“Okay, are you ready?” Hannah gave me the dirtiest look that she could muster, but I couldn’t help noticing that there wasn’t the same pure hatred that was there on my very first day. We’d definitely progressed on that front.

“I am ready, I’ve been ready for this for months. I just didn’t think I was going to have my babysitter with me.”

“Trust me, this isn’t going to be my idea of fun either.” If only she knew. The last thing I wanted to do was watch the first girl I’ve liked in a very long time fawning all over her boyfriend. I had been dreading it in the nightclub, that was bad enough, but I’ve just about managed to get away with it there. A romantic weekend was going to be so much worse. I knew for sure that there wouldn’t be any escaping it. “I tried to tell your father that you don’t need me there, that you’d be with Carson, but he insisted.”

“Yeah, he hates Carson.” Her lips pouted out, and all I wanted to do was touch one of them. I had to clamp my fists down by my sides to stop me from reaching out. “I don’t know why.”

“No, me neither...” I didn’t say it aloud because I felt like it was dangerous territory, but as far as I could see Carson was exactly like Joe. “But that’s what he said. So, what’s the plan from here? Is Carson coming to pick you up?”

“Nope, I’m meeting him there.” There it was, that defensive tone again. "He has a work meeting, one that he couldn’t miss since he’s taking the whole weekend off, so I said I’d go on ahead and get some spa treatments.”

“Of course, that’s a great plan. Shall we get a cab?”

“Why don’t we take one of my cars?” She jangled her keys and wiggled her eyebrows at me. “You can even drive if you like?”

“Please tell me that those are the keys to the Corvette? I’ve been eyeing that car ever since I got here.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were eyeing anything up!” There was a teasing to her tone, but we both knew that there was more behind her words. The last week had been a terribly complex maze of emotions, both us of seemed to have something to say, but we didn’t quite know how to word it. “But yeah, the Corvette.”

“Wow, now that’s trust.”

“I guess.” She grabbed her cases, and fixed her eyes towards the door, trying to ignore my assumption. “So, shall we go?”

“This is incredible!”

I didn’t know where to look, my eyes were everywhere. If I thought that Hannah lived in a luxurious home, then this was on an entirely different level. This was the sort of vacation I’ve only ever seen on television before. I didn’t realize they existed, and I certainly never expected to be on one. Sure, it was a work thing but still... returning to the war zones I usually existed in once this work sabbatical was over would be a cold, hard shock.

“I know.” Even Hannah looked impressed. The shining happiness behind her eyes gave her away. “I’ve wanted to come here for ages, but I never had anyone to bring me.”

There it was again, the elephant in the room. All I could do was clamp my lips together, and answer through gritted teeth. “What time is Carson going to get here?”

“Oh I don’t know, but I don’t think I can check in without him. Maybe we should go and wait by the pool? Get some drinks in?”

“Okay sure, let’s leave the cases in the car until then.”

I followed her outside to where there were hundreds of glamorous looking people, reminding me once more of a movie set. Everywhere I looked there were supermodel types, which brought the instant anxious defensiveness out of me. All Hannah had to do was shake off her cardigan and she effortlessly fit in. For me, I would never be able to blend into the background in this kind of place, I was always going to stand out. I was rougher, scruffier, probably frightening in appearance to this lot. I was going to have to keep my eyes on the ground if I didn’t want to draw any attention to myself.

“I’m gonna get the drinks in,” Hannah announced breezily, seemingly sensing what I was feeling, and dealing with it by totally brushing past it. “What do you want?”

“Beer, please,” I replied gruffly, my awkwardness shining right through.

“Are you sure you don’t want a fancy cocktail?” Hannah bumped her hip against mine, leaving a fizzling sensation behind. “I can just see you with a Sex on the Beach, or a Screaming Orgasm.”

The powerful magnetism drew my eyes towards hers, and as they connected I felt that familiar warm fuzzy sensation encasing my heart once more. Her beaming grin was contagious, despite my weirdness I found myself smiling. It was nice, sharing a small, inside joke with Hannah. It helped me to block the rest of the world out.

“Okay,” I nodded along, deciding to surrender to the fun. Having a bit of a laugh with Hannah before Carson arrived would help me switch my inner paranoia off. “You’ve twisted my arm. The pinker the better.”

“You’re going to regret saying that!”

As she walked off towards the bar, I suddenly noticed that my breaths were coming out a little sharp and ragged, like I was in a state of serious arousal. She did make me feel that way, I’ve spent my time around her feeling like I was on a constant knife edge, but there was more too. I enjoyed her company, even if she didn’t look as amazing as she did I would want to be around her all the time. I’ve never had my attention captivated so strongly. I tried to think back over past relationships – or more like brief flings if I was totally honest with myself – but absolutely no one came to mind.

“Oh my God,” I cried out, forgetting all my fears about being looked at. “When I said pink I was joking.”

She burst into peels of giggles, which heated me up even more. “I did warn you. You give me an inch and I will take a mile.”

“What do you call that one? Please tell me it doesn’t have a dirty name.”

“Nope, just a Kiss On The Lips.”

My heart skipped a beat, my emotions churned over. Thinking about kissing was somehow so much worse than anything else. It felt more intimate somehow, it reminded me that my feelings for Hannah were so much more than sexual. Physical desire I could probably override. This... this was going to be so much harder.

“I still can’t believe you call your friend Bunny,” I shook my head as I laughed. “That’s insane.”

“What? You have a friend called Spike.”

“That’s his surname, we all refer to each other by our last names in the army. That’s just how it is.”

“So, are you Jones?”

“Yep, I sure am!”

Ring, ring... Ring, ring...

“Ooh, that must be Carson.” Every time she said his name it was like daggers into my heart, but also a reminder of what we were doing here. The three cocktails I’ve had were sloshing around inside of my brain, occasionally making me forget. “Oh... no, it isn’t. How long has it been?”

“Erm... two and a half hours, ish.”

“He should be here already, where is he?” Her face fell, her whole body shrank in on itself. “Why can’t he ever just do what I want him to?”

“Oh...” I had no idea what I was supposed to say to that. She’s never criticized him aloud before and I wasn’t sure how I should react.

“Just for once I want to be put first.” Yep, the booze had definitely loosened her tongue. “Dad can’t do it, Carson can’t do it. The only person who ever really wanted to know me was Mom, and she’s long gone.”

My heart reached out to her, I hated seeing Hannah this way, but I wasn’t sure that she’d want a hug from me right now. Much as it killed me, I wasn’t the one that she needed right now. He was nowhere to be seen. I sensed that Carson was a bit of a self-righteous prick when we met in the nightclub, and that fear had just been well and truly confirmed.

“I just thought for once that he would keep his promise and make this weekend about me. I know I come across to everyone as a spoiled bitch, but I’m never put first. What do you think I should do?”

She stared intently at me, needing an answer. I didn’t want to weigh in on this, especially when I knew that I couldn’t be impartial, but her eyes were looking desperately into my soul.

I sighed noisily and forced myself to say the words that I didn’t want to. It was the right thing to do, but that didn’t mean I liked it. “You should call him, give him a chance to explain.”