Oscar woke with a start, as something soft hit him with quite a force.
Abruptly sitting bolt upright, he blinked the sleep from his eyes. From the corner of the room, Will grinned at him. ‘Morning, sleepy head,’ he said, picking up the pillow he’d just thrown at his friend. ‘Thought I’d wake you up.’
Oscar grunted. ‘Cheers for that.’
‘You’re welcome.’ Will glanced at his friend, and then grinned again, gesturing with his eyes to Oscar’s nether regions: it appeared other parts of Oscar were bolt upright too. ‘Been dreaming about Morgie?’ he inquired.
Oscar was the one to throw the pillow this time. ‘Ew, man, what the hell were you doing looking down there?’
Will raised his eyebrows.
Oscar flopped back against the headboard of the bed, sleepily closing his eyes. ‘Always knew you were gay,’ he said. ‘God, my head hurts.’
‘Mm,’ Will agreed. ‘Ezra got us some bloody strong stuff.’
Oscar’s eyes snapped open. ‘Is Ezra here?’ he asked quickly. ‘Did he come home?’
Will shook his head. ‘Nope. Haven’t seen him. He went home with some girl, and I don’t think he’s been in since.’
Oscar swore under his breath. ‘I knew he’d do something stupid like that.’
Will shrugged. ‘Most people do it out here,’ he commented, going to look out of the window, through which bright sunlight was streaming.
‘Are you planning to?’ Oscar asked, with interest.
Will turned and shot him a look. ‘What do you think?’
Oscar lifted his hands in a gesture of submission. ‘Well, you never know!’
Will snorted. ‘You’re one to talk, Hadley.’
‘What do you mean?!’ Oscar protested, despite the fact that he knew all too well what he meant.
‘I believe I saw you hooking up with Morgie at the same party,’ Will said devilishly.
‘So?’ asked Oscar, weakly.
‘Soooo, spill the beans!’ Will said, sitting down on the end of his bed.
‘Oh my god, you’re such a girl, Will,’ Oscar said, getting out of bed and giving him a light shove.
‘What happened?’ Will pressed, not daunted at all.
Oscar sighed. ‘We kissed. It’s what you do when you’re at a party with a gorgeous girl,’ he added patronizingly.
Will gave him a look. ‘Yeah, thanks for that.’
‘Don’t blame me for you not getting any,’ Oscar said teasingly.
Will rolled his eyes. ‘So you kissed,’ he said. ‘Looked a bit more serious than normal.’
Oscar shrugged, attempting nonchalance. ‘If you say so.’
Will looked suddenly rather suspicious, then he stood up abruptly. ‘Oh my god, Oscar,’ he said, as if he’d just discovered the Holy Grail under the bed. ‘You like her!’
‘What?!’ Oscar’s reply was unconvincing as it was, but to Will, who was completely sure of himself, he may as well have been a professional actor. ‘No!’
‘You so do! You’re not nearly this close mouthed usually!’
‘So that means I like her?’ Oscar asked sarcastically.
‘You blatantly do,’ Will said. ‘I thought you did. I thought you liked her, but I thought maybe it was just lust. Oh my god, Oscar, how long has this been going on for?’
Oscar shook his head. ‘Shut up.’
Will only got more excited. ‘Oscar! You really like her!’
‘Will, you’re being a prick,’ Oscar told him. ‘Leave it.’
He took the hint. ‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘Just curious. It’s obvious that she likes you back, that’s all.’
Oscar’s head snapped round. ‘Do you think so?’
Will tried his best to hide a knowing smirk. ‘Definitely. No girl really kisses a guy like that unless they have feelings.’
Oscar wrinkled his nose. ‘Nah. Morgie could have any guy.’
‘But she prefers you,’ Will put in.
Oscar shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Laurel said that she was involved with a guy at uni.’
Will frowned. ‘Did that make you jealous?’
‘I don’t know,’ Oscar said, with a heavy sigh. ‘It just made me realize that I hated the thought of her with anyone but me. I want her to be mine.’
‘Are you sure you don’t just want to have meaningless sex?’ Will inquired. ‘I mean, she’s a gorgeous girl?’
