Читать книгу Essex Girls - Laura Ziepe - Страница 8

‘Would you like any drinks?’ the pretty air hostess asked them.

‘A Diet Coke please,’ Kelly asked.

‘Will you be paying in Sterling or euros?’

‘Can I not just pay in pounds?’ Kelly asked, scratching her head thoughtfully.

The air hostess looked confused.

‘Sterling is pounds,’ Jade told her, stifling a giggle.

‘What? Really? I’ve never even heard of it,’ Kelly replied, completely miffed as she searched through her purse.

An hour later the pilot announced they would be landing and Jade was relieved. She hated flying with a passion. The fact that they had bought the cheapest flight was partly to do with it, as they’d had to be up, washed, dressed and out the door by four thirty a.m. Jade tried to stretch in the confined space in her seat. Honestly, these seats were made for children, not adults with legs longer than a metre. She looked beside her at Kelly who had just dropped off into a sound sleep. She was so lucky. Jade could never sleep on planes at all, even if she’d only slept for four hours the night before; it was impossible. The three men laughing and talking loudly a few rows up weren’t helping either. How the hell did they have so much energy? She rolled her eyes when she heard one of them ask for a beer from the air hostess. Seriously, at this time in the morning? Probably their first stupid lads’ holiday.

However, Jade’s mood improved when she felt the warm sunshine through the tiny windows on the plane. Three months of glorious sunshine beckoned and it couldn’t come quickly enough. For the first time in a long while she actually felt excited about meeting new men too. She wasn’t in a rush for a serious relationship, but a bit of fun wouldn’t kill her. In fact, she craved it.

Jade thought back to the last month. Becoming shot girls had actually worked out perfectly. It had given them a taste of what to expect in Marbella and Kelly’s friend had given them the details of the manager of TIBU nightclub, Joe. They’d contacted him and he had agreed to hire them both; they’d squeeze in a one-week holiday to relax before they started. Jade just hoped the money was as good as shot work as some nights they had made up to one hundred and fifty pounds, and it had been fun working together with Kelly and chatting to men, convincing them to spend their cash getting drunk. It hadn’t exactly been hard. Then they’d met Stephen, a nightclub promoter who had asked them to be nightclub hosts, which basically meant hosting a table with a load of men, getting them to buy bottles of drink and getting paid for it. Of course, they’d agreed. They’d really enjoyed it at first as it just felt like partying for free, but after a while constantly dealing with sleazy drunk men started to get annoying. Despite that, Jade had enjoyed herself; being single wasn’t as bad as she had first thought. She had met some men that were quite nice and had cheekily snogged a couple like a teenager at the end of the night. Even though she couldn’t honestly say she was over Tom one hundred per cent, she was getting there. He had texted her once asking how she was, but she’d ignored him. It had made her feel stronger, knowing that she had the power to not reply like he had probably expected her to. She was ignoring him – not the other way round.

The captain announced they were landing and Kelly stirred.

‘Morning sleepy head!’

Kelly groaned as she tried to stretch. ‘What time is it? Are we there yet?’

‘Only about thirty minutes away.’

Forty minutes later they were leaving the plane. Kelly pointed to a girl in front with dark brown hair scraped up on top of her head.

‘I know that girl,’ she whispered.

The girl turned as if she had heard her and caught Kelly’s eye. She smiled and waited for them to catch up as they disembarked.

‘You alright Kel, babe?’ She hugged her. ‘How are you?’

‘Really well, hun. Haven’t seen you for a long while. Oh my God, you look tanned already!’

She was right, Jade thought to herself. Kelly’s friend had a lovely dark tan and was wearing tiny denim hot pants to show off her slender legs.

‘Yeah, I only went home for five days. I’ve been working out here in TIBU club for the last month. I’m back now to do the rest of the summer.’

‘Oh shut up!’ Kelly gasped ecstatically. ‘We’ve got jobs there, and we’re out here for three months now.’

Her mouth opened wide. ‘You’re joking babe! Cool. You’ll love it here, it’s so much fun and you can earn alright money as well.’

Kelly nodded and then introduced Jade to her. ‘Jade this is Adele. Adele, Jade.’

Adele said hello and then started to walk off. ‘Go to Plaza Beach today and I’ll meet you there. It’s where everyone goes.’

