Knowing Me Knowing You (29 page)

‘
Yes I have it, now get off the phone and go and have fun! Proper fun! Not the ‘half-hearted, I don’t know whether I should’ sort of fun you usually have,
’
Hermione ordered.

‘
Bye,
’
Kate ended.

‘
And is
Bethan
still OK?
’
Joel
asked
with a wry smile.

‘
I didn’t phone her, honestly, she phoned me,
’
Kate lied, taking her bags out of Joel’s hands.

‘
So, what do you want to do?
’
Joel asked, putting his bag and guitar down on the bed.

‘
What?
’
Kate asked, looking at the bed, her heart thumping.

‘
Do you want to check out the park or do you want to try the hot tub?
’

‘
Oh, sorry,
er
, why don’t we check out the bar facilities
.
I might need a drink or two before the photo call,
’
Kate admitted.

‘
Good idea,
’
Joel agreed.

It was a good white wine and it came in a large glass with ice and a straw. Kate closed her eyes and sipped the drink as
she
and Joel sat on the terrace overlooking the sea. It was a beautiful afternoon, it was warm, there was a light breeze and it felt good to be outside with a little less responsibility than usual.

‘
Wine always tastes so much nicer in the sun,
’
Kate remarked, sipping some more.

‘
Everything seems better in the sun,
’
Joel replied.

‘
Am I losing you lots of income taking up your evenings and weekends? How many escorting dates do you usually have booked in?
’
Kate
asked
.

‘
I actually haven’t taken any bookings for a while,
’
Joel replied, taking a swig from his bottle of beer.

‘
Oh? Don’t tell me
Elite Escorts are having a downturn.
’

‘
No, at least I don’t think so. I asked not to take any bookings for a while.
’

‘
Oh.
Why not?
’

‘
I don’t know really, spur of the moment decision, thought I would give escorting a rest for a while.
’

‘
Oh,
’
Kate replied.

‘
And I don’t really have time, what with the competition and everything,
’
Joel admitted.

‘
Oh no, it’s my fault, I knew it. You don’t have time because you’re doing this for me. Now I feel awf
ul and even more under pressure.
W
hat if we don’t win? What if we don’t get through tonight?
’
Kate gabbled.

‘
It isn’t your fault and we’re not under pressure, it doesn’t matter if we lose. I’m not going
to hold anything against you - w
hoa I think that came out wrong,
’
Joel answered with a grin.

‘
Do you think people really believe we’re a couple?
’
Kate whispered
,
stirring her wine with the straw.

‘
Of course.
Why wouldn’t they? Apart from when you still try and shake my hand.
’

‘
That’s not fair; I haven’t done that for ages.
’

‘
What made you ask?
’

‘
Well if I was looking at us I wouldn’t think we were a couple.
’

‘
Why not?
’

‘
Why not?!
Because you look like something off the cover of
Men’s Health
and I look like
…
’

‘
You look like what?
’

‘
Like someone who has seen better days,
’
Kate answered with a heavy sigh.

‘
That’s in your mind,
’
Joel told her.

‘
No, it’s definitely in the mirror; I see it, every day.
’

‘
I’m not listening to this, you’re just fishing for compliments and I’m not that sort of guy,
’
Joel told her.

‘
I’m not, I
…
’
Kate began.

‘
You need to work on your self-esteem as well as your addiction to wine and microwave dinners,
’
Joel commented.

‘
But, I
…
’
Kate started again.

‘
No one will believe we’re a couple if you aren’t at least trying to believe it,
’
Joel told her.

‘
I am trying, I just
…
’
Kate said unable to finish her sentence.

‘
Hold my hand.
’

‘
What?
’

‘
Hold my hand, like you would if I was your guy,
’
Joel told her.

‘
What now?
’

‘
Yeah.
’

‘
Well, I…
’
Kate started, becoming flustered.

Joel took hold of her hand and held it in his. Kate’s fingers tensed immediately. It was warm and very nice but it also felt strange. She hadn’t held hands with anyone since Matthew, back in
Greece
, after they’d eaten at the lovely fish restaurant. She couldn’t remember doing it since
,
though she must have
-
Greece
was years ago.

‘
Didn’t Matthew ever hold your hand?
’
Joel
enquired
as if reading her mind.

‘
Of course he did. Well, sometimes. He wasn’t really like that,
we
weren’t really like that,
’
Kate admitted with another sigh.

