Gut Feeling (16 page)

‘Jesus, you’re right… So much for dishy Spanish men, eh,’ Rachel blurted out as the man walked off.

The two girls were so engrossed in the waiter, they had not realised they were sitting next to a table of three English lads who were staring right at them. They seemed slightly yobbish, quite intimidating as they howled with laughter, slumped back in the wooden chairs with no tops on, but also noticeably good looking.

Rachel nudged Jules to point her attention to the English yobs and away from the big-nosed waiter. Jules looked over at the table Rachel was looking towards then quickly looked away as her eye caught the gaze of one of the yobs. Rachel smiled with raised eyebrows at Jules; a cheeky grin spread across her face.

‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’ Rachel gave a wicked grin.

‘More than likely… I think it’s time to have some unadulterated fun,’ said Jules, and then gave a deep sigh.

‘What? What’s up hun?’

‘I can’t do it.’

‘What?’

‘Them! I can’t do them.’

‘What? Why? They’re hot.’

Jules moved her sunglasses down her nose then leaned forward. ‘Jon… I really like him.’

‘Oh… he’ll never know. You’re on holiday. It doesn’t count.’ Rachel sat back in her chair, shrugging off the objection.

‘This is true… very true. But you have no conscience and I do, so you see, that just won’t work for me. No I’m going to be good within reason.’ She looked pleased with herself.

Rachel looked at her with a twisted mouth and frowned looking bemused.

‘Jules… define what that means please?’

‘Well, that means I can have a flirt but no kissing or sex… but I can still have fun winding them up.’

Rachel laughed, picking up her glass. ‘Whatever makes you feel better, babe, as long as we’re having a laugh I don’t care… I’ll sleep with them for you, and let you know if you missed out on anything, yeah?’

‘Marks out of ten?’ Jules demanded.

‘Yep…’

‘Nice one… I can live my single life through you, so I want to know every dirty detail.’

Rachel crowed with laughter ‘OK, you dirty bitch, I can do that.’

Jules glanced over at the table where the largest of the three guys was still looking over. He smiled and winked; Jules blushed and giggled, turning back to Rachel.

* * *

Ash worked on her tan, letting the sun slowly dry the chlorine-filled water after a nice dip in the pool. She laid out her towel on a light-brown wooden sun-lounger, ready to bathe in the hot midday sun. She closed her eyes behind her sunglasses, feeling the warm rays pour down on to her soft wet skin and gently drifted off into a light, lingering sleep, still aware of noises around her but with no muscle movement or any particular thought bothering her mind.

Not long after she dosed off, a beachball was thrown out of the pool by some children, landing on her legs. She sat bolt upright, startled by the wet plastic ball. The children looked sheepish and waved to say sorry. Brushing the water off her legs, Ash gave a smile, throwing the ball back to them. Now awake and feeling restless, she left her towel on the sun-lounger and wandering along the side of the pool in her white cotton bikini, and went to check on Gemma.

Gemma was sitting on the balcony with a tall glass of ice-cold water containing a slice of lemon and a slice of lime.

‘Feeling any better?’ Ash looked at Gemma with her feet placed up on the table, her hand shaking slightly as she smoked a cigarette.

‘Kinda… still feel like shit but not sick.’

‘Have you tried to eat anything?’ Ash sat down beside her.

‘Yeah I had a bit of toast… Sorry I messed up your day, Ash.’

‘Don’t be silly, hun. You haven’t messed anything up.’

‘Well, if I rest for a bit we could meet Rachel and Jules later?’

‘Sounds good to me. I’m going to go get some thing to eat. You rest here then we could go for a walk on the beach. See if you feel up to meeting the others?’

Gemma smiled, grateful. ‘You’re so kind, Ash. I wish I was more like you.’

‘Don’t be daft… Stay here and rest.’ Ash smiled, getting up to walk towards the door.

In truth Ash was quite content with the way things had panned out. She was really enjoying the day to herself but hoped Gemma would be well enough to meet the others later, as that would make a perfect end to a lovely day.

Later on that afternoon Ash came back to the hotel room, sandals in hand. A gentle scent of perfume drifted past her nose. Looking over to the breakfast bar she saw Gemma, sitting bright-eyed and fully dressed, wearing white cotton shorts, a vest top grouped together by an oversized red belt sitting nicely around her hips.

‘Wow, look at you… Diva…’ Ash stood admiring her for a second.

Gemma poured both of them a glass of wine.

‘Right, Ash get a move on… we have men to find.’

