begrudgingly. "I do have something to tell you both but we'll wait until we get there because Lisa needs to concentrate on driving."
Lisa nodded in agreement and seconds later swore loudly when the guy driving behind her overtook at such speed he practically grazed the side of the car.
"Wanker!" she screamed after him and they both burst out laughing when Sarah with outstretched arms did the actions to match the insult.
"Sarah!" Lisa shrieked, "I didn't know you even knew hand signals like that?"
"Well, I haven’t hung around with you two for the last five years without learning anything," she quipped.
"Glad to have been of service, your ladyship," Lisa mocked slowing down to join a queue at traffic lights on the M23.
Sarah, obviously delighted to be thought of as uncouth as her friends laughed out loud.
"And," Lisa said teasingly, "I have to tell you both about another wild night with Adam and show you the photographs on my phone - what a hunk!"
Katie asked, "Adam? I thought you went to the party with Jason?"
Throwing her head back she laughed. "I did but he was so boring I ditched him after an hour and went home with Adam to a night of the best sex I can ever remember – it was even better than the first one."
She glanced sideways at Sarah judging her reaction and then grinning mischievously, she added, "Well, you know the old saying, once you’ve had black - you never look back!"
"Oh Lisa, but Jason is so cute and nice, and available," Sarah offered, shaking her head disapprovingly.
Lisa snorted and put her foot on the accelerator when the traffic started to move. "Exactly, who the hell wants nice? And if you think he’s so cute you should try going out with him and being bored to death."
Sarah persisted. "But, Lisa, you should be thinking more long term now and not wasting your time with one night stands," she said patting her bare knee beneath pink denim shorts. "You’ll never find your Mr Right doing that?"
Katie intervened, "Maybe Lisa's not looking for him though, Sarah."
Lisa slowed a little and drove with care through the sleepy village of Eastdean and veered south along the coast road heading to Birling Gap beach.
"Er, Sarah," Lisa teased. "You don’t honestly believe you’re going to meet this Mr Right, do you?"
When Lisa easily reversed the car into a space in the hotel car park, Katie breathed a sigh of relief because she could feel the underlying currents of a disagreement brewing between them and started collecting their things together on the back seat.
Sarah looked at Lisa with such a sorrowful expression on her dainty face it made Katie catch her breath. The pain in her eyes was almost tangible. "I have to believe in it, Lisa. I’ve been looking for him since I was eighteen," she whispered.
Lisa’s shoulders visibly shrank and back tracking her voice mellowed, "Oh honey, he’ll be out there somewhere," she soothed. "And you know, if there's anyone deserves to be happily married, it’s you."
"I know, but where is he?" she moaned, "I’ve been dating for twelve years now and I’m exhausted..."
Lisa draped her arm along Sarah's slight shoulders and Katie stroked the back of her hair while they both empathised with her.
Sarah gave herself a little shake. "Oh Christ, sorry, I don't know where that came from. Come on, let’s get down to that lovely beach."
"Just hang on in there, sweetheart. It’ll happen one day,” Lisa breezed confidently taking the keys out of the ignition.
Sarah swung her legs out of the car and grabbed the cool box to carry. "Of course, it will," she said more cheerfully. "And when we get settled I want to hear all your news, Katie."
With their arms full they made their way down to the beach via wooden steps that led from the hotel car park and Lisa pointed to the high heels that Sarah was tottering on whilst trying to negotiate the steps carefully. Sarah was what they laughingly called a shoe-aholic and because of her short height she always wore the highest heels she could find. In a specially designed section of her wardrobe she had around forty pairs of shoes and called them her collection, which was held in sections of colours, height, season, and fashion – she was extraordinarily proud of them.
Looking at the denim four inch wedge sandals, Lisa teased, “Ideal sandals for the beach then, Sarah?”
Sarah stopped and holding onto the handrail alongside the steps she looked behind grinning