‘Hell no!’ Oscar shot him a look. ‘She’s more than just gorgeous; she’s witty, she’s hilarious, she’s sweet and clever and just… fun,’ he finished limply.
Will’s eyebrows had vanished into his hair line. ‘Wow, Oscar. You seriously have got it bad for her.’
Oscar made a dismissive noise.
‘You should tell her!’ Will advised. ‘Out here in the sun, this place is made for romance.’
‘I’ll tell her when you grow a pair and tell Laurel how you feel,’ Oscar said, with some asperity.
Will ignored him, instead just shooting him a look. ‘And you call me a girl,’ he retorted.
Oscar rolled his eyes again. ‘I’m going to go and get breakfast,’ he said.
However, as he headed towards the door, someone opened it, and, a rather worse for wear looking Ezra tumbled through.
‘Ezra!’ Oscar cried. ‘Where the hell have you been?!’
Ezra grinned, eyebrows raised. ‘It’s not gentlemanly to say,’ he answered.
Oscar looked him up and down. His hair was a complete mess, and he was still in last night’s wrinkled clothes, a few alcohol stains on his trousers. There were enormous bags under his eyes, and he had the sort of squint which hinted at a throbbing headache.
‘And it’s gentlemanly to do the walk of shame back to your hotel room?’ he asked, drily.
Ezra grinned again. ‘You can guess,’ he said.
‘My god.’ Oscar shook his head in disbelief. ‘How the hell did you persuade a girl to sleep with you?!’
Ezra gave him a shove as he went past, pulling his shirt over his head and spraying a liberal amount of deodorant, making his friends cough. ‘She didn’t need much persuading, mate,’ he commented.
Oscar wrinkled his nose. ‘Who was she?’
Ezra shrugged. ‘Dunno. Some Spanish girl, I think. She didn’t speak much English.’
Oscar stared at him. ‘You didn’t know her name?’
‘It might have been Maria,’ Ezra said, wincing as he attempted to think it through. ‘A lot of girls seem to be called Maria here.’
‘Was it enjoyable?’ asked Will, with a knowing look.
Ezra grinned. ‘Of course. Spanish girls…’ He left his sentence hanging. ‘Well, they’re something else.’
Will frowned. ‘Why are you back so early, then?’
His friend peered at him over the t-shirt he was pulling over his head. ‘God, I’m not going to actually call her back, Will,’ he said, as if Will had just suggested something completely ridiculous. ‘That’s the whole idea of a one night stand.’
‘Oh. Very much meaningless sex, then?’
Ezra nodded, looking pleased with himself. ‘You should try it.’ He paused, looking at Oscar. ‘And you, too. There’s plenty of girls out here.’
Oscar felt a little bit repulsed, strangely. He wasn’t sure why, but Ezra’s mindless treatment of the girl in question kind of sickened him. Usually, he didn’t care what Ezra had been up to, but for some reason, he couldn’t help but think of how angry he’d be if someone treated Morgie like that. His fists balled at his sides.
And anyway, plenty of girls? He’d barely looked at one. Morgie had filled up his mind, ever since he first saw her on the plane. He suddenly wondered if he’d have been in a similar situation, had the girls not been here. The thought made him feel horribly ill.
‘You haven’t got much of a hangover,’ Oscar pointed out, to change the subject.
‘Nah,’ Ezra said smugly. ‘I reckon getting some is the best cure.’
Clearly his attempt to change the subject hadn’t helped, Oscar reflected. He rolled his eyes at his friend instead. ‘I’m going to go get some breakfast,’ he said. ‘You can stay up here and gloat about your meaningless fling, Ez.’
‘You’re jealous!’ Ezra crowed, completely inaccurately, as his friend left him behind. As Oscar made his way down the hall, he heard his friend’s laughter echoing behind him, and, though he was glad he’d cheered up, he was kind of worried about April’s reaction. He thought she probably wouldn’t take too kindly to his attitude.
Ah well, he thought, as he remembered suddenly that Morgie was bound to be eating breakfast too. His heart rate sped up, memories of the kiss rushing over him abruptly. Oh god. He didn’t know if he could control himself any longer around her. With a sigh, he took several deep breaths. He could keep his composure.
He just didn’t know how long it would last.
*
‘What he does,’ said April, violently buttering a piece of toast, ‘is of absolutely no consequence to me.’