Kelly waved her off. ‘I remember that from last year. Cool hun, we’ll see you there.’

Adele disappeared and Jade asked Kelly about her.

‘She seems nice, how do you know her?’

‘I did a beauty course with her. I’ve always thought she was okay, but loads of girls hated her and said she was a bit of a bitch. Don’t see why though.’

‘Well at least you know someone we’re working with already. I’m a bit nervous about it,’ Jade replied, as they made their way to the toilets to freshen up.

‘Hun, trust me, we’ll be fine. We’re only going to be waitresses; all you have to do is host tables like in Essex and serve their drinks. But let’s not even worry about working until next week. Firstly we have a week’s holiday to do nothing but sunbathe!’

‘You’re right,’ Jade agreed. ‘Let’s just enjoy it.’

*

Adele walked over to the baggage claims searching for her case, which had a huge pink bow on so she’d find it easily. Much to her disappointment it wasn’t there already, so she waited, getting her phone out and texting Lee, her new boyfriend, to say she’d landed safely.

She was glad Kelly was working in Marbella too. She didn’t know her that well, but she’d always seemed quite nice at beauty college. She’d been out with her once before on a night out, she recalled, and couldn’t help but feel slightly jealous when she uploaded her photos on Facebook and received messages from loads of blokes asking who Kelly was. She wasn’t that pretty, Adele told herself. She looked just as good as Kelly when she was done up with her false lashes and hair extensions, surely? Plus, Kelly was really photogenic, so she looked better in pictures. Adele did like her though; it was hard not to, seeing as she was so friendly. Kelly’s friend, Jade, seemed nice too. She was also attractive, Adele thought, a little bit resentfully. She could tell they were best friends and thought how nice it must be to go away and work with someone you were really close to. Adele had never really had a best friend. If she was really honest, she preferred the company of men and always thought it must be because she had three brothers. Sure, she had girl mates, but no one she liked the best particularly.

Adele took a mirror out of her bag to check her appearance. Her hair was a bit of a mess and her new hair extensions were actually really hurting her head. She’d had weaves put in this time instead of glued ones because it was cheaper and quicker, and they’d done nothing but give her a headache so far. Her eyelash extensions looked good though. They were as thick as spider legs, just how she liked them. She needed to get back to her apartment, let her hair down, put a bit of make-up on and she’d be ready to go to Plaza Beach to sunbathe.

*

Kelly and Jade arrived at PYR Hotel in Puerto Banus, which they had booked after being told that this was one of the most fun places to stay. They were just about to leave reception to go to their room when a loud group of boys, who were obviously over-excited about their holiday, stopped them.

‘Alright girls?’ one of them said in a Welsh accent.

‘Yes thanks,’ Jade replied, too tired to make conversation.

‘Where you from?’

‘Essex,’ Kelly replied.

‘Oooh Essex girls,’ he said happily to his mates, as though he’d won the jackpot.

‘Seriously, do blokes still get all excited when you say you’re from Essex?’ Jade whispered to Kelly, irritated that Essex girls had a name for being ‘easy’. What a load of rubbish. Did they also think they wore white stilettos and danced around their handbags too?

‘Where are you from then?’ Kelly asked.

‘Cardiff,’ he replied. ‘You should come visit me when you get back home,’ he said, trying to impress his mates.

‘No thanks, Scotland is miles away,’ Kelly replied, dismissively.

‘Scotland?’ the boy asked, confused.

Jade tried not to laugh. ‘Come on Kelly, let’s go,’ she said taking their keys from the receptionist and walking away.

Kelly followed, confused – Jade could hear the blokes laughing that Kelly had thought Cardiff was in Scotland.

‘Cardiff is in Scotland isn’t it?’

‘No, you dope. It’s in Wales!’ Jade answered laughing as they reached the lift.

They were happily surprised with their room. It was basic, but very large; they had plenty of space and even a small kitchen. They unpacked their suitcases as quickly as they could. Despite being so tired, Jade was excited to see everything and get in the sun.

‘Right babe, what bikini are you wearing today?’

