One hot summer, p.1
One Hot Summer, page 1
ONE HOT SUMMER
DEBBIE IOANNA
Copyright © 2024 Debbie Ioanna
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The right of Debbie Ioanna to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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First published in 2024 by Bloodhound Books.
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Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publisher or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
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www.bloodhoundbooks.com
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Print ISBN: 978-1-917214-20-9
CONTENTS
Newsletter sign-up
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Also by Debbie Ioanna
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Newsletter sign-up
A note from the publisher
PROLOGUE
Zante
10 Years Earlier…
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I pulled Sarah’s groping hands out of my bikini top.
“Will you stop? Everyone will think we’re lesbians! Which I wouldn’t mind, except we’re not!” The resort was quite busy at that moment, with the arrival of other fellow university students ready to kick off their summer break.
“That’s not a bad thing! We’ve just finished our final year, we need to let our hair down.” She finally took her seat beside me.
“Hair down, yes.” I put myself back in place. “Boobs out, no.”
Sarah ignored me as she observed our mainly male audience who weren’t exactly being subtle. “Look at them all. Soak it all up while you can.” She whipped her hair behind her shoulders and leaned back in her chair, using her suitcase as a footrest to show off her freshly waxed legs. “Anyway, I’m just trying to give you a little more cleavage. Pull them up yourself. You’ve got great boobs. Show ’em off.”
“I don’t see why we had to put our bikinis on, we haven’t even been given our room key yet.” I was feeling very self-conscious sitting in such a public place in a bikini top. Sarah had let me keep my shorts on, for now. It wouldn’t be long until she was insisting my legs were out in the sun too, although surely that would be a danger to planes flying over, in the same way you shouldn’t shine lasers into the sky. My legs hadn’t seen daylight in quite some time.
We had been waiting for our holiday rep since arriving, but he was being held hostage by an angry older couple at the hotel entrance, so had told us all to wait in the outdoor dining area. Sarah relaxed in her chair, whereas I was using my bag to hide my belly. This was not a flattering position. I would have preferred to be laid flat out on a sun lounger, rather than beached on a plastic dining chair, which was making me sweat already. Every time I leaned forward, I could feel my skin peeling itself away from the plastic.
“Fancy a dip in the pool? We can really drive them wild.”
“No, I don’t!”
“Come on, Jenny, you promised you’d loosen up on this trip. Live a little. We’re twenty-one! Uni is done, this is the start of our last summer of freedom. Start to relax.”
“I will, I will, just not yet. I want to unpack and figure out where I’m sleeping tonight. Get my bearings. Once I’ve done that, I’ll feel better.”
“It’ll be fine, we’re up there somewhere.” She pointed to the rooms looking over us. “Just relax.”
The basic, rectangular pool took centre stage, surrounded by sun loungers and small tables. I could see a bar on one side, and a restaurant on the other. I counted four floors of apartments in between, all with towels flung carelessly over the balconies. Some stripey, spotty or sporting various Premier League football team logos. The whole place was enclosed by a ten-foot-high white concrete wall, which made me feel very secure. I’d never been on holiday without my parents before. I could always rely on Dad to have his watchful eye on me, but he can’t do that all the way from Halifax. We were the grown-ups on this trip, responsible for our own safety and well-being.
“Hiya, guys!” Our very animated Scouser rep finally appeared, with his clipboard in his right hand, and his left hand floating in the air as though he was holding onto an invisible cigarette. “Right, so sorry about the delay, oof, it’s warm today, innit? Well, everyone, I’m Gareth, but please call me Gaz.” There were about twenty of us who had all disembarked off the rickety coach to stay at Arizona Apartments. Not one person looked over the age of twenty-one. “Okay, I see you ladies couldn’t wait to get started on the tan.” He winked at us. “So, we’re just about ready now. If you make your way to reception, we can get started.”
“Finally.” I was getting hungry. It was nearly five o’clock back home and we had not eaten since our pre-flight Burger King this morning. I had no idea what the local time was, but I definitely needed a sandwich or something.
Sarah stood. “I say we grab our keys, dump our bags in the room, and come straight back down. Get some pool action before the sun disappears.”
“Well…”
“I know you want to unpack, but we can do that later. It looks like the bar serves light snacks and brings them to you while you’re sunbathing. We can have a light bite now and eat properly later.”
“I guess we could.” Looking over to the bar, I could see bags of Lay’s crisps in all flavours in a basket.
“Yes, we can. You look so good in that bikini.”
“I don’t feel it.” I blushed, holding my arms across my stomach, feeling far too exposed. “I’m just not used to this.”
“I know, but I promise, you look fab. How do I look?”
