Ibiza Summer (7 page)

Cala Jondal? Wasn’t that the beach
he
wanted to show me? A bad thought crept into my head. What if I
did
go over and meet her parents? Then I could introduce them to Ellie
and tell her I was going to the beach with them, and then think up some last-minute excuse not to go, but still tell Ellie I was going with them anyway. It was perfect! Oh, but hang on, what if
Edie saw me down at Cala Jondal? Then she’d know I had lied and I’d feel terrible because she looked so happy that I’d agreed to hang out with her. I guess I could always say
I’d changed my mind and had come to look for her. Besides, I figured Cala Jondal was probably quite a big beach and it was unlikely I’d bump into her.

‘I’d love to meet your parents,’ I said, already feeling guilty that I was just using her as an excuse.
I’ll make it up to her
, I told myself.
I’ll hang
out with her tomorrow.

almost ran down to the lilo shop, crossing my fingers that Ellie and Co. wouldn’t come back from the beach too
early, or worse, run into Edie and her family on their way to Cala Jondal, which undoubtedly would have been very awkward indeed. But I was there already and my heart was racing so fast again that
I thought I might suddenly keel over.

Edie had introduced me to her mum and dad and her little brother, Sammy, and in turn I’d introduced them to Ellie, who thought it was great that I’d made a friend and she seemed
happy for me to go to the beach with them. ‘It’s cool, babes, do whatever you want,’ she’d said, although I sensed a slight disappointment in her voice. ‘We’re
planning to be at the beach for a while, maybe even go on one of those banana boat thingummywotsits. You know those long yellow inflatable boats that take you out to sea that spin you round until
you fall off?’

I could tell she was trying to tempt me to go with them.

‘I’ve agreed to hang out with Edie now,’ I said, suddenly feeling a little reticent.

‘Well, suit yourself,’ Ellie said, more cheerily this time. ‘Have fun then.’

They seemed so nice, Edie’s family, and I’d felt a grade-A bitch having to run down to her apartment a few minutes before leaving to meet
him
to tell her I couldn’t make
it after all. She’d looked so dejected that I almost couldn’t go through with it, and I promised her I would hang out with her tomorrow, and in the meantime would she like to borrow my
Dude Sound CD, which was a good move as she smiled a bit when I’d said that, even though I could tell she didn’t believe me when I said I was sick and was going to rest up in the
apartment.

After ten minutes of waiting I was beginning to think this was all some big joke at my expense and that my fears of him just saying he wanted to meet me and not really meaning it were true. Who
had I been kidding? What would a guy as gorgeous and cool as him see in me anyway when there were girls like Jo-Jo on the planet? I was just about to turn round and go straight back to the
apartment when he pulled up right in front of me, causing me to take two steps sharply back. He tugged the helmet off his head, letting his gorgeous glossy hair tumble down in waves around his
shoulders.

‘Your carriage awaits, my lady,’ he said with a smile, and did this sort of half-bow thing, which made me giggle nervously. ‘You ready to ride?’

‘Sure am!’ And I found myself hopping on to the back of his bike excitedly and putting on the spare helmet he had given me.

‘Hold on!’ he said, and I wrapped my arms tightly around his waist, and he felt warm and firm and I could feel his chest move up and down beneath his white T-shirt as he breathed.
Being that close to him gave me a strange tingling feeling in my stomach like a thousand butterflies trying to escape. And it felt good. Weird maybe, but definitely good.

Being on the back of his bike was just the most exhilarating feeling ever. I was terrified and gripped him with a force, especially when we went round any corners, which made me feel like I
might come flying off like a frisbee. I watched, mesmerised, as Ibiza shot past me in a blur of vivid colours, the azure-blue of the sky and the smoky-brown dustiness of the road melding with
flashes of green and orange from the trees bearing their brightly-coloured fruit. We were heading along a straight road that was lined with small whitewashed houses and open stretches of land
littered with olive groves. Now I knew why people raved about being on the back of a bike so much – it was such a buzz.

I knew it was wrong to go on the back of his moped and not tell anyone, but somehow, despite the fact that I had lied to my sister, it seemed so right. Like it was meant to be.

Perhaps if I had just explained to Ellie how important this date with Rex was to me she would’ve given me her blessing, even been happy for me, but it was a risk I was too scared to take.
Besides, Mum had made her put her hand on her heart and promise to look after me, ‘Girl Guides’ Honour,’ and I was pretty sure that this didn’t include allowing me to ride
on the back of an older guy’s moped and go off to the beach with him alone, even if there would be loads of people there and I instinctively trusted him.

We carried on up towards some mountains and I wondered if we were anywhere near Alfredo’s villa, where we’d been the night before.

‘Not far now,’ I thought I heard him say, although I was in no hurry for the journey to end, as I figured this might be the only time I could legitimately hold on to him so
tightly.

We finally stopped at the edge of a small road and to the right of me I saw the stretch of white sand dotted with pine trees and the clear sea twinkling in the sunshine.

‘Wow, it looks so beautiful,’ I said, taking in the view.

‘The view from where I’m standing is pretty good too,’ he said, turning to look at me. No one had ever really told me I was beautiful before and his remark filled me with
confidence. If someone as gorgeous and cool as Rex thought
I
could possibly be beautiful, then maybe I really was.

He opened the compartment at the back of the bike and pulled out a small picnic basket and a blanket. ‘Provisions!’ he said, smiling at me. We held each other’s gaze nervously,
but I didn’t look away first; I was scared it might break the magic.

