Fun In The Sun Chapter 1

Editing to the second half of this chapter when Nick arrives.

Sal peered into the bathroom mirror and patted some more powder foundation onto her nose and cheeks to cover up the sprinkling of freckles that had always frustrated her so much. She put down the powder puff and picked up her mascara, applying a thick coating of the dark substance which made her lashes look longer and her eyes more piercing. She had always considered her eyes to be one of her most appealing features. They were such an unusual shade. Although they were predominantly indigo, flashes of green could be seen in them at times, depending on her mood. She stood back to assess the results of her labour.

“Sally Fitzroy-Smith, airport supervisor on the sunny island of Crete, almost ready for duty,” she said to her reflection. She turned to glance out of the window briefly and then shrugged, swinging her head back to the mirror. “Sunny day, nothing different there. Would love to go to the beach right now but alas, needed at airport shortly for touristic commitments. Time,” she looked at her watch, “twelve fifteen, day...oh hell! Twelve fifteen! I’m late!”

Grabbing her hairbrush from off the sink, she dashed for the door, pausing very briefly to shout to the mirror, “Still waiting for my Mr Mind-Shattering guy by the way!”

In the bedroom, she threw on her airport clothes as quickly as she possibly could and ran a brush through her shiny, auburn hair. When she had begun the summer season as airport supervisor that year, she had decided to adopt a more classy, sophisticated look to fit the part, and she considered her new hair cut to be an addition to her transformation. She liked the fashionable bob that she now wore and it suited her lively, outgoing personality. She quickly surveyed the finished results: her smart, figure hugging, navy blue skirt, pale green blouse, which accentuated the colour in her eyes, her high heeled stiletto shoes and the blue and green neck tie which she hated wearing but which made her look the part all the same. Although her clothes, shoes and makeup all epitomised the classic airport staff, her freckles, eyes and hair betrayed the true Sal. She was anything but run of the mill. Sal was different, fun, and often quirky, but most of all, Sal was unique.

“Hmm, not bad,” she said to herself, backing away from the mirror but pausing for thought before she left the room. “Hold on, you may be starting to look too much like one of them.” She pointed a chastising finger at herself in the mirror. “Tonight you are putting on the most outrageously sexy little dress and going wild in town.” Narrowing her eyes at her new, reserved looking reflection, she chuckled and stuck out her tongue to herself before grabbing her handbag and leaving for the airport.

Outside of her apartment, Sal jumped into her bright yellow Cinquecento which was parked by the curb and turned the key in the ignition. The car shuddered for a moment and then fell silent.
“Oh no! Please, not now Bobby. Come on, work for me please!” she begged, stroking the steering wheel for a while before starting up the car again.

There were a few heart stopping moments when she thought that it was going to refuse to start, before it hummed into life and she breathed a sigh of relief, pulling out into the road.

She had spent the remainder of her savings at the end of last summer on the car, but now that she had been promoted, on several occasions she had contemplated trading the car in for a more reliable model. Every time she thought about giving up her beloved Bobby however, she pictured it being mangled and squashed into a metal cube and so the car had remained in her possession, and she had resigned herself to cajoling it to start up every morning.

Finally, Sal was able to turn onto the main highway which ran alongside the east coast of the island to Heraklion airport, at which point she put her foot to the floor. Reaching into her glovebox, she pulled out a CD and slotted it into the CD player, turning the volume up full blast as she sped around the bends in the road which was cut into the mountainside.

She made it to the outskirts of Heraklion in record time but was dismayed as she approached the airport to find that the road slowly became more and more congested, forcing her to slow the car down. She spent a frustrating ten minutes crawling towards the airport until eventually the road widened and split into several lanes, allowing more traffic to move past the busy town centre.

At the last set of traffic lights before she could turn into the airport, Sal stopped, waiting for the lights to turn green and glancing out of the window at the car next to her. Her eyes immediately came into direct contact with a cheeky pair of chocolate ones as the man in the adjacent car grinned and winked at her. She did a double take and laughed, blowing him a kiss and speeding off suddenly when the lights changed.

“See ya later sexy Greek guy!” she shouted out of the window as she passed him.

At the airport, she faced a buzz of activity by the outside desk as the reps crowded around Adam, the company manager who had been organising the coaches and transfers of the guests since early that morning.

“Sal, thank God! Sort this lot out for me will you? I have to go now. I said I’d meet Fay and she’ll think I’ve forgotten her,” Adam appealed to Sal.

“No problem, but I thought this lot would have left on the coaches before now. Hasn’t the Gatwick flight landed yet?” she asked in confusion.

“Afraid not, there’s a delay but you can get more details from the handler’s office inside. Good luck,” he said, leaving the situation in her capable hands.

Adam had been surprised at how quickly Sal had got to grips with the airport work, and when Fay had suggested that he promote her best friend to airport supervisor, he had decided to give it a go. Sal hadn’t let him down and it had given him more time to spend with the new love of his life, Fay.

Sal delegated work out to the reps that were standing around the desk and disappeared into the airport, heading for the office upstairs to find out more details about the delayed flight.

xxx

Nick Elliot stepped onto the runway into the blazing Cretan sunshine and gave a whoop of delight.

Back at last! He loved this place.

As he boarded the shuttle bus, he took out is mobile phone to send a message to Jen, his girlfriend back in London who was going to join him at the end of the week.

“I’m here and it feels great! You had better hurry up and get here or I’ll find someone else to enjoy the sunshine with!” he texted, laughing light-heartedly but suddenly pausing after reading the message for a second time.

Oh damn, she had been so moody lately, he’d better change that last part.

He looked down at his phone, wondering what to put instead.

To hell with it!

He deleted the whole message and decided to text her later.

As the bus jolted its passengers in its journey across the runway, Nick wondered if Adam would give him another job that year. Yeah, he probably would. He wasn’t half bad for a posh, executive, business guy type! He could see if Adam could tear himself away from Fay for a bit to watch the football that night in The Wheelhouse. He could even make it into a guy’s night out. Yeah, he could do with a good night out. Well, even if Adam couldn’t make it, Sal was always up for a fun night on the town. Then it hit him, he didn’t even know for sure that she would still be there. She’d better still be there! He should have kept in touch with her really, it’s just that...

Nick gave some thought as to why he hadn’t contacted Sal over the winter that he had spent in London. If he was honest with himself, Sal had begun to linger in his thoughts a little too much for his liking at the end of the last season, and when Sal did that, Nick’s frustration levels headed to unbearable heights. It’s not like it was his fault. She just had that effect on him, and goodness knows he’d tried to ignore it. But it wasn’t that easy, and so he had decided to put some distance between them, uncertain at the time if he would return to Crete at all. I mean, they were friends, nothing more, and he wasn’t a sadist! How much sexual frustration was one guy expected to take? But he hadn’t counted on missing his life there so much. He had missed the town, the people he had met, his friends, and also, he had to admit it, Sal.

Flashing his passport at the customs officer, he retrieved his luggage after a long, frustrating wait and entered the busy airport building.

Right, he needed to see if he could hop on a transfer bus back to Agios Nikolaos. He really needed to sort out a motor bike rental as soon as he could too. He couldn’t wait to hit the open roads on a bike again! Damn, he needed to get some money together first though. Perhaps he would see if he could get some transfer work while he was at the desks. The sooner he got work, the sooner he could get himself that bike.

Outside the main building, he scanned the line of booths for number eight transfer desk where he was hoping to see Adam. Unfortunately, there was no sign of Adam, but desk number eight was surprisingly busy and crowded with reps.

Damn, Adam must have been doing well that year. He’d taken on enough staff anyway.

At the desk, Nick asked one of the girls if she knew where the boss was. The girl looked at him with a horrified expression and stuttered and stammered before nervously admitting that it was her first day at work and pointing him in the direction of another rep.

You’d have thought he had two heads or something the way she’d jumped and looked at him. Maybe he was losing his touch with women; he seemed to be scaring them off!

He tapped another rep on the shoulder and asked once more for the boss. The girl glanced up and registered the floppy, blond hair and mischievous blue eyes, not to mention an incredibly hot body! She smiled after unashamedly mentally undressing him.

Ah, that was better. He must still have what it takes!

"She's in the handler's office upstairs inside," the girl informed him.

So, Adam had employed a new supervisor, and a woman too. Not that he had anything against working for a woman, it’s just that he would have quite liked that job himself. Never mind, time to go meet this new woman supervisor and persuade her to give him a job.

Fun In The Sun Chapter 2

Some editing in the middle
 

Nick left his suitcase outside the office door and peered into the room. His eyes widened at what he saw. A woman with her back to him, bending over the desk and jotting something down onto a piece of paper. The tight skirt she was wearing clung invitingly to her figure and revealed a shapely pair of tanned legs beneath it.

Mmmm, he may forgive Adam after all for employing her. What a sexy lady!

His jaw dropped in shock however when the woman stood up and turned slightly to speak to a man sitting at the other end of the room.

“So, do you think it will be delayed any more than this now? Or has the plane left the UK already?”

“Sal?” Nick said in amazement. “Is that you?”

Sal swung around to see Nick leaning against the doorframe, his face a picture of shocked surprise.

“Nick!” she squealed in astonishment, and then grinned. “I don’t believe it. You’re back!”

“You look completely different, Sal. You look fantastic!” he said, running his eyes over her.

She frowned. “Only just got back and already you’re insulting me! I must have looked bloody awful before then,” she said, placing her hands on her hips.

“Just as much of a drama queen as ever. Come here you crazy woman,” he replied, holding out his arms.

She tutted, but couldn’t hold back the excitement as she ran to him, jumping into his arms with a squeal of delight.

“I can’t believe you’re back!” she laughed as he spun her around, taking advantage of the feel of ‘Sal curves’ pressed tightly against him. He just couldn’t help it.

“Yep,” he put her down before his hormones started to soar, taking a closer look at her. “I like the new hairstyle, very sexy Sal. It suits you.” He smiled. “However...”

She was still reeling from his complements, but nevertheless, she knew him well enough to know some teasing would follow.

“It’s not working you know,” he said.

“What’s not working ?” she asked in confusion.

“Your attempts to cover up these,” he grinned, gesturing to the freckles on her face.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I don’t know what you mean.”

He chuckled. “Sure. You can’t fool me you know, Sal. I know you too well. You may have poshed yourself up but you’re still the same old Sal underneath.”

She huffed, a pretence of offence, and moved back to the desk to the sound of his amused laugh.

“Want some advice?” he asked.

She collected a pile of papers together off the desk and glanced over her shoulder at him. “No, but I’m sure that you’re going to give me some anyway.”

“Leave the freckles alone, they look cute,” he smiled.

She sighed and smiled back at him, some of her initial enthusiasm fading though as she dropped the papers back onto the desk. She really was glad to see him again, but some small voice in the back of her head was asking why he hadn’t kept in contact as he’d promised he would. “So, how did you know that I’d be up here?” she asked.

“I didn’t, it was a complete surprise. Came looking for the supervisor to ask for some transfer work and found you in the job.”

She grinned, a flicker of a challenge glinting in her eyes. Picking up a clipboard from off the desk, she leant over slightly to begin to slipping some of the papers under the clip.

“Yep, started last month as airport supervisor for Adam,” she replied casually.

“I’m impressed,” he said, watching her.

She glanced up at him.

A smile tugged at his mouth as he contemplated her with interest, his arms folded across his chest as his eyes flitted over the sight of this new looking Sal before him. New but the same...familiar, but even more....even more what? He had to focus.

Returning his eyes to her face, his heart quickened for a moment from what he saw. For a second he sensed something that he hadn’t sensed before with her. He’d always wanted to. He’d looked for some sort of sign before...any sign. But the look on her face then, something in her eyes, seemed to intensify for an instant. And then it was gone. Maybe it had just been wishful thinking on his part?

She stood upright suddenly as if having remembered something and snatched up her bag which had been hanging on the back of a chair. Rifling through it momentarily, she proceeded to pull out her mobile phone. “Hold on a sec.” she said.

Dialling a number, she waited impatiently for someone to pick up.

“There you are! Listen,” she began, turning away from Nick to continue her conversation on the phone, “the plane isn’t due in for at least another hour, so if things are sorted out down there, you can tell the girls to go for a break...but make sure that you are all back in forty five minutes at the latest,” she added firmly, hanging up and turning back decisively to face Nick. The phone call had been enough time for her to formulate her plan. With Nick, she had to think quickly.

“So Nicholas, you’d like a job with us, would you?” she said formally.

He shook his head at her. She was up to something.

She reached towards the desk again and picked up a pen.

“Yes please Miss,” he came back politely, his inquisitive eyes following her movements. These games they always played...they were, they were... actually, they were quite fun!

“Hmmm,” she pretended to look thoughtful, chewing on the end of the pen. “We may have a vacancy. And you’re in luck...” she said, pointing the pen at him.

His face lit up. He could picture the bike he was going to get with his wages.

“I just have enough time to conduct an interview for the position,” she finished, grinning at the way his expression changed.

Ooooh, she was a cheeky one! They had always been equals and she knew it. Still, this new role as boss kind of suited her. It was even quite stimulating.

“Interview...of course,” he came back with a smile, calling her bluff. “Go ahead.”

She sat down behind the desk and gestured for him to take the empty seat opposite her. “Please, take a seat.”

He smiled politely and sat down.

Sorting through the paperwork on the desk, she found a suitable piece of paper and took a firmer grip on the pen, letting the nib hover above the paper.

“Name?” she asked, trying to keep a straight face.

“You know my name cheeky!” he replied incredulously.

She nodded and jotted something down.

“Age?” she grinned.

“Oh no you don’t! You don’t get to know my age. I’m youthful in outlook but experienced in all areas,” he said, leaving her to wonder how experienced and in what particular areas.

She looked impressed but continued the questioning. “References?”

He smiled slowly. “Well, as I recall, a certain transfer rep I used to know assured me that I was the best transfer rep in the world. I think that’s a good enough reference, don’t you?”

Not that she’d had any choice in the matter at the time. He’d tricked her!

She growled at him. “Hmm, I think that the said transfer rep must have been blackmailed into admitting that!”

He shook his head. “Not blackmailed, just honest enough to admit the truth.”

He was incorrigible!

She growled again and threw the pen at him. “Okay, okay Mr Smug, you can have the job!”

He ducked to avoid the missile and laughed. She laughed with him.

Fun In The Sun Chapter 3

Extra chapter

Nick watched Sal as she spoke to the ground services agent and coordinated the arrival of the Gatwick passengers. She really knew what she was doing in that role, and for one insane moment, Nick actually wondered if she knew more than him. Could he do that job? He’d always just assumed he could do any airport job since he had worked as an airport rep for so many years. But he’d never actually been a supervisor. Maybe he should have.
What was this? Was he feeling envious of Sal? Maybe not, more likely he was feeling envious of that service agent at that precise moment as Sal giggled while she squeezed past him, on the way from the table to the office door via the narrow gap between the agent and the desk.
“Sorry, I just need to get past,” she chuckled, gesturing to the door behind him. “Need to go sort out the reps before they run riot,” she joked.
The guy wasnt listening to a word she was saying, he was far too distracted by finding himself suddenly squeezed between the wall and a giggly Sal.
“Did she realize what effect her actions had on men?” Nick wondered. The weird thing was that he really thought she didn’t.
The guy made absolutely no effort to create more space for Sal to pass and just watched her shimmy past him with a grin.
He was enjoying the whole thing way too much.
“C’mon Sal,” Nick said, suddenly striding across the office in two quick steps to pull out the desk, widening the gap and grabbing Sal by the arm, swiftly moving her away from the agent and out of the door.
Sal glanced up at Nick as he took hold of his suitcase and they headed down the corridoor. “What’s wrong?” she asked, the flicker of a frown on her forehead.
Nick turned his head briefly. “Nothing. what d’ya mean?”
“You rushed us out of there a bit abruptly, didn’t you?” she replied.
He thought for a moment before answering casually, “Yeah, you’ve got to sort out those reps, remember Sal, before they run riot,” he quoted her.
Sal considered his comment with a small, uncertain smile before shrugging and turning to make her way down the stairs to the ground floor, but pausing after having second thoughts. She turned to glance back at Nick.
“Sorry,” she said, “we can use the lift if you like. I forgot you have luggage.”
“Nah, don’t worry about it,” he replied with a dismissive gesture, “I can carry it down.”
The t shirt he was wearing allowed Sal a glimpse of the muscles in his arm at her eye level which flexed as he picked up the heavy suitcase. She remembered from before how strong he could be. He enjoyed working out in the gym. It was nice to have a big, strong guy as a friend to look out for her. She smiled at the thought.
Nick followed Sal down the stairs, noticing that energetic bounce of hers as she walked, the trademark 'Sal walk' that he’d come to know so well. Everything about Sal was energetic and enthusiastic. He’d sort of forgotten that in the six months that they had not seen eachother over the winter. He’d been back in the bleak, cold and rainy reality of the UK, with people who were usually less than positive and enthusiastic. The weather seemed to seep it out of them.
But Sal was different... actually, when he thought about it, he’d never met anyone quite like Sal before. He could hardly believe that she was there, right in front of him again. Sort of the same but in a way, even more confident and even more.... he couldn’t stop his gaze from moving over that snugly fitted, navy blue skirt as she walked. She certainly had curves in all the right places, and her choice of clothes, even when they were part of a simple uniform, always seemed to accentuate them. From what he could remember though, that uniform she was wearing was nothing compared to some of the outfits she had worn when out on the town.
Oh hell, he had to stop this train of thought, to stop remembering all those sexy dresses she had worn and how he’d tried so hard not to notice.
He chuckled to himself.
Not notice, who was he kidding? That was impossible for any red-blooded male!
“What’s so funny?” a voice had cut into his thoughts.
His eyes collided with Sal’s as she turned inquisitively.
Had he actually laughed then audibly?
His answer became trapped in his throat, as he struggled guiltily to come up with a reply. He could hardly tell her what he had been thinking about!
She finally reached the end of the flight of stairs and turned to him for an answer.
His eyes did the last thing his common sense wanted them to do then and automatically dropped to assess the way that the lacy edge of her bra could just be seen from the ‘V’ of her shirt as she twisted around to face him.
“Oh, I was just...”
He dragged his wayward gaze back up again.
What the hell was wrong with him? This was getting worse than before. He’d have thought that six months apart would have dampened the sex appeal she exerted on him but, not at all, now it was ten times stronger!
She laughed. “Just what, Nick?”
“Just... thinking about...”
“Yes,” she prompted with amusement.
He busrt out laughing suddenly, completely at a loss for what to say.
She laughed with him but with a little bewilderment.
“Ah Sal,” he chuckled, throwing an arm around her shoulder as they both strode out though the sliding doors and into the sunshine. “Think I’m just glad to be back.”
She looked up at his face just above hers, her expression also alight with merriment. “I’d forgotten how strange you are, Nick Elliot,” she said, “But, nonetheless, I’m glad you’re back too,” she laughed.

