how you take it, so I left that up to you to sort out.” He nods at the bedside cabinet, and I see a black coffee next to a sachet of milk and four sugars.
He made me coffee in bed? Well, that’s adorable. “Thanks. How’d you sleep in the end?”
He reaches up and roughly rubs a hand over his face. “Wasn’t too bad once I eventually drifted off. There isn’t much that can wake me once I’m under, so …” He shrugs and gulps down his drink as I stir sugar and milk into mine. “Still up for checking out the water activities this morning?”
“Try and stop me.”
His grin widens. “Excellent. I’m gonna jump in the shower, and then I’ll head downstairs, so you can have some privacy to get ready. I’ll sort out getting my own room while I’m down there.”
As I sip at my coffee, I can hear him in the shower. He’s humming, but I can’t make out the song. It’s cute.
Less than fifteen minutes later, he steps out of the room, dressed in black swimming shorts and an old-school Ghostbusters T-shirt, looking refreshed and all kinds of glorious.
“I’ll be in the lobby. I’ll grab us some croissants and stuff to take with us. It’s already past ten. If we leave too late, the sports centre might be too busy to fit us in.”
“Good idea.”
I have a quick shower, taking care not to wet my hair. Once dry, I slather myself in sun cream and shimmy my way into my black bikini. Then, I shove on denim shorts and a loose vest top over the top. I apply a quick swipe of tinted moisturiser and some waterproof mascara, and then I insert a pair of disposable contact lenses, so I can forgo my glasses today. After scraping my hair up into a topknot and grabbing my handbag and two towels (because I didn’t see Theo take one with him), I head down to the lobby to meet him.
He’s sitting in one of the plush armchairs with his back to me. As I step to his side, I put my hand on his shoulder to get his attention. It’s solid under my fingers, like steel muscles under silky skin.
“Hey. I’m ready.”
He looks up at me and grins as he pushes himself to his feet. “Great. Here.” He holds out a takeaway coffee cup and a pain au chocolat wrapped in a napkin. “Milk, one sugar, right?” He purses his lips and looks from me to the cup in my hand.
My eyes widen in surprise, and I nod. “Perfect. Thank you.” Clearly, he watched me this morning as I added my sugar to my cup. I didn’t even notice. “Have you eaten already?” I ask, watching as he nods in answer. “And what about the room? Did they have a spare one today?” I ask, biting into my pastry and moaning appreciatively at the taste. It’s so fresh; it’s still warm.
“Yeah. Once the people check out of it today, they’ll give it a clean, and I can get in this afternoon. It’s right next door to ours actually.” He grins over at me, fiddling with the car keys as we walk across the car park. “I’ll pack up my stuff later.”
I greedily cram in the last bite of pastry and brush the crumbs from my shirt before I slide into the passenger seat of the car, again watching the show of Theo trying to contort himself in behind the steering wheel. I can’t stop smiling.
As he reverses from the space and the car lurches and splutters, he keeps his eyes firmly on the road as he says, “Don’t you dare say a word.”
“I didn’t. I am totally not judging you.” Chuckling darkly, I mime zipping my mouth closed.
The village he mentioned isn’t far away at all; it only takes a few minutes to get there. As we step out and head over to the wooden hut, I pull the towels from my bag and hand Theo one.
He blinks at it. “Thanks. I didn’t even think about a towel. Actually, I didn’t bring dry clothes or anything either. Shit.” He winces down at his black swim shorts and T-shirt.
Dry clothes? Oops. “Oh crap, I didn’t either. Looks like you’ll get revenge on the small car after all.”
We stop next to a blackboard announcing what’s on offer and the prices. My eyes skim over it, and I gasp in excitement as I see one in particular.
“Oh my God. They have a