‘Come on, race you!’ he said, sprinting off.

We ran down towards the beach like a couple of little kids and I thought I might collapse with happiness – or heat exhaustion – before we got to the bottom.

‘This is my favourite beach ever,’ he said catching his breath as we finally made it to the sand. ‘I learned to dive here and, when I can, I come running here every morning,
just as the sun comes up.’

‘Wow, that’s dedicated,’ I said. The last time I ran for anything was the number 32 bus that took me to school. ‘I can see why it would be your favourite,’ I said,
taking in the idyllic surroundings. Cala Jondal was a beautiful white stretch of beach surrounded by more pebbly parts. It was quiet and relaxed with just a few sun worshippers scattered around
taking shade under the pine trees, and small groups of people chilling out playing volleyball and swimming in the sea.

‘Let’s go up to my favourite place,’ he said and I slipped my gold flip-flops off and held them in my hand as I followed, watching him. He was wearing some cut-off denim shorts
just below the knee; they looked old and soft with frayed edges and had a patch on the back pocket that made them look even more careworn and cool. His white T-shirt covered his chest and set off
his deeply-tanned arms well, and he was wearing blue-and-white striped pool shoes that I knew must be really trendy because I’d noticed other lads wearing them at Alfredo’s party the
night before. I saw he still had the beads on that he’d been wearing when we’d met and I made a mental note to myself to remember to ask him about them, as well as the whole
how-he-knew-my-name-without-me-ever-telling-him business.

After a few minutes we approached what looked like a small cave, and Rex turned to me and took my hand – mainly I thought to help me over the small rocks that led the way into it.

‘Take a seat,’ he said, as he pulled off his T-shirt and laid down the blanket he’d been carrying. I turned away, embarrassed by the sight of him undressing.

‘I brought refreshments! Lassi and water,’ he said, pulling some bottles out of the basket to show me. I had no idea what lassi was, so I just smiled and said,
‘Great.’

‘And nectarines and grapes. I wasn’t sure what you liked so I just grabbed some fruit from the market on the way here. Oh! And I bought some cheese and crackers too. Do you like
cheese?’ he asked. And then he stopped and shook his head and started to laugh. ‘God, I’m such a smoothy, eh? “Do you like cheese?” How’s that for a chat-up
line?’

I giggled. He was doing that thing I do where I cringe at the things I say, and it made me feel relaxed.

‘It was a time for romance . . . Their eyes met across a crowded beach and he enticed her into his heart with promises of diamonds and – cheese and crackers,’ he said, mocking
himself, putting on a deep, dramatic voice like the ones you hear on trailers for films.

I creased up laughing.

‘Don’t be daft, I love cheese!’ I said, even though I had to admit the conversation was taking a rather ridiculous turn.

He punched the air in victory. ‘It’s a winner! The lady loves cheese! She is powerless to resist his charms – and cheddar!’

We were both really laughing now and I tried not to stare at his bare, tanned chest as he produced all this wonderful stuff from the basket.

I realised I would have to do the same – strip off, I mean. I couldn’t just lie there in the sweltering heat dressed in a top and denim skirt. But when I attempted to unbutton my
skirt, I found I had completely lost the strength in my wrists and my hands kept slipping.

‘I’m just going to test the water,’ he said, his eyes scanning me softly. ‘It’s bound to be perfect swimming temperature . . .’

He walked off in the direction of the sea and left me standing there, inside this little shady alcove with a basket of goodies that he’d so thoughtfully brought along. I thought perhaps
I’d been involved in a plane crash on the way to Ibiza and that really I’d died and that this was my life as I had always imagined it to be. He had sensed I was nervous about undressing
and had made an excuse so I wouldn’t have to suffer the mortal pain of doing it in front of him. I wondered if he was perhaps the most perfect man I had ever met. I took the advantage anyway,
and when he was out of sight I frantically slipped my top over my head and wriggled out of my denim mini and hoped that if I closed my eyes and wished hard enough I might somehow miraculously gain
a figure like Ellie’s by the time he came back from the sea. Failing that, a sarong would’ve done, and I could’ve kicked myself for not remembering to bring one. But it was too
late. As he returned, I realised I was standing there as good as in my underwear, and I suddenly felt very exposed.

‘The sea is perfect,’ he said, his skin glistening with tiny water droplets. I sat down on the soft blanket he’d brought along and attempted to adjust my body in the most
flattering pose possible, even though no matter how I lay my thighs seemed to spread like margarine. I noticed him looking at me – not staring, just glancing – and I wondered if he was
thinking, ‘Wow, check out those thunder thighs.’

‘You’re embarrassed,’ he said, smiling at me gently.

I was
so
embarrassed I wanted to dig a hole in the sand and hide in it.

‘Don’t be,’ he said. ‘You look fantastic in your bikini – a real beach goddess!’

Goddess? More like a big ice cream blob melting in the sun, but I felt thrilled that he had said it. The fact that he’d brought my body fear out into the open had made it seem less of an
issue, and I found myself relaxing slightly.

‘Perfection, dear lady, is in the eye of the beholder,’ he said in a mock-plummy accent. I could feel he was looking at me intensely, so I looked at him too and our eyes scanned each
other’s faces. ‘Do you know what I mean?’ he asked, putting on a jokey cockney accent this time.

‘Yes,’ I replied, allowing myself to look into his green eyes properly, like I had wanted to do the night we met, but had been too shy. ‘I know exactly what you mean. But then
it’s easy for you to say. You swim and dive and work out at the gym everyday.’