“Absolutely stunning.” She always looked good. Even when our alarms woke us up at three o’clock this morning, her face had looked like it always did. Unlike my own face, which was marked by my fingers as I’d fallen asleep leaning on my hand.
“Aww, thanks babes.” She bounced forward, kissing me on the cheek. “Come on, let’s get in the queue for our room keys.”
As soon as we had our keys, we were up to the second floor, looking for our room. Sarah found it in no time. I didn’t even get a foot in the door before she pulled my suitcase from me and shoved it inside, quickly locking the door again.
“Can’t we look around?”
“Yes, later. Come on, let’s get back down to the pool! I spotted some free sun loungers. I wonder if those guys are still there.”
They were. There were four guys all sitting together. Two of them were being straddled by two girls in string bikinis, leaving very little to the imagination. This left two singletons who were very interested in us as we approached. In between swigging their beers and puffing on cigarettes, they kept looking our way.
A waiter appeared with a tray of various colourful drinks as we arranged our sun loungers so we could be comfortable.
“Would you like a complimentary cocktail, ladies?” he asked. Sarah picked up two, which resembled piña coladas, and handed one to me.
“Thank you,” I said to the waiter, as he went on his way to offer the rest of the drinks to the other new arrivals who’d had the same idea as us.
“So, we need a plan of action.” Sarah sipped on her cocktail and turned to face me. “Eugh, there’s barely any alcohol in that. Anyway, plan of action. We’re only here for a week, so we need to make the most of it.”
“I’m sure the rep could give us some idea of day trips. I read there are some good old town markets nearby and there might be a zoo. We could–”
“No, not day trips, you spoon. I’m talking about fun. We just worked our arses off for our exams, and we’re about to enter the exciting world of adulthood. This is our last chance to go wild!”
Sarah slurped on her cocktail, finishing it in seconds.
“Well, that was gross, I’m going to get us some real drinks. Be right back and then we can plan.”
She grabbed her bag and ran across to the bar. She leaned across the counter to get the waiter’s attention and was served in no time. I looked around while I waited. The sun was still hot, but getting low in the sky, so I had to shield my eyes with my hands, hoping that my sunglasses were in my suitcase and not in the kitchen drawer at my mother’s house.
“I knew you’d forget something,” I could hear her saying.
I looked across at the group of guys. One of them looked at me at the same time. My eyes quickly darted away. Why am I so shy? I looked back and he was still looking at me. He smiled and then lifted his hand to give me a small wave. I smiled back. He was quite good-looking. Very tanned too, so he must have been here a while already.
“Finally, here. Drink this.”
Sarah handed me a small tumbler, which had the look of cola, but with one sip I could tell it was almost pure vodka.
“Yep,” she laughed at my sour expression, “no water in this. Drink up!”
It didn’t take long for the watered-down cocktail and almost pure vodka to start to settle in my empty stomach. I could hear club music playing in the distance, and suddenly felt the urge to dance.
“We need to find some kind of club or something.”
“Yes! That’s the spirit.” She held out her glass and loudly called out, “Girls on tour!”
“Woo, girls on tour!”
“Girls on tour!” we said again in unison.
We clinked glasses and giggled as the two single guys held up their drinks to us and cheered. It was true – we had worked bloody hard over the last few months. I’d barely seen Sarah, even though we had been living together in our own very tiny student flat. She might have been my crazy best friend, but once she got her study head on, she was unapproachable. That’s if you could find her. However, once the pressure was off, she more than made up for it, and we always had the most memorable times.
As the sun went down and the dark fell, the lights around the pool came on and guided us back to the stairs, helping us to avoid falling into the water. Balance was becoming an issue after Sarah had insisted on a few more vodkas.
“Come on,” Sarah slurred. “We can have a quick shower, freshen up and then try the restaurant. Have some food, refuel, then head out. What do you think?”
“Sounds like a plan. I am starving.” I gripped the banister with both hands as I had almost tripped on the second step. “I thought they were supposed to water down the drinks here. That vodka was actual, pure vodka.”
“Mine too, we’ve barely eaten though. We should’ve grabbed some crisps. A splash of cold water and we’ll be… Oh, hello.”
I looked up to see the two singletons alongside us on the stairs.
“Hello.” His accent was instantly recognisable. “Where are you girls from?”
“Yorkshire,” I said, trying to focus my eyes on the swaying Essex boy. Although I was finding it difficult to focus properly, I could just make out his green eyes.
“Oh, I love Yorkshire.” He smiled.
“Is that right?” I laughed. “And if we were from Newcastle, I bet you’d love that too.”
“Absolutely.”