Lifting her eyes from her glass of orange juice, Morgie looked at her across the breakfast table. She raised an eyebrow at Laurel, who was paler than usual, thanks to a mild hangover.
‘He can screw every girl in this town,’ April continued, taking an enormous bite of her toast and chewing it ferociously, ‘and I honestly wouldn’t give a monkey’s arse about it.’
Morgie spluttered with laughter. ‘A monkey’s arse?’
April looked at her with a hard expression, but then softened. ‘Yes. A monkey’s arse.’
‘Serious stuff,’ Morgie commented, taking a speculative sip of orange juice.
April sighed over her breakfast, looking down at her toast. ‘God. I just don’t know what to think.’
‘I’d recommend not giving a monkey’s arse,’ Morgie advised. ‘I mean, he’s clearly not right for you, and he’s clearly an arse himself if he wants to go have meaningless sex with a girl whose name he most likely doesn’t know.’ She reached over the table and rested her hand on April’s. ‘He’s not the person you want, is he?’
April shook her head. ‘I just don’t know why it pisses me off so much,’ she said heavily. ‘It’s like I just can’t let it go.’
‘Maybe it’s time you did,’ Morgie suggested. She looked to Laurel for support, but her friend was studiously focused on her cereal, and didn’t look up.
‘Are you okay, Laurel?’ asked April, noticing her friend’s silence.
Laurel nodded. ‘Fine,’ she said, unconvincingly.
Morgie sighed. ‘Are you still pissed off with me for what happened last night?’ she inquired.
Laurel shook her head. ‘No.’
Morgie chewed her bottom lip. ‘Erm, why did you interrupt, by the way?’
‘You interrupted?!’ April repeated, in disbelief.
Her friend didn’t meet her eyes. ‘Look, Morgie was practically at risk of pregnancy! I had to stop her!’
‘No offence, Laurel, but I can take care of myself,’ Morgie replied, not unkindly, but firmly. ‘And I am here.’
Laurel shrugged. ‘Look, it just wasn’t right for you to do that,’ she said, ambiguously. ‘I’m going to go and get…’ she paused. ‘I’m going to the toilet,’ she settled on, and, stacking her plate, bowl and cup together, with a substantial amount of clattering, she stalked off.
Morgie looked at April. ‘What the hell is wrong with her?’
‘Hangover?’ suggested April, watching her go
‘But she’s been funny with me for a while,’ Morgie continued. ‘Like she’s just permanently pissed off with me, or something. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.’
‘Everything, I expect,’ said a familiar voice, and, dropping into the seat next to Morgie, Oscar set down his plate, piled high with food, and grinned at her.
‘Thanks for that,’ Morgie said, unable to help a thrill of nerves that ran through her, just at the sight of him. Oh god. What had happened? How had she gone from cucumber cool around him to being as fluttery as a thirteen year old girl around a first crush?
Oscar put an arm around her shoulders, pressing a kiss to her temple. ‘I’m joking, hun.’ Going back to his breakfast, he looked up at them both. ‘So, both of you are looking rather fresh. I was expecting you to look a bit worse for wear after last night.’
April smiled ruefully. ‘Nah. We were sensible with our drink, unlike Ezra.’
‘Ah.’ Oscar looked awkwardly down at his plate. ‘Very sensible.’
Morgie grinned. He was just adorable. ‘Er, have you seen Ez?’ she inquired, looking at April to check that it was okay to talk about it. April made a dismissive gesture.
‘Yeah, he just came back home,’ Oscar said, quickly making his way through his food. ‘He’s fine. He deserves to be more hung over, though.’
‘Oh really?’
Oscar nodded. ‘He doesn’t get many hang overs, lucky bastard, no matter how pissed he gets.’ He cut up a bit of bacon. ‘Whereas I’m a bit of a light weight.’
Morgie laughed. ‘We all know that,’ she commented. ‘You’re pathetic,’ she told him affectionately, swiping a mini muffin from his plate.
Oscar stuck out his bottom lip, looking so simultaneously adorable and yet smolderingly sexy, that Morgie had to catch her breath. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to pin him down to the floor and kiss him.
Either she was losing her marbles, or she was seriously having problems with her hormones.