Jade didn’t really have many bikinis with her. She absolutely hated shopping for them, as there was nothing worse than stripping off in the changing room mirrors and seeing a body you didn’t exactly love staring back at you. She was happier not looking. She’d dropped a dress size when she first split up with Tom, feeling far too sad to eat; whenever she was stressed in life she lost her appetite. Luckily it hadn’t taken too long to get it back though; spending time with the girls had soon cheered her up and now she was back to her healthy size ten figure. She wasn’t by any means big in any way, but in her opinion her boobs were too small, hips a little too big and she hated her bum, which she wished was more toned, although everyone told her otherwise. She pulled out a plain black and white striped one she’d bought from Primark last year from her drawer.

‘I’ll probably just be wearing this,’ she said, showing Kelly.

Kelly nodded, her face impassive.

Jade looked down at her bikini and then back up at Kelly. ‘Why, what bikini are you wearing?’

‘I’ll wear my least dressy one if you’re wearing plain black and white, so I won’t look out of place.’

Jade frowned. ‘“Least dressy”? What do you mean? Show me what you’ve brought.’

Jade’s heart sank as Kelly pulled out an array of colourful bikinis. The bed was soon a mass of sequins, beads, diamantes and tassels. Jade had never seen anything quite like it. She lifted up a white, all-in-one, cut-out swimsuit with beautiful coloured gems encrusted round the centre, off the bed. ‘Kelly, are you kidding me? What’s this?’

‘That’s a monokini, babe. You can borrow it if you like.’

Jade couldn’t hide her shock. ‘Where did you get all these from? They’re amazing!’

‘Mostly online from America. I did say Marbella was dressy and to bring your best stuff.’

‘Best stuff? I’ve never seen anything like this,’ she said, pulling a hot pink tasselled one from the bed admiringly. ‘I thought you meant at night, not for the beach. All mine are bloody Primark and H & M. They’re all plain and boring,’ Jade said sulkily.

‘You can borrow mine. Honestly, any one you want, just take.’

‘Thanks,’ Jade said, knowing that she wouldn’t and couldn’t fit into Kelly’s double D cups even if she wanted to. ‘I’ll just wear this plain one for now.’

Kelly could sense Jade was a bit gutted. ‘I think there are a couple of shops that do really nice dressy swimwear here. We can look there before we go to Plaza Beach if you like?’ she offered.

Jade perked up a bit. ‘Really? Okay, sounds good. Let’s definitely do that then, as otherwise I’ll be plain Jane for the summer if this is the sort of thing people wear.’

‘I remember seeing Sonia Lopez here last year; remember her from our old school? She bought one that was gorgeous and showed me where the shop was.’

Jade thought back. Sonia Lopez was the girl with the mega rich parents at her old school. Didn’t she once have a pair of Gucci shoes that cost her £500 just to wear to school?

‘Are the prices reasonable?’ Jade enquired, completely clueless.

Kelly hesitated, and turned back to her suitcase to unpack. ‘Errr … I don’t think it’s too bad. It’s really good quality and you have to remember, you get what you pay for.’

Jade watched Kelly parade around in a gorgeous two-piece white bikini with diamond straps and silver chains to fasten the bottoms; it was amazing.

‘Kelly, what are those diamond crystal things stuck on your skin?’ she asked bewildered, as she noticed a pattern only half covered by her bikini bottoms.

‘It’s a vajazzle, babe. Don’t say you’ve never heard of them?’ She pulled her bottoms down lower to reveal the pattern of a star.

Jade shook her head, agog.

‘Where have you been for the last few years?’ Kelly laughed, as if having a vajazzle was the most normal thing in the world.

‘In Bath. And I definitely did not see or hear of anyone having a vajazzle there!’

‘You have to let me do you one right now. You can’t go out without a vajazzle to the pool!’ Kelly gasped, horrified at the thought. ‘I’ve brought loads of patterns with me in case mine comes off. Look …’ She reached into her suitcase and pulled out several different designs. ‘You can have a fairy, star, flower, cherry, butterfly …’

‘I’m not so sure I want one,’ Jade said, a bit confused as to why people would want one.

‘You don’t want a vajazzle?’ Kelly looked at her like she was crazy.

‘Errr … well maybe I will then,’ she agreed. They were quite pretty after all, and if everyone else was going to have one then why should she be the odd one out? She opted for a flower and Kelly put the crystals on her perfectly. She’d have felt embarrassed if it was anyone else lowering her bottoms to stick tiny crystals on her skin, but seeing as she’d known Kelly for years and she had a way of making people feel comfortable, Jade felt totally relaxed.