‘
Perhaps that’s where you went wrong. I don’t understand why people are so scared to touch one another.
I mean you can say a thousand words with just one touch,
’
Joel spoke as he gently stroked her fingers.

Kate felt a shiver run up her back. God
,
he was so attractive. What would she do if he was someone she had met under normal circumstances? What would she do if he wasn’t being bribed into being here?

‘
I’m not scared of it,
’
she responded
not sounding particularly convincing.

‘
Good, then we’re going to breeze through into the final.
’

He let her hand go as rapidly as he had taken it and Kate grabbed at her wine to hide her shaking fingers. She was just doing this for
Bethan
after all.

‘
Kate, Joel, look this way please?
’
the photographer called as they stood in front of a large, garish, love heart bearing the
Knowing Me Knowing
You
logo.

‘
Have you seen the Australians? It has to be fake tan doesn’t it?
’
Kate remarked as she looked at Hayley and Anthony, the couple who had beaten them in the first heat.

‘
I would say sun
beds,
’
Joel answered, smiling at the camera professionally.

‘
I forgot you were used to all this camera work, but isn’t it usually top off and trousers down,
’
Kate remarked with a giggle.

‘
It can be arranged,
’
Joel responded and he started to unbutton his shirt.

‘
Shit I wasn’t serious! It was a joke
.
P
lease, don’t take it off!
’
Kate exclaimed in panic.

Joel laughed at her.

‘
Stop winding me up and go and get some of those chicken
tikka
vol
-au-vents,
’
Kate ordered, wrinkling up her nose.

‘
Thank you everyone for cooperating with the photographer. Could I ask you all now to change into your swimwear for the pool games which will commence in fifteen minutes,
’
Becky called through a loud-hailer to everyone on the piazza.

‘
Looks like the tops are off now anyway,
’
Joel remarked.

‘
I cannot wait to see what Hayley and Anthony are going to wear. I think the smallest bikini ever made for her and a thong for him,
’
Kate spoke, taking a
vol
-au-vent from the tray on the table.

‘
And what about Gloria and Mark?
She’s sixty if she’s a day and he’s definitely younger than me,
’
Joel commented.

‘
They are completely scary,
’
Kate agreed with a nod as she took another canapé.

‘
Well, I’ll go and get changed, see you in the pool,
’
Joel spoke and he leant forward and kissed Kate lightly on the lips.

‘
OK,
’
she replied, thinking nothing of it.

She watched him go inside towards the changing rooms and then as she prepared to eat the canapé she let out a squeal and touched her lips. A few people looked over at her and she smiled and grabbed another nibble stuff
ing
it quickly into her mouth. She still wasn’t used to him kissing her but at least she hadn’t tried to shake his hand.

Kate walked out to the pool with her towel wrapped around her. She had seen all the other contestants slipping into their revealing bikinis and suddenly her plain black swimsuit seemed to be shouting ‘frump’.

She saw Joel at the far end of the pool and hurried along the edge towards him. She sat down on the side, whisked her towel away and jumped down into the water before anyone got a chance to look at her attire. It was
freezing and she took a sharp breath inwards and tried not to look down at her nipples which she knew
would be
poking out like walnuts.

‘
We’re just about to start water polo,
’
Joel informed her.

‘
Great,
’
she replied in unconvincing tones.

‘
Come on, it will be fun,
’
Joel spoke, standing up in the water and giving Kate the benefit of seeing just how toned his physique was in trunks reminiscent of
Daniel Craig in
Casino Royale
.

Her gaze was only redirected from Joel’s torso by the arrival of someone else. Walking towards them, along the edge of the pool, strutting as if she were a catwalk model was someone she recognised.

The Lady Dragon Miranda, clad in a tiny gold bikini and high gold sandals, tip
-
tapped across the concrete. She was wearing huge sunglasses and carrying a glass of fluorescent pink liquid. Inside
the glass
were two umbrellas and a cardboard parrot.

‘
God, what is she doing here already?
’
Kate remarked to Joel, turning away from the arriving party.

‘
Who?
’

‘
The Lady Dragon
-
don’t look, I don’t want her to see us,
’
Kate said, ducking down into the water despite the sub
-
zero temperatures.

‘
Kate! Joel! What a surprise! I didn’t expect to see you in the pool. Thought you might be making use of that romance lodge you’re staying in,
’
Miranda remarked, lowering her sunglasses to look at Joel.