 

Fun In The Sun Chapter 4

Outside the airport, the forecourt was coming alive again as both reps and tourists anticipated the arrival, and subsequent departure, of the delayed Gatwick flight.
"Tell you what, I'll order you a uniform tomorrow and you can start work next week Nick, if that's okay with you," Sal suggested as they headed for the company tour desk.
"Thanks, I need to save some cash as soon as I can. I can't wait to get myself a bike again," he enthused.
She smiled. "Of course. I kind of missed seeing you whizzing past on your bike. Are you going to get a really big, flashy one?"
He grinned down at her. "Would you like me to, Sal?"
She looked up at him with surprise. "It makes no difference to me. I just imagined you would go for one like that."
"Tell you what," he said, slipping his arm around her waist, "I'll get a really, big, flashy one just for you, Sal... as long as you promise to let me take you out on it for a ride," he added.
"What?" she laughed. "I'm not sure about that. Is it safe?"
"Of course," he answered, "I am the best motorbike rider in the universe."
"Really?" she replied suspiciously. "According to you, you are the best at everything."
"That's right," he replied, "Absolutely everything," he stressed with a grin.
She laughed out loud. "And so modest too."
Their smiles lingered on their faces for a while as they faced each other, lost in the fun of the moment for a second until Sal remembered that she needed to organize the reps.
"Ooops, I've got to go now Nick. The flight will be landing soon," she said suddenly, glancing at her watch.
"No problem," he replied, following her though as she turned and rushed towards the desk. "I just wanted to ask you one thing though, Sal," he went on. "It's a bit of a favour actually. Don't suppose I could get a lift back on a coach could I? A taxi is going to cost me a small fortune," he pointed out.
"Of course," she said over her shoulder. "Let me just sort out a few things first and then I'll organize it."
"Thanks Sal, you're a brick," he said, finally reaching the desk and dropping his heavy suitcase beside it.
"Okay, chop chop girls, plane's due to land any time now. You, you and you," Sal said pointing to three of the girls, "you three can meet and greet at the arrivals door and the rest of you can find the coaches for me."
The crowds of reps dispersed and went to their duties, leaving one girl standing by the desk looking lost and bewildered.
"Oh, hello," Sal smiled at her. "You must be new. Sally Fitzroy-Smith," she said, holding out her hand. The girl looked back blankly at Sal with terrified eyes. "And you are?" Sal prompted her.
"I'm here to do a transfer," the girl said in a small voice.
Sal's eyes swung to Nick's as he stood there smirking. He remembered speaking to that girl before when he was looking for the supervisor. She wasn't very helpful then.
"Yes, I had gathered that," Sal replied, dropping her hand that the girl had failed to shake, "but I was just wondering what your name was," she asked with a touch of impatience.
"Oh," the girl looked mortified. "My name is Freeda. My Dad is German," she added quickly, feeling that she should justify the name.
Nick chuckled to himself and Sal turned to him with a frown. He wasn't helping matters.
"Well Freeda, why don't you go to arrivals with the other girls and they'll show you how to greet the guests?" Sal suggested.
Freeda looked panic stricken and Sal pointed to the entrance doors, encouraging her to go.
"It's over there, don't worry."
Freeda left reluctantly and Nick burst into laughter as she went. "Good luck with her Sal!"
Sal groaned. "Do you really think she's capable of doing a transfer, Adam? What were you thinking?" she said to an invisible Adam.
"Err, Sal. I think you may have finally lost your mind. I'm Nick remember, not Adam," he teased.
"Shut up, silly, I wasn't talking to you," she came back. "Why don't you just go and sit over there somewhere until the coach is ready to leave," she suggested.
"Okay, okay! I get the message," he said over his shoulder as he moved away. "I know when I'm not wanted."
She rolled her eyes at him but smiled afterwards, she really was glad to see him again.
Several minutes later, the guests began to come trickling out of the arrivals door towards the desk and coaches. Sal directed the lost tourists to the correct coach numbers and filled in the forms for the people who had decided to make their own way to the hotels and apartments. Nick sat on a seat outside the airport, opposite desk eight, and watched Sal with amused interest.
Sal glanced at her watch and calculated that the next flight of guests from Manchester would be landing in ten minutes. She then had a difficult decision to make. Should she send the already half filled coaches from the Gatwick flight off to the resorts, or should she wait for the Manchester flight to land and finish filling the coaches with those passengers as well? It would be at least another fifteen minutes, maybe more, until the Manchester guests came out of the airport. Could she get away with making the Gatwick passengers wait? If so it would save Adam the extra expense of making the coaches return to the airport for a second time. As Sal stood there contemplating what to do next, one of the reps came running over to her from the coach park.
"Sal someone is sending the guests to the wrong coaches, it's chaos over there!" the girl said, trying to catch her breath.
Sal ran a hand through her hair. "Oh God, it's bound to be the new girl. Here, take this," she said, handing the rep a sheet of paper, "it shows you which coaches the guests should be on. Try to direct them as best you can and I'll go stop Freeda before she gets us all the sack!"
Sal grabbed her handbag and turned to run across the road to the arrivals doors but in her haste she failed to see the airport trolley behind her and stumbled on it, grasping the handle to steady herself. She grimaced and pulled herself up quickly, looking around her to see if anyone had noticed. Nick watched her and chuckled to himself before straightening his face and turning away when Sal noticed that he had seen her stumble. She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously and strolled towards the airport, past the chair he was sitting on. He looked up at her with a grin.
Did he have to watch her every move like that?
"Did you have a nice trip?" he called after her, laughing loudly.
She ignored him and disappeared behind the crowds of tourists, giggling to herself once out of Nick's sight.
"Ahh, there goes the entertainment," Nick thought to himself when she'd gone.
Sal rushed into over to the arrivals door and collected Freeda, deciding that it would be wiser to ask her to direct lost guests from the desk so that she could keep an eye on her. When she returned to the desk however, there were another two reps there who were confused and panicked by the extra guests who had been wrongly directed to their coaches. To make matters worse, Sal's phone rang in the midst of the chaos and the rep on the other end informed her that a guest who was departing soon had lost their ticket.
Damn! Not now! How the hell was she supposed to be in a million places at once?
"Listen, I have to pop off to departures," she said to the reps that were standing next to her. "Can you..." she began, but stopped when it hit her that she couldn't possibly leave the situation as it was at the desk and in the coach park.
She closed her eyes and tried to think amongst the noise and mayhem. An idea came to her then but she pushed it out of her mind, desperately striving to come up with an alternative solution to her dilemma. Finally, when a second phone call came in from departures again she was forced to resign herself to the only option that was left to her, she looked across to Nick and wondered how he would react to a plea for help from her. He knew the job well and would be able to straighten out the mess whilst she went to sort out a replacement ticket in departures.
Nick watched Sal put a hand to her head in frustration as the reps flapped and fussed around her. The phone call had obviously not helped, neither had the new rep who had clearly caused some kind of problem in the coach park. Observing Sal's look of panic, Nick began to feel sorry for her. Why didn't she just ask him for help? She knew he was well experienced. Why was it such a struggle for her to ask him? He supposed he could offer her help, but no, he'd wait a bit to see if she would finally ask him.
He grinned as she began to walk towards him, only to hesitate and look back towards the desk with second thoughts. She sighed deeply, reluctant to ask him for help and preparing herself for the jibes that were bound to follow. Before she could change her mind she strode across the gap and stopped in front of him with her arms crossed defensively.
"Look, they need me in departures," she said abruptly.
"Right..."
"And..." she faltered.
"And?" he questioned.
"Well it's really busy over there," she pointed out.
"I can see that," he said.
His eyes connected with hers making her edgy.
"Never mind," she said, her pride prompting her to turn and walk away.
"Hey Sal," he called out, "for what it's worth, I'm impressed. I think you're doing a great job."
She hesitated in mid step and turned around again, her expression changed. "You do?"
"Sure," he replied, "but I told you that the new girl would be a handful."
She contemplated him for a moment. "She is. I'm a bit stuck at the moment to be honest."
"Hmm, I can see that."
She tried to figure out what he was thinking.
"Nick," she began after a few seconds.
"Yes," he replied, smiling up at her.
She fiddled with her neck tie and averted her eyes. "You know how we used to be friends."
"Still are I thought," he corrected her.
"Yes. Anyway, you're about the only person here who has a lot of experience with this sort of stuff," she hinted.
"I guess I do."
She sighed. "So will you help me out or not?"
"Of course," he chuckled, rising off the chair, "you only had to ask."
Her face lit up. Thank goodness for that!
"On one condition though," he added.
Oh no, what now?
"What?" she asked, eyeing him warily.
"I was just thinking, could you tell me, if you could sum me up as rep in a few words, how would you describe me?"
"Smug," she said immediately. "Yes, that sums you up as a rep nicely...and I only needed one word too!"
"Hmm, wrong answer," he said, moving to sit back down.
"Okay, okay," she sighed, contemplating her next answer. "You're confident," she settled on.
"Not exactly the answer I was looking for. The reps are waiting and the guests look like they are ready to snap," he warned her.
She looked behind her nervously.
"Damn it Nick, sometimes I seriously hate you. Okay, you're the best rep in the world! Now get over there and sort it all out, I'm needed in departures," she said, rushing away.
He laughed and shouted after her," I love you too Sal. Oh and by the way, you could have withdrawn the offer of a bus ride home to get me to do it!"
Darn it! Why hadn't she thought of that?
 

Fun In The Sun Chapter 5

 When Sal returned to the desk half an hour later, she was relieved to see that the first coach must have been organised as it was pulling out of the coach park.
"Were all the correct guests on board?" she asked Nick.
"Yep," he smiled. "We're just waiting for a couple more for the other two coaches now but I have a feeling that they may have got taxis. I have a rep searching the arrivals area now for any lost looking people, but if there appears to be no more left then I think that we should let the coaches go."
"Yes, the guests have waited long enough now," she agreed. "Thanks for that."
"No problem. Departures all sorted out?" he asked.
"Yep, they have all gone through passport control now so I'm almost done here," she said with relief.
Finally, the rep returned from inside the airport shaking her head. "There's no one left from the Manchester flight in there," she informed Sal.
"Okay, you can go to your coach now then and tell the other reps they can go too."
"Great, see you next Tuesday Sal. Bye," the rep said, running across the coach park.
"Come on," Sal said, turning to Nick, "since you did help me out, I'll save you the monotony of a transfer coach ride and give you a lift back in my car."
"Ooh, you have a car now, very posh," he teased, watching her pack away the forms and files.
"It's not posh at all, it's just Bobby. But I'm considering trading him in," she said, jumping with a squeal and dropping the papers in her hands when someone tapped her on the shoulder from behind.
"Err, sorry but which coach should I go on?" Freeda asked meekly.
"Oh hell!" Sal exclaimed, running towards the last coach which was backing out of it's parking space.
She managed to get the attention of the irritable coach driver who reluctantly stopped and opened the passenger door so that she could talk to the rep in the guide's seat.
"Sorry sweet but could you take Freeda on your coach and show her the ropes?" she asked the rep.
The girl groaned but nodded and Sal turned to gesture Freeda over to the coach, however at that point Freeda's attention was well and truely glued to Nick. She stood staring dreamily at him as he picked up the fallen papers from thr desk and placed them back in the files. Sal chuckled and yelled loudly across the coach park.
"Earth calling Freeda, your coach is about to go!"
A startled Freeda swung around and hesitated briefly before heading in Sal's direction when she urged her to make haste. Sal waved the coach off and returned to Nick, giggling to herself at the way Freeda had been gazing at him.
"Are we finally ready to go?" Nick asked as Sal reached the desk again. "I need a shower and change of clothes and then I'm hitting the bars," he said, handing Sal the files.
"Yep, let's go. Where are you staying by the way?" she asked, as they headed towards her car in the car park behind the coaches.
"Well, you know how we are best friends and all..." he began.
"Oh no, we aren't that good friends, you can't stay with me Nicholas," she said firmly.
"Why, would you find it hard to keep your hands off me, Sal?" he joked.
They reached the car and she opened the door, leaning her arms on the edge of the window to talk to him before they got in.
He then realised with surprise that she hadn't answered his last question and now she was contemplating him, her eyes flitting around his face, almost like they were... flirting with him?
"Want to know a secret?" she asked mysteriously.
He looked interested. "Yeah, go on."
"Well..." she began, making him wait. "someone here today has a secret crush on you."
His eyes widened and his heart began to race as he watched a slow smile spread across her face.
Wow, she never failed to surprise him! Would she admit it there and then?
"Has this person had this said crush for a while then?" he asked, feeling his pulse racing.
She shook her head. "No, I think realisation just hit her today."
"Oh." He wasn't expecting that. Still, it didn't really matter, as long as she realised how she felt now.
"So you be nice to Freeda, eh Nick, and don't let on that I told you anything," she giggled, sliding into the driver's seat and leaving Nick staring after her with a disappointed frown.
Not exactly what he'd been hoping for. The little minx.

Fun In The Sun Chapter 6

 

Editing throughout and a different chapter ending

"I can see why you're thinking of trading this in," Nick said, squashing himself into the front seat of Sal's Cinquecento.

 

Sal giggled at the sight of his long, muscular body all scrunched up in her car.

 

"Here, Fay's been in that seat but she's not quite as tall as you. Think you could do with putting the seat back," she said, pulling the bar underneath the chair and sending Nick flying backwards.

 

"Oh! Thanks Sal," he laughed, readjusting himself in the chair. "My advice is trade it in!"

 

"Yeah, but I love my Bobby," she said, hugging the steering wheel, "I'd miss him so much," she giggled.

 

Nick glanced at her in disbelief. "Sal, it's a hunk of metal not a real guy. We really have to find you a guy soon, either that or a very good shrink!"

 

"Don't listen to him," she said, stroking the dashboard, "he obviously doesn't understand the real you like I do."

 

Nick shook his head at her.

 

Definitely think she was beyond help. An absolute one off was Sal!

 

Sal crossed her fingers and started the car, hoping to God that it wouldn't let her down in front of Nick. To her amazement, it started first time and she pulled out of the car park and onto the main road without incident.

 

"So, how was the winter for you then?" Sal asked.

 

"Hmm, okay I guess. I got to see my dad a bit, which I needed to do, and Jen wanted me to meet her family and friends. But I'm glad to be back," he said, gazing out of the window.

 

Sal turned to Nick with surprise. "Ohh, got to meet the in laws then. Sounds like it's getting serious."

 

"Hmm," he responded, staying non-committal.

 

"So where is Jen now then, Nick?" Sal enquired.

 

"She'll be here at the weekend; she's spending the remainder of the week with her folks," he replied casually.

"Anyway, how have you been since I last saw you Sal? Met any nice men lately?" he asked, changing the subject.

 

"Well, lots of men, none of them nice though," she said, pulling a face. "Anyway, I'm glad you're back too," she added.

 

"You are?" he said with surprise.

 

"Of course. Been a bit lonely over the winter to tell you the truth. Adam has been wining and dining Fay. They're still completely besotted with each other, makes you sick!" she laughed.

 

"Yeah, I gathered that from the messages he sent me," Nick replied, absentmindedly.

 

Sal glanced sideways at him. "Oh, that reminds me, how come you never kept in touch with me while you were over there mister? You promised that you would email me!"

He looked awkward then as he frantically tried to come up with a response.

 

"Err, it was difficult," he began, cringing inwardly at the look on Sal's face. He sounded as if he was making excuses and he knew it, but how could he explain the real reason to her? He wasn't sure that he could explain it to himself. He had wanted to get her out of his mind but telling her that would only upset her, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. Sal confused him; she threw him off balance. She was both an alluring temptation to him but he also valued the friendship that had developed between them. And she had this way of making him feel like an utter bastard for feeling anything other than friendship for her. Although he was convinced that she hadn't a clue about some of the thoughts that went through his head when they were together!

 

"I missed you of course but I didn't have a fantastic time of it back there to tell the truth, and I didn't want to bore you with all my moaning."

 

"Hey," she said, putting a hand over his, "we're friends remember? You can bore me as much as you like. I want to know if my friend is unhappy."

 

He smiled. "Thanks Sal, but I'm happy now, now that I'm back here anyway."

 

"Me too," she smiled back at him. "Hey, you know what we need?” she began, lightening the mood, “some seriously good tunes. There’s a CD case on the back seat; take your pick,” she offered. “But make it upbeat and fun,” she amended with a smile.

 

“With you Sal, how could it be anything else?” he laughed, reaching behind himself, grabbing the CD case and flicking through her CD’s. He had to admit, she didn’t have bad taste in music. In the end though, he gave up searching for anything specific and put faith in her music collection by choosing a random compilation CD and slotting it into the CD player.

 

When the music began, Sal did a little whoop of delight and turned up the volume as high as it would go, as she always did.

 

“One of my favourite songs,” she shouted above the music, “It describes my ‘mind shattering man’ perfectly,” she giggled.

 

Nick smiled when he recalled Sal’s obsession with finding what she called her ‘mind shattering’ guy. He could still remember their initial conversation about it during Sal’s first disastrous transfer shift, just after they had first met. Somehow, they had begun talking about Sal's future love life and she had described how she imagined having lots of fun before settling down, getting married and having kids. She had said something about sailing away on a yacht to have 'mind-shattering' sex with some guy before returning to get married and settle down with a more sensible man. Nick had advised her to forget marrying 'Mr Sensible' and to stay on the yacht with 'Mind-Shattering' guy. Hell, he gave good advice, and he’d certainly got Sal figured out quickly: pretty soon' Mr Sensible' was well forgotten and 'Mr Mind Shattering Guy' had become Sal's new favourite fascination.

 

The song continued and Sal accelerated out along the open, coastal road. The wind rushed in through the open windows, cooling Sal's flushed face and causing an adrenalin rush as she sang the words with uninhibited abandon.

 

As Nick watched her, he couldn't help but catch what he'd always mentally referred to as the 'Sal Bug'. She had a lust for life that was addictive and very contagious as far as he was concerned; and at that moment, for the first time in months, he felt exhilarated and alive.

 

My god! This woman was going to break his heart somewhere along the line; he just knew it! And the stupid thing about it all, was that she was not even going to realize it when she did!

 

He laughed to himself at the irony of the situation, and the fact that she was singing to some invisible, non existent lover that she was so very desperate to meet.

 

"Hey, what are you laughing at?" she asked, turning to him with amusement.

 

"Nothing Sal," he said, grinning back at her.

 

She gave a carefree laugh and grabbed hold of his hand. "It's great to see you again Nick, it really is!"

 

He turned his hand around and linked his fingers through hers. "It's great to see you too, Sal."

 

"We're going to have the best summer ever this year," she shouted over the music.

 

He believed her. He couldn't wait for it to begin.

 

In her excitement, she sped up even more and they both laughed as the wind rushing through the car intensified.

 

Squeezing his hand, she let it go and tugged at her necktie to release it, setting it free in the wind.

 

Nick did a double take and watched as the necktie whipped out of the window and floated down the highway.

 

He burst out laughing. "Sal, don't you need that?" She was completely nuts!

 

Sal grinned back at him. "Probably."

 

She was definitely nuts... and he loved it!

 

 

Fun In The Sun Chapter 7

 Changes and new content.

 

"Thanks for the lift, Sal," Nick said, turning to her as she pulled up outside The Apollo hotel. "Will you be out tonight?" he asked, "I definitely will. Want to say hi to everyone again."

 

Her face lit up. "Good idea. Actually, I decided earlier that I'd go out tonight. It's the treat I usually promise myself after an airport shift," she smiled.

 

"Great. See you in The Wheelhouse? Around 8?" he asked.

 

She nodded, "Definitely."

 

He smiled. Things were going great.

 

Nick opened the car door and manoeuvred his legs, head and finally the rest of his body out of Sal's tiny car.

Sal giggled to herself as she watched him. Then he disappeared from her view through the passenger window and she felt the back of the car lift slightly as he retrieved his suitcase from the boot. She reached across and closed the passenger door but it wasn't long before he was back, his head appearing through the open car door window.

 

"You weren't laughing at me, were you, Sal?" he asked, his eyes narrowing at her suspiciously.

 

She stifled a laugh and tried to look as serious as possible, shaking her head.

 

"Not me."

 

He reached into the car then with a sudden urge to break her resolve, making an attempted tickle attack on her ribs.

 

The laughter that she had been holding in came rushing out then as she tried to fend off his hand.

 

Nick looked pleased with himself and withdrew, seemingly satisfied with his revenge.

 

"Bobby dies," he announced.

 

"Not my Bobby," she replied, throwing herself dramatically onto the steering wheel.

 

She kept her face pressed against the hard rubber wheel for a moment before flinging her hair out of the way and turning her head sideways to see Nick's reaction.

 

But Nick's mind was on something else now. She was surprised to see he had a soft smile on his face and was watching her thoughtfully. Slowly she sat up and leant back in her seat, watching his expression and wondering what he was thinking.

 

His eyes travelled around her face for a moment, contemplating something until he finally spoke.

 

"Sal," he began.

 

"Yes," she replied, a little intrigued.

 

"Put on your best dress tonight. After 'The Wheelhouse', we're going down town," he said, and with that, he was gone.

 

***

 

Sal drove back to her apartment and got straight into the shower, mentally sorting through the clothes in her wardrobe for the best dress that she could wear that evening. She suddenly felt excited. It was going to be one of those nights, one of those great nights that nobody plans but it turns out to be amazing.

 

Earlier, she had thought maybe she would just go for a few beers in the 'Wheelhouse', that was all. But now Nick was back and everything seemed much more exciting.

 

An hour later and she had showered, dried and styled her hair and applied her makeup. She stood in front of the bathroom mirror with a towel wrapped around her and added a little extra lip gloss, standing back to view the finished results. Tilting her head for a moment, she studied her reflection and wondered how other people saw her. She was definitely happier with her appearance with makeup applied. Without it, she had always thought she looked too young somehow. Stupid really, it was good to look young. But now... she narrowed her eyes and drew her head back, to look at herself as if from another angle, or perspective. Now she looked sort of sophisticated.

 

She could maybe see herself as one of those girls on the front of some magazine. Nothing very famous or anything like that. But her eyes would pierce through the image at the reader, her skin, perfectly smooth and flawless with a hint of blush across her cheekbones, her lips soft and slightly parted, drawing the reader in.

