Page 32 of Enemies to Lovers

9

Hot. I am very, very hot. My eyelids feel glued shut by sleep, my skin sticky with slumber. The thin bedsheet is twisted in a ball at my ankles, and something is on my head. I squint open my eyes: it’s the pillow. I’m on my stomach, legs and arms splayed, head pushed under the pillow, like I’m trying to freefall out of a moving aeroplane and am blocked by the bother of my single bed. Crawling upright, I can tell it’s mid-morning by the way the light hits and how warm it is. I tried to sleep on the tiny sofa last night because I couldn’t bear to see Jamie, after that look he gave me in the cave. But it was so uncomfortable that at 3 a.m. I crept back into the eaves and slipped into my own bed. Jamie had been fast asleep. He’s not here now. With one eye gingerly open, I take in his made-up bed. Judging by the light, I reckon it’s about 10 a.m. already.

I finally make it down for breakfast.

‘Good morning, sleepy-head,’ Dad says, as I emerge into the unblinking sun. He’s at the table, reading the same book of poetry that Alex gave me to read the other day.

‘Morning, Dad,’ I say groggily, and he pours me acoffee, because he knows me and loves me and wants me to be happy.

I take it with a smile. ‘You’re my favourite, Dad, do you know that?’ I tell him, and he laughs.

‘Best job in the world,’ he replies.

I lift the mug to my lips as I check out what everyone is up to. Jamie is doing laps. Was he doing those when I first came down? I don’t remember seeing him in the pool five seconds ago. I track him until he passes everyone else at the side of the pool, their legs in the water, sun reflecting onto them in waves of light. Mum sits next to Alex, who sits next to Laurie, who sits next to Kate, who is next to …

Adonis?

‘Flo!’ he says, clocking me as I clock him. ‘Good morning!’ He unfolds himself and everyone watches him pad over to me, and I swear my brothers aresmirking.This is the line they cross that takes them from lovable rogues to freaking annoying. Adonis opens his arms, apparently for a hug, and as my arms go behind his back, I give Alex and Laurie the finger. I see my mother scowl. Kate says something to everyone and they all look away.

‘What are you doing here?’ I ask.

‘I wanted to see you,’ he says. ‘To see if I can take you to lunch?’

I feel the eyes of my family turn towards us again with vested interest. They were only pretending not to listen.

‘Oh!’ I start to say, and I’m aware that Jamie hasstopped swimming and is sitting with the others now, too, watching. ‘I was going to grab something here …’

I don’t know why I stumble. Last night was perfectly fine – we went back to the dance floor and hugged goodnight, and Adonis texted before bed to tell me to sleep well.

But then Laurie yells, ‘Go on the adventure, Florence!’

Laurie is encouraging this? Nowthere’s a plot twist.

Adonis grins, pleased to have familial support. All the words I could possibly say next stick in my throat. I want to hang out with him, I want to have a nice time. It’s just … well, I don’t know. A date in the middle of the day? I’ve never done that before! This is alotof firsts happening.

‘Urm …’

‘Go on, Flo!’ shouts Alex.

My mother adds, ‘For god’s sake, Florence, it’s only lunch.’

Ifeellike I catch Jamie’s eye, but between my sunglasses and his, I can’t be sure. He gives an almost imperceptible shrug of the shoulder, which feels very much likeI’m not bothered what you do. He had a fun night, too, no doubt, exploring the caves himself with that girl. Not that it bothers me, of course. And it’s not like I need him to care.

‘Okay,’ I say, because why not? The whole family cheers – except Jamie, who slips wordlessly back into the water.

I don’t even put on shoes. I just grab my tote bag and climb onto Adonis’s motorbike behind him.

‘We’re going to have fun!’ he says, over the thrum of his engine starting.

I tell myself it’s true: we are. But, oddly, I find myself looking back to the house as we pull away, half hoping Jamie has re-emerged to see this ‘fun’.

We travel down the winding road that takes us to the main coastal path, and once we’re away from the prying eyes of my family it’s much easier to relax: the wind in my hair, my arms around a man who is determined to buy me lunch – I will myself to do as Laurie jeered when he yelled,Go on the adventure.Itispretty cool. I feel badass. The tension I’ve felt in my head since waking up melts away with reassuring effortlessness.

Adonis asks over his shoulder if I’m okay, the breeze carrying his words. I tell him I’m great and I mean it. I’m trying to be Holiday Flo. Holiday Flo meets fit men and hops on their motorbike, and doesn’t get stuck in her head. By the time he pulls into a small patch of tarmac at a shack of a restaurant, I’m smiling and I can’t stop. I think it might be a physical impossibility foranybodyto ride down a path on the back of a motorbike without it being life-affirming.

Adonis takes my hand with not a scratch of self-consciousness and is welcomed in the restaurant like a son, arms opened and cheek-kisses freely given. He talks in rapid-fire Greek, breaking only to tell me, ‘Flo, we arein the home of the bestgyroson the island. I’m glad you are hungry.’

‘I can tell from the smell,’ I reply, rubbing my stomach for the benefit of the staff in case they don’t speak English. A woman with ruddy cheeks and an apron chuckles, understanding my meaning.

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