Aimee Duffy - Geeks Go Greek

They laughed and headed for the house.

‘I’ll ask them to make us a light lunch and we can go later. I had massages and pedicures booked for after the flight.’

By the time she’d unpacked, there was no missed call flashing on her phone and even during lunch when Gem told Elle they were going for a bike ride round the town with their Geeks Gone Greek tee-shirts and there had been loud refusals, there was still no missed calls or messages on her phone.

She’d tried to be discreet, but during a languorous foot and temple massage with them, Elle caught Ciara’s mobile screen lighting up and sighed.

Elle said, ‘He’s not going to come, not after what I said to him in Paris. Believe it or not, he’s even more stubborn than me.’

Ciara nodded, trying to keep her expression blank and obviously failing because Elle took her hand and squeezed.

‘You’re miserable, aren’t you?’ Elle asked.

‘Don’t be daft,’ she protested but it sounded weak.

Gem peeled the cucumber slices from her eyes and pinned her with a ‘mmhmm’ look.

‘Really,’ Ciara said, glaring at them both. She handed Elle her phone. ‘You keep hold of that and I’ll stop obsessing. Promise.’

Elle gaped at her like she’d just handed her a kidney. ‘You’re giving me your phone?’

‘If my da calls I’ll speak to him but no one else ever does and it will stop me checking it every two seconds.’

Thankfully, she’d been wise enough to delete the sexting. And sensible enough to delete Zack’s number, just in case.

Gem frowned. ‘Ciara, it’s your phone .’

She rolled her eyes. ‘Exactly. It’s not my arm or my leg, just a piece of plastic that wasn’t affordable till I was sixteen. People did used to live without them, you know.’

‘Cavemen,’ Elle grumbled. ‘Jesus maybe. But this is the 21st century!’

For all their smarts, when it came to history they were clueless. ‘Believe it or not, even last century people got by without mobiles. And TV.’

Her friends shuddered. Drama queens.

Elle shook off the horror first then dived straight into Ciara’s phone, nosing like a pro.

‘There’s nothing incriminating there, you know,’ Ciara said.

‘Good, I don’t want to have to bleach my eyes before dinner. God your 4G is slow. ’ Elle had zero patience with technology and soon switched it to standby.

Ciara didn’t want the gaping horror back on their faces, so didn’t mention her phone barely had 3G. Instead she lay back and enjoyed the temple massage. The women Elle hired to give them the works over the next ten days definitely knew what they were doing. But she’d get bored of this soon. Lying around and being pampered was nice, just not for her.

And the down side of all this relaxing was she had too much time to think about things she shouldn’t. Zack, the fact there was nothing waiting for her back home work wise – unlike her friends she lacked ambition and had spent her summers in England instead of hunting for internships, and on top of all that, she’d put on so much weight munching down on croissants in Paris that most of her trousers were tighter than her skin.

She groaned, but it had nothing to do with the fingers at her temples moving in relaxing circles – she wasn’t relaxed at all.

‘Enough with the sex noises, Ciara. It’s disturbing,’ Elle said and Gem laughed.

‘Ha. Ha. Actually, I was thinking about how fat my arse has gotten since Paris.’ At least in LA and Miami she’d had Zack to help her work out.

‘You can always order a salad you know,’ Gem said.

‘And miss the chance to try proper Greek food? I don’t think so.’ Ciara sighed. ‘But maybe I should do a few laps in the pool before we go.’

She sat up and thanked the masseuse, determined to go for a swim. After all, her friends still had pedicures to go and if she knew Elle, manicures too.

‘You’re insane. I’d rather starve than work myself into a sweat,’ Elle griped, then reset the cucumber back over her eyes.

‘To each her own,’ Ciara said, then got off the massage table. Elle really hadn’t been kidding when she said Greece would be about pampering and relaxation before they hit the next crazy stop on their destination.

***

The bedroom door swung open just as Ciara was wriggling into her favourite pair of white linen trousers.

Elle barged in, looking more like a glamour puss than she ever could. ‘You’re never allowed to moan about the length of time I take to get ready again.’

‘I’m having a wardrobe disaster,’ Ciara said, then had an idea. She lay on the bed, sucked in her stomach and gave her trousers a heave. Finally, they buttoned.

Elle bit her lip. ‘Um, Ciara. I don’t think you’ll want to wear those.’

She sat up, feeling the squeeze around her hips and bum, and had to agree. But she loved these trousers and hadn’t had a chance to wear them yet. She saw this as motivation, if nothing else.

‘It’s too late for that now, we have reservations. My top hides how much they choke me anyway.’ She pulled on a loose fitting flowery smock that came down to her hips, grabbed her bag and slipped on her gold flip flops.

Elle pressed her lips together and her eyes watered like she was trying to stop herself from laughing.

Ciara gritted her teeth. ‘Don’t you dare, Elle. I mean it. I feel crap enough as it is!’

Having gorgeous, skinny friends was a curse. She stormed past Elle, through the massive corridor and down two flights of stairs until they were at the ‘ground’ level. Or at least the level with the cars.

‘Just don’t reach up and you’ll be fine,’ Elle said from behind her.

‘What took you so long?’ Gem asked. She was tapping her pink flip flops against the gravel. ‘It’s usually Elle we have to drag out kicking and screaming.’

‘My trousers shrunk and my arse got bigger. Can we go now?’ Her cheeks flared with irritation and a lot of mortification. So much for all the exercise she’d done.

‘I really think you should get changed,’ Elle said, tugging on her arm. ‘You have dresses—’

‘No way,’ Gem butted in, grabbing her other arm. ‘I’m starving. We’re leaving now.’

Elle might be bossy but Gem was fierce when she wanted to be. Winning the tug of war, her friend probably gave her a bangle of bruises round her wrists but she didn’t argue much. She was starved too.

On the way, Elle kept looking at her stomach and irritation flared again. ‘Stop looking at me like an alien is going to burst out of there. It’s fat, nothing else.’

‘It’s not that I’m looking at. Your trousers. There… Um… very tight.’ Elle’s cheeks scored pink and she was back to pressing her lips together.

‘I know that!’ Feck, if she’d laughed at Elle for this she’d be one friend down. Permanently. She stared out of the window, ignoring the ache in her jaw from more teeth clenching. She was even struggling to appreciate the pretty scenery with the mood she was in.

‘Elle that’s bitchy, even for you,’ Gem said.

‘I’m being a friend, not bitchy. But it’s okay, her top covers it.’

The fat. The new fat she’d acquired from comfort eating everything she could stuff into her face their last day in Paris. Served her right, really. But she was paying for it now.

‘What are you talking about?’ Gem asked as they pulled up in front of the restaurant.

Ciara let herself out of the Land Rover, not wanting to hear what she knew was the truth but Elle didn’t make an effort to whisper.

‘She’s got camel-toe.’

Freezing mid-step, she tugged her top right down until the cups of her bra were on full display. Speechless didn’t cover it, and it wasn’t the first time a Muir had done that to her was it?