the ambience and vibe within was true Ibizan, laid-back couture. The hushed tones of the diners were blanketed by the deep house music grooves that came from the DJ booth at the front of the room, creating a melodic atmosphere that complemented the decor beautifully.

  As Lenox and his friends dined on small plates of chargrilled eggplant, gratin of mussels, and gnocchi gorgonzola, and drank bottle after bottle of Campillo and Marqués de Arienzo, their conversation flowed just as easily. There was no denying how busy their lives had become as of late; juggling working late nights with early morning classes, so for them to get together outside of the club and on their own terms was a rare occurrence.

 
Being outside London was a chance to soak up what the rest of the world had to offer. Sometimes, living in the belly of England’s capital city caused Lenox to feel claustrophobic and stifled by the fast pace and constant influx of information and sensory overload. Ibiza provided the antithesis to his daily routine and was the perfect medicine that he gladly would drink by the bottle if he could.

  At some point, Lenox became aware that the wait staff had begun to tidy up, moving chairs around him and his friends. They were the last remaining patrons of the evening, and this was an obvious attempt to signal to them that it was well beyond last call.

  A quick glance at his watch showed it was indeed after one-thirty in the morning.

  “Shit, guys, where did the time go?” Lenox said.

  “Why, what time is it?” Bambi asked.

  “Gone half one,”

  “What? Really? But we’re just getting started!” Del Rey whined.

  A man dressed in the seemingly universal wait staff attire of white shirt and black trousers came over and signalled with his head towards the front of the restaurant.

  “Los taxis están al frente,” he whispered under his breath.

  Lenox had taken A Level Spanish before he left school and remembered enough to know that the waiter had just said that the cabs were out front.

  The girls looked at Lenox for a bit of help as their expressions told him they were lost in translation.

  “He’s basically telling us to get the fuck out!” Lenox joked, downing the remaining wine in his tall glass.

  “Right, finish up, ladies!” Bambi ordered, ever the group organiser.

  “Where to now then, kids?” Tulip asked, wrapping her leopard-print half-wrap around her otherwise bare shoulders.

  “We’re fairly close to Amnesia,” Bubbles said hopefully.

  “I’m not sure I’m up for a club night tonight…” Lenox countered.

  “Whaaat? Why not?” Bubbles whined.

  “How’s about we keep this party going down on the beach?” Lenox threw the suggestion out there, his eyes searching their reactions. “Maybe grab a couple bottles of fizz from the all-night shop, then drinks on the beach…And take the rest of the night from there?”

  The girls exchanged silent glances as the wait staff busied themselves around the empty tables.

  “I promise it’ll be fun.”

  Lenox was all wide eyes and cheeky smiles, putting on his best puppy dog face in a last-ditch attempt to get what he wanted.

  As much as he was trying to hide it from the group, he hadn’t been able to get the sexy, ukulele-strumming guy from the beach out of his head all day. Secretly, a part of him hoped that he might run into him again. But even as he waited for his friends to respond to his lame attempt to deter them from a club night, he realised how ridiculous he was being. Despite the small size of the island, the chances of his running into someone he’d only glanced from afar once, at the start of tourist season on the party island capital of the world, were slim to none.

  Chapter Seven

  THEN

  Despite the girls’ initial hesitation to go along with Lenox’s suggestion of bubbles on the beach, within the hour they had freshened up, grabbed a couple of blankets from the villa to sit on and stocked up on four bottles of Spanish Cava from their local shop.

  Giggling and talking at a volume that was attracting disapproving stares from others out for romantic, late-night strolls along the beach, they made their way towards the water’s edge. Lenox couldn’t help but scan the shadowed faces along the beach, but as far as he could tell, there were no signs of any dreadlocks in sight.

  As the bottles were popped and the sound of trickling alcohol being tipped into tall flutes hit his ears, Lenox’s distracted glances caught Bambi’s eye.

  “What?” he asked sheepishly, knowing she could see right through his innocent facade.

  “Looking for someone?” she countered.

  “What do you mean?”

  But Bambi only smiled coquettishly and nodded, her eyes narrowing as she took a spot on the blanket.

  The air was refreshing and cool, with a gentle salty breeze coming off the ocean that caressed their hot skin but left a gritty film in its wake. Lenox shivered despite himself before Del Rey’s smoky voice interrupted his thoughts.

  “Hey chief, you coming in for a landing?”

  Lenox turned away from the sea for a moment to greet her questioning glance before being drawn back towards the sound of someone surfacing from the water just off to his left.

  It took a moment for his alcohol-induced double vision to focus enough to see the body climbing out of the sea, and a moment further to register the familiarity of the shape. Something inside him sparked as if a flint had just lit a pile of dried leaves, causing flames to jump and lick the air around them, his body coming to life as he lit up from inside.