She turned to her muffin instead, nibbling it pensively. Since when had she found him so attractive? He was just mesmerizing.
She rolled her eyes, giving herself a strict telling off. She didn’t need this. She’d be fine. She was probably a little hung over, or something.
However, as she went off with April to go and get ready for the day, she wasn’t quite so sure. Something about the way Oscar had been making her feel without any alcohol, when she was completely sober, was niggling at her. It felt like something more than just a lusty desire to make out with him twenty four seven. It kind of felt like a major crush.
Linking her arm through April’s, she determinedly made conversation, attempting to swerve her mind from Oscar. No such luck. He lingered on in her thoughts, as he had done since they kissed. Dear oh dear. Things were getting complicated, that much was sure.
*
After the antics of last night, a relaxed day at the beach seemed to be just what they needed. However, the prospect of George and the party that night hovered over April’s mind for the entire day, putting her constantly on edge. She was excited, of course, but scared too. She wanted things to go well, but, with Ezra’s performance at the club, she wasn’t exactly eager to spend more time in a party atmosphere with him, especially if he was going to be fuelled by alcohol as he had been the night before.
Therefore, her relaxing day soon became anything but, as her traitorous mind began over analyzing everything. In the end, Morgie towed her off to one of the hot tubs, and left her in there to soak, telling her the perfumed air would help put her mind at ease.
And it did. Sort of. As April leant back in the bubbly water, she felt a little of the tension and stress melt away from her. It was one of her major flaws that she over worried and over analysed everything, meaning that she often got far more stressed than the situation required. However, she just couldn’t help herself. She’d tried herbal remedies, doing her favourite things, but her mind was eternally in turmoil at the slightest chance.
She sighed. She had really hoped that this holiday might prove to be an opportunity for a stress free week. But, with Ezra here, that probably wouldn’t happen.
So, when she tentatively knocked on the door of the villa George had sent her directions too, she wasn’t exactly ready for it. Butterflies pounded in her stomach, as they were lead through the beautiful house, filled with people. April shot a nervous glance at Morgie, who grinned supportively at her.
‘You’ll knock George dead,’ she promised. ‘Just be yourself. No need to stress.’
Morgie had already promised to try and keep Ezra occupied. However, April wasn’t exactly sure that that would work.
Then she spotted George. He grinned at her from across the room, and headed straight for her. Morgie tactfully melted into the background, as George kissed both of April’s cheeks.
‘You look beautiful,’ he told her. ‘I am so happy you are here.’
April beamed at him. ‘I’m happy to be here,’ she said.
‘Let me get you a drink,’ he offered, putting one arm around her and leading her to the drinks table. As they went, April found herself reflecting on how nice it was to be treated like a lady. Ezra had absolutely never done anything like this for her after they had been together. He’d always treated her as if she was a bit of an annoyance, if she was completely honest.
‘Have you had a good day?’ inquired George.
April nodded. ‘It’s been beautiful,’ she said. ‘It’s so sunny here.’
George smiled. ‘Not like England?’ he asked, as they reached the drinks table.
Shaking her head, April laughed. ‘No. It’s always raining in England.’
‘I have wanted to come to England for a long time,’ George said. ‘It looks nice there.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes. London looks so beautiful,’ George replied.
‘I love London,’ April said wistfully. She smiled brightly up at him. ‘You’ll have to come over, I’ll show you round!’
George smiled back. ‘I would like that,’ he said. ‘Now, what drink would you like?’
‘Oh, anything,’ replied April, with a more flirtatious smile. ‘You can choose for me.’
George raised his eyebrows as he accepted the challenge. ‘Mm.’ He looked through the drinks, and selected one for her.
April took it, and looked down at the contents speculatively. ‘What’s in here?’ she asked.
‘It’s a cocktail,’ he said. ‘It tastes beautiful, but has a little, um, I don’t know how to say.’ He paused, looking embarrassed. ‘Um, it has a kick to it?’ he settled on.
April tilted her head. ‘Do you think that suits me, then?’ she replied.
He lifted his glass to hers. ‘Yes I do,’ he answered. ‘Do you mind, April?’
April giggled. ‘Not at all.’ She paused, looking up at him through her eyelashes. ‘I like the way you say my name, by the way,’ she added.
