The Longest Holiday (19 page)

‘Drink?’ he asks, picking up two glasses from the coffee table and handing one over.

‘Thanks. Cheers.’ I chink his glass and put mine to my lips. ‘What is it?’ I ask, before taking a drink.

‘Vodka and lemon. I don’t have any cranberry.’

I grin at him and take a sip. I switched to vodka and cranberry a couple of nights ago after my horrible wine hangover earlier in the week.

‘My friend Drew will be here soon.’

‘Drew?’

‘He’s driving tonight.’

‘Oh! Great.’ I hadn’t thought about that. I’m glad Leo will be drinking with me.

When Drew turns up, I’m already feeling slightly tipsy. He’s black with short braids, a grey T-shirt and weathered jeans. He reminds me of a young Lenny Kravitz.

‘Drew is a street artist,’ Leo tells me, nodding at the pictures on his walls.

‘Are you?’ I ask, impressed. ‘Did you do these?’

He shrugs. ‘Yeah.’

‘I had to persuade him to work with smaller canvases,’ Leo says wryly, and I glance at Drew to see him rolling his eyes.

‘He has a way of persuading people to do things they don’t really want to do,’ he tells me with a grin. ‘Watch out for him.’ I laugh and Leo punches him on his arm. ‘Ow!’

‘Laura saw the Walls today,’ Leo says, moving away from what was proving to be a greatly intriguing subject.

‘What did you think?’ Drew asks me.

‘One of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.’ He nods, seeming pleased with my reaction.

I move closer to study one of the abstract paintings. I soon realise that what I’m looking at is a swarm of bees, which are small and realistic in the background, becoming brightly coloured and grotesquely comical as they come to the forefront. Something about them appeals to me.

‘I really like these,’ I say with a smile.

Later we end up in a dingy basement bar with exposed brickwork and a DJ playing on decks in the corner. A few of Leo and Drew’s friends join us, and they’re an interesting, diverse crowd. Initially I’m worried that I look out of place, but soon the vodka sinks in and I no longer care. Drew has a great sense of humour and I’m in stitches a few times, namely when he’s teasing Leo. They’re obviously good mates and go way back. Leo is different with Drew than with Jorge. With Jorge he’s more laid-back, with Drew more dynamic, more upbeat. As the night wears on, I become vaguely aware that Drew has started flirting with me. He puts his hand on my cheek to hold me close so he can speak into my ear.

‘Why do you want to go back to Key West when you can have Miami?’ he asks me, his lips brushing against my ear. I like him enough, although not in that way, for it not to be deeply unpleasant.

‘I like Key West,’ I tell him, pulling away slightly to look him in the eye.

‘Yeah, but nothing beats Miami,’ he tries to convince me.

I screw up my nose.

‘What? You don’t like this?’ He gestures around him.

‘Yeah,’ I admit, ‘this place is wicked, but …’ My voice trails off and I look around, suddenly realising Leo is not with us. ‘Where’s Leo?’ I ask with alarm.

Drew shrugs. ‘Probably gone to take a leak. So what do you reckon about staying a few more days, checking out Miami? I can put you up.’

I’m too distracted to reply, as I search the room. And then I see him pushing back through the crowd. His eyes meet mine and I feel such a thrill that I can’t take in what Drew is saying to me.

‘Sorry?’ I ask him weakly, not taking my eyes from Leo as Drew pulls me closer to speak into my ear again. Leo’s gaze flickers towards Drew and his expression seems to harden – but maybe it’s just the alcohol messing with my mind. Out of nowhere, a girl steps in front of Leo and puts her hand on his chest. He looks taken aback. I can’t see her face, but she’s petite and has shiny, dark-brown, ringletted curls and my imagination convinces me that she’s absolutely beautiful. She reaches up to hold his face as she kisses both cheeks. Leo’s eyes flit past her to Drew and me, but she doesn’t take her hands from his face, bringing his attention back to her. I feel a sharp pang of jealousy.

‘Laura!’ Drew laughs, snapping me back to my immediate surroundings. ‘Man, you’re not listening to a word I’m saying.’

‘I’m sorry.’ I shake my head abruptly, but can’t give him my full attention. ‘What was that?’

‘Oh, never mind. Aah,’ he says knowingly, looking over his shoulder and spying Leo.

‘What?’ I ask quickly. ‘Who is she?’

‘Ashlee,’ Drew enlightens me. ‘Leo’s ex.’