 

She shook her head suddenly, pulling herself out of her day dream. No time to waste; she had to get changed.

 

Strolling into her bedroom, she searched in her wardrobe for the outfit that she had decided to wear. In Sal's head, it had just seemed perfect for that night. It was in some ways a classic  black dress, but Sal would never have bought anything quite so predictable, and certain features of it had caught her eye in the shop. First of all, the material was really good; it was so soft and clung so invitingly to the curves of her breasts and hips. The hem stopped well above the knee and the material dipped daringly down her back, showing an expanse of tanned skin. She finished the outfit off by slipping on a pair of the highest black stiletto shoes she could manage to walk in and a pair of long, dangling, shimmery ear rings.

 

Ok, so now even she had to admit, she didn't look bad at all. If she didn't manage to catch the attention of 'Mr Mind Shattering guy' looking like that, then there had to be no hope for her!

 

"Go get him, gorgeous," she mouthed to her reflection, grinning to herself as she grabbed her bag, keys and phone, and left the apartment with a spring in her step.

 

She felt confident, excitable and... she had to admit it, daringly flirtatious.

Fun In The Sun Chapter 8

 Extra chapter

    Sal exited her apartment building into the cool twilight of the evening and strolled down the narrow back street towards the town. It was that wonderful time of late afternoon when it was not to hot, not to cool, and there always seemed to be a buzz in the air, like an anticipation of the evening yet to unfold. In Crete, all evenings were the same. People worked in the morning, took a siesta nap in the intense heat of the day, and then in the evenings... people stirred to life again. A nice meal with friends, sharing a carafe of the local wine. A gathering of family. A stroll with the locals through the town, past the lake and around the marina. Simple activities occupied the locals every evening, simple but relaxing and enjoyable.

In the Mediterranean, people rarely stayed cooped up in their homes, even if it meant sitting out on their balconies, or front door steps to wave or chat to the passers by. For how could anybody get to know all the local news if they were locked away in their houses? News travelled fast in Agios Nikolaos and anyone who wasn't informed, wasn't part of the town.

As Sal progressed in her lazy stroll down the street, the sounds of the locals speaking in their native language could be distinguished all around her: mothers calling their children in from a game of football on the street, or the familiar shout of "Nikos! Ella!", an old friend calling a neighbour to go next door for a game of "Tavli", otherwise known as backgammon, on the front veranda. These were the familiar sights and sounds of the town she had come to know and love.

Finally, she reached the end of the street and hesitated before her next turn. She could head left down into the centre of the town, walk around the lake and head back up the hill to The Wheelhouse, or she could do what she often did when she was early for a night out: she could turn right and head back up the hill to the top of the cliff and the pathway running above the lake where she could enjoy the view for a while before heading straight across the top of the cliff path to the bar.

She would enjoy the view for a while as she still had plenty of time before she needed to meet Nick in the bar.

The view over the lake never failed to impress her. Up there, there were just a couple of benches placed in quiet spots under the olive trees. She claimed her favourite bench, partly hidden from the pathway, and sighed as she took a seat and gazed out across the twinkling lake, sea and town spread out below her. She truly loved this place, and she never seemed to take it for granted; it kind of demanded that you take notice of just how beautiful it was.

Below her, the waiters and waitresses of the tavernas lining the lake were beginning to prepare the lakeside tables for the influx of evening diners that would appear soon. The tiny fishing boats bobbed up and down on the ripples in the lake that were created from the harbour waters, connected to the lake via a narrow waterway, crossed by a small bridge which linked one part of the town with the other.

But it wasn't only the beauty of the place that stole Sal's heart, it was the people too. The people were the town, it was impossible to separate them. Every one you passed would smile, many would wave, especially if you passed their restaurant, house or shop regularly. This was the place where Sal had truly learnt to just be herself, and the town had accepted her wholeheartedly.

She sat for a while, just gazing at the view and contemplating the upcoming evening. Then she had a thought and opened her handbag, reaching inside for her mobile phone. She had to speak to her best friend.

The phone rang out and when Fay finally answered it, Sal amused herself by automatically falling into the routine that she and Fay often went through when first speaking on the phone.

"Hi you, guess who?"

"Hello, it is you?" Fay said.

"Who, me?"

"Yes, you,"

"Yes it's me. Who are you?" Sal giggled.

"Who, me?"

"Are you two going to go on like that all night?" Sal heard Adam shout in the background.

Both of them burst out laughing.

"Actually, I hope not," Sal shouted back to Adam, "because I'm on my way to The Wheelhouse. Are you two coming in as well?"

The reply didn't come for a few moments while Fay spoke to Adam about it.

"Adam said he would only go there to meet his favourite airport supervisor, so I think that's a 'yes'," Fay replied.

"Brilliant! Where are you now?" Sal asked.

"Just driving back from Elounda. We should be there soon," Fay assured her.

"Great. And you'll never guess who will also be in there tonight," Sal said, excited to tell Fay the news.

"Who?" Fay asked.

"I'll give you a clue," Sal answered. "He's tall and blonde, lots of fun, but sometimes really annoying... oh, and he thinks he's the best rep in the universe."

"Nick! Oh my gosh. When did he get back?" Fay asked with surprise.

"Today. We bumped into each other at the airport," Sal said. "Jen is coming back at the weekend."

"Wow! He never mentioned that he would be back this soon," Fay replied and then gave a small laugh. "I bet he was surprised to see you working as airport supervisor."

"Yes, I think he was actually," Sal commented. "He said he likes my new haircut," she blurted out for no particular reason.

"I bet he does!" Adam shouted out.

"What?" Sal said.

"Nothing, ignore him," Fay cut in.

"Ok, well anyway, it's going to be a great night. We are all back together again," Sal said wistfully.

"Yes, but... Oh, I'm sorry Sal, we wont be able to stay out late tonight. We are working really early in the morning," Fay informed her regretfully.

"Oh," some of Sal's enthusiasm faded then.

"But we can stay for a few drinks tonight and make arrangements to all go out at the weekend," Fay added, trying to lighten the mood again.

"Yes, ok," Sal replied.

 

"And anyway, you and Nick can go down town together. I am sure he will want to stay out late on his first night back," Fay added.

"Yeah, but..."

 

Sal faded off and the call fell silent for a second.

"What?" Fay prompted.

"Fay," Sal began, trying to figure out how to say what was on her mind. "Do you think it's a bit weird. I mean, me and Nick going out down town together on our own?"

"Weird? No. Why?" Fay asked. "You always used to go out together. You're good friends," she pointed out.

"Yeah, but we only just ended up out together; we never actually planned it. We just happened to kind of see each other when we were out in the bars sometimes and ended up drinking together," she explained.

"Ok, but what's the difference?" Fay asked.

 

Sal thought for a moment. "Nothing I suppose, it's just that... well... umm... you don't think that..." Oh, just say it. "...you don't think that Jen will murder me if she finds out, do you?" she said suddenly.

Fay laughed. "Why would she? You and Nick have been friends for ages and it never bothered her before. You're still alive and kicking," she chuckled. "Besides, if she even tried to murder you, she'd have to get past me first, and Adam, and Ruth and...all the other people who would come running to your rescue. And...let's face it, most probably Nick too," she added.

Sal chuckled. "That's crazy, a boyfriend should help his girlfriend, not try to defend the person his girlfriend is trying to kill."

This was getting very complicated.

Adam could be heard shouting out again. "I'll be trying to kill someone soon if you two don't stop this absurd conversation and hang up! You'll be seeing each other in a minute," he reminded them. "Then you can discuss Jen's homicidal tendencies as much as you like!"

"Shut up, we're trying to figure things out here," Sal heard Fay say to Adam. "Sal," she went on, "do you want to go to town with him?"

"Well yeah, of course I want to go. I'm excited that he is back. But..." she had another attack of uncertainty, "Should I be excited about it?"

"It all depends," Adam called out. "How excited are you, Sal?" he chuckled.

"Stop listening to our conversation!" she called back.

"Stop listening? How can I help but listen to you two nattering on about a load of crazy stuff. Sal, go to town with Nick. If Jen's not coming back until the weekend, she won't know about it anyway," he concluded.

"Yes, but..." Sal began. "That's not..."

"She's going now," Adam interrupted, speaking for Fay as he commandeered her phone. "We are nearly there you've been gossiping for so long."

"Oh! Okay," Sal replied, jumping up off the bench and glancing at her watch. "I'm nearly there too."

"Good, get a move on. Nick will be waiting to see you in that little black dress," he grinned.

"What?" Sal glanced down at her dress and then at her phone in astonishment. "How did you know?"

Adam laughed loudly. "I didn't. It was just a wild guess. All women wear a little black dress when they..."

"Got to go now," Fay cut in. "See you in a minute, Sal." Then the phone cut off.

Sal grabbed her bag and slipped her phone into it as she climbed the couple of steps up to the pathway and headed for the bar.

"All women wear a little black dress when they what?" she wondered.

Fun In The Sun Chapter 9

Extra chapter

"Hello stranger," Ruth, the owner of The Wheelhouse, said with surprise when Nick entered the pub. As he approached, she reached across the bar to kiss him on the cheek.
Nick beamed when he saw her. Ruth was one of the only people Nick felt really comfortable talking to. Everyone did. She was like everyone's mom. He never knew his mom; she left him when he was a child, but if he had one, he would want her to be exactly like Ruth.
"Hi, how's the best landlady in the universe?" he said, putting his arm around her and returning the kiss on her cheek.
"I'm good sweetheart," she replied. "Welcome back. I missed you," she said with a smile.
"Missed you too Ruth, and this place..." Nick glanced around at the familiar sights of The Wheelhouse. Everything about that place rang of good times. "...it's so great to be here again."
"It's great to have you here again," she smiled. "Beer, Nick?" she asked.
"How did you guess?" he grinned, watching her pull out a bottle from the fridge.
"Must be psychic," she laughed, handing him the beer. "This one is from me, to welcome you back," she smiled.
"That's nice of you Ruth. Thank you very much," he said, accepting the beer.
"My pleasure," she replied. "So, when did you get back?" she asked.
"This afternoon," he replied, sitting on a bar stool and glancing around. "Where is everybody? I was hoping to catch up with people."
"Adam and Fay have gone for a meal in Elounda but they will probably pop in afterwards. I'm not sure where Bill, Patrick and Tom are and most of the other reps are working this evening so it may be a bit quiet in here tonight," she informed him.
"Well, we'll have to have some fun with just us then and go down town later when you close. It will probably be busier there," he smiled. "We'll wait for you if you fancy coming with us, Ruth," he added.
"Thanks for the offer love. I'll see how I feel later. I may be ready for bed by then to be honest. I had to get up early this morning to go to the IKA office and sort out some paperwork, and you know how long that usually takes. Didn't have time for my siesta today," she told him. "I'm not sure if Adam and Fay will stay out late tonight either I'm afraid, but I'm sure there will be people you can catch up with down town," she smiled. "I'm sure they will be glad to see 'the best transfer rep in the world' back again," she teased.
"Of course they will," he grinned. "Oh and Ruth..."
"What?"
"... it's the 'universe'," he grinned. Ruth laughed at him. "Best rep in the 'universe," he stressed. "Ask Sal about it, she knows. Only been back a few hours and I already got her to admit it," he chuckled.
Ruth watched him with interest for a moment. "So, you have seen Sal already then?"
"Yeah, saw her at the airport. She gave me a lift back here. She's coming out tonight too," he informed her.
"Really? You arranged that quickly," Ruth grinned.
"Yeah," he replied, taking another swig of his beer, unsure of what else to say. Ruth watched him for a moment, a smile hovering around her mouth, before she reached for a bag of peanuts and proceeded to pour them out into some small glass bowls she had lined up along the counter top behind the bar.
"So, I'm guessing you know that Sal has been made airport supervisor then," Ruth went on.
"Yeah, she's going to be my boss now," he grinned. "Been promoted ahead of me."
"And how do you feel about having to take orders from the girl you trained?" she asked.
"Livid," he answered.
Ruth's eyes flicked up suddenly from the peanuts then but only to see Nick still grinning.
He laughed. "Only joking. No, I'm happy for her. Not sayin' I'll always do as I'm told," he stressed with amusement. "But, apart from me, can't think of anyone else I'd rather have in the job. She's good at it too... and she looked great today," he added.
Ruth's smile widened. "Tempted, Nick?" She couldn't stop herself from asking.
"What?" he said with confusion.
Ruth failed to reply though. She just returned to the task of replenishing the peanuts with a grin on her face.
He watched her thoughtfully for a moment, and then went back to drinking his beer.
"She went out with Boycie a while ago," Ruth continued, still focusing on her job.
Nick's head shot up then. "What? When?"
"Couple of weeks ago," Ruth replied.
Nick looked horrified. "But she cant, what? I mean....surely she, she wouldn’t..."
"Don't worry," Ruth reassured him, "She soon reconsidered and sent him packing."
Nick visibly relaxed with relief.
"I don't trust him. What was she thinking? Doesn't she know his reputation?" Nick asked.
"I think she thought she might be able to change him, or maybe he sweet talked her, I don't know."
"He's the biggest loser around," Nick said, scratching at the label on his beer bottle. "I've got no time for the guy at all."
Ruth watched Nick peel strips off the beer label. "Hmm, I got that impression, Nick."
He glanced up at her. "Well, have you? You must know what he's like. Do you know he has a score book? Keeps count of how many girl's he's slept with."
She laughed. "Does he indeed?" She shrugged. "He rarely comes in here but from what I've heard other people say... I was glad when Sal changed her mind about him," she answered.
"But she's not with him now?" he asked, needing confirmation.
She smiled, "No, she's not with him now."
He nodded and finished his beer.
"But I'm sure it won't be long until she catches someone else's eye," Ruth added casually, placing a bowl of peanuts in front of Nick and some down the rest of the bar at regular intervals. Thoughts began building in her head as she placed down the bowls. There was something very wrong with the whole situation.
After finishing her task, she returned to the spot where Nick was sitting and stopped suddenly, putting her hands on her hips. "Nick Elliot, how much longer is this going to go on for?" she asked, unable to stop herself, particularly after observing the torment on his face and the pile of shredded beer label on the bar.
His head shot up at her tone. "What?" he asked, eyeing the litter he had created in front of him.
She tutted. "Not this," she said, sweeping the torn pieces of paper into her hands. "The reason behind this." She dropped the pieces into the bin and leant over the bar with her arms crossed to speak at closer quarters to him.
"Working in this job, I tend to notice things," she said.
"What things?" he asked, watching her warily as his heart suddenly started to thud.
She saw the panic in his face and softened her tone. "Certain things about the way people act, or what they do when around other people. Put it this way, I've noticed certain things about how you act when a certain..." she paused, "other person is around. I've noticed it for quite some time now."
Ah hell. He felt like a kid who'd been caught doing something bad. And damn it, he didn't even have a beer now to focus on.
"Oh look, I've run out of beer," he hinted.
She gave a small laugh. "Would you like another beer, Nick?" she said.
"Funny you should ask, yes I would," he replied. She turned to reach into the fridge behind her. "And put one for you on my tab too," he said, hoping he'd escaped any more talk on the previous subject.
"Thanks," she said, pulling out a beer and taking a deep breath before turning back, placing the beer in front of Nick and pouring a glass of wine for herself. She would normally save any drink she was offered for later in the evening, but somehow she thought she might need this one now. She took a quick sip and then tried approaching the subject again, placing one hand over his to show her support.
"I'm sorry Nick, I don't mean to pry, but I want you to be happy." She assessed his response. He was very quiet and still, but he hadn't pulled away from her yet, so she went on. "You're with one woman, but your mind is... somewhere else...with someone else. But this someone else is going to slip through your fingers if you're not careful," she warned him.
He glanced down and took hold of the beer bottle as though he were about to take a swig, but changed his mind and just fiddled with it on the bar.
"I know," he admitted, "but it's complicated."
She tilted her head, watching him sympathetically. "These things usually are. Just don't take too long to 'uncomplicate' them," she said, "And in the meantime, I am always here if you want to talk, Nick."
He looked up from his beer bottle then and she smiled at him. "Thanks Ruth," was all he could think of to say.
She patted his hand and then withdrew contact to take another sip of her wine.
Then something occurred to him and he glanced up at her again. "Ruth," he began.
"Yes," she replied.
"This thing you think you've noticed, you wouldn't have..." He started fiddling with his bottle again. "You didn't happen to... mention it to anyone else, did you?"
His eyes darted to her nervously.
She smiled. "No. Nick, if I started gossiping about all the things I know from working in here, I'd get into quite a lot of trouble," she assured him. "Nobody would come in, and I'd put myself out of business."
That was a relief.
He grinned. "And you wouldn't be the 'best landlady in the world' then either."
Her smile grew. "In the 'universe' Nick. The 'universe'," she stressed.
They both burst into laughter then and he felt suddenly extremely light-hearted.
"Come on Ruthie, let's have a little Sambuca," he grinned.
She shook her head. "No, no, Nick, it's far to early for that."
"Ah go on," he pleaded, "Just a little one with me."
"Nick Elliot, no," she said firmly. "You can have one though."
He pulled a face. "It's not the same on my own. Go on, just a tinsy, winsy, teeny one, Ruthie, Ruthie, please," he begged.
"Don't 'Ruthie, Ruthie' me," she said. "Sorry, but no."
"Okay," he replied sulkily.
She went to continue refilling the fridges with drinks but stopped and sighed.
"Okay," she relented. "Just one though Nick, and no more," she stressed pointing a finger at him.
His face broke out into a huge smile. He knew she would give in.
She reached to the shelf behind her, collected two shot glasses and poured the Sambuca from the bottle she kept at the side of the till.
Handing one to him, she picked up her glass and held it up to clink with his. "I can't believe you talked me into doing this," she said.
"I love you Ruthie, Ruthie," he replied, clinking her glass and downing the Sambuca.'
She followed and cringed slightly at the burning sensation it created. "Woa, that always makes my head go a bit funny," she admitted.
He grinned. "I love it when your head goes a bit funny."
She laughed. "Why?"
"Dunno," he shrugged.
"You're incorrigible," she said.
"I know," he replied, looking very pleased with himself.

 

I am getting through a chapter around every one or two days. Hopefully it is improving the book and will lead to a finished story. Updates to follow. 