  He noticed the blond dreads first, then the incredibly toned arms and chest. The moon from above made the water glisten as it ran south over the man’s round pectoral muscles. The rushing waves made it seem like he was moving in slow motion as his thick calves fought against the tide, his stride strong as he lifted his knees high in the air to reach the shore. He gave his head a shake from side to side, ridding his dreadlocks of excess water, before he reached up and ran both hands through them, lifting their length from his shoulders before letting them cascade down his back. His solid biceps flexed with the motion before he ran his hands over his frame, wiping droplets of water from his chest and lifting the material of his hot pink swimming trunks that had suctioned itself to his legs.

  Lenox could do nothing but gape at the sight as his heart raced with excitement and the butterflies recommitted to their rhythmic beating in his stomach.

  It took a moment for the others to turn their attention back to their statue-like comrade, stood erect on the spot, apparently entranced by something in the water. Tulip was the first to take notice.

  “Mate, what you on about? You joining us or what?”

  “What are you looking at, Lenox?” Del Rey added, her eyes following his deadpan gaze towards the water’s edge.

  “Yeah, what are you…?” Bubbles started before taking immediate notice and stopping herself in her tracks.

  The group erupted into a fit of schoolgirl giggles as they too noticed the beautifully tanned, blond Adonis emerging from the water. Lenox felt like he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He turned to them and sunk to the blanket, eyes wide and face full of embarrassment as he shushed them quickly in hopes that the man wouldn’t spot them.

  “Oh. My. God!” Bambi declared, much louder than Lenox would have liked. “Is that who I think it is?”

  “Shhh!”

  “No! Really? Mm-hmm! That boy is fiiiine. Now I see why you wanted to come down to the beach.”

  “Oh my God, shut up! He’ll hear you!”

  “Wait a minute, is that the bloke from this morning?” Bubbles asked, forever slow on the uptake.

  “Hey, hot stuff, nice abs!” Tulip shouted at the stranger, sounding like a construction worker hollering at a pretty girl on the street.

  Lenox averted his gaze from the nightmare playing out in front of him and wished silently he could bury his face in the sand.

  “I hate you all!” he whispered through gritted teeth.

  “It’s okay, Lenox. He’s gone. Don’t worry,” Tulip said.

  Relieved, Lenox lifted his head to look in the direction from where he’d spotted his mystery man.

  “Psyche!” Tulip teased before erupting into an evil cackle as Lenox realised Tulip’s lie.

  Lenox dared steal a glance back to the guy who was now wiping himself down, a grin playing with the corners of his mouth as he listened to the teasing and heckling happening to his left. He lifted his head and made eye contact with Lenox for the first time since the previous morning.

  The effect was electric.

  Despite his utter embarrassment, Lenox couldn’t look away. He wasn’t
sure if he was returning the sly smile directed his way, or staring dumbfounded into space. But whatever vibe he let off it was working, for after a few seconds he realised that the heckling and laughter had died down and the man was coming his way.

  The girls were shushing themselves as they saw this beautiful blond, dreaded, muscular fellow slowly making his way towards their little group, towel and shirt in hand.

  The girls’ lapse into a sudden, deafening silence meant the stranger must be having the same effect on them as he had on Lenox himself. They all admired the sight of the broad-shouldered and lithely toned frame coming in their direction; each muscle in his body working and flexing as he walked bare-footed through the sand. He shook his head once more, his long hair whipping across his face as he shook his dreads free of their watery weight.

  Lenox stilled himself as his mind went completely blank, searching for something to say as the reality of the situation hit him hard, sobering him up. He swallowed his nerves as he found himself face-to-face with the man who had been playing on his mind every second of the day since he’d first laid eyes on him.

  There was a pause as the man’s eyes washed over Lenox, taking in the sight of his taut body through the thin, white, low-cut vest which hugged his full pecs and tight abs perfectly.

  “Esperaba verte de nuevo!”

  The stranger’s voice was equal parts melodic and rough, like the soft, raspy tone of a rock star after a two-hour gig. The Spanish words caught Lenox off guard as they didn’t match the way he envisioned them sounding in his head. The accent didn’t appear to be local, but it certainly wasn’t English.

  Through his Cava haze he searched fruitlessly for the meaning of the sentence.

  “I’m sorry, what’s that?” Lenox asked, deciding he was far too drunk to attempt a Spanish response.

  “Oh, apologies,” the man responded, placing his hand on his chest in a forgiving gesture “I’m not sure why I assumed you were Spanish. Excuse me.”

  The girls, as well as Lenox, were silenced by his chivalrousness. They sat there wide-eyed and disbelieving as if they hadn’t been convinced that Lenox’s vision from this morning actually existed.