Lara appeared
on the sand like a goddess, her white-blonde hair flowing behind her in the
gentle early morning breeze. Her long, golden limbs moved towards the shore,
her feet leaving dainty footprints in her wake. Reaching up, she scooped her
hair into a high ponytail, securing it with a band and creating the kind of
messy but chic hairstyles you see in the magazines but can never quite
replicate yourself. After a few elegant last-minute stretches, she was off, jogging
along the shore, those golden limbs gazelle-like as they leapt across the sand.
She made it look so easy and graceful.
It really wasn’t fair.
Emily stepped away from the window as her best friend disappeared from
view and grabbed her wash bag from her not-yet-unpacked suitcase. She had to
admire Lara’s dedication. As though it wasn’t enough that she went for a daily
run back home, she kept up the regime even when they were on holiday. It was no
wonder Lara had a smoking body and hoards of men queuing for the chance of a
date. It was almost enough to have Emily reaching for her iPod and a pair of
trainers and taking a jog herself.
Almost, but not quite.
It wasn’t that Emily was adverse to exercise. Okay, it totally was.
Emily would exercise if she looked like Lara while doing it, but whereas Lara
took on the appearance of a gazelle skipping along the beach with her easy
in-through-the-nose-out-through-the-mouth breathing, it was a very different
matter when it came to Emily. Emily was transformed into a sweaty, puce-faced
spluttering mess by her third stride, which wasn’t a good look at all. No, she
would stick to her trusty one-piece and sarong combo for the beach and pray
there would be at least one flawless-blonde-aphobe in Mallorca that would turn
his nose up at Lara’s perfection and latch onto Emily instead.
Hey, it could happen.
Wash bag in hand, Emily toed the not-yet-unpacked suitcase under her
bed. They’d only arrived in Mallorca the day before and the girls had had much more
fun and important things to do than unpack, like checking out their new abode –
a three-bedroom house right on Alcudia beach that belonged to a friend of
Lara’s cousin – and sinking cocktails at a nearby bar. They’d stumbled home
during the small hours so, rather rudely, hadn’t even said hello to Lara’s
cousin yet. Still, there was plenty of time for that. Lara had promised Emily
two weeks of fun at the beach house, which was more than welcome after her
breakup with Liam. She’d spent the past four months mourning the loss of their
relationship – which seemed indulgent now considering how much of a pig Liam
had been – but she was over that now and was ready to inject a bit of life back
into her existence. Jessie, apparently, was exactly what Emily needed.
According to Lara, her cousin was the life and soul and would soon make Emily
forget all about Liam and his piggish ways, which was a little strange as
Jessie had been pretty timid the one time they’d met. But that had been six
years ago at Lara’s twenty-first birthday party and people changed, didn’t
they?
Emily made sure she had everything she needed before she made her way
across the hall to the bathroom. In hindsight, she probably should have knocked
first before she turned the handle and stepped inside. But Emily did not knock
first.
‘Oh!’
There was a flurry of movement as Emily squeaked and covered her face
with her wash bag and the very wet and very naked male threw a towel around his
waist. But it was too late. Everything had been a bit of a blur due to the
rapid movement, but Emily had clocked a rather large blur before it had been
covered.
‘I am so sorry. I didn’t know anyone was in here.’ It transpired it
wasn’t only exercise that transformed Emily into a sweaty, puce-faced and
spluttering mess.
‘Hey, don’t worry about it. I’m sorry I gave you a fright.’
Emily was about to point out that he
shouldn’t be the one apologising when it occurred to her that she didn’t
have the foggiest who he was. He
could be an overly hygienic burglar. Or something worse than that. Something much,
much worse.
Emily took a step back. ‘Who are you?’ She attempted to sound brave
but failed miserably.
‘I’m Jesse.’ His smile was disarming. Any scrap of courage Emily
possessed evaporated, along with her anti-drooling capabilities. ‘You must be
Emily.’
Emily stared at him. He was who? ‘You’re Jessie?’ Wow, people really
did change. The last time Emily had seen Jessica she had been petit with a
curtain of brown hair used to hide her face. Now she was tall and broad with
beautiful blue eyes and a stomach rippling with muscles.