 

Fun In The Sun Chapter 10

Extra chapter

 

 

"Darn it," Ruth said, glancing down the bar as Fay and Adam walked in. "I only needed to wait a few minutes and you could have had your Sambuca with these two."
"Too late," Nick said, standing to greet them.
"Well hello there Mr Transfer rep," Adam said with a big smile, holding out his hand to Nick. Nick took his hand and Adam shook it, leaning closer for a friendly pat on the back. "Where did you come from? You never mentioned you'd be back so soon."
"Actually it was a spur of the moment decision," he informed them. "How are you two doing anyway?" he asked, looking from one to the other.
"We're fine," Fay smiled, putting an arm around his neck and kissing him on the cheek.
He put his hand on her back and grinned. "Hey, I should go away and come back more often. It's great; I get all the girls kissing me!"
"Err," Adam coughed to get his attention and glared at Nick's hand.
He laughed and removed his hand from Fay's back, holding both up in surrender. "Look, no hands now."
Adam smiled and Nick went on, "I wouldn't dare risk your wrath by touching her for more than a few seconds."
Adam nodded. "Wise man."
"Besides, I must be on my best behaviour now that you're my boss again," Nick said.
"I am?" Adam laughed. "How don't I know about this?"
"Sal employed me on behalf of you," Nick explained with amusement.
"Oh. Do you ever get the feeling that everyone else knows more than you?" he asked Fay.
She chuckled.
"No, actually, I'm glad you're back. Going to need your help. It's getting quite busy now at the airport," Adam said.
"Yeah," Nick agreed. "Sal was run off her feet earlier. I helped her out though," he added.
"Good man," Adam replied, patting him on the back again and glancing at the beer in Nick's hand. "Put a beer behind the bar for Nick will you Ruth? And I'll have one too. What would you like sweetheart?" he said, turning to Fay.
"Glass of white wine please," she smiled.
"A wine for Fay, and one for yourself," Adam said to Ruth.
"Cheers Adam," Ruth replied, pouring a wine for herself and Fay and pulling out another beer for Adam. She may as well give up on the idea of waiting to start drinking later. Everyone was far too excitable to let her. She handed out the drinks and reminded Nick that his beer from Adam was waiting for him when he was ready.
"Thanks boss," Nick said, grinning at Adam.
"Don't mention it." Adam grinned back. "You can make up for it by doing double shifts at the airport for me."
Nick laughed. "He's such a slave driver," he said to Fay.
As they continued to chat, Nick was aware of the fact that Sal would be there soon and his eyes kept swinging towards the doorway at the other end of the bar. He sensed the moment she entered but continued chatting to Adam and Fay while vaguely conscious of Sal's actions near the doorway where Ruth was standing chatting to Bill. The atmosphere of the bar seemed to suddenly increase in tempo then. It always appeared to do that when Sal walked in as everyone became attuned to her enthusiasm.
As soon as she walked through the door, Sal did what she always did when she walked into 'The Wheelhouse' and flung her arms around Ruth.
"Love you Ruth," she said, hugging her tightly.
Ruth had become accustomed to Sal's affectionate nature and knew that if she didn’t get a hug off her when she entered, there had to be something seriously wrong.
"Love you too Sweetie," she said, returning the hug before stepping back to take a look at her. "You're looking exceptionally elegant tonight, Sal."
Sal giggled. "Thanks. Oh, did you see who returned today?" she said, glancing down the bar at Nick and heading in his direction.
"Yes," Ruth replied, following Sal’s path but from behind the bar.
Fortunately for Nick, Adam and Fay turned when Sal approached them and missed his expression when he caught his first real glance of Sal that evening. His eyes automatically widened as they ran over that little black dress that clung to every curve of her sensational body. He kind of knew he would feel like that, after all, that was why he had asked her to wear the dress, wasn't it?
But the effect of just the sight of her walking towards him in that incredibly sexy dress took him by surprise. Maybe it was because he hadn't seen her for so long, maybe he'd forgotten the effect she had on him, or maybe she'd just got even sexier since he last summer. Was that even possible?
But nevertheless, damn it, she looked sensational! And too bloody sexy. Why did he torture himself like this? He knew why, because the temptation, as far as Sal was concerned, was far too much for Nick to resist.
While Adam and Fay's attentions were diverted, Ruth made a beeline for Nick and whispered, "You should put your eyes back in their sockets now Nick, before Sal notices."
His glance shot away from Sal then and he took a quick swig of his beer. But Sal wasn’t going to make things easier for him when she said to everyone, "Look who came back," and, walking straight up to him as he sat on his bar stool, she slipped her arms around his middle and rested her head on his chest, cuddling him affectionately.
Oh God, now not only did he feel seriously aroused but strangely emotional too. A dangerous combination. But nevertheless, her actions made it impossible for him to do anything other than instinctively put his arms around her, squeeze her tightly and place a kiss on the top of her shiny, auburn hair.
She looked up at him and smiled. "I'm glad you're back, Nick."
"Me too," he replied warmly, his eyes twinkling into hers.
"Look, we're all back together," she said, withdrawing from Nick to greet Fay and Adam with kisses on their cheeks.
"Yes," Adam grinned, "The Fantastic Four."
"What about Ruth?" Sal asked.
Adam gave it some thought. "The Magnificent Seven?"
"Too many," Fay said.
"The Three Amigos?" Nick suggested.
“We’re not Amigos,” Fay said, gesturing to herself and Sal. They all laughed.
"Has everybody suddenly lost the ability to count?" Ruth asked.
"Ocean's Eleven, Three men in a boat, Terrible Twos..." Adam went on, listing random numbers. 
"Twelve monkeys," Nick chipped in.
"That's about right," Ruth said, shaking her head at them.
More laughter.
"The Dirty Dozen," Nick grinned.
"Five!" Ruth stressed. "There are five of us!"
"The Famous Five!" Sal exclaimed.
"Oh yeah," Fay said.
Nick shook his head. "We don't have a dog."
Ruth put a hand to her head in exasperation.
"The incredible...err," Nick paused to think. "Well, we're pretty damn good anyway," he concluded.
"Yeah," they all agreed.
"Have you finished now?" Ruth asked. They nodded. "Thank God for that! I thought this was never going to end!"
They all burst out laughing.
"Hey Sal," Nick said, placing a hand on her arm.
She turned to him inquisitively. "Yes?"
"If I remember rightly, a cheeky little rosé , not too dry, not too sweet?"
Her face lit up. "You remembered my favourite drink! He's so clever," she said to Adam and Fay, linking her arm through Nick's. Nick ordered the drink for her from Ruth, she poured it and he took the glass off Ruth, handing it to Sal with a wink.
She smiled and withdrew her arm to take it. "Thank you Nick. Hey, I put on my best dress like you said. Do you like it?" she asked.
Oh boy, he knew without a doubt that Ruth had to be grinning at that very moment. A quick glance confirmed, yes, he was right.
He gave a small cough. "Yes Sal, you look..." Damn, why did it seem like the whole bar had gone silent at that moment. "... beautiful," he said quickly and took another swig of his beer.
Sal became still for a while, a slight smile on her face as she watched Nick. He'd never said that before.

Fun In The Sun Chapter 11

 

Fay, Adam and Ruth were all watching Nick and Sal, as Sal stood in front of him, frozen in the moment with a slight smile on her face and thoughts and feelings drifting through her mind. Nick, on the other hand, was doing everything he could think of to avoid looking at her.

"Anyway," he said, needing to break the atmosphere, "Who wants a Sambuca shot?"

To Nick's relief, this did the trick and everyone seemed to spring back into life again, with Ruth refusing to drink another shot, but offering to pour some for others, Adam and Sal agreeing enthusiasitcally, and Fay reluctanly being cajoled into joining in. Unfortuately for Fay, and eventually for Ruth who somehow got pulled into a later round of shots, one shot each was never on the cards as each person then felt obliged to buy the others one in return.

"You okay there Ruth?" Nick asked after their fourth round of shots. "Has your head gone a bit funny again?" he chuckled.

"To be honest, my head's gone a bit funny too," Sal cut in, placing another empty shot glass down on the bar.

"I'm not taking to you," Ruth replied to Nick, pointing a finger at him. "I said one shot only, remember?"

"It's not my fault," Nick replied defensively. "They were all involved too," he said, gesturing to the group.

"You instigated it," Ruth reminded him, trying to be stern. "You're a very naughty boy," she said, feeling quite tipsy.

Sal grinned and turned to him. "You naughty boy," she mocked, placing a hand on his jean-clad leg and watching him with amusement.

Oh no, he'd seen a look like that from Sal before. The alcohol was beginning to take away some of her inhibitions as she glanced up at him, her face all flushed and her eyes all big and innocent... despite the fact that he knew without a doubt the thoughts going through her head were anything but innocent! It always threatened to push him right over the edge when she looked at him, and said things to him, like that.

Don't think about it! Just don't.

And why did she have to keep her hand there? She needed to move it, and pretty quick!

Ruth became aware of Nick's pradicament then. Poor Nick. Either Sal was accidentally placing temptation in his way, or else... she knew exactly what she was doing! Ruth was never certain which.

"Are you a naughty boy, Nick?" Sal asked, tilting her head with a smile playing at her mouth.

Oh yes, he could very easily be exactly that... right now!

Clearly, she was playing games with him and he was losing pitifully. He had to bloody well say something! Ah, to hell with trying to control things all the time. What's the worst that could happen?

"You have no idea how much," he finally said in a low, rough voice, provoking laughter from the group he hadnt even known were watching them, when Sal's eyes widened with a mixture of surprise and wonderment. She wasn't sure what she had expected, but she hadn't expected him to say that! Actually, now she was left feeling quite intrigued.

He grinned then, the lighthearted nature of the moment bringing back his confidence.

"Don't tempt me, Sal," he warned, reflecting her smile of challenge and fun as his eyes dropped purposefully to her hand on his leg.

She'd forgotten it was there and she pulled it abruptly away then, stepping back with a small laugh and pleasing him immeasurably to see her face suddenly blushing furiously.

"Err, where's my drink?" she said, swinging around suddenly and crashing slap, bang into Adam.

"Easy tiger," Adam laughed, catching her arm to steady her. "It's here on the bar," he said. "Here, maybe you should sit down to drink it," he suggested, pulling out a free stool next to Nick for her to sit on.

"Thanks," she chuckled, wriggling onto the bar stool. She had to stop being so flustered! Thankfully, she remembered a message she needed to relay to Adam and, jumping at the chance to tell him, she went on quickly, "Oh, I forgot to say, the agent upstairs needs us to..."

As Sal spoke to Adam, she reached forward to pick up her glass of wine from off the bar and then it was Nick's turn to burn up, not with embarrassment though, with desire. As she leant forward, he had one fantastic view down the low cut back of her dress and expanse of smooth, bronzed leg and thigh that was revealed when she wriggled on her stool and crossed her legs.

My god, had someone turned up the heat, or the pressure, or something? Because everything was suddenly so bloody intense with him and Sal that evening!

He had to keep his eyes off her!

Damn it, but what he wouldn't give to strip her right out of that little black dress, right there and then!

'Oh boy, Nick is in big trouble again,' Ruth thought to herself with amusement. If he could see the look on his face right at that moment. It was pure, unadulterated lust!

Finally, Nick tore his eyes off Sal and ran a frustrated hand through his hair, glancing around to see Ruth clearly having noticed everything. What was the point in trying to hide it from her? Besides, maybe she wouldnt even remember tomorrow since she had drunk quite a few Sambuca shots that evening.

"Are you having problems?" Ruth whispered with amusement. He looked at her beseechingly and nodded. She gave a little chuckle. "You're so funny," she said, touching his hand sympathetically.

Fun In The Sun Chapter 12

 

Poor Nick, Ruth had to do something to distract him before his hormones got the better of him.

"Hey you two," she said to Sal and Adam, "enough talking about work now, we're going to play a little game," She announced.

Sal's head swung to Ruth then with interest. "What kind of game?"

"It's just a bit of fun. Saw people play this in a pub in Elounda last week," she informed them. "The rules are simple: each person gets a category in turn and they have to list as many things they can in that category in only ten seconds..."

"Ten seconds!" Fay exclaimed.

"Yep, so you have to think quick. Just list everything that comes into your head as quickly as possible. Then whoever names the least number of items has to buy a round of drinks for everyone."

"Ooh, better get my credit card out then," Adam said.

"Need to remortgage my bike," Nick added.

"Hey, my drinks aren't that expensive!" Ruth said defensively. "And anyway, you haven't got a bike yet," she pointed out to Nick.

"Will have tomorrow," he replied immediately.

"What, so you managed to buy a bike in the couple of hours you've been back?" she answered doubtfully.

"Err, not exactly, I rented it," he admitted.

"Well then, you can't remortgage it, can you?" she came back.

His eyes widened in a competitive determination. "I can do anything I want, I am ruler of the universe!" he boomed out, standing up off his stool and flexing his muscles.

They all fell about laughing. He grinned and took his seat again. "Ok, so who goes first?"

"Ruler of the universe, I guess," Ruth grinned back.

Fay, Adam and Sal chuckled.

"Okay," Nick said, "do your worst."

"Alright then. Adam, can you time us?" Ruth asked.

"By all means," he replied, reaching into the pocket of his trousers for his phone, and finding the stop-clock setting.

"Ready?" Ruth asked.

"Steady?" Adam said.

"Go!" Sal joined in.

"Wait!" Nick exclaimed. "I don't even know what the category is yet."

"I was just about to tell you," Ruth assured him.

"But she just said 'go', and I've only got ten seconds. It will take you ten seconds to tell me the category!"

"Don't exaggerate," Ruth replied. "Okay so Nick, your category is...types of sticks. Go!" She said to Adam.

"What?" Nick frowned in confusion.

"Types of sticks... name types of sticks, quickly!" Sal prompted him.

"Err, sticks, sticks," he said to himself, perturbed to realise that he couldn't think of any at all. "Pogo stick!" he finally came up with.

"Yeah, that's it," they encouraged him. "Go on!"

"Match stick, err, err..."

"Come on! Come on! Time's running out!"

"Err, err," he panicked. "Big stick, small stick, sticky stick..."

They all collapsed about laughing.

"Time's out!" Adam called.

"No!" Nick shouted dramatically. "I'm done for," he concluded, slumping over the bar to the sound of hysterics around him.

He sat back on his chair and covered his face with his hands, shaking his head. "What kind of stupid, crazy category is 'types of sticks'? " he said, with a muffled voice from behind his hands.

Ruth reached across the bar and peeled his hands away. "Firstly, may I say that 'big stick' and 'small stick' don't count and are disqualified."

"Disqualified," he exclaimed in dismay. "That's not fair!"

"And furthermore," she went on, "What on earth is a 'sticky stick'?"

They all burst out laughing again.

"Don't," Adam said between laughter. "You're killing me."

"Actually, on second thoughts," Ruth continued, "I don't think I want to know, Mr Elliot. I'm too scared to find out what goes through that mind of yours," she laughed.

"So, what did he get?" Sal asked.

"Two," Ruth chuckled.

"Okay, but it's not that easy you know," Nick said, "Let's see how you lot do."

"Come on then," Fay offered. "I may as well get this over and done with...but..." she went on, "I'd just like to say that..." She thought for a moment about how to ensure her success. "Whoever wants to give me the category, I will give them a kiss," she finished.

"Ooh very clever," Ruth thought to herself. "Only Adam and Nick will volunteer, and Adam won't let Nick do it and get a kiss off Fay. So Adam will do it, and for sure, he will give her an easy category."

Ruth was absolutely was right: both Adam and Nick reacted immediately. Nick jumped off his chair to volunteer and Adam swept him to one side, threatening certain death if he even thought about it. Nick chuckled and sat back down.

"Here," Adam said to Nick, thrusting his phone into Nick's hand. "You can time her."

He laughed at Adam's impatience to get proceedings going. "Okay, okay, are you ready?"

"Yes," Adam answered for Fay. "Your category is...alcoholic drinks. Go."

"Wine, beer, vodka, gin, whisky, brandy, Bacardi, Sambuca..." she said in a stream.

"What?" she can read them from behind the bar for a start, "Nick pointed out shortly before the stop-clock on the phone in his hand beeped to indicate the end of ten seconds.

"Well, that would be around a million points for Fay then," Sal said, glaring at Adam.

Adam grimaced but then shrugged and grinned as Fay wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly on the lips. Fay finally pulled away and Adam glanced up looking very smug.

"When you two have quite finished," Ruth said. "This is getting ridiculous. I'll choose the next one for Adam," Ruth said, taking control again. "Nick?"

"Ready," he confirmed.

Adam pulled away from Fay and prepared himself for battle.

"Good. Your category Adam is..." Ruth said, "...breeds of horses. Go."

Damn. "Ok, Arabian, Shire, stallion, mule, pony... err, donkey, ooh ooh and," he clicked his fingers, trying to remember, "Err, the, err, that American type. I know, Mustang!" he said finally. Then the phone beeped.

"Unfortunately Adam," Ruth began.

"A donkey isn't a horse," Nick finished for her.

"Neither is a pony," Sal chipped in. "Well, not a breed of one anyway."

"Nor a stallion or a mule," Ruth finished.

"They're horsey kind of animals," Adam said in his defence.

They laughed at him.

"Unfortunately, 'horsey kind of animals' wasn't the category. You have three points," Ruth smiled, pleased at having her revenge on him for unashamedly helping out Fay.

"Ok, I'll give you the category this time," Adam said to Ruth. "Ready Nick?"

"Yes," he nodded.

Adam grinned. "Types of amoeba," he said, convinced that he had beaten Ruth this time. "Go."

Ruth grinned back, holding his gaze confidently. "Amoeba Antillius, Amoeba procastus, Amoeba Nefrus...err... and ... Amoeba menillius. I can't think of any more," she finished.

Still, she'd got more than Nick's two and astounded everyone in the process.

Adam stared at Ruth in astonishment. "You've got to be kidding."

What Adam had failed to consider was that if by chance anyone had known the names of several different types of amoeba, he wouldn't have had a clue if they were right or not.

Sal giggled. "Who would have guessed? Ruth is an amoeba expert." Then she had a thought and absentmindedly reached behind her for Nick, placing a hand on his knee and turning around to whisper, "Did she just make them up?"

Nick became suddenly aware that Sal was a little closer to him then and he noticed that the closer she leant, and the longer she waited for his reply, her eyes fixed curiously on him, the more 'funny' his head went... or was that the Sambuca, like what had happened to Ruth? He put a finger to his lips, "Shhh, " he responded, lifting his hand and gently sweeping back her curtain of shiny, auburn hair to lean closer and whisper into her ear, "She's trying to beat Adam."

His soft, warm breath sent tingles into her ear before she was abruptly brought out of her daze when Ruth announced,

"Sal's turn now then."

"Oh no, please don't let me come last," she said. "Sorry Nick," she added, realizing that if she wasn't last, he would be. Not that she minded buying the drinks, she just didn't want to be the one who did the worst.

Nick tapped her on the shoulder and she turned to glance up at him.

"Come on, I'll give you the category," he offered, "I'll make it a nice one," he smiled.

But if he made it a nice one for her, then he would probably lose.

"Ahh, thank you Nick," she replied. He was so sweet at times.

"Are you ready?" he asked her.

She took a deep breath, grabbed hold of the edge of the bar with two hands as if to brace herself for something and replied, "Go."

"Hold on," Adam laughed. "You need to pass me my phone for the stop-clock."

"Oh yeah," Nick replied, reaching to retrieve it off the bar and hand it back to Adam.

Adam took it, grinning at Sal as he did so. She was still grasping onto the bar and appeared to be holding her breath, still waiting for her game to begin. "Sal, I think you need to resume breathing before we start or you're likely to pass out," he chuckled.

She let out her breath in a rush, gasping and giggling.

"Good God, it's only a game, Sal," Ruth laughed.

"My reputation's at stake," she replied between breaths.

They chuckled.

Boy, she really was nervous about this. Nick needed to give her a good category but he also didn't want to make it as easy as Adam had for Fay as that was too obvious.

"Sal, come here," Nick said, taking hold of one of her hands and turning her around in her seat to face him. He reached for her other hand too and held them both loosely in front of them. Then he looked purposefully into her eyes, drawing her attention, and made a sweeping movement with his eyes as if following the path of something flying though the air.

What was he doing? Sal frowned with confusion.

Nick tried again. This time jumping his eyes a couple of times before widening them and again, making the sweeping movement.

Sal started to giggle and Nick gave up with a short burst of laughter.

"What on earth are you two doing?" Fay asked.

"Nothing. We're ready Adam," Nick replied.

"Steady," Adam answered.

"Things that fly," Nick said to Sal. "Go."

"Oh!" Sal exclaimed with realization, taking a second to think and then suddenly feeling confident as a whole stream of ideas flooded into her mind. "Monkey, elephant, house, horse, table..." she listed.

What?... What was she doing?

"...bed, elevator, car, err, err and a...bird!" She finished triumphantly. "How did I do?"

The stop-clock sounded and then the group fell silent as they all stared at her in bewilderment.

"You finish with a bird?" Nick said incredulously. "Couldn't you think of other things that fly?"

"Yeah, I know," she admitted, "the bird wasn't that good."

Adam began to laugh when he saw Nick's face, prompting giggles in the others.

"No Sal, the bird was... what the?" he shook his head. Had the world gone mad? "The bird was the only one!"

"Only what?" Sal asked, puzzled by their reactions.

"The only thing that flies!" he shouted out.

Adam couldn't hold back any more and burst out laughing loudly, followed by Ruth and then Fay.

"No it isn't," Sal came back defensively.

Ruth prepared to chip in. Dare she ask?

"A flying monkey, Sal?" she just about managed to get out before bursting into laughter again.

Adam was laughing so much at this point he had tears in his eyes.

Sal turned to Nick for support but he too had succumb to the giggles by then.

"Has no one ever seen the "Wizard of OZ"?" Sal asked.

They stopped for a second to think.

"You know, those little flying monkeys with little blue and red coats on," Sal explained.

They burst out laughing again.

Adam pointed to Ruth.

"Put...put...put a point on her score... for that... for that one Ruth," he managed to say before the laughter gripped him again.

"Sal," Nick called her, his face alight with amusement. "What was the elephant?"

By this time the rest of the group had thought ahead.

"Dumbo!" they called out in unison, collapsing into laughter again afterwards.

"Are we...are we... right?" Ruth asked.

Sal smiled. "Yeah."

Adam put his hands over his face then and gave into the hysterics.

"And the house out of 'The Wizard of Oz', and the flying horse, Pegasus, and the flying table in 'Mary Poppins', the bed that flew in "Bedknobs and Broomsticks", Roald Dahl's flying glass elevator, and Chitty, Chitty Bang Bang," Sal finished a little short of breath but with a satisfied smile. "How many points did I get?"

The hilarity intensified at her very long list of magical flying things.

"Oh and the bird," Sal added.