By the time Ash and Gemma arrived in Ibiza town centre, the sky had darkened and was softly lit by the street lights. They found Rachel and Jules perched high up on barstools, sitting outside a noisy bar down a busy lane, packed door to door with other bars holding people to their full capacity. The small lane was swamped with English clubbers; a parade promoting a dance venue flooded the cobbled road. There were people on stilts, muscular men in black dinner suits, bearing naked chests with dickey bow ties, skinny girls in green leotards jumping around with ribbons in their hands, even a flamethrower and a tightrope walker. People cheered, and drinkers from the bars joined in, dancing to the music as the parade passed by.

Ash looked up to see a man standing on a balcony dancing and waving his arms around in time with the beat. She realised he was a DJ who had his decks set up, above a bar on the balcony opposite them.

‘That’s wicked,’ she said, but no one heard her over the music.

Ash joked with a man dressed as a Victorian lady, his face heavily painted in make-up wearing a huge light pink wig; he held out a flyer for her to take. It was for a well-known all night club.

‘This is mega,’ Ash shouted to the others who were downing strange-coloured drinks at the table.

‘I know. We’ve been here ages, what took you so long!’ Rachel shouted back, shaking her head. ‘Never mind… here, down this, babe. You’ve got some serious catching up to do…’ She trusts a shot glass into Ash’s hand.

‘What’s this?’ Ash eyed the strange green liquid.

‘Just down it.’

They stayed in the bar until the parade had passed, then stumbled in and out of bar after bar packed with drunken clubbers, before slumbering off to the venue on the flyer that was given to Ash by the Victorian transvestite.

‘Whoop whoop,’ Rachel cried as they wobbled unsteadily down a cobbled alleyway. ‘Olli Olli Olli—’

‘Oi—’

‘Hey!’ A voice interrupted before Gemma could finish replying to Rachel’s chants.

They spun round and saw the three English yobs from the café earlier. Gemma stared at them suspiciously.

‘What’s up, boys?’ Rachel smiled.

‘Where you heading?’

‘Er… and you are… ?’ Gemma placed her hands on her hips.

‘It’s all good—we know them, Gem, we met them earlier today.’

‘Yeah, Gem. It’s all good…’ one of the boys mocked Rachel, staring directly at Gemma’s clearage. Gemma smiled sarcastically at him.

‘Gem and Ash, this is Dylan…’

‘Hi,’ Dylan said and continued to stare at Gemma’s cleavage.

‘ . . . Rees… ‘carried on Rachel.

Rees grinned at them as he lit a cigarette

‘ . . . and Eddy.’

‘So where you girls taking us?’ Dylan, the largest boy, put his arm around Rachel’s shoulder, looking round for Jules.

‘Er… well, here if you’re up for it.’ Rachel passed him the flyer

‘What? Don’t go there—it’s well fucking expensive. Let’s go to a place I know round the corner.’

‘Na sorry we’re going to this club.’ Rachel pulled away from his grip.

‘Babe, listen…’ Dylan tried to put his arm back around Rachel.

‘Come on girls, let’s go.’ Rachel pushed Gemma to walk on; Ash clung on to Jules’s hand.

‘Hey… don’t walk off!’ Dylan shouted. ‘I’m talking to you!’

Gemma looked at Rachel. ‘Thought you said they were all good.’

‘They were earlier.’ She glanced over her shoulder. ‘Shit, girls, speed up. They’re following us—we need to get to the end of this alley.’

The four girls quickened their pace. They could hear music and shouting coming from the streets around them. All they needed to do was get back on to the main drag. Rachel and Jules suddenly felt sober, but blood now pounded in their ears. The boys started to walk faster and were gaining on them. They were halfway down the alley now but the cobbles made it hard to walk in heels.

Rachel heard Dylan slap his hand together and shout, ‘Come to Daddy,’ and then laughed.

‘Quick, start running,’ Rachel breathed in panic.

Ash and Jules, still clinging to each other, started to run; Rachel grabbed Gemma and they followed.

‘Oh baby, don’t run away!’ Dylan shouted, then sprinted after them.

They reached the end of the alley at the same time as Dylan reached for Rachel’s arm. Tugging at her, he pulled her towards him, laughing, and gripped her upper arms with both hands.

‘Aw… Don’t… Get off…’

Gemma tried to pull at Dylan’s arms while Ash and Jules shouted at him to let go. Quickly he pushed Rachel against the wall and leaned his heavy weight on her. Rachel screamed, looking around desperately for someone to help. The girls were arguing with Rees. Rees looked over at Dylan and shouted to him. Eddy turned towards Dylan and Rachel.