‘She was his girlfriend?’ My stomach swirls with dread as I watch Leo try to move past her. She draws him back, but now I can see her side profile and my suspicions were correct. She’s stunning, with a pretty turned-up nose and a sprinkling of freckles. She’s smiling as she stares up at Leo, but I notice with relief that he still looks annoyed. He says something to her and nods towards Drew and me. Her eyes dart between us and her brow furrows. Leo breaks away and comes over. Drew is leaning up against the bar, his shoulder pressing against mine, but then Leo’s hand breaks contact between us as he pushes past Drew to retrieve his beer from the bar. He takes a swig and looks irritated.

‘Drew,’ Ashlee says, acknowledging him with a nod. She doesn’t look too pleased to see him.

‘Ashlee,’ he replies. The feeling, it seems, is mutual.

She turns to me, cocking her head to one side. ‘I’m Ashlee.’

‘Hi,’ I say, holding out my hand for her to shake. ‘Laura.’

‘Are you going to buy me a drink, Leonardo?’ she asks meaningfully, not taking her eyes from mine.

Leo turns and holds his hand up to the bartender.

‘So—’ she starts.

‘How’s it going, Ashlee?’ Drew interrupts, not seeming quite as relaxed as he did before.

‘Oh, you know, Drew,’ she replies casually. ‘Same as always. I wasn’t expecting to see Leo back this weekend.’ She’s speaking to him, but regarding me.

‘I only got the call yesterday,’ Drew tells her.

‘At least you got the call,’ she says drily. ‘Not saying it’s not a nice surprise. So …’ she starts again, and I just know she’s dying to find out what my relationship is with Leo.

Before she can ask her question, Leo is shoving a drink into her hand. The bar is packed, so God knows how he got served so quickly. ‘Here,’ he snaps. It’s something crystal clear and sparkling, on ice.

‘Thanks, baby.’ She takes a sip and then stares at him, incredulous. ‘Water? You got me water, Leonardo?’

‘If you want something else, you can get it yourself,’ he bites back.

The look on her face … The look on his! Her body language changes to become more aggressive, almost like she’s squaring up to him. He stands his ground, staring her down, but the expression on his face is actually quite frightening: dark and dangerous, but still somehow very, very sexy.

‘Screw you,’ she spits, throwing her glass of water at his chest before spinning on her heels and storming out.

Leo brushes the water off his T-shirt in disgust.

‘Bitch,’ he mutters angrily, and it’s a bit of a shock to hear him speaking about a woman like that, even one who’s just drenched him.

‘Welcome back to Miami,’ Drew says sarcastically.

‘And you wonder why I was in no rush to return?’ Leo asks him as one of the bartenders shouts out his name.

‘You can’t hide from her forever,’ Drew replies as the bartender throws Leo a black shirt.

‘What … What happened between you?’

Leo looks surprised when I ask this question, almost like he’d forgotten I was there. He glances at Drew and then whips off his wet T-shirt. A group of girls nearby begin to whoop. Leo glares at them with a look that would stop traffic and I quickly shut my mouth as he pulls on the fresh short-sleeved shirt and irately buttons it up. It has the name of the bar stitched in small white letters in the top right-hand corner, but, as uniforms go, he looks hot in it. I wonder if he works here. He wrings out his T-shirt and stuffs it into his pocket.

All this action hasn’t hidden the fact that my question has gone unanswered, so I ask it again. Drew replies.

‘She’s crazy, Laura, don’t worry about her.’ He tries to brush me off.

‘What do you mean, crazy?’

‘Crazy.’ He makes circles with his forefinger at the side of his head.

‘Clinically insane?’ I ask, unwilling to let it go.

‘She’s just a bit screwed up,’ Drew says. ‘Obsessed with Leo. She’s uncontrollable on a few drinks.’

‘How long were you together?’ I ask Leo this question directly.

It’s a moment before he replies, and then it’s unhappily. ‘Not quite a year.’ He doesn’t want to talk about this.

I suck in my breath. ‘That long?’

‘Too long,’ he says.

Drew explains. ‘She wouldn’t take no for an answer, wouldn’t let him call it off.’

‘Looks like she still doesn’t want to take no for an answer,’ I comment.

Leo slams his beer down on the bar. ‘We’ve got an early start tomorrow,’ he says to me.

‘You’re not going?’ Drew exclaims in dismay.

‘Sorry, buddy. We’ll catch a taxi.’

‘No!’ he laments. ‘Come on! Laura,’ he turns to me, pleading, ‘there’s this really cool bar you have got to see. You’ll come with me, won’t you?’