"Yeah," Nick said, in a high pitched giggle, "Don't forget the bird, Ruth."

More hilarity ensued.

"Any disqualified?" Sal asked.

Ruth was holding her stomach to try to alleviate the aches that were caused by her excessive laughter which was getting worse by the minute. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to hold back until more giggles burst out of her and she said, "I can't...I can't" she tried again, "I can't disqualify any of them. She...she...she got them all right!"

The room exploded again into laughter once more and Sal slid off her bar stool, watching them all with amusement.

Ruth turned away from the sight of everyone and stood with her back turned to the bar while she struggled to calm herself down and stop laughing.

Adam had a fist to his mouth while he tried to control himself and Fay was draped over his shoulder, having just as much trouble.

Finally, after a few minutes, with a huge calming breath, Ruth turned around. "Right. Let's...let's add up the scores," she said. But her shaky voice and wavering lips betrayed her continued weakness. "Nick, unfortunately you only got two," she said, grinning and biting her lip. She inhaled deeply again. "Adam, you got three..." She glanced at him then, but it was a mistake. His face as he was trying to hold the laughter back just caused her to start giggling again. She shook her head abruptly and went on. "I got four, Fay got eight and Sal..." she paused and closed her eyes for a second before continuing, "got nine and is the...and is the...the... w...w... winner," she finished, giving up on trying to hold it back anymore.

They all cheered, in between fits of giggles, and Sal's face broke out into a big smile. She glanced around at them all, to see everyone of them completely helpless in the grips of uncontrollable giggles. From his bar stool, with a huge grin, Nick reached out, grabbed Sal's arm and pulled her back to him. She stood with her back against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her middle.

"Well done Sal," he giggled into her ear before looking up at Ruth, Adam and Fay again. "The funny thing is," he chuckled, "I meant to give her an easy category but she won it in the most difficult and complicated way!"

They all nodded but daren't speak.

"Wouldn't you all just love to live in Sal's world?" he smiled. "Sal," he began. She leant her head back against his chest and looked up at him. "You're...you're just..." he sighed, "wonderful," he beamed, tightening his arms around her.

"Little flying monkeys," Adam said to himself shaking his head and chuckling after glancing at Ruth.

She put a hand to her mouth and giggled. "In little coats," she added.

 

Fun In The Sun Chapter 13

"I'm exhausted," Fay announced. "after all that laughing and so many Sambuca shots. Think I need to go to bed now," she said, turning to Adam.

Adam's face lit up at the mention of 'bed'.

"Oh," Sal said a little regretfully. "Can't you have one last drink?"

"I'm sure we could have one last one," Adam answered, glancing sideways at Fay. "Just a small one. One more little Sambuca shot?" he suggested, leaning towards her to add in a whisper, "besides, if you drink one more of those, it'll make it easier for me to have my wicked way with you tonight."

Fay recoiled in shock. "You are no gentleman," she said to him.

He grinned. "True. But I've told you that before," he replied shamelessly, ordering Sambuca shots for them all.

Ruth lined up the drinks, they took one each, clinked and drank.

"I really don't think I should have any more of these tonight," Sal said, placing yet another empty shot glass down on the bar in front of her. "I'm feeling a little dizzy."

Nick chuckled. "Nothing new there then Sal, you're always a little dizzy."

"Not any more mister, I've turned over a new leaf," she announced, as her head floated with the effects of the Sambuca.

"Really, and what kind of tree are you then?" Nick asked, feeling a little lightheaded himself.

Sal, Ruth and Fay frowned at each other in confusion.

Damn, he was beginning to make as much sense as Sal. Which was not much at all.

"What I mean is, that if you were a tree, which one would you be?" he said, attempting to explain himself but sounding no better.

Err, what was happening to him? He appeared to have lost total control of what was coming out of his mouth. He hoped they wouldn't pick up on that.

Ruth, Sal and Fay giggled.

"He's losing the plot," Sal said, patting him sympathetically on the arm.

"I bet you'd be a real ditzy, flouncy tree," Nick continued, cursing himself for opening his mouth and wondering what on earth he was going to come out with next.

"What do you mean?" Sal laughed, glancing at him curiously.

"You know," he began, "you'd be all flirty with all the other trees. You'd probably grow blossom in the springtime and then shed it all bit by bit, day by day, driving all the oak trees insane!"

All the girls fell into fits of giggles and Adam glanced sideways at him in puzzlement.

"So," Sal began, stifling a laugh, "what tree would you be then, Nick?"

He thought for a moment and then announced with a grin, "I'd be a Giant Redwood, the biggest tree in the world!"

Sal giggled and rested her head on the bar, looking up at him.

"Oh yes, and why is that then, Nick?" she grinned.

He lifted an eyebrow. "Because I have very long legs and those trees have very long..." he paused, "trunks."

Ruth, Sal and Fay thought this was hilarious.

"I bet you say that to all the trees!" Sal said, leaning on Fay's arm as they both gave into their laughter.

"I think that you were right in the first place, Sal, I think you should all slow down on the Sambuca," Adam chuckled. "As for us," he said, taking hold of Fay's hand and helping her off the bar stool, "bed time now, eh Fay," he grinned.

"Yes," she replied. "Time to sleep," she stressed.

"Hmm, we will see about that," Adam replied, turning to the rest of them to add. "It's always the same, as soon as she gets home, she can't keep her hands off me."

"I heard that!" Fay exclaimed. "Sometimes, you are extremely arrogant and bigheaded, Mr Ford."

He laughed. "And sometimes you are extremely snobbish and uptight, Miss Thompson," he countered. "Come on, let's go."

Fay laughed and proceeded to say her farewells to Nick, Ruth and Sal.

"Look after Sal down town, won't you?" she whispered to Nick as she hugged him goodbye.

"Always," he replied sincerely.

"Have fun," Fay said, hugging Sal.

"I will," Sal smiled, "I'll phone you tomorrow, Fay."

"Yes, speak tomorrow," she answered, following Adam to the end of the bar, near the doorway, where Adam handed Ruth some money for their drinks and they both said goodbye to her. Adam then reached for the door but paused and turned to Fay before he opened it.

"You don't really think that I'm arrogant and bigheaded, do you?" he asked.

She nodded. "Definitely. You don't really think that I'm snobbish and uptight, do you?" Fay asked back.

He nodded. "Absolutely," and then whispered to her, "shall we get to bed?"

She nodded and they both giggled, opening the door and making their escape down the street.

"Ahh," Sal sighed, having watched Fay and Adam as they left. "I miss that."

"What?" Nick asked.

"Sex," she said longingly, gazing at the door through which Fay and Adam had just exited. "It's been so long; I've forgotten what it's like."

Ruth noticed with amusement how Sal suddenly had Nick's undivided attention, and she laughed at Sal's forlorn expression. Sal turned to them then. "It's alright for you two," she said.

"Hey!" Ruth immediately reacted. "You cheeky devil, Sal; I don't have sex!" she exclaimed with indignation.

"Why not?" Sal responded. "You should try it," she giggled, "It's quite enjoyable."

"Well..." Ruth reconsidered, deciding to come clean. "I didn't say that I'd never had it," she whispered.

"But not now?" Sal whispered back.

"No Sal, not at this precise moment," Ruth laughed.

"No, I didn't mean..." Sal said, bursting into laughter, "I meant... not having it ..." On second thoughts, maybe Sal should quit while she was ahead. "Err, never mind," she chuckled.

"I know what you meant," Ruth assured her. "Anyway," she went on, "I don't have time for sex, " she said with a dismissive gesture.

"Well, from what I do remember," Sal said, feeling the giggles bubbling up again, "with most men, it doesn't take much time anyway," she finished bursting into laughter again.

"Hey," Nick interjected defensively, "not me. I'm like..." he thought for a moment, "like... 'Eveready'!" he exclaimed. "I just keep going."

Both Ruth and Sal fell about laughing at that.

"Well," Ruth began with a little cough, trying to decide how to respond to Nick's revelation. "That's impressive," she chuckled.

"Yes," Sal agreed, with a giggle. "That is impressive."

Nick took a sip of his beer, with his eyes still fixed on Sal. He didn't want to get distracted and miss any of this conversation.

 

Fun In The Sun Chapter 14

 

Nick loved those kinds of discussions with Sal...to know what she thought about sex... when she thought about it, why she thought about it, how she thought about it, who she thought about when she thought about it. Basically, anything to do with Sal thinking about sex. Strange, he couldn't think of any other girls he knew who talked about sex like she did. He remembered the first time she'd done it; just randomly told him last year in the airport cafe that she really wanted it soon. Even his girlfriends hadn't exactly talked about sex with him.

That was one thing that really surprised Nick about Sal; that, for a girl, she talked an awful lot about it. And with him too. And if she talked a lot about it, then she must also think about it a lot as well. He would give anything to know some of those thoughts. The ones that were far to explicit for even Sal to talk about. That was a dangerous train of thought for him now though. He shifted on his barstool and turned his attention back to the conversation.

"...it's usually about thirteen minutes," Nick heard Sal say.

What was thirteen minutes he wondered. What had he missed?

"Really?" Ruth replied. "It kind of seemed like longer," she laughed. "from what I can remember."

Okay, he had to ask.

"What is thirteen minutes?"

They both turned to him.

"Keep up Nick," Ruth said. "We're talking about sex."

"Yes, I know that, but what takes thirteen minutes?" he asked.

"Sex," they both said at the same time.

"Woa, wait, no way!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, apparently, according to Sal's investigations, it takes an average of thirteen minutes," Ruth informed him.

"But...but... that can't be right," he replied.

"Why, how long do you think it takes?" Sal asked with a grin.

"At least thirty minutes, sometimes longer," he answered. "Up to an hour," he added.

"What?" Sal and Ruth exclaimed.

"Hold on," Ruth went on, "are you talking about the actual time doing it, or including the time before as well?"

He frowned and tried to calculate it. They watched as he attempted to add up the figures in his head.

Finally, he gave up. "For goodness sake! Who goes around timing these kind of things anyway?"

They laughed.

"The way I see it," he continued, "It's kind of possible to vaguely know how much time is taken before, but when it's actually happening," he paused to imagine it. Then he shook his head. "There's no way anyone could know."

"You make it sound very mystical and mysterious," Sal chuckled.

"So, why can nobody know?" Ruth asked.

"What?" Nick said, finding it a little hard to focus through the Sambuca haze.

"You said that when it's actually happening, no one could know how long it takes," Sal reminded him.

"Oh yeah, well you go into a different..." he tried to think of the right word, "...dimension."

Sal and Ruth both turned to each other with wide-eyed amazement, then laughed.

"Really?" Ruth said. "Are you sure you hadn't been smoking something funny at the time?" she laughed.

"No, that wouldn't be a very good idea at all, not for a guy," he answered. "No, I mean, well not exactly another dimension, but something similar. Time kind of stops going at its usual pace because... well... let's face it, everything is very focused on other things."

Wow, did he just say all that? He wasn't as bad at talking about stuff as he thought.

"Well that's nice," Ruth responded. "It sounds as if you pay a lady a lot of attention, Nick."

"Thanks," he smiled. "I do."

Sal contemplated him as he took a sip of his beer.

"I must admit, I have had one or two terrible lovers though," Ruth commented. "Some good ones too of course," she assured them.

"Why were they terrible?" Nick asked instinctively, realizing that this was actually a great opportunity for him to find out what women really thought about all of this. It's not like he got to know this kind of thing every day and it could help him find out if he was up to standard. "No actually, why were the other ones good?" he backtracked.

Ruth smiled. "Like I said, they were focused on me. Not just in it for themselves, or their egos."

He thought about that for a moment before replying. "What else makes a good lover, do you think?" He was aware that he was probably pushing this too much, and that he would never normally go anywhere near this kind of frank conversation if he was sober, but they seemed relaxed and happy to chat about this.

Sal stepped up then. "Of course all of the considerate stuff, that's really important, but after that..." she contemplated it for a moment. "It has to be exciting," she finished.

"Yes," Ruth agreed. "A boring lover really doesn't do it for me."

Sal laughed. "Nor me."

"Wait, so okay, what makes an exciting lover then?" Nick asked them.

"Not predictable," Sal offered.

"Masterful," Ruth chuckled.

"I like talking," Sal admitted suddenly. "If he does it right," she added.

Nick looked up then in confusion.

"What? Wouldn't that be a bit off-putting?" he asked.

It took Ruth a moment then to work out Nick's misunderstanding.

"No Nick," she laughed suddenly. "She's not talking about discussing what you did at the weekend!"

"Oh," he said, following it by, "ohhh..." when it properly registered what Sal had meant. "Right," he grinned, "Yeah, that can be good."

Sal giggled. "Yep, turns me on...what about you?" she asked, totally taking him by surprise.

He suddenly realized that these girls were clearly used to talking like this and they knew the rules. He, on the other hand, was a guy and hadn't a clue what the rules of such conversations were.

Ruth suddenly felt as if she was intruding on Sal and Nick then, which was ridiculous because they weren't even a couple. However, she couldn't help but think, and hope, that somewhere along the line, they would be.

"Looks like Bill wants to pay his tab," she said to Nick and Sal, making a discrete retreat down to the other end of the bar.

It had been a few moments since Sal had asked the question now and Nick still hadn't answered.

"It's ok," Sal said to him. "You don't have to tell me. It's just me being nosey," she added.

"No, it's ok...it just... why do you ask?" he said.

"There is a very good reason," she assured him. "So that I know men better. You know, the way they think. So I can understand them better and hopefully have better relationships."

Weird, but that made total sense. In fact...

He laughed. "Funny, I was just thinking the same thing when listening to you and Ruth."

Sal smiled. Then there was a short silence, which was followed by her prompting him with, "So?"

"So?" he echoed.

"So, what about you? What turns you on?" she asked.

"You," was the first thought that popped into his head. But no, he couldn't tell her that.

"Err..." He was faced with those ambiguous rules again. "Well..." he ran a hand through his hair.

"What?" she asked.

"Uhm..."

"What? Just say it," she prompted.

Right, just say it.

"Bouncy bits," he said, bursting out into laughter when the absurdity of the situation hit him.

Sal started giggling too.

"Hey, don't laugh at me," he said, still laughing himself. "You got me into this... and you encouraged me." He pointed an accusatory finger at her.

"No," she said, "I can understand how guys like..." she paused then before bursting out into laughter again shortly afterwards.

"Stop it," he grinned. "or there will be ramifications."

"Okay, sorry," she said. "I promise not to laugh if you tell me what else," she assured him, resting her chin on her hands and watching him with interest.

"More?" he replied incredulously. "You want me to go into the lion's den again!"

She chuckled. "What can I say, I'm insatiable. Anyway, I said I wouldn't laugh this time," she reminded him, putting on a straight face. "I won't, I promise."

"Think I need another drink for this," he said, standing up on his barstool foot rest to lean across to the other side of the bar where Ruth kept the Sambuca.

"I think Ruth will be closing soon," Sal said, watching as he pulled out some money and left it on the other side of the bar for Ruth.

"That's why I got this," he said, pouring Sambuca into a shot glass. "It's quick to drink."

"Go on then, I'll have one too," she replied, reaching for her bag to get some money.

"Don't worry about it," he said, pouring some of the Sambuca into a glass for Sal. "I left more than enough money for these two drinks."

"Okay, thanks," she said, picking up the glass, clinking with his and holding his gaze as they both drank.

She replaced the glass onto the bar with a grin. "So, are you ready to tell me now, Nick?" she asked, her light-headedness causing a mixture of excitement and fun.

"Woa," he said, shaking his head sharply. "That one had some kick...Am I ready? Uhm," he thought about it for a moment. What could he actually tell her? Could he really delve into all those fantasies he'd had, mostly about her. "On second thoughts..." he shook his head, "No really, Sal, I can't."

"Why?" she piped up.

"Because Sal," he leant towards her, his eyes travelling over her face. "If I do, this conversation is going to get seriously X-rated."

Her eyes widened. That was the second time that night he had surprised her with his reply. "Really?" she said. Then his answer fully sank in and she gasped. "Oh no, that's not fair! Now I'm totally intrigued. What on earth could be that x-rated?"

He laughed and put a hand over his face, shaking his head. "You really don't want to know, Sal."

"But yes, yes, now I do," she replied.

He laughed again. "Ruth wants to close, Sal."

Sal glanced behind her to see that they were now the only customers left in the bar and Ruth was tidying up.

"Okay, but you've got to tell me," she said, watching as he slid off his barstool and prepared to leave. "Tell me now quickly," she urged him.

"No Sal," he laughed, heading past her to move down the bar.

"Nick, come on," she said, jumping off her bar stool and chasing after him. "You have to tell me!"

Ruth glanced up from replenishing the fridges when she registered the laughter and commotion caused by Nick and Sal.

"What on earth are you two up to?" Ruth asked, as Sal chased Nick down the bar.

Ruth was noted however, with amusement, that despite being chased, Nick seemed decidedly happy about it.

As they pursued each other, dodging between the barstools, laughing and shrieking, she couldn't help but think it was like having two excitable children in her bar.

"Come on you two," she laughed. "You had better get down town while there are still some bars open down there."

Sal gave up then and flopped onto a barstool to catch her breath at the end of the bar, opposite where Ruth was cleaning the surfaces. Nick followed close behind.

"Sorry Ruth, it's just that I was trying to... and well, he was," she panted.

"Yes, I get the idea," Ruth grinned, glancing from Sal to Nick.

"Yeah, anyway," Sal replied, "Want to come with us?" she asked.

Ruth shook her head. "Thank for the offer but I'm going straight to bed; I'm shattered."

"Okay, next time," Sal smiled.

"Right, I had better pay up," Nick said, "Fair is fair, I lost that game of yours badly," he said to Ruth, reaching into his wallet for some Euro notes. He pulled out a crisp yellow two hundred note and tossed it onto the bar.

When Ruth saw the large amount of money she went to say something, taking a breath, only to be interruped by Nick before she could speak.

"To be honest," he continued, "It's been such a great night. I'm more than happy to pay for everyone's drinks."

"Wait," Sal cut in with slight panic in her voice. However, leaving the money, Ruth busied herself to and fro, replacing objects behind the bar and reorganizing the supplies. Sal finally went around to the other side of the bar and caught up with Ruth at the till.

"Ruth," Sal said, tapping her on the arm and speaking in a whisper, "Nick can't afford all that. Let me pay," she appealed.

Ruth smiled. "No need." She continued in a louder voice for Nick to also hear. "Adam settled the bill earlier, Nick."

Nick glanced up then with a slight frown, "Wait, no..."

"He said," she interrupted him, "That he will take it out of your wages and give you extra shifts next week."

"But..."

"He needs the staff," she assured him. "Take that money back, Nick. Everything has been paid for," she repeated.

He paused for a moment before shrugging and retrieving the money again from the bar.

That was nice of Adam.

"Bye Sal," Ruth said, reaching for her goodbye hug.

"Love you Ruthie," Sal replied.

Ruth then locked the till and made her way from behind the bar to Nick, who was standing at the end, near to the doorway. Sal was behind her.

"See you tomorrow maybe?" she said to Nick.

"Yeah, for sure," he replied.

Ruth reached forward then to hug Nick. "Have a great rest of the night," she said.

He hugged her back but then made no move to leave. "I'll see you to your door," he said, as she turned off the bar lights.

"Don't be silly," she replied. "Honestly, I'll be fine."

She had forgotten how Nick was always so concerned about ensuring that she got home safely.

"No," he insisted. "I'm walking you back."

She laughed, "But it's only two doors down. There's no need."

"Do we have to go through this every time?" he asked.

Ruth sighed and then gave a small laugh. "Okay then, you can walk me back," she finally conceded.

They exited through the first set of glass doors where Ruth used her keys to lock them, however the second set of doors closed by simply being pulled shut.

"Stay here," Nick said to Sal. "I'll just be a minute."

He followed Ruth then into the cool, dark street and down the cobbled road to the building just a few moments walk away. She used another key to unlock the outside door to an apartment block with a narrow stairway leading up two floors to her apartment.

At the bottom of the stairs, she turned to kiss him on the cheek.

"Thank you, Nick. You're very sweet. It's great to see you back," she said.

"It's great to be back again. Thanks for such a good night," he replied.

"See you tomorrow," she said, turning to head up the stairs.

At the bottom, Nick paused for a moment before leaving, calling after her, "Ruth..."

She reached the top of the stairs and turned, leaning on the stair rail and glancing down at him. "Yes."

"How come you never had kids," he asked.

That question came out of the blue, surprising her.

"My life just didn't go in that direction," she answered honestly. "Not that I wouldn't have liked kids; the time was just never right."