‘Jesse Hawthorn.’ Ensuring one hand held his towel firm, he held out
the other, taking Emily’s limp hand and giving it a steady shake.
‘You’re not Jessica.’
Jesse’s eyebrows were so bleached from the sun they were barely
visible, but Emily still managed to see them knit together. ‘You mean Aunty
Tracey’s daughter? No.’ He laughed, his sudden bark filling the small bathroom
and making Emily jump. ‘Did you think that was who you were staying with?’
Emily gave a wave of her hand, forcing a laugh of her own. ‘No, don’t
be daft.’
‘You did, didn’t you?’ Jesse was chuckling now, the movement inching
down his towel. Emily should have warned him. But she didn’t.
‘I did not.’
She did. And why wouldn’t she? Lara hadn’t specified that they were
staying with her male cousin Jesse
and not her female cousin Jessie.
She’d been rather scant on the details, actually, but then Emily hadn’t been
interested in anything other than the fact that she only needed to pay for her
flights and spending money. She was in desperate need of a holiday after Liam,
and a super cheap holiday had been more than welcome.
‘Look, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be making fun of you. It isn’t very
gentlemanly of me, is it?’ Emily noted that Jesse, despite his words, still
couldn’t wipe the grin from his chops. ‘Why don’t I make it up to you? I’ll
make us some breakfast while you jump in the shower? Is Lara up?’
Jesse was already stepping past Emily and into the hallway. The man
smelled good. ‘She’s gone for a run.’
Jesse paused in the hallway, turning back to Emily with his pale
eyebrows knotted again. ‘But she’s on holiday. Is she crazy?’
After that comment, Emily decided to forgive Jesse for mocking her.
She climbed into the shower and changed into her prettiest maxi dress (which
was not for Jesse’s benefit. Not at
all) and joined him in the kitchen. Jesse had made scrambled eggs and toast,
along with coffee and juice. Emily tried not to pout about the fact that he’d covered
his body in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. She’d quite enjoyed the tiny towel
look.
Jesse slid onto a stool at the breakfast bar and poured himself a cup
of coffee. ‘We didn’t get off to a very good start, did we?’
Emily thought it was quite a nice start, actually, now that she was
over the shock of finding a stranger in the bathroom. She’d had worse
introductions.
‘Shall we forget we met in the bathroom?’ Like Emily could forget
about that towel and all that was underneath! ‘Let’s start again. I’m Emily Barlow.’
She held out a hand and, with the corners of his lips twitching, Jesse
took it and gave it a firm shake. ‘Jesse Hawthorn. Pleased to meet you, Emily.’
‘You too. Thanks for letting me stay here.’
Jesse gave a one-shouldered shrug. ‘I’m always happy to play host to
beautiful girls.’
‘Smooth-talker.’
‘Guilty.’ Jesse grinned at her. ‘But it’s my mate Harvey you have to
thank. It’s his place. I’m just borrowing it for the summer.’
‘The whole summer?’
Jesse gave the one-shouldered shrug again. ‘I can work remotely, so
why not work from here?’
Why not indeed. It was a beautiful house, set right on the beach, with
the gate at the back opening straight onto the white sand. Emily could hear the
lapping of waves beyond the kitchen and the sun was already filling the room
with light and warmth.
‘But don’t worry, I’m not going to be a boring git, shut inside
working all the time. In fact, I’ve got a few people coming over tonight for a
barbecue and a few drinks. I hope you don’t mind. You’re welcome to join us if
you and Lara don’t have plans.’
‘Plans for what?’ Lara strode into the kitchen, helping herself to a
glass of juice and draining it in one go. Emily couldn’t help feeling a stab of
irritation that Lara would arrive now, just as she was starting to feel
slightly comfortable in Jesse’s presence. She’d been enjoying being the centre
of his attention, but Lara’s arrival was bound to put a stop to that. It always
did. But then Lara raised an arm and gave her armpit a sniff, pulling a face,
and Emily was reminded that the pair were related. Lara would never have done
something so uncouth in front of a possible suitor.