George looked pleased with himself. ‘I have been practicing,’ he whispered, close to her ear, and, as she smiled up at him, rather thrilled at how close they were, he added, ‘I like how you say George too. It is beautiful.’
They were almost close enough to kiss, and April found herself wanting to. But no. It was too early to be kissing already. Instead, she leant back, and pulled George towards the sound of the music. ‘Let’s dance!’ she said, and, as he followed, felt a smile spread over her face. The night was definitely looking up.
*
However, Ezra, who had been grimly watching April from the corner of the room, sipping on a drink rather moodily, wasn’t feeling nearly so positive. Of course, April was perfectly entitled to mess around with any boy, just like he’d ended up in bed with that girl. Maria? He still wasn’t sure. He didn’t think he’d asked, to be honest.
But still, there was a small pang in his chest at the thought of her kissing that other guy. He assumed she’d kissed guys since the break up, but the thought of actually watching it happen? No. He didn’t want that.
He turned his eyes to the others instead. They’d managed to persuade Laurel to get up onto the dance floor, despite her protestations that she couldn’t dance, and didn’t want to try, and so they were all dancing together, Morgie evidently teasing Will about something, because he swatted her with his hand, saying something to Oscar about her. Laurel was trying to melt into the crowd, Ezra noted, but, her evident awkwardness only made her more obvious. Morgie and Oscar, meanwhile, seemed to be a little more stilted than usual. Ezra wondered if something had happened between them, it seemed as if they couldn’t quite meet each other’s eyes.
Morgie was aware of the awkwardness between Oscar and herself. It was bizarre. She wasn’t used to feeling awkward around him, but she was scared. Each and every time they attempted their usual banter together, it didn’t feel quite right. Every time she looked at him, she was just struck by how much she wanted him, and she didn’t want that feeling rushing through her. It was like a little adrenaline rush with every touch of his skin upon hers, kind of like an electric shock.
So, when she went to go and get another drink for herself, she was feeling decidedly flustered. She chose something that looked fairly safe, and was just taking a reviving sip when someone tapped her on the arm.
Turning, she saw the boy who had been so busy pouting whenever she’d seen him; a friend of George’s. Carlos? She thought that was his name.
‘Hola,’ she said, smiling in a friendly way.
He flashed a grin at her. ‘You speak Spanish?’ he asked, in Spanish.
Morgie grinned. ‘Solo un poco,’ she replied. ‘Only a little.’
‘It’s sexy,’ Carlos said. Thankfully he was smiling easily, not pouting, and she relaxed a little, laughing.
‘It was so nice of you to invite us,’ she told him, her rather weak Spanish making her speech more laborious than usual. ‘This is a beautiful house.’
‘A beautiful house needs beautiful girls,’ Carlos said, matter of fact. ‘You are a very beautiful girl.’
Morgie laughed. ‘That’s very kind of you.’ She decided to swerve the topic from herself; she could see his pout returning. ‘Are you as good at English as I am at Spanish?’ she asked teasingly.
He made a little bow. ‘I am very good,’ he said slowly. ‘Um, you like Spain for holiday?’ he asked.
Morgie smiled, finding the broken English rather endearing. ‘Very much,’ she said. ‘I’m so happy to be here!’
Carlos looked down at her, his eyes skimming over her body. ‘I am very happy you are here,’ he said in a lower voice, one arm lightly touching her own.
Morgie was starting to feel a little uncomfortable at his tone. Thankfully, at that moment, Oscar arrived.
‘Alright, little one?’ he inquired, his tone more protective than usual.
Morgie smiled up at him. ‘Yep,’ she said. ‘Just practicing my Spanish.’
Carlos didn’t look very thrilled at the interruption, but, luckily for Oscar, a girl arrived, quickly engaging him in a conversation that consisted of extremely fast Spanish which he couldn’t make head nor tail of.
He looked at Morgie expectantly. ‘Go on then,’ he said. ‘Translate.’
Morgie gave him a shove. ‘I’m not fluent!’
‘Well, how disappointing,’ Oscar said, shaking his head.
She rolled her eyes at him. They’d been dancing together for quite a while, and the evening had worn on quite a lot, so she was starting to feel a little tired. She mentioned this to him, and he nodded.