He nodded, but still didn't leave. Ruth knew him well enough by now to know that he probably had something on his mind and was wondering how to say it.

"It's just that..."

"What is it, Nick?" she encouraged him.

"I was just thinking..." Damn it, he was just going to say it. "I wish you had been my mom." Then he laughed nervously. "Silly, eh."

She exhaled in a sigh and her whole expression softened then. "Nick, I would have been so proud to have you as my son."

He smiled, and then chuckled and didn't know where to look for a moment.

"Go on now Nick, Sal's waiting," she reminded him. "Go and have a lovely time."

 

Fun In The Sun Chapter 15

 

"Come on Sal," Nick said, taking hold of her hand and leading her out of the 'Wheelhouse' doorway. "Let's go and have some fun downtown," he smiled. "I'll race you down there," he said, trying to hurry her up by standing behind her, placing his hands on her waist and ushering her along.

"Hey, slow down Mr Impatient," she laughed, glancing back at him. "I can't walk that fast in these shoes."

"C'mon, c'mon," he said, wriggling his fingers on her waist.

"Stop," she giggled, attempting to prise his fingers away. "If you carry on like that, I'll end up tripping over and breaking some bones," she warned him.

"Okay, we don't want that," he relented, removing his hands from her waist and moving beside her to place an arm around her shoulder as they strolled at a more leisurely pace down the hill and past the shuttered shops and cafes. The centre of the town, around the harbour and lake, was the only part of Agios Nikolaos that would stay open at that time of night, past midnight, particularly that early in the summer season. But there were a couple of bars where late night drinkers and partygoers always accumulated and so the bar owners in town thought it worthwhile staying open to take advantage of that extra trade.

"Besides," Sal went on, inhaling the warm midnight air as they walked, "You need to slow down to appreciate this moment."

Appreciate this moment?

"What do you mean?" he asked, intrigued.

"Don't you ever do that?" she replied.

"Do what?" he questioned.

She stopped suddenly and turned to him. Since his arm was still around her shoulder, their faces seemed to be at closer quarters than usual. "Just pause for a minute," she whispered, her eyes alight and sparkling with energy. "Stand still and soak in the moment... when it's a great one, of course," she explained. "And this Nick," she said, placing a hand on his chest to emphasize the point, "is a great moment."

"It is?" he said with surprise, not totally understanding what Sal was talking about, but keen to know.

"Of course. Think about it: we've just had a great time in the Wheelhouse with Fay, Adam and Ruth," she said, gesturing back in the direction of the pub, "we are just about to go down town to meet more friends, dance and have even more fun," she said, gesturing towards the town. "It's your first day back after a long, cold winter... "she began to count on her fingers, "...the weather is getting warmer, the tourists are returning, we have a whole amazing summer ahead of us...what could be greater than that?"

He thought about it for a moment, contemplating her face just below his. She was completely right. How did she manage to be so insightful?

"Well, if you put it like that," he said, "This moment is pretty damn incredible," he smiled.

"Right," she agreed. "But the problem is with these types of moments is that they slip past us so quickly, and before we know it, they are gone. That's why we need to stop for a moment and appreciate it," she explained.

"Okay, but what do we do to appreciate it?" he asked. She seemed to be an expert on this but she needed to tell him how to do it.

"Well, we have to..." She glanced around for a second then. "Something's not quite exactly right," she said, pulling away from his arm. "But, I think I know how to change that," she enthused, grabbing his hand and leading him forward.

"Where are we going, Sal?" he asked, following her with bemusement.

"Down here," she answered, turning off the main road leading to the town, to take a side road which cut across the grid of streets and provided a route to the marina area at the far end of the town.

There they approached the small, sandy beach which dropped down behind a low wall. A row of cafes and tavernas, now closed, followed the line of the wall and the marina could be seen beyond.

Sal led Nick to the edge of the wall but stopped there, choosing not to jump down into the sand but to enjoy the scenery from the higher viewpoint.

"Here," she said, turning to him enthusiastically. "This is a much better place to appreciate the moment."

He smiled warmly at her. "It certainly is. Everything is perfect, Sal," he concluded. Then a thought hit him. "I know what we should do," he said.

"What?" she asked, as he moved towards her.

"We should appreciate this moment together," he said, "Turning her around to face the view, and standing behind her where he slipped his arms around her middle. "And in the future," he whispered into her ear, "any time either of us is sad about something, we can remember this moment and feel happier."

As he spoke, his breath drifted through the curtain of hair that fell across her ear when she inclined her head slightly. The warmth of the vibrations transmitted to her ear, focusing her attention on his nearness.

"Oh, that's a wonderful thought, Nick," she said emotionally. Her voice sounded odd to her, like there wasn't enough sound to it. But then something occurred to her and she turned to look back at him with a little concern. "But are you anticipating sad times?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Not exactly, but we're not going to be happy all the time. That's just life."

She turned back towards the view and wrapped her arms around his, which had already claimed her waist.

"Or," she said, providing an alternative, "The future holds lots of more wonderful moments, but this one will just be extra wonderful."

He smiled and whispered. "That was such a totally 'Sal' thing to say. I prefer it," he said.

She smiled with him and let her gaze wander over the lights on the water in the distance. she leant her head back against his chest and sighed. "It's so pretty," she said.

The feel of her body relaxing back against his as she entrusted herself with him, was strangely touching.

"What do you see, Nick?" she asked.

"Hmm?" he responded dreamily.

"Tell me what you can see. If you say it, you will remember all of this better," she replied.

I can see a beautiful woman in my arms.

"I can see sparkling water," he replied.

"What else?" she encouraged.

I can see a very kissable neck.

"The waves lapping onto the sand," he added.

"What else?" she asked again.

Earlobes I could nibble.

"I can see the moon and stars in the sky."

"What else?"

Eyelashes that flutter when your eyes search the view.

"Yachts in the marina," he went on.

"What else?"

An incredibly cute nose with freckles on it.

"Lights in the distance from the town."

"More," she urged him.

lips so... Damn, he daren't follow that train of thought.

"Anything else?" she asked.

"Err..." His concentration on describing the view had been lost on contemplating her lips.

She smiled. she had only been trying to stretch out the moment by asking him for more. "I think you described it all beautifully," she said. She sighed again. "One thing about moments like these," she began, suddenly turning to glance back at him, but stopping in mid sentence when she realized that his face was closer that she had thought. Something about him made her freeze for a second. That second seemed to last longer than a regular second. Then she remembered what she was going to say. "Unfortunately, they can't go on too long, or else we would be standing here forever looking at the sea," she laughed.

At that precise moment, he wouldn't have minded that.

"You're right," he replied. "But, just one more thing before we go."

"What?" she asked.

He squeezed his eyes shut. "Just soak it up for one last second."

She turned around to face him, grabbed his hands, grasped them tightly, and did the same. Then she exhaled loudly and laughed.

He opened his eyes and laughed with her. "Got all you could?" he asked.

"Every bit," she smiled.

"Come on then, town awaits," he replied, throwing an arm around her shoulder as they strolled back towards the town.

 

Fun In The Sun Chapter 16

Sal and Nick chased and teased each other excitedly down the rest of the street towards the town centre, across the bridge and into a side street, having decided to have a quick drink in the "Catalonia Coast" bar first, before heading for "Saint-Tropez", usually the liveliest bar in town.

As they approached, they could hear the beat of some music coming from inside the bar, telling them that it was definitely still open. At that time of night, out of the summer season, there was only really one guarantee: that "Saint-Tropez" and the Greek nightclubs would be open. But the "Catalonia Coast" bar could also be fun and more often than not, it stayed open fairly late.

In the area between the main doorway and the outer door, the Kamaki, the guy whose job it was to persuade people to enter the bar, gave them each a shot of some pink liquid. Kosta, the bar owner, must have very recently employed this guy for the summer season as Sal hadn't seen him working there before. Also, the fact that he thought he needed to persuade them to enter when they were regular visitors and lived on the island, meant that he clearly didn't know all the locals yet. Still, they took the drinks as Kosta was always more than happy to offer them free shots once in the bar anyway, so they didn't feel as if they were taking advantage of Kosta's attempts to attract tourists.

"Woa," Nick said, reacting to the taste of the shot. "Pink can be unexpectedly deceptive," he commented, holding up the empty glass to inspect it as if expecting to see some evidence of why the tame pink colour had burned so much on the way down.

"We really have to stop doing this," Sal laughed, downing her shot, grimacing and handing the empty glass back to the Kamaki. "Thanks," she said to him before following Nick inside.

Whenever Sal entered the "Catalonia Coast" it always reminded her of a Caribbean bar and she had the urge for some kind of tropical drink. The bar sort of looked a bit like a galleon and there were mirrored advertisements for all kinds of fun, summer drinks on the walls. Sal was quite surprised to see that the narrow bar was mostly full, with only some standing space in the middle between the bar stools and small tables and chairs against the opposite wall.

Despite the crowds, as soon as they entered, Kosta spotted them and gave an enthusiastic greeting.

"Welcome, come in. Sit. You are welcome, Sally," he said, reaching out a hand to her from behind the Vinyl and digital audio systems. Kosta was renowned for his huge collection of original vinyl, which was kept in shelving units behind the bar.

"Hi Kosta," Sal said, taking his hand and reaching across the bar to kiss him on the cheek. In true Greek tradition he kissed her back; first on one cheek, and then on the other. He then shook hands with Nick.

"Marta," he shouted down the bar to the girl who was serving drinks to a table of three guys at the far end. "Drinks here," he said, pointing to Sal and Nick.

"You're so busy in here for a Tuesday night," Sal observed enthusiastically. "That's great," she smiled.

"Yes," Kosta nodded, scanning his busy bar with pleasure. "How are the other bars?" he asked.

Sal always felt a little uncomfortable when the bar owners asked questions like that. She was acutely aware of the intense competition for custom in the town and since she had several friends who were bar owners, she really didn't want to feel like she was some kind of town spy.

"We have only just come from "The Wheelhouse"," she informed him. "So I'm not sure."

He nodded, apparently satisfied without further enquiry. "The Wheelhouse" was practically out of town and didn't constitute any threat to Kosta. Besides, not many tourists frequented "The Wheelhouse"; it was mostly filled with locals and expats.

"So, what you having to drink then, Sally?" Nick grinned.

"I'll have the special cocktail please," Sal said to Marta, who was now waiting to take their order, before turning to Nick. "What?" she asked, picking up on his amusement.

"Sol beer, please," he ordered from Marta, and then addressed Sal. "Kosta called you 'Sally'," he chuckled.

"Yes, he did. And?" she asked with a wry smile.

"He called you Sally!" Nick repeated with more emphasis this time.

"Yeees, and your point is?" she answered.

"Why d'he do that?" Nick asked.

She frowned in confusion. "Because my name is 'Sally'," she laughed.

"What? No it isn't," he came back immediately.

Sal hesitated for a moment before bursting out into laughter. "Are you kidding me?"

"No," he said. "Your name's not Sally," he insisted.

She stared at him with her mouth agape. "How many of those shots did you have?"

"Just one, why?" he asked.

"Because my name is 'Sally'!" she exclaimed.

"Your name is "Sal"," he informed her.

She laughed at him again. "It's the same thing!"

"No, no, it's not. "Sally" doesn't sound right at all," he said. "It's totally different."

"It's two letters more," she pointed out incredulously. She thought for a moment about what he'd said. "Do you really not know my name?" she asked.

He grinned. "Yes, of course I do." She smiled. Thank goodness for that. "It's Sal," he added.

"What? No...well yes, but..." she sighed and then realized that he was watching her with amusement. "Stop it," she said. "You're joking, right?"

"Imagine someone calling you Sally. They obviously don't know your proper name," he grinned.

"Stop it!" she laughed again, slapping him on the arm. She still wasn't entirely sure if he was teasing her, or if he really didn't know that her name actually was Sally.

He held his arm in mock injury. "Awch, you've hurt me now Sally...sorry, I meant, Sal," he corrected.

"Ooh, you wretch!" she exclaimed, lunging for him again. He caught her arm this time though and made an attack on her ribs with his fingers. She yelped and wriggled about, frantically trying to free herself but was barred from escaping by a strong arm around her middle. Between his attacks, they stopped suddenly for a second and froze to see that all the people around them had turned and were watching them.

"Here," Greta said, placing their drinks on the bar. "One Catalonia Special cocktail and a Sol beer."

They both laughed then and, with the arm that had trapped her, Nick pulled her tightly against him momentarily to kiss her on the cheek, whispering, "I've missed teasing you senseless, Sal," before finally releasing her to reach for his beer.

She grinned and reached for her cocktail too. Taking a sip though, she exclaimed, "Woa, that is strong!"

Nick peered at it. "Oooh," he said, as if having discovered something important from just looking at it. "It's pink," he pointed out.

She frowned. "What does that mean?"

"It means... it's probably the same stuff as in the shots we had when we came in." He shook his head. "Potent stuff that is, Sal."

She held it at arms length then as if it were dangerous. "Do you think it is? You need to try it to check," she said, holding it out to him.

He eyed it dubiously. "You're going to make me be guinea pig for you, aren't you?"

She nodded.

"Ok, give it here," he said, accepting the glass and taking a sip through the straw. He swallowed and winced. "Yep, it's that same stuff. What do they put in that? It's got to be close to one hundred per cent alcohol." He took a swig of his beer to take away the taste.

"One hundred percent alcohol isn't pink, is it?" she asked, studying the glass.

He gave it some thought. "I don't think so," he replied.

"So it must have something else in it then," she chuckled, taking another sip cautiously. "Oooh, I think that's going to my head," she said.

"I think it's already gone to mine," he laughed.

She took another sip.

"Do you think that's wise?" Nick asked.

She giggled. "I think I'm getting used to it... I quite like it now," she grinned as her head began to feel nice and fuzzy.

Ooh, there it was. He'd seen that look on her face before. Even recently, earlier that night, when she'd asked him that outrageously suggestive question, "Are you a naughty boy, Nick?" That had been after she had drunk shots too. It seemed as though she got to a point, after a certain amount of drinks, when all her inhibitions slipped. Now he couldn't work out if he was concerned that she was drinking that very strong drink, or if he was excited by that mischievous look on her face. Damn, who cared about the alcohol, he was excited, definitely excited! Not to say that he wouldn't look after her of course...if looking after her meant taking all her clothes off and... no! No, he wouldn't do that, they were friends only.

"Nick," she began, all wide eyed and not so innocent, "Will you make sure you get me to bed?"

Oh boy! So much for his 'they were just friends' resolution.

"Oh no," he laughed. "Don't start with that kind of talk, Sal."

"What?" she grinned.

"You know what?" he came back.

She giggled.

To hell with it, why couldn't they just make crazy, mad, passionate love? He wanted to. She wanted to. She had said so earlier that night... well, okay, she hadn't been talking about doing it with him, but he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he could make it so 'mind shattering' for her. Why did everything have to be so complicated?

And it wasn't as if he was the kind of guy who went around hurting women by sleeping with them just for the sake of it. Besides, he really liked Sal...he would never want to hurt her. Maybe that was the problem. On the one hand, he wanted to rip all her clothes off and have his wicked way with her. But on the other hand, he really cared about her... as a person...as a friend. And in his head, those two things just didn't go together. How could they? And yet, in was an undeniable fact that with Sal, those two things were indeed happening at the same time.

Sal took another sip of her drink. "Ohh, I think I am getting to like it," she said. "It makes me feel all funny."

Nick wondered if making her feel all funny really meant, making her feel extra sexy. He liked that thought. In fact, he was so distracted by it that he suddenly realized Sal was talking to him again.

"Are you getting to like it too then?" she repeated.

"What?" he asked.

"That," she said, glancing down at the shot glass of pink liquid that he was holding.

He looked down at the shot glass in his hand and startled himself. "Woa, where did that come from?"

"He gave it to you," she giggled, glancing at the Kamaki as he walked from the bar, past them and back to the entrance again with a tray full of shots.

"What's he trying to do? Kill me with pink alcohol," Nick said, discarding the shot glass on the bar.

"You're so funny," she laughed.

Then he thought for a moment, shrugged and picked up the shot glass again, downing the shot.

He shook his head. "Woa," and then laughed. "I must admit, its appeal increases the more you drink of it."

She laughed and took a cheeky sip of her cocktail, watching him as she did so.

God, she was full of mischief tonight.

They just stood there in that bar for a few moments, amongst all the crowds and commotion of people randomly dancing and the loud music, and they just watched each other...thinking...wondering...enjoying the moment.

Then Sal shook her head as if to focus again and glanced around her, saying suddenly, "Hey Nick, go get that barstool, quick. See it there," she pointed.

It took him a moment longer to pull himself out of his dreamy state before he sprung into action and weaved between the people to claim the only barstool available for them.

"Here you are Madam," he said, placing down the barstool and offering it to her.

She smiled. "You're such a gentleman, but..." she trailed off.

"But?" he questioned.

"Why don't we share it?" she suggested.

He laughed. "How do we do that?"

She giggled. "Simple, just sit down..." She said, waiting for him to do so.

Okay, so she clearly had something in mind, so he sat on the stool, keeping an amused eye on her as he did so.

"Now what? he asked.

She grinned. "I sit on your lap, she replied, taking another sip of her cocktail.

His eyes widened. "Really?" he answered. This was a first for them. She had never suggested anything as intimate as sitting on his lap before.

"If you don't mind," she said coyly.

He gave a small cough. "No, I don't mind." Of course he didn't mind!

She put her drink down and turned back to him with a challenging glint in her eye. If she thought for one second that he would stop her, she had to be nuts. Would she back out of it now? Or was she really going to do this?

What do you think? Will she do it?

 

Fun In The Sun Chapter 17

Sal was watching Nick, contemplating him with a gentle smile on her face. How was she going to do this? Leaning towards him, she rested her hands on his legs and whispered, "You might need to help me hop up there, Nick."

Damn, she managed to make that sound so hot.

"Come on then," he replied with a smile, guiding her around to his side, "Let me help you 'hop on up'," he said, laughing at the situation and her choice of words.

She turned around with her back to him and reached behind her to find his thigh, ready to jump up and back onto his lap with his help. All this touching was very stimulating, but Nick had given up caring about it anymore. He was at the stage then when there was nothing he could do to stop it anyway. So, if she was going to know, well then, she was going to know. Anyway, maybe it was a good idea she knew, maybe it was about time she did...maybe she should know how the feel of her soft, roundness against his thigh, as she prepared to jump, affected him.

All sorts of erotic thoughts invaded his head then the more he anticipated her sitting up there, and the more he considered the fact that her dress was stimulating enough at a distance, but at those close quarters, he would have a chance to feel it, run his hands over it...or more precisely, feel her beneath it. Suddenly the barrier didn't seem like it would be much between them. In his imagination, it would be nothing between them. Then, if everyone around them just miraculously disappeared, she may find that she enjoyed sitting on his lap rather a lot. Depending on how he played it, she just might start to get a bit excited. Well then, he could help her make the most of that and get her a bit more excited, and a bit more. He'd often imagined that Sal would get excited quite quickly and easily. And then, she'd be so excited that she couldn’t help herself... even if she wanted to...

Right, now he really was in trouble, because when she did finally sit up there, there was a very strong chance that she really might feel how aroused he was. Why did he do this to himself all the time? Why couldn’t he stop thinking about her like that?

Finally, he felt her hands bear down on his thigh and she pushed herself up as he grabbed her by the arms and pulled. He felt her upper thighs and legs slide against him and then with a jolt and a giggle, she was on his lap.

She wobbled precariously for a second with the momentum, but steadied herself by clasping her hands at the back of his neck.

"Hello you," she smiled, her face suddenly extremely close to his.

He secured her balance by linking his hands behind her back to ensure that she didn't slip off. He had forgotten however, that her back was lacking in clothing and his hands ended up coming into contact with incredibly smooth, silky skin. This did nothing to help his predicament as his body temperature rose even higher.

"Hello you," he echoed, assessing her face at the closest quarters he'd ever assessed it before. He could see everything about it now and it hit him abruptly then, this was Sal, right there, right in front of him, only centimeters away. He'd never imagined this happening tonight. How could he? He'd never been in such a situation with her before. Suddenly things seemed different between them, like bam! There she was. But this time, it hit him so hard that he couldn’t even try to pretend anymore, to kid himself that she didn't have an extraordinary effect on him.

She smiled and he noticed now in more detail the way her cheekbones were emphasized when the smile lit up her face, and her eyes intensified by the movement. Her smile was so damn incredible, but not at all fake like with some women. It radiated the brightness of her spirit out onto the observer.