“Ignore my friend,” Sarah said. “She’s not into cheesy chat-up lines.”
“Oh yeah? How about you?” asked Essex number two.
“You can try me.” She twirled her hair between her fingers, looking up at him.
“Well, how about this.” He put his hands on his hips, accepting the challenge. “Your blonde hair is beautiful, is it natural–”
“No,” she said quickly before he could finish his line. “It’s supernatural. Don’t upset me or it might curse you.”
“Ha!” Both Essex boys laughed. “I’m Jamie,” said Sarah’s daring love interest. “This is my pal, Joe. Aren’t you girls sticking around for the party?”
“What party?” Sarah asked.
“The hotel is throwing a big bash tonight, big pool party. It’s gonna be mint. Kicks off in a few minutes. Are you coming back down?”
“We might be, we could be convinced.” Sarah winked at me.
“We’ll see you back down there then, I hope.”
I blushed as Joe gave me one last smile before heading back down to their spot by the pool.
“Oh my God, Sarah!” I said when they were out of earshot. “They want us to join them. What are we wearing tonight? Will you do my make-up? Are we going to the party?”
“Of course we’re going,” she hooked her arm around mine, “but we don’t need to get changed. It’s a pool party, we’re fine as we are. Come on.”
A few hours later, we were still sitting by the pool with our Essex boys, and things were progressing very quickly. Cocktail after cocktail was being consumed, and the more I drank, the more X-rated the situation was becoming. This was very out of character for me, but there was something about the beautiful setting, being with my best friend, a few drinks and the fact that the stress of university life and dissertations were over that made me want to have fun. The boys had told us they were leaving tomorrow, which spurred us on to make the night even more exciting.
“Why don’t we move the party upstairs?” I heard Jamie suggest to Sarah.
“I suppose we could,” Sarah teased. “To your room?”
“We can’t, it’s shared with the others, and I suspect it might get… overcrowded. They’ve been a nightmare all week. How about yours?”
“We could do. Hey, Jenny?”
“Yeah?”
“We’re going up, private party. You guys coming?”
I looked at Joe. We had been talking for quite some time, and I really liked him. He had just finished university too and was having one final holiday with his friends before venturing to Australia for a year of travelling on his own. I had never had a one-night stand, ever, but he was too good to let go. Essex was a million miles away, so it was not like I could just hop on the bus to visit him in the future. It was now or never.
“How about it?” I asked, fearful he would turn me down, even now.
“Yes, if you’re sure. What’s your place like? Do you two have separate rooms?”
“Well, I don’t know, to be honest. I was too eager to get back down to this party. I remember seeing a bed, but have no idea if there was another bed through another door, or if there even was another door for that matter. I think it’s only one bedroom, but there’s a balcony we can chill on, although I’m not sure if there’s any furniture.” It was still warm outside, so no reason we couldn’t sit out.
“Well, we can find out?” Joe reached for my hand and pulled me up so we could follow Sarah and Jamie up to our room. I was glad Joe had hold of me. My lack of food almost resulted in a midnight dip in the pool.
“Here we are!” Sarah opened the door to our room and I could finally have a proper look around… although there wasn’t much to look at.
“Sarah, didn’t you request separate beds?” It looked as though we were about to get very close for the next seven nights, although I wasn’t particularly keen on a foursome tonight. I peeked my head in the door to my right, finding a shower room with a sink and toilet. Not even a bath to chill out in. There were no other rooms, this was it. A queen-sized bed and a small two-seater sofa.
Joe walked around the bed and opened up the balcony doors.
“Your balcony isn’t a bad size, it’s almost bigger than the actual room. We could pull the couch out here.”
I joined him by the double doors. I didn’t want to upset the managers by dragging furniture outside. One glance behind me at Sarah and Jamie smooching on the bed quickly changed my mind though. Joe and I managed to pull the couch out, and closed the door behind us, leaving Sarah and Jamie to it.
“We’ll leave them alone for a while I think.” Joe seemed embarrassed by his friend, or perhaps gutted that he didn’t get to the bed first. “So, you’ve got a very nice view.”
I laughed as I looked out into the darkness. I could hear waves crashing into an invisible beach, but had no idea where it was, or what our room was looking onto. I guessed nothing as there were no lights to be seen anywhere, besides the one shining down on us. It was a very private balcony.
“Shall we…” I hesitated. “Do you want to sit down?”
“It’d be rude not to, seeing as though I made you drag it out here with me.” He laughed as we sat down together. I suddenly had butterflies in my very empty tummy. I felt like a fifteen-year-old girl about to kiss her first boy. Sarah had said I was shy with guys, and I guess I was, but only with guys that I liked.