‘Maybe some other time,’ Leo interjects, and then my hand is in his and he’s pulling me through the crowds and out onto the street before I can even say goodbye. I’m too taken aback to do anything other than follow him, and then he drops my hand, leaving me wanting. He hails a taxi, opening the door for me and climbing in afterwards. My head is spinning. I’m not really sure what just happened to our night, but I have no idea what to say. Leo stares out of the window, not saying anything, either. He still seems furious and I don’t really know how to react. It’s only when we’re back inside the apartment and he’s dragging a sleeping bag down from the wardrobe in his bedroom that I find my voice.

‘Are you okay?’ I ask from the doorway. The room doesn’t feel as small as it did earlier – maybe it’s the alcohol, humming through my veins.

‘I’m fine,’ he says shortly, making to move past me. I press my back up against the wall so he can. He pauses when he’s right in front of me, the bulk of his body taking up all the space it can without actually touching me. Goosebumps form on my arms. I look up at him and his dark eyes burn into mine, making me hold my breath. ‘Get some sleep,’ he says suddenly, moving away. It’s only when I’m safely inside his room with the door shut that I can breathe again.

We barely speak on the drive back to Key West. I doze off, thankful that my mind is no longer racing. Just a few short hours ago all my nerve endings were on edge, knowing that Leo was in the next room, wanting him to burst through my door and ravish my body. His sheets smelled of him, his pillows, too. Thoughts of him consumed me all night long and I don’t think I have ever felt so turned on. I realise, as I fall in and out of consciousness, that Matthew has barely entered my thoughts all weekend. I feel nothing when I think of him. I’m dulled to him, muted. Right now it’s all about Leo.

When we’re approximately forty-five minutes away from Key West, Leo pulls off the road. I sit up, sleepily.

‘I need a coffee,’ he says. ‘You hungry?’ It’s pretty much the most he’s said to me this entire journey.

‘A little,’ I reply, as my stomach grumbles its own reply.

A waitress seats us at a table on the deck. The air is warm and muggy, but it feels good to be outside. I gaze at the small marina filled with medium-sized boats moored up at jetties, and study the mail boxes outside the houses, some of them fashioned in the shape of colourful fish. I’m tempted to buy one to take home with me. Not that I have a house with a mail box. We live in a flat.

Leo stretches back in his seat. He looks very far away. The waitress brings our coffees over and he leans in and cradles his cup in his hands, his tanned forearms resting on the table between us. For the first time I notice the dark circles under his eyes.

‘You look tired,’ I comment.

‘Didn’t sleep much last night.’

‘Me neither.’

We meet each other’s eyes for about three seconds which seem to last much longer. He breaks away to blow at the steaming liquid. I try to think of something to say.

‘Drew seemed pretty pissed off we left early last night’ is what I settle on.

‘Yeah.’ Leo tuts and gives me a look.

‘What?’ I ask him with a grin.

‘He wasn’t pissed I left early; he was pissed you did.’

‘What?’ I scoff. ‘What are you going on about?’

‘You know what I’m talking about.’

‘No, I don’t!’ Although I sort of do.

He gives me a look that tells me he can see straight through me. I shake my head and try to act nonchalant.

‘Well, I wasn’t interested, anyway.’

He takes a sip of his drink. ‘I did tell him you were married.’

‘Did you? When?’

‘On the phone before we went to Miami.’

‘Oh, right.’ I’m desperate to know exactly what Leo said about me. ‘What else did you tell him?’

He shrugs. ‘Nothing.’

‘Nothing?’ I frown. ‘But you thought the marriage bit was important?’

‘Isn’t it?’ he asks with a direct stare.

I shift in my seat and try to hide behind my cup. ‘I doubt I’ll be married for much longer.’

He stares out at the marina and I gather the conversation is over, so I’m surprised when he speaks again.

‘Do you really think it’s over?’

God, the look in his eyes. My head begins to tingle. I swallow, but my voice still comes out sounding like a whisper.

‘Yes.’

There is no denying the sexual tension between us this time, and I know he can feel it, too. I have an almost unbearable urge to climb over the table and kiss his lips, but now is not the time or the place.

The car is so charged with electricity on the next leg of our journey that the engine could almost be powered by it. When we climb out of the car, he doesn’t meet my eyes. He gets our bags out of the boot and follows me through the yard. The door is shut, which is unusual as the others tend to leave it open when they’re in. Leo unlocks it and I don’t quite move far enough away, so his arm brushes against mine, sending shivers up and down my body. I can’t bear this for much longer.