And that perfume of hers, it was the essence of Sal, a fragrance he'd only ever smelt on Sal before. It had floral undercurrents but something overpowering them, something much deeper and more heady, and so sensual. Maybe it wasn’t a perfume at all; maybe she was just born with that aroma. It suited her so well. He wanted to drink it in... taste it on her... dissolve himself in it.

“Are you enjoying this?” she asked. That abruptly jolted him out of his reverie! Had she noticed his excitement?

He just froze, staring at her and trying to figure out what her reaction would be.

“Nick?” she questioned. His expression had suddenly changed. “You don’t have to drink it,” she pointed out.

He was confused. Her eyes fell to his free hand and his followed them.

Not again! Now he understood. How did that kamaki manage to keep handing him shots of that pink stuff without him even realizing it?

“I think I’ll pass on this one,” he said, catching the attention of the kamaki and handing it back to him. As the kamaki was about to walk away however, Nick apparently had an afterthought and motioned him forward to say something in his ear. The Kamaki nodded and headed for Kosta. Then Nick turned his attention back to Sal.

A smile of amusement, and something else he couldn’t quite fathom out, was on her face. But it was something significant, and she continued to smile like that. Okay so, what was she smiling at? Hold on, he thought back. What had they just been talking about? Oh yeah, “Are you enjoying this?” she had asked. Wait a minute, had she meant the drink, or had she in fact been alluding to his current stimulation? Sometimes with Sal, it was hard to know what she knew and what she didn’t. Maybe she was playing with him, making it seem as if she was referring to the drink, when all along there was an inuendo in her words.

Nick was, after all, alarmingly aroused beneath her. Well okay but, she clearly wasn’t angry about it if she did know. Besides, she had instigated this; it was hardly his fault she was so sexy. And for some reason, tonight it was impossible for him to stop it from happening. Perhaps it was all the alcohol that was making him not try so hard to control it anymore, but she’d also drunk a lot so he wasn’t going to worry about it. They both seemed to be throwing caution to the wind more than usual.

Then Sal wriggled a little on his lap. He gave a small laugh at the situation. Oh yes, that was a nice sensation.

This was the first time that Sal could recall Nick’s full attention being focused so closely on her, and it was then that she realized, he had really sexy eyes. She'd never noticed that before. There was something about a look in them. Like he was having extremely naughty thoughts or something. She held her laughter in at that. Imagine if he actually was! Well anyway, whatever he was thinking, his eyes were so sexy at that moment. She probably shouldn't be thinking like that right now, but she was only just observing a fact. No wonder all the girls at the airport swooned whenever he walked past.

“So, where shall we go to next?” she asked him.

To bed...to do the most pleasurable things to each other. That was the first thing that had popped into Nick’s head.

“Oh, I don’t know, I’m quite happy right here,” he replied, tightening his hold on her.

She laughed. “Really?” she said, releasing her hands that were clasped behind his neck to slowly slide them over his shoulders and down his arms. She liked the feel of the muscles of his arms.

“Yeah,” he replied, watching the path of her hands. In return, he released his hold behind her back and let his hands slide around and gently down her thighs to rest on the hem of her dress.

She turned behind her then and picked up her cocktail from off the bar. “Well, I hope I’m not too heavy sitting on your lap,” she said, taking a sip from the straw and watching him coyly.

“No Sal, you’re only petite,” he replied. “As light as a feather,” he smiled.

She giggled. “Well that’s good, apart from... I only have little legs,” she complained, pretending to sulk.

His eyes travelled from the place where his hands were resting, all the way down her legs. They were wonderfully shapely, smooth and tanned.

“Trust me Sal, there is nothing at all wrong with these,” he assured her, trailing the fingers of one of his hands down to her knee, over it and down her calf. Her skin was like silk. He watched the movement of his own fingers in an almost trance-like state before glancing back up at her as his fingers started their return journey back up her leg.

She was also focused on his hand until she sensed that his gaze had returned to her face and her eyes rose to meet his. She gave a small laugh.

He assessed her intently. The beginnings of a smile was evident on her face again. Without even realizing it, a gradual smile of his own matched hers.

“What?” she laughed.

There was some serious heat in the room all of a sudden. “What?” he replied.

She hesitated for a moment before replying, “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

 

 

Fun In The Sun Chapter 18

Sal hesitated for a moment before replying, "Tell me what you're thinking." 

Where should he begin? What had he been thinking about? Well, let's see... Seducing her, taking her to his bed, slipping her out of that dress, kissing every inch of her, driving her to distraction... 

But for some reason, this whole situation was causing him much amusement. The irony of it: that there she was, sitting on his lap, and there he was enjoying every second of it. But did she even realize what she was doing to him? 

"What are you thinking, Nick?" she prompted him again, watching him inquisitively. He felt sure she must be able to read his thoughts, or at least know what kind of things he was thinking. Then it occurred to him, now would be a fantastic time for Kosta to play the song he had asked the kamaki to request for him. 

"Hold that thought," he said, as realization spread across his face and he turned to glance back towards the music console. 

What was he doing now? Sometimes Sal had no idea what was going through his head at all, but he'd obviously thought of something fun, judging by the excitement in his face, so she would just have to wait and see what he'd been thinking. 

Nick caught Kosta's attention and Kosta immediately seemed to know why he was looking at him as he nodded put his thumb up in acknowledgement. 

Ok, Sal wasn't the most patient person in the world; she couldn't bear it anymore. 

"Nick, what's happening?" she asked. 

"Ahh haa, you haven't got long to wait," he replied mysteriously. "And," he went on, "if you're really lucky you might even... probably for the only time ever..." he stressed, backtracking slightly, "...get to hear me singing to you," he finished. 

"Really?" she said, laughing in amazement. "I don't think I've ever heard you sing before, Nick." 

"Yeah well, like I said, it will be a once in a lifetime thing," he chuckled. 

"Goodness, I feel quite honoured now," she said, placing a hand over her heart. 

"Hmm, you might not be so impressed when you hear me sing," he laughed, "But I'll take my chances," he said as he heard the song begin and he leant forward, sweeping her hair from her ear with the back of his hand and whispering, 

...Won't you make yourself at home and stay with me? And don't you ever leave. 

Lay down, Sally, and rest you in my arms. Don't you think you want someone to talk to? 

She laughed suddenly in surprise and pulled back to look at him. He grinned and continued. 

Lay down, Sally, no need to leave so soon. I've been trying all night long just to talk to you. 

"Oh Lord!" she exclaimed. "I've just realized, no one has ever requested that song for me before." 

"Really?" he replied incredulously. "What, not even one of those lucky boyfriends of yours?" 

She shook her head. "No. No one." 

"Foolish boys," he concluded. 

She chuckled. Then something else occurred to her. "Wait, so you do know my name then," she smiled. 

He laughed out loud. "Of course I know your name. I'm not likely to forget something as important as that. Come on," he said, shifting so that she slid off his lap before standing to offer her his hand. 

"What?" she asked, glancing at it. 

"Let's dance," he replied. 

"Dance?" she laughed. "I didn't know you danced either." 

"I have many talents you haven't experienced yet, Sal," he grinned, taking her hand and leading her to an empty space in the centre of the bar, to join another small group of tourists who were also now dancing. 

This was turning out to be one pretty extraordinary night, Sal thought to herself as they stopped and turned to each other. But she suddenly felt a little... well something similar to shy, a feeling she rarely experienced. Her encounters with Nick so far had been limited to working at the airport, bumping into each other around town and a whole lot of teasing, but that had been it. Dancing with him all of a sudden seemed so sort of different for them. Then she had a really stupid thought, Okay, so how was this going to work? She had a horrifying suspicion that she'd suddenly completely forgotten how to dance! Luckily, she didn't have much time to dwell on this as Nick grabbed her hand and pulled her to him, lacing his fingers with hers and sliding the other arm behind her to claim her waist. 

"So, do you like your song, Sal?" he asked, his eyes twinkling down at hers as they began to move together in light steps to the carefree tempo. Then, in that instant, she realized that she had not got a worry in the world. He danced great...she danced great...they danced great together! 

She laughed. "Yes," she replied, beaming up at him. "Thank you for requesting it, Nick." 

He shrugged. "You don't have to thank me. This song was clearly written for you, Sal," he said, tightening his hold on her. 

She giggled, "Somehow, I don't think..." 

He cut her off then though by placing a finger on her lips. 

"It's your song for tonight," he whispered, suddenly twirling her around with one hand and catching her around the waist again to bring her back to him. She laughed with surprise as he went on to guide her in their dance, twirling and catching hold of her as the music played on and he sang the words with her name. 

 

 

 Youtube link to the song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOXf9oAGfDw

 

Fun In The Sun Chapter 19

 

"Thank you for my song, and the dance, Nick," Sal said when the music faded. Nick had caught her to him for one last time, but kept his arms around her in a tight hold as they finally stopped moving and she gazed up at him.

He smiled. "Don't mention it."

"I just did," she laughed. "Besides, it was a really nice gesture and I want you to know how much I appreciated it. Thanks."

Nick never knew what to say when Sal complimented him like that and he eventually just said the first thing he could think of.

"You're a pretty good dancer, Sal."

She laughed. "You're not so bad yourself, Nick. How about we go to "Saint-Tropez" and do it some more?"

"Sure," he smiled, "Why not."

Nick and Sal paid their bar bill, or more accurately, Sal tried to pay again but Nick refused to let her, and then they said their goodbyes to Kosta, Marta and the new Kamaki, waving as they left the bar.

The town at that time was mostly quiet, and therefore it was easy to detect where the remaining nightlife hot spots were from the sounds of music emanating from them. Sal and Nick headed away from the Soho Street bars, which played mostly Greek music, and aimed for the other side of town and across the bridge to "Saint Tropez". The bar was still showing signs of revelry, with loud music and partygoers having spilled out onto the streets to perform impromptu dances.

It was then, when focusing his attention on the outside of the bar in the distance, that Nick suddenly kicked himself for not remembering something that Ruth had mentioned earlier: Boycie, who was the kamaki outside 'Saint-Tropez', and Sal had dated a couple of times that winter season. Did Nick really want to go in there tonight with Sal looking like she did? Knowing Boycie, he probably wouldn't leave her alone.

"Sal," he said suddenly, halting her with one hand on her arm.

She glanced up at him in surprise. "Yes. Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, but I was just thinking, do you really want to go into 'Saint Tropez' tonight?"

She frowned in confusion. Of course she did! Everyone ended up in "Saint-Tropez" at the end of the evening. It was the most entertaining bar in town.

"Yes," she replied simply.

Damn, he sounded like an idiot.

"Yeah, of course. Just checking," he said, claiming her hand and resigning himself to having to put up with Boycie. Anyway, Ruth had said that Sal decided to stop seeing him, so she couldn't have liked him that much.

As they neared the bar, Georgos, the owner who always sat outside at his own table, waved and smiled in acknowledgement of their presence.

"Hi Georgos!" Sal waved back, but was interrupted by Boycie's wolf whistle. His attention had shot in Sal's direction as soon as he had spotted her walking across the bridge and he had followed her progress towards them with interest.

"Hellooooo Sal," he said, running his eyes up and down her body as she walked closer. She was so hot tonight! He'd never seen her looking quite so hot before.

Here we go. Nick knew it! Boycie was going to be all over Sal like a rash.

"Hello Boycie," Sal said casually over her shoulder as she passed him at the doorway.

Well, at least Sal wasn't encouraging him.

Boycie's gaze dropped to watch her from behind as she entered the bar, only to meet the obvious hostility in Nick's eyes shortly afterwards when he turned back.

"A'right geezer," Boycie joked, over exaggerating his gesture for Nick to enter.

Nick failed to see the humour and just glared at Boycie when walking past him. But Boycie was far too excited about the fact that Sal was dressed to kill, and the prospect of taking advantage of that. If she had done it to attract a guy, as far as he was concerned, it had worked, and he was going to let her know he was available and ready for anything. Glancing at Georgos, who was now in conversation with his friend, Nikos, Boycie saw his opportunity to leave his post at the door and he followed Nick and Sal inside, making a swift path to the end of the bar and around to the other side to serve them.

"Sooo," he said, skidding into position in front of Sal in his rush to get there before someone else served her. "What can I do for you tonight? Is there anything I can do for you tonight, Sal?" he asked suggestively, leaning over the bar towards her.

"Hmm, let me think," she came back, making him wait. "No, I can't think of anything... apart from just a glass of rose, please," she smiled.

"Sal, you're breaking my heart," he replied, placing a hand on his chest.

"I'm sure you'll survive," she laughed.

Nick watched their interaction with annoyance.

"Can we get the drinks, if it's not too much trouble?" Nick said to Boycie, reaching into his pocket for some money. "Sal wants a glass of rose," he reminded him, "and I'll have a beer."

Boycie ignored Nick completely and continued to flirt with Sal. Leaning across the bar, he beckoned with one finger for her to move closer to him. She obliged, but eyed him with suspicion as she did so.

Something tightened in Nick's stomach.

"You look drop dead gorgeous tonight," Boycie said into Sal's ear. "Remind me why we didn't get it together?" he asked.

"Maybe because you couldn't fit me in between all those other girls you were dating," she came back.

"Touche," he said, holding his hands up in surrender. "But for you tonight, Sal, I'll clear my schedule."

"Gosh, how lucky I am," she replied sarcastically.

"Hey Nick, when did you get back?"

The voice came from behind him and he turned from the disturbing sight of Sal and Boycie to see, Neil, one of the airport reps he'd met last year. They made small talk about what they had done during the winter and while they were talking, another two reps spotted him and approached from the far end of the bar. Not wanting to appear rude to people who were pleased to see him back, he continued to talk to the reps whilst also doing his best to keep an eye on Sal and Boycie at the same time.

What the hell was he saying to her anyway? Every time Boycie spoke, he made a point of whispering into her ear, and Nick hadn't missed how he had taken every opportunity, each time Sal leaned closer to him, to touch her in one way or another: a sly hand in her hair, on her cheek, down her arm. He'd chop Boycie's slimy hands right off if he didn't quit doing that!

Right, he'd had enough. Excusing himself from the group of reps, he strode over to the bar and demanded the attention of the main barman, Dan. Dan had seen the purpose in Nick's approach and knew he meant business; he wasn't the kind of guy you made wait when he was in that kind of mood.

Slapping a twenty Euro note down on the bar, Nick growled, "I've been waiting now for twenty minutes to be served some drinks. The clown you have serving over there," he eyed Boycie at the end of the bar, "is ignoring all customers and has left the front doorway unattended while he drools all over Sal."

"I'll kill him!" Dan exclaimed, pushing past the bargirl to get to Boycie.

Actually, there was a method in Nick's madness. He could have simply dragged Boycie out into the street and beaten the living daylights out of him, or, he could point out the situation to Dan, who hated anyone, least of all Boycie, stepping a foot behind his bar. Dan would argue with Boycie, Boycie would protest, Dan would shout louder, Georgos would hear from outside and threaten Boycie with the sack. And finally, Boycie would relent as the miserable loser couldn't survive without the wages Georgos paid him. A much cleaner and effective solution. Nevertheless, a small part of Nick would have still quite enjoyed opting for plan A.

As it turned out, Nick's plan worked perfectly. He had seen the same thing happen so many times before. Georgos soon stormed into the bar and ordered Boycie outside. Like the snake he was, he slithered back outside and finally Nick could talk to Sal again.

At last, Dan served Nick the drinks he had ordered, and Nick carried them to the end of the bar where Sal was standing. However, when he joined her again, he noticed that she already had a glass of wine in her hand which Boycie must have given her. Suddenly Nick was fuming again.

"That idiot gave you that, didn't he," Nick said, glaring at the glass of wine.

She held it up and glanced at it, a little confused at Nick's obvious annoyance. "I ordered it," she replied. "I ordered you a beer too actually, but I don't think he got it. Sorry, I didn't know you'd ordered drinks too," she said, noticing the drinks he had now placed on the bar in front of her.

"That's alright," he said, contradicting his words by the anger in his voice, "I'll sort this out," he said, grabbing the glass of wine out of her hand and storming back through the bar towards the main doorway. Sal watched him go in bewilderment.

Nick rounded the doorway and found Boycie still in confrontation with Georgos outside.

"Here," he said, thrusting the glass of wine at Boycie's chest where it spilt with the sudden movement and wetted his t-shirt. "She doesn't want this from you. She doesn't want anything from you, got it?"

Boycie snatched at the glass and held it away from his body, shaking off the excess liquid from his hand. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Didn't you hear what I said? Are you deaf as well as stupid? Sal isn't interested in you, so trying to buy her with glasses of wine, isn't going to make any damn difference!"

"Really? Take a look at yourself, Nick," he came back. "You're doing the same thing, and she's not interested in you either. But maybe Jen would be interested to know you're trying to get Sal into bed!"

Georgos had been listening and preparing himself to come between these two as he'd known as soon as Nick came outside that there was the possibility of a fight erupting.

Nick moved suddenly towards Boycie, and Georgos sprung into action then, pushing Boycie backwards, away from Nick and saying over his shoulder, "Go for a walk to calm down. Be back in fifteen, twenty minutes," he ordered. Boycie failed to move however and just stood there glaring at Nick. "Go!" Georgos shouted. Finally, Boycie swore angrily and crossed the road, heading down the pavement and into the distance.

"Stay away from him," Georgos warned Nick.

"Make sure he says away from me and Sal," he came back. "Then I'll leave him alone," he said, turning to go back into the bar, but stopping in his tracks when he saw Sal standing at the doorway.

Damn. How much of that had she heard? He hoped to God she hadn't heard Boycie's stupid comment about Nick trying to get Sal into bed.

"Maybe we should go," Sal suggested to Nick.

"No, we're not going just because of him," Nick replied. But Sal looked upset and unsure. Damn, the last thing he wanted to do was upset Sal. He was being stubborn and selfish, wanting to stay to make a point to Boycie when he should be thinking about Sal.

"Hold on, wait here for a moment," he said, reentering the bar.

Sal watched him through the window talking to Dan and, after a few moments, he reappeared carrying a plastic bag containing something... what, she wasn't sure.

"I've got an idea," he said, offering her his hand with a smile, "coming?"

She placed her hand in his and followed him in his pathway back across the bridge again.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Look, I'm really sorry Sal, for making you feel uncomfortable in there," he began, stopping suddenly and turning to her. "I don't want to end this great night on a bad note. I got us a bottle of rose wine and Dan even threw in some plastic cups," he said, holding up the bag. "We can go sit on Kitroplatia beach and enjoy a drink and a nice view. How does that sound?"

Well, she also didn't want to end the night badly. They had been having such a wonderful time up until then.

She nodded. "Okay."

"Great," he smiled, taking her hand again and heading back toward the Catalonia Coast. Kitroplatia beach was just a little further down that road, at the end.

"But Nick," Sal began, trying to slow him down.

Ohhhh no, she wasn't going to leave this alone, was she? He ignored her. If he pretended not to hear, maybe she'd drop it.

"Nick," she said again, tugging on his arm.

Damn.

"What?" he asked, a little more abruptly than he'd intended.

"What is it with you and Boycie?" she asked with a frown.

That's it, get straight to the point Sal.

He sighed. "I just don't like the guy."

Would she leave it at that?

"But why?"

Would she hell!

"I just don't, Sal." She needed to shut up now.

"But why?" she pushed.

He growled with frustration and raked his hands through his hair. "Look, not everyone gets along with everyone else like you do, Sal."

She recoiled then at the harshness of his tone and the sting of his words. "What's that supposed to mean? Oh, I know what you think, 'Good old Sal, she gets on with everyone. She lets people walk all over her...'"

"No, I didn't..."

"... well, I don't. And I will tell you when you're out of order, Nick." she went on. "And you are. Right now." she pointed an angry finger at him.

"I know," he admitted, "I was..."

"...And anyway, I don't like everyone," she said defensively. "I can think of someone I don't like... I don't like Jen. There, I said it," she finished, crossing her arms defiantly.

He stopped dead still then and suddenly her heart began to beat anxiously. Maybe she shouldn't have gone that far.

"Oh God, I'm sorry, Nick," she relented. "I should never have said that. I didn't mean it..."

He started to walk again then and she followed behind, nervous to know what he was thinking.

"Yeah you did," he replied. "One thing about you Sal, you always tell the truth."

"But, it's just that... well, she's not so easy to get along with. I just don't understand her," Sal explained.

To her relief, he stopped walking again then and his expression had lost some of its tension.

He sighed. "I know, a lot of people don't. But she opened up to me. She told me something once that I've never forgotten and it made me think more, not just about her, but about other people too," he said mysteriously.