‘Yeah, my bed’s kind of calling to me right now,’ he said, wistfully.
‘Is that Ezra asleep in the corner?’ Morgie asked in disbelief.
Oscar’s eyes widened, and he quickly made his way over, Morgie following along behind. Reaching his dozing friend, he shook him by the shoulders.
‘Ez? You okay?’
Opening his eyes a crack, Ezra peered blearily up at them. ‘Uh?’
‘Have you been drugged or something?!’ Oscar asked anxiously.
Ezra let out a tired laugh. ‘Nah, mate. I’m just tired.’
Oscar shook his head at him. ‘You’ve gone pathetic,’ he informed him. ‘What sort of guy goes to a party and falls asleep in the corner?!’
Ezra raised both hands in a dozy gesture of submission. ‘Me, clearly.’ He stood up, and stretched. ‘God, I was all out for hooking up again tonight, but I haven’t bloody got the energy.’ He looked at Oscar expectantly. ‘You’ll have to do it for me, mate.’
Morgie giggled, nudging him. ‘Off you go then, Oscs. Plenty of girls to choose from.’
Oscar wrinkled his nose at her. ‘No thanks.’
‘He’s only got eyes for you Morgs, don’t worry,’ Ezra said. ‘Right. I’m going back to the hotel. I forgot my cigarettes.’
Oscar attempted to swerve his thoughts from hooking up with Morgie, and failed dramatically. It took him several attempts to fully process what Ezra was saying without his mind becoming awash with an image of her, arms wrapped around his neck, his fingers unbuttoning her clothes. Was she even wearing buttons? He caught a glimpse of the back of her dress. Ah, a zip. Much easier to navigate.
He shook his head, attempting to focus. He really shouldn’t be analyzing how easy it would be to get Morgie out of her clothes. Ezra gave him a knowing look.
‘Shall we go too?’ he asked Morgie.
Morgie blinked up at him. ‘Sorry to break it to you, Oscar, but I’ll pass on the hooking up,’ she said cheekily.
Oscar groaned inwardly. Why the hell did they keep on mentioning hooking up?! It wasn’t good for him.
‘I didn’t mean that,’ he said. ‘Just that it’s a bit dead here, and I’m bloody exhausted.’
Morgie looked out of the window. ‘It is a beautiful night,’ she said. ‘Seems a shame to spend it indoors.’
‘Perfect.’ Oscar fired off a quick message to Will to tell him they were going, and led his two friends out of the house. He was quite relieved to be out, he didn’t like the way that that slimy Carlos had been eyeing up Morgie.
Ezra was clearly desperate for cigarettes, as he walked speedily through the little pathways that led back to the hotel.
‘Why do you want to damage your lungs?’ inquired Morgie curiously. ‘Do you just like the sort of self-immolation?’
‘Self what?’ asked Ezra distractedly.
‘Setting yourself on fire,’ Morgie said. ‘It’s like burning yourself up.’
‘I smoke because I like it,’ Ezra replied. ‘You don’t really get it until you do it, Morgs, but it’s more than just smoking something.’
‘So it’s not some deep metaphor?’ Morgie clarified, looking almost disappointed.
Ezra gave her a look. ‘Do you always get all metaphorical when you drink, Morgie?’
‘Nah,’ said Morgie. ‘It’s just my psychology skills coming out.’
They’d reached the hotel by now, and Oscar turned to look at Morgie. ‘Is that right, huh?’
Morgie nodded. ‘Why else would I be doing Criminology at uni?’ she said.
Ezra vanished to get some cigarettes from his room, but Oscar paused outside with Morgie. ‘How’s the course going?’ he asked.
Morgie smiled. ‘Really well. I love studying it, it’s just so interesting.’
‘I’m really glad,’ he said. He looked up at the sky. ‘You’re right. It’s beautiful out here.’
Morgie smiled up into the night air, then looked out across the dark town. The glimmer of the moonlight glancing off of the sea could just be seen, and she turned to look at Oscar. ‘I’m going to go walk along the beach,’ she said. Pausing, she looked up into his face, and, for a heart stopping moment, he was scared she might want to go alone, without him. ‘Want to come with me?’