‘As ladylike as ever, I see.’ Jesse caught Emily’s eye and raised an
eyebrow. ‘And I was just telling Emily about the party I have planned for
tonight.’
‘A party?’ Lara’s eyes lit up and Emily could tell she was already
planning her ensemble. ‘What kind of party? Beach? House?’
‘A bit of both, I suppose.’
Lara pursed her lips. This posed quite a quandary, but she was sure
she’d be able to find suitable attire in her suitcase – she’d packed for pretty
much every eventuality. In the end she opted for a pair of tiny white denim
shorts and a cropped white netted top over a turquoise and hot pink bikini,
which, even she admitted herself, displayed her bronzed body off to perfection.
‘I hope Jesse has some hot friends.’ Lara pouted at her reflection in
the mirror before swiping at her lips with a tube of lip gloss. ‘I love a
holiday fling, don’t you?’
Emily made a non-committal sound. She’d never had one. ‘If Jesse has
friends here on holiday too, why are we staying here and not them?’
Lara gave her hair a scrunch. It had that just-got-out-of-the-sea look
that she’d spent the last hour in the bathroom achieving. ‘Because I bagged it
first.’ She perched a pair of designer sunglasses on top of her head, twisting
this way and that to check the effect in the mirror before taking them off
again. ‘Besides, Harvey and I go way back.’
Which translated as ‘we once had a torrid fling’.
‘I don’t remember you telling me about a Harvey.’
‘Sure you do.’ Lara gave the perched-sunglasses look another go,
leaving them put this time. ‘He took me out on his yacht that time. I recreated
the Titanic “I’m flying!” scene and then he –’
‘Yes, yes, I remember now.’ Emily was blushing. Lara never spared her
any details of her escapades, unfortunately. ‘Do you think he’ll be here
tonight?’
‘I hope not.’ Lara finally removed herself from the mirror and slipped
her feet into a pair of wedged sandals. ‘He’s married now. Ugh. What a waste.’
Emily hopped off Lara’s bed and followed her downstairs, where Jesse
was preparing the barbecue in the garden. She watched from the doorway as Jesse
wiped his brow before peeling off his t-shirt, revealing the glorious body
she’d spotted in the bathroom that morning. It was like witnessing a Diet Coke
advert without the pesky television screen getting in the way.
‘Hey.’
Emily jumped back and averted her gaze when Jesse caught her ogling.
‘Hi. Do you need a hand with anything?’
‘Do you mind chopping up a bit of salad?’ Emily shook her head. She
didn’t mind at all. She’d do anything Jesse asked her to. Anything. ‘Cheers. You’ll find everything in the fridge. Get Lara
to help if you can drag her away from the mirror.’
‘I heard that.’ Lara appeared in the doorway, a hastily created
cocktail in hand. She stepped into the garden and plonked herself on a sun
lounger.
Jesse stared down at her. ‘So you’re not going to give us a hand
then?’
‘Do I look like the hired help?’ Lara nudged her sunglasses so they slipped
from her hair and down to her nose expertly, conversation over. Jesse looked at
Emily, but she simply shrugged her shoulders and retreated into the kitchen.
Lara was her best friend but Emily knew she could be a lazy cow at times. It
was the pitfall of being incredibly beautiful; Lara was used to people falling
over themselves to help her and she was never expected to reciprocate.
‘You look gorgeous, by the way.’
Emily jumped yet again at the sound of Jesse’s voice, but luckily the
fridge door hid her shock. Jesse seemed to startle her at every turn, but then
she was jumpy anyway, intimidated by his looks. She’d been in a sort of
bubble-like world while with Liam, so it had been a long, long time since she’d fancied anyone. And boy did she fancy Jesse.
‘Oh?’ Emily dumped the tomatoes on the counter and looked down at her
floral sundress with its busy print that distracted onlookers from any
misdemeanours beneath. She wanted to tell Jesse that he was being ridiculous.
Emily knew she was no ogre, but she also knew she was far from gorgeous. But
she kept her gob shut. If Jesse wanted to live under the notion that she was
gorgeous, who was she to stop him? Instead, she channelled her inner flirt,
putting into practice everything she’d learned from Lara over the years.
‘Thank you. You don’t look so bad yourself.’ Understatement alert!
Emily had never seen anyone rock a pair of shorts quite so well in her life.
‘Yeah?’ Emily felt a swoon coming on as Jesse raised his pale eyebrows
and she felt the need to crawl into the fridge to cool down.
Okay, Lara wouldn’t have done that.
‘Yes.’ Emily’s voice wavered, far from the confident minx she was
attempting to emulate. ‘You look pretty hot.’
There. She’d said it. If only she could get her cheeks to calm down
and stop battling with the sun for brightness.
But Emily didn’t have to worry about her cheeks as the kitchen
suddenly erupted with a chorus of voices before it filled with bodies, all
vying for Jesse’s attention. He was swept back out into the garden, but not
before he’d glanced back to grin at Emily before he disappeared from view.
So, had Emily successfully flirted with an extremely good-looking
bloke who was way out of her league? Or had she just made a complete fool of
herself? The answer to that question would take a while as the party began in
earnest. Meat was thrown on the barbecue, music was chosen and a game of
volleyball was set up on the beach. A mishmash of chairs, sun loungers and
beach towels were set up along the sand and the beer and cocktails were flowing.
Lara lapped up the attention bestowed upon her by the fellow partygoers while
Emily did her best to keep a low profile, either holed up in the kitchen or
hidden behind a book on the outskirts of the group, afraid to face Jesse and
the verdict of her clumsy flirtation attempt. Jesse was in the thick of it,
playing the perfect host as he hopped from group to group. Emily tried not to
feel too gutted as the girls flocked to him, their bodies barely concealed in
their bikinis and tiny dresses. How could she compete? That’s if she was even
in the running in the first place.
‘Hey, you. Didn’t anybody tell you there are no books allowed?’
Emily peered over the top of her paperback. One of Jesse’s friends
loomed over her, grinning down at her with uneven teeth before snatching the
book and tossing it down on the ground.
‘Do you know what the punishment is for being a book nerd?’ Emily
didn’t have time to answer – or to tell him where to go – before he’d scooped
her up from her seat and flung her over his broad shoulder. Her ribs rattled as
he took off, sprinting over the sand and – oh no – towards the sea.
Emily gasped as she was flung, fully dressed, into the water. She
squealed as she hit the cold water and felt it seep through her dress. She was
going to kill him, slowly and oh so painfully. She was already unsteady on her
feet as she rose, making an immediate lunge for the grinning buffoon, when a
wave knocked her face first into the water. Her nosedive caused great hilarity
for the beach full of holidaymakers but Emily was not amused. Rising from the
water once more, coughing and spluttering and squinting through stinging eyes,
Emily felt a pair of arms around her. She was about to kick out – swiftly and
aiming for the nuts – when she heard a voice that did not belong to Jesse’s
friend.
‘Here.’ It was Jesse himself and he was wrapping a towel around her shoulders.
‘Let me warm you up. Apparently, I’m pretty hot.’
Emily cringed and hid her face in the towel under the pretence of
drying her eyes. ‘Is that so? What fool told you that?’
‘A very cold and wet but still incredibly beautiful fool.’
Emily forced herself to peep out of the towel and found Jesse grinning
at her. Her legs started to wobble and it wasn’t entirely because she was
thigh-deep in the sea. His grin dropped as he reached out to tuck a string of
hair behind her ear.
‘Are you okay?’
‘No, I don’t think I am.’ She pressed her lips together to stop
herself from giggling as Jesse’s eyes filled with concern. ‘I swallowed an
awful lot of water. I could have drowned. I think I might need the kiss of
life.’
‘Did you know that I’m a trained life guard?’
Emily was impressed. She bet Jesse would look great in a pair of tiny
red shorts. ‘Are you?’
‘No, but let’s give it a go anyway.’
Jesse grasped the edges of the towel, tugging Emily towards him. She
ignored the jeers and wolf whistles piercing the air from the beach as she
tilted her head and closed her eyes against the still-bright sun. As Jesse’s
lips met hers, Emily knew her stay at the beach house was going to be the best
holiday ever.
I hope you enjoyed reading The Beach House! Click here for more short stories.