He had her attention then. "What?" she asked, feeling that he was about to reveal something important. It seemed like, for once, they were going to go beyond the superficial, the teasing and joking around, and he was going to talk to her...properly talk to her.

"Can we get to the beach first, sit down and relax a bit, instead of wandering through the streets shouting at each other?" he asked. "It's only just down there, Sal. Do you think we can make it there first without having another argument? I'd really prefer it if we could," he joked. "This wine is turning sour."

"Yes, okay," she reluctantly agreed with a small laugh. Alright, so he was joking again but she was going to get some answers when they got to the beach. She wasn't going to let it just pass, not this time. She was going to make him talk honestly to her.

 

Fun In The Sun Chapter 20

 

Nick was relieved when he and Sal finally arrived at the beach. At least they could talk there and things were calmer between them now.

Kitroplatia beach was a small, sheltered cove situated around the coast from the harbour. Despite being only a few minute's walk from the centre of the town, the beach was small enough to give the impression that it was far from any commercial centre, with just a scattering of tiny tavernas lining the half moon, cobble-stoned street which followed the contour of the beach and water's edge beyond. Further around the coast, past the headland and sweeping inland, was the Marina and beach Nick and Sal had visited earlier that evening.

However now, the seclusion of Kitroplatia was the perfect place for them to enjoy their last drinks of the night and to talk. The moon was bright enough on that evening to scatter a silvery light over the scene, allowing them to see the beach, and each other, quite clearly. On reaching the edge of the beach, Sal slipped off her shoes and dangled them both in one hand before stepping down off the pavement onto sand. The cool grains gave way under her feet and seeped around her toes, creating a surprisingly pleasant sensation. She stood there for a moment, near to the pavement, just wiggling her toes.

"Come on Sal, there are a couple of sunbeds over here that we can sit on," Nick said, passing her and heading further down the beach.

She did an impromptu twirl on the sand and strolled after him with a spring in her step. She had forgotten how wonderful this beach was at night.

Nick sat on one of the sunbeds, placing the plastic bag on the sand and reaching into it. He proceeded to pull out first the bottle of wine, dispensing with the screw top lid, and then the two plastic cups. Slipping one into the other, he reached for the bottle of wine and began to pour, glancing up for a moment to see where Sal was. He stopped pouring then when his eyes caught sight of her.

"Sal, what you doing?" he asked with amusement, watching as she wandered in random circles over the sands, her face raised to the sky.

"I'm checking for shooting stars. Ruth said you can see them better here," she replied with her eyes transfixed above.

He chuckled. "What? Here on this beach?"

She laughed. "No silly, I meant here in Crete. There's a lot less light pollution so they're easier to see," she informed him.

"Oh. You got a wish you want to come true or something?" he asked.

"Nick," she said, giving up and moving towards the sunbeds. "You can never have too many wishes."

Sal was a constant source of surprise for Nick. He just never knew what she was going to come out with next. "You're absolutely right, Sal. I stand, or should I say 'sit', corrected," he laughed. "Want some wine?" he asked, taking the full cup out of the empty one and offering it to her.

She smiled. "Thanks, but just hold onto it for me for a second," she said, sinking down onto the sand in front of the sunbed and wriggling into a more comfortable position. Pulling her legs from under her, she stretched them out towards the sunbed, crossing one leg over the other, reaching forward to take the cup from him and then leaning back on one hand while she took a sip.

He went on to pour some wine for himself, commenting as he did so. "Are you comfortable now? You know, there's another sunbed here for you to sit on."

"I know," she replied, "but I kind of like the feel of the sand. It's nice and cool and soft," she said, moving one leg to let it slide back and forth a few times through the sands before burying her foot under it.

Nick's eyes dreamily followed the movement of Sal's leg. "Lucky sand," he thought to himself.

When his eyes rose again, he realized that she was watching him with some kind of expression he couldn't quite read, but she was very still and focused on him. For a moment, he wondered if she was angry at him for looking at her legs. But that didn't really make sense. Sal was no way near that sensitive about things like that.

"So?" she finally asked.

"So?" he repeated in confusion.

"What was that thing that Jen told you?"

Oh ok, she obviously wasn't beating about the bush on this subject.

He glanced down at his wine for a moment, considering taking a sip.

"Do you ever drink wine?" she asked suddenly. "I don't remember ever seeing you drink wine."

"No. I don't think I've ever drunk rose before," he admitted.

"You could have got some beer," she pointed out.

"Yeah, but you were drinking rose. Anyway, I'm feeling in an adventurous mood tonight," he said, finally taking a sip of the wine. He held it in his mouth for a moment and then swallowed, trying his hardest not to allow his expression to change as he did so.

She laughed. "You hate it," she observed. He could hide nothing from Sal.

He inhaled sharply. "It's different. Might need a little while to get used to it," he chuckled.

She gave a small laugh. "Thanks for thinking of me," she said, "And not for the first time tonight either. That's why I don't understand what went wrong," she said, trying to make him see why it was so important to her that they could talk about this.

"Nothing went wrong exactly, it's just that..." he sighed and then backtracked. "She said, Jen I mean," he clarified, "she said that everyone who comes to live out here from other countries has a reason for doing so. That they are escaping something. I think she was right," he concluded.

Sal nodded. She'd never thought of it like that but, she had to admit, Jen was probably right.

"It was the same with Jen, because..." he went on.

"Wait," Sal interrupted abruptly sitting upright and pointing a finger at him from her hand that was holding the cup. "Sorry Nick, if you're going to tell me why Jen came out here, I hate to break it to you but I'm not interested. It may surprise you to know that Jen and me are not exactly best buddies. I mean, I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to her or anything but I don't care enough to want to know her reasons for coming out here..."

Wow, but Sal cared about everyone. She must really dislike Jen to say those things.

"On the other hand, I do care about you," she pointed at him again. Then her expression softened. "You are my friend," she said, reaching out to place a hand on his arm, "and I care deeply about my friends," she stressed before removing her hand and sitting back slightly. "So, what I really want to know more than anything right now is, why did you come out here, Nick? What were you escaping from?" she asked.

Yikes! He hadn't expected that at all.

"Oh boy. I fell right into that one, didn't I?"

"It's not a trap, Nick," she replied immediately. "I told you before, I want to know if my friend is hurting. You said earlier that you were unhappy in the UK but I have no idea why. Can't you just confide in me?"

He ran a hand through his hair and groaned. How the hell was he going to tell Sal all of this?

Sal watched his torment and suddenly snapped, placing her wine in the sand, snatching up her shoes and clambering to a standing position.

"You know what, it doesn't matter. I'm not going to force you to tell me," she said, turning to leave.

Why was she such an awful person that he couldn't tell her anything? He could talk to other people, but he wouldn't talk to her. Why did she care anyway? Why did she feel like sobbing right now? And shouting and screaming!

"Wait!" Nick was on his feet in seconds. He bolted towards her as she swiftly headed back to the pavement. Grabbing her arm, he halted her and turned her to face him.

"Wait. Please don't leave like this," he appealed.

She couldn't look at him then and just stared at the sand. Just the turmoil in his voice was enough to make her crack and she could feel the ache at the back of her throat as her emotions threatened to take over. She didn't want to leave like this either.

"Please, Sal," he begged. "Won't you come back and sit down and I'll try to tell you. I want to tell you," he emphasized.

She risked a quick glance at him. He looked totally distraught and she knew immediately that she wasn't going to walk away from him. Was she being mean to him? She really hadn't meant to. "I'm so sorry," she said genuinely, running a hand down his arm. "Maybe I'm pushing too hard or something, but it's just that you seem to confide in other people, like Adam, Fay and Ruth, so I don't understand why you can't talk to me. It's like, one minute I think we're friends and everything is great, and then suddenly you become all distant and I don't know what's happening. And then I think, "well ok, maybe we aren't such good friends as I'd thought; maybe we are just people that know each other, that have a laugh sometimes," and okay, I'm okay with that," she said in a rush of emotion, realizing that she actually wasn't okay with that at all but, well... anyway. She sighed. "And then you go and do something so sweet and we get on so well, like tonight. Tonight was amazing...well, until we went to 'Saint-Tropez' and then I was back to the beginning again, not knowing what was going on!" She had to stop then simply to take a breath again. "I'm lonely in this friendship, Nick," she said emotionally.

He stood there very still, searching her face as everything she had just said sank in.

"I didn't know any of that," he said. "I mean, I didn't know you thought like that. We absolutely are friends," he stressed. "As far as I'm concerned, I have never had such a wonderful friend as you. And if you ever need me, for anything, I'd be there for you. You do know that, don't you?"

Oh God, now her throat was seriously aching.

She smiled with her eyes a little watery, and took hold of one of his hands. "I do now."

He frowned. "How could you not have known that?"

She thought for a moment about how to reply. "I guess I was just confused," she said.

He searched her face then as if to find better answers there. But the answers, and the reasons for the emotion in her expression, were in all what she had just said. He went back in his head through it all, analyzing his own actions and how that would appear to her.

"You're right," he said. "I don't tell you what I'm thinking. In fact, I'm useless at talking about anything like that. That's one thing I admire so much about you, Sal: you're an absolute natural at being genuine and honest. You're so open to everyone. I don't know how you do it."

"It's just words. Just say the words in your head. Simple," she smiled. "And anyway, it's only me you're talking to," she said, moving back towards the sunbeds where they had left the bag, wine bottle and cups.

'Just say the words', he thought to himself. It couldn't possibly be that easy.

The few moments it took them to return to the sunbeds at least gave him some time to think about how he would tell her the reasons he'd wanted to move away from the UK.

 

Fun In The Sun Chapter 21

 

When they reached the sunbeds again, Nick sat down once more and Sal went to sit on the bed next to his, however, before she could lower herself onto the sunbed, he reached out and caught hold of her hand.

"Come and sit here for a moment," he said, leading her around to his side and encouraging her to sit next to him.

She sat down and he smiled at her, but she could see, even in the semi darkness, the tension and nervousness in his face.

"Nick," she put her hand over his, "You don't have to tell me. I think I might have overreacted. I just got a bit frustrated because..."

As Sal continued to talk, Nick really wasn't listening to her. He had already decided that he was going to tell her anyway. He just took those extra moments, while she was chatting, to consider how to begin explaining it all to her.

"...well, because you never open up to me. I'd just like it if you could confide in me a bit more, that's all. But I really don't want to make you feel uncomfortable or anything like that, I wouldn't …"

"Shhh," he said suddenly, putting a finger over her lips, "before I change my mind. I'm going to tell you," he informed her.

She fell silent for a moment, watching him with surprise. "Okay," she said simply.

He took a deep breath and reached to hold her hand again. "I just..." he paused for a moment and drew in another breath nervously. "Can you just promise me something, Sal?"

"What?" she asked, noticing her own anxiety rising to reflect his.

She felt his hold on her hand tighten then. "Don't let any of this change the way you think about me. I'm still the same person you know now."

It suddenly occurred to Sal then that she might have misjudged the gravity of what he was about to tell her. It was going to be something big, she could just sense it, and she needed to respond in the right way. It was very important that she did that. But it wasn't by any means her fear of seeing him differently afterwards that concerned her at all, it was fear that she wouldn't know how to react when he told her, or worse, that she would react in the wrong way.

"Nothing will make me change how I think about you," she assured him. "I know you pretty well, Nick... well, the most important things at least. I know you wouldn't do anything bad; not on purpose anyway."

"It's not really so much about what I did," he said, releasing her hand, "it's about my background. My family... my father..."

Her nervousness doubled on hearing that; she was nervous for Nick's safety, or his safety in the past anyway. What had Nick's father done?

"Well, that won't affect how I see you then, will it?" she said, determined to reassure him. "You're not in control of what your family do," she pointed out.

He didn't look so certain. "Yes, but their actions seem to reflect on all family members somehow. But, you're right though, it wasn't me. I did everything I could to stop it," he stressed.

Oh God, what was it?

She nodded, unable to really comment for not knowing what she was commenting on.

The silence seemed to stretch on and he knew this was it; he had to tell her.

"Just say it, right?" he said, repeating her earlier advice as if to give himself courage enough to do it.

She nodded. "Yes, just say it."

He had intended to look straight at Sal when he was telling her, but at the last minute he just couldn't and he stared over her shoulder, fixing his eyes on the palm trees and outlines of the buildings beyond.

"My father is a drug addict," he said, hating the words he was saying.

She hadn't expected that for some reason, and in one way, it was sort of a relief; at least his father hadn't physically hurt him or anything. However, in another way, the effect of watching him say that hit her more than she was prepared for because he looked ashamed. He had nothing to be ashamed of but he looked it nonetheless. That wasn't like Nick. He was the "best in the universe" at everything. He was a proud man and he had every right to be; he was a great guy. But right now, he looked so dejected. That was so hard for her to see and it brought tears to her eyes. But no, she had to hold them back. Forcing her emotions down, she closed her eyes for a moment and swallowed, then spoke to him, holding his hand.

"But that's not you," she said firmly. "You're not a drug addict, Nick. You're strong, I know you, and besides, you must be to have got through this and built a good life for yourself out here."

"Yeah, but I can't be that strong, can I?" he came back. "I left the UK, left him there. I feel pretty bad about that," he admitted, glancing downwards at the sand. "But Sal," he began with more energy then, looking up at her, "I tried everything to stop him, but he just wouldn't stop. I tried to get him treatment, but he wouldn't go. I begged him, I threatened him, nothing worked. And in the end, I just couldn't bear watching him destroy himself... so I left and came here."

"Oh Nick, there was nothing you could do? Like you said, you tried to help him, but you have a right to a life as well. You have the right to be happy. Everyone has the right for a chance at happiness," she reasoned.

"I know what you're saying, and I know it makes sense, but how can I stop myself from feeling guilty?" he asked her.

Funny, she had thought that she could find an answer for anything, but for that, she had absolutely no idea what the answer was.

"What about your mother?" she asked suddenly. It seemed strange that he hadn't mentioned her. Surely she had to help in some way. Why should Nick feel like he needed to shoulder all the blame and responsibility?

He shrugged, "She left, I don't really blame her, I left too."

Sal thought for a moment. "Ok, but you're still in touch with her, aren't you?" she replied.

He glanced away and shook his head.

She gasped. "But why?"

This was probably the hardest part for him.

"She couldn't take it, being with my dad," he said, not knowing what else to add.

She frowned and, with almost a feeling of panic, she asked, "Yes, but why does that mean that you and her aren't in touch?"

He groaned, finally answering reluctantly, "She left a long time ago. I was pretty young when she left. We just lost contact."

"How young?" she asked. "How young were you?"

He knew she would push this and keep asking questions. To be fair, he was in fact attempting to conceal part of it all from her. He just didn't want it to sound so bad. Nevertheless, he knew Sal wasn't going to let this go.

"Eight... or something like that," he said with a dismissive gesture.

"Eight!" she exclaimed. "She left you with him when you were eight!"

He sighed. "Yep."

"But why didn't she take you with her?" Sal asked.

"I dunno, Sal, do I? I never got the chance to ask her!" he snapped.

In the back of her head, Sal realized that her earlier resolution to react in the right way to his news had gone right out of the window at that point; she was just so shocked by what he was telling her that she was struggling to take it all in.

"I'm sorry," he relented, seeing the look on her face. "I just... I don't know why she didn't take me, Sal."

"But...but..." she stammered, "well, who looked after you then?"

He turned more on the sunbed then to face her directly and took both of her hands in his. "Sal, you have to understand, I could very easily have been put into care. Everything in my life was falling apart but at least I had my home, my friends nearby, and my dad. Okay, so my dad wasn't so great but I couldn't stand the thought of being taken away somewhere strange and being so helpless. At least at home I had some control over what happened to me."

"But who looked after you?" she repeated weakly in a whisper as her voice caught in her throat and she felt the prickle of tears forming in her eyes again.

"I looked after us, but it was okay," he assured her. "I was a pretty bad cook," he laughed, an attempt at lightening the mood, "but we survived." He sighed, "it was later that was tough though...I mean, I think the hardest thing about my dad was, I feel like I failed him... because I couldn't get him to stop and then I left him. But it's so hard to love an addict you know because, there is only one thing that is most important to them, only one thing they value and want... and that's the drugs." A silence followed his words; it was an eerie, empty hollowness as the truth in what he had said hung in the air.

The thought of his mother abandoning him, and his father being too engrossed in his own gratifications to love his son was too much for Sal at that moment and she lost her battle to keep her emotions in check as tears began streaming from her eyes. Damn it, she had vowed she wouldn't allow that to happen but she just couldn't stop it.

It took Nick a moment to realize what was happening, but the silence and stillness in Sal made him glance up at her to see the tears falling down her cheeks.

Somehow, the fact that she was sitting so still and silent while the tears poured down, affected him more. She wasn't sobbing and weeping and wailing dramatically, it was just a genuine release of compassion. He had never seen an outpouring of such genuine sadness from someone before. The look on her face, her tears and her sorrowful eyes tugged at his heart which reached out for her, wanting to protect her from all the hurt and pain in the world. She was too kindhearted for it all.

"Oh, sweet Sally, sweetheart, don't cry for me. I don't want you to be sad," he said emotionally.

Instinctively he moved closer, taking her face in his hands. His fingers became entwined with her shimmering, droplet earrings as he gently wiped away her tears with his thumbs. But the more he wiped them away, the more they kept falling from those beautiful green eyes that were shining back at him, bursting with emotion.

"Sal, come on, don't get so upset. I'm okay now," he assured her.

"But I wish I had been there for you. If I had been there, I could have done something," she said.

"What could you have done, eh, little eight-year-old Sal?" He smiled at the thought of her as a child.

"I would have done something," she said defiantly with absolute conviction, sitting back to wipe the tears from her eyes.

He chuckled. "You know, I think you probably would have too."

"I would," she agreed. Then her spirits lifted slightly at a thought. "I made a little den to play in down in our basement. I made it really nice in there. You could have stayed in my den."

He laughed. "Thanks, Sal."

"You're welcome," she chuckled.

He touched her cheek briefly then in an affectionate gesture.

"I may have had a tough time then but look at me now, I've got you, the best friend a guy could ask for, willing to give up your den for me," he smiled. "And I live in this beautiful place," he said, glancing around at the beach, the palm trees and the sparkling water. "And I have Fay and Adam, and Ruth and all my other friends..."

"And Jen," Sal added.

"Of course, and Jen," he confirmed.

"I have a wonderful life," he summed up. "I'm the luckiest man in the..." He was going to say 'world' but changed his mind and finished, "Universe."

She giggled. He was back to the old Nick again. He was right, he hadn't changed, she just knew him more now.

"I'm sorry," she said suddenly. "And I'm sorry for earlier... and I'm sorry for..."

"For what?" he interrupted, "You haven't done anything."

"Well... but... I shouldn't have cried," she said, wiping the last remnants of tears from her face with her fingers. "I could have been stronger than that." She glanced down at the sunbed.

"Hey," he said, making her look up at him, "don't ever be anything different than what you are, Sal. If you changed, what would I do? I'd have no Sal."

She laughed. "Don't be silly, I'd still be Sal, just the new improved version."

"But it's all your imperfections that I like the most," he smiled.

"All?" she said.

"Hmm?"

"You make it sound like I have a billion imperfections!" she exclaimed.

"Not quite a billion," he grinned.

"Not quite!"

"A few less than a billion," he laughed.

"Thank you very much, Nick!" she said, slapping him on his arm playfully.

He recoiled dramatically, pretending to be hurt. Then a thought occurred to him and he said, "Sal," with a grin beginning to form.

"What?" she asked suspiciously. She had seen that mischievous grin many times before.

"Don't you need to freshen up?" he replied.

She paused for a moment, wondering why he had asked that.

"Maybe cool down, splash some water on your face?" he suggested.

Then it hit her and she edged away from him on the sunbed.

"It's okay," she said, "I feel quite fresh," she assured him.

"Yeah but, you look really hot. I've got an idea..."

She laughed nervously, moving to the far end of the sunbed. "You don't need to worry about it, Nick. I'm perfectly fine," she insisted.

"I'll help you," he said, suddenly jumping up from the sunbed.

She sprung back, stumbled slightly but regained her balance and sprinted across the sand away from him.

She could hear a rush of air behind her just before he caught her with two strong hands around the waist.

She yelped and laughed, gasping for breath as he easily lifted her up and over his shoulder.

"Come on, Sal, time to freshen up," he said, laughing in the most wicked way as he headed towards the water.

"Put me down!" she squealed between hysterical laughter as she wriggled in his grasp, trying without a hope to free herself.

She knew without a doubt where this would end; looks like they were going swimming!

 

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 25.05.2020

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