Oscar hoped he didn’t look as eager as he felt. ‘Yeah, yeah, sure. Beautiful night.’
As she smiled, turning to go down the street, he let out a whoosh of breath. He certainly didn’t feel cool and collected, but he hoped that Morgie hadn’t noticed that.
It took them barely any time at all to reach the beach, and, as they got there, the cool night air seemed fresh, a gentle sea breeze making Morgie’s hair fly back, little strands of it caressing her neck and face. Oscar could barely take his eyes from her.
She sighed blissfully as she pulled off her heels, her toes sinking into the soft sand. She held out her arms to face the beach as if putting out her hands for a lover. Oscar slipped his arms around her waist, laughing. ‘Mimicking the Titanic?’ he inquired, softly into her ear, his head slotting nearly into the curve of her shoulder, his head level with hers.
She relaxed into him with a giggle. ‘Oh definitely,’ she said. ‘Make sure you don’t do a Jack, though. I don’t want you to drown.’
‘Pfft,’ Oscar said, releasing her. ‘As if you’d let me go.’
Morgie pulled a face at him, and, instead, she slipped her hand into his, carelessly, and raced across the sand, laughing with a sort of careless abandon Oscar couldn’t help but find infectious. They stood in the surf, eventually, the cold water lapping at their bare skin, the perpetual rolling of the waves crashing upon the shore a peaceful soundtrack to their evening.
Morgie felt she could just stand there forever, watching the sea, hearing Oscar’s low voice, smiling up at him when he said something funny, leaning against him, his skin warm through his shirt, one of his arms around her.
‘D’you think we’ll still be friends in ten years?’ Oscar asked suddenly, as a bigger wave rolled in.
Morgie looked up at him. ‘Ten years?’ She looked back out to sea. ‘God, I don’t know. I hope so. Right now, it feels like this moment will last forever.’
Oscar laughed softly. ‘You’ve gone all romantical.’
She smiled. ‘It’s the night air and the moonlight,’ she assured him. ‘I’ll be myself in the morning.’
‘I know what you mean, though,’ he told her. ‘It’s like another world out here.’
‘Shall we stay out here forever, then?’ she asked, smiling up at him, and it was all he could do not to just lean down and kiss her right then.
He grinned back, looking out to sea instead. ‘It would be nice,’ he said. ‘But you’ve got a brilliant future ahead of you, Morgie Skelton. I don’t want you to waste it by becoming a beach tramp.’
Morgie laughed. ‘A brilliant future, huh?’
‘Brilliant,’ he promised. ‘What are you going to do with it?’
She sighed. ‘I don’t know. I don’t want to just end up with an office job,’ she replied. ‘I want to do something with my life. I don’t know what.’
‘I can’t see you in an office job,’ Oscar admitted. ‘What would be your dream thing to do, then?’ he asked, turning to look at her properly.
She grinned. ‘I know that one,’ she said. ‘I want to travel.’
‘Anywhere in particular?’
‘Not really,’ Morgie said. ‘Somewhere exciting, somewhere where I can meet new people and… I don’t know.’ She shrugged at him. ‘I just want to experience everything,’ she told him. ‘I’d love to get in a little camper van, with someone lovely, and just travel around the world.’
‘Someone lovely?’ Oscar suddenly found himself desperately wishing he could be that someone.
Morgie nodded. ‘Yes. It’s not as good if you can’t share it with someone, right?’
Oscar nodded too, and tightened his arm around her.
When they finally headed back to the hotel, it was only because Morgie’s shivering had gotten too pronounced. They’d been out there hours, just talking, something Morgie had never expected. It was almost morning, in fact. She felt as if she’d spilled her whole soul, and that he’d spilt his in return. She’d seen a whole new side to him, a side she liked a whole lot. Out there in the darkness, it was impossible to be teasing and banter with each other, and for the first time, they’d had a long, long serious conversation. She could have stayed there forever.
So, as Oscar gave her a final hug, and disappeared into his hotel room, she found herself dreamily letting herself back into her room too, filled with the butterflies she hadn’t felt for years. It was like falling in love. But what scared her was how intense these feelings had become. She was falling. It couldn’t be anything else. She was falling for Oscar. Oh no.