‘You can’t go in the water today now though in case they wash off and the last thing you need is a patchy vajazzle,’ Kelly said. ‘Though I’ll doubt you’ll want to anyway, as it messes your hair up.’

Jade pulled her bikini bottoms down to observe Kelly’s work. It actually looked good. ‘I love it!’

Kelly’s face was beatific. ‘I knew you would. You won’t be able to live without a vajazzle in your life now, trust me. They’re reem.’

An hour later, they were standing outside the swimwear shop that Kelly had told Jade about.

Jade gasped. ‘Wow! These bikinis look amazing!’ She felt her spirits lift as she piled up about ten to try on. ‘I love them all!’

‘See, I told you there was a nice shop,’ Kelly said, looking pleased with herself.

Jade’s grin dropped when she saw the price of one – the pile of the bikinis she was holding was so high it came up right under her chin. ‘Kelly, it’s two hundred and fifty euros for this one!’

‘Really?’ Kelly tried to remain positive. ‘Maybe that’s just a special expensive one or something? You know, like a limited edition or something? Remember, they’ll last for years too, because they must use the most expensive material.’

Jade glanced at the prices of the others – there wasn’t even one under one hundred and fifty euro. ‘Kelly, I’m not spending that amount. I just can’t. It’s ridiculous.’ Feeling hot, despite the air conditioning, and now embarrassed in front of the snooty store assistant at having to put all the bikinis back, Jade left the store, disappointed. ‘Let’s just go and have a nice chilled day sunbathing. It’s exactly what I need.’

As they made their way to Plaza Beach, Jade was surprised at hearing loud music blaring out. ‘Is there a nightclub open in the day or something?’ she said looking round to see where the noise was coming from.

Kelly stifled a giggle. ‘That’s Plaza Beach, babe, that’s where we’re going.’

Jade was confused. She’d never been to a beach where they played music. Maybe one where there were some annoying teens with an iPod and speakers blaring out, but that’s about it. As they turned the corner, she was in shock. Men with six packs and bronzed bodies were everywhere. Girls wore make-up and looked gorgeous, slim and toned. Some were even walking around in five-inch heels and wedges. There were huge upholstered cream sunbeds with groups of about eight people on each one, lounging in the sun with huge cushions as pillows. It was unbelievable. It was like a beach version of Essex!

‘I never knew it was going to be like this!’ Jade said to Kelly.

‘I did try to explain it, babe,’ she replied, peering over the top of her Miu Miu sunglasses.

Jade felt completely out of place. Her plain swimwear now felt even more plain and dull. This place was like battle of the bikinis! She also felt as white as Casper the friendly ghost. She eyed up Kelly, who looked tanned.

‘Kelly, how come you’re not as white as me? Did you put fake tan on?’

‘No, don’t be silly, not for holiday. I had a few sunbeds before I came out here, I got a cheap course. I had to, I was sooo white.’

Probably the same colour as me, Jade thought, annoyed that she hadn’t considered the same thing.

‘Don’t worry hun, you’ll catch the sun in no time,’ Kelly smiled.

They found two free sunbeds, which was surprising as the place was packed, and Jade relaxed as she lay down and felt the warmth of the sun on her skin. Thank God she had her vajazzle; at the moment that was the only thing making her feel like she belonged there. She was going straight back to buy one of those bikinis without a doubt, and she was waking up every day for a week at nine thirty to sunbathe, even if it meant she had to set her alarm. If only she had known Marbella was going to be like this. She would have made much more of an effort. She’d only ever been away once with her friends to Greece, and stupidly assumed it would be the same.

Jade sat up and rested on her elbows to take a look around. She had already spotted a couple of good-looking men, although some of them were wearing sunglasses and she knew it might be a different story when they took them off. It was amazing how important the eyes were when it came to fancying someone. All in all, this place looked like it was going to be fun. Pretentious maybe, but fun.

‘Three o’clock, hun,’ Kelly nodded to her right at two men standing by some sunbeds, chatting.

‘Three o’clock?’ Jade answered, dumbfounded. ‘Surely it’s not that late already?’

‘No, silly,’ Kelly giggled. ‘Turn to three o’clock. Hot men.’

Jade glanced at them. Nice bodies, yes, but not really her type. It was weird really, as she didn’t have one