‘Dylan, what the fuck you doing mate?’ Eddy yanked Dylan away from Rachel. ‘Rachel, you OK? Fucking hell, Dylan mate, what’s got into you?’

Dylan squared up to Eddy, pushing him with his chest.

‘Lads, lads!’ Rees tried to push them apart. ‘You’re drunk—calm down.’

Rachel ran out of the ally and the girls followed, leaving the three boys arguing. They ran a few steps and were back into the hustle and bustle of Ibiza town. Bars lined the streets, and clubbers pushed into the girls as they fell out of bars and food outlets, singing and shouting.

‘Shit, what just happened there?’ Gemma panted as they slowed down to walking pace.

‘Don’t know but let’s get into a bar and off the streets for a bit.’ Ash pointed to a busy bar opposite them. Rachel followed close, holding on to Jules for support, her face drained of colour and her hand trembling as adrenalin pulsed through her veins.

Inside they managed to find a table to the side, away from the bar. Clubbers danced on the small dance floor next to them and quickly the table where they sat was half covered with empty beer bottles from passing clubbers as they left the dance floor on their way to another bar or club. The girls didn’t care about people leaving their finished bottles and pushing into them as they sat there recovering. The more people around the better.

‘You OK, Rach?’ Gemma put four bottles down on the table and everyone drank large mouthfuls.

‘Yeah, thank God for Eddy. I thought Dylan was going to get nasty.’

‘Me too. That Rees guy was pushing me away from you, but I don’t think he knew what was happening until you shouted.’ Gemma looked at Rachel with concern. ‘You sure you’re OK? We can go back to the hotel—’

‘No, let’s just stay here. There are plenty of people around and anyway Eddy and Rees wouldn’t have let anything happen—I hope anyway. Plus the cabs are just at the end of the road so we can get home.’

‘I’ll call Zane,’ Gemma suggested.

‘No no, really it’s fine, I’m fine.’

‘No no let me, he can come and meet us after his shift. He wanted to come out anyway, but I told him it was just girls so he won’t mind really.’

Rachel smiled. ‘Go on then, call him and I’ll get us all a shot to get this night back on track.’

Gemma told him to finish work then come to meet them but Zane had taken his apron off before Gemma had told him the whole story. Zane told his uncle he had to leave work early and made Antonio drive him into Ibiza town. As Gemma turned to go back inside she heard someone call out to her. Stunned she looked over the road to see Eddy standing on his own eating a kebab.

‘It’s OK, he’s gone. Rees took him back to the hotel. Is Rachel alright?’ Eddy stood opposite her chewing a piece of meat. ‘He was drunk. Don’t think he would have hurt her, just gets a bit out of it when he’s had too much to drink, yer know?’

‘Well, that’s debatable. At least you were there. D’you want a drink with us.’

‘Na, said I would get back to meet Rees, but tell Rachel I said sorry for what happened.’

‘Just one and you can tell her yourself.’ Gemma smiled gingerly.

Gemma returned to the table at the same time as Rachel was placing shot classes in front of everyone. ‘Down the hatch girlies,’ she shouted over the music.

‘Rach, look who I found loitering outside.’

Rachel swung round, stumbling slightly. ‘Eddy,’ she looked past him with wide, anxious eyes.

‘It’s OK, Dylan ain’t here, Rees took him to the hotel I was going to—’

‘Down this, I’ll get another.’ Rachel thrust a shotglass into his hand and rushed back to the bar.

‘I’ll get them,’ he shouted, then downed the drink and rushed after her.

He followed her into a mass of drunken people, pushing to gain a position at the front of the bar; he shouted to her, telling her to let him pay, but by the time he had pulled his wallet out Rachel had managed to wangle her way to the front and was leaning over the bar shouting her order to a Spanish barman.

With another shot for Eddy and a replacement for herself they both knocked the clear liquid back then laughed at Rachel’s reaction to the sour taste. Standing away from the busy bar and a few feet closer to their table Eddy apologised to Rachel for Dylan’s behaviour.

‘It’s not your fault, Ed, the guy is a dickhead. You know him long?’ she asked then hicupped.

‘Na, not really, I met him through Rees. They work together on a building site.’

‘Is that what you do?’

‘Me? No… I’m a debt collector.’

‘You’ve got the muscles for it.’ She surveyed his strong solid arms and glimpsed down at his stomach; she could see the muscle lines through his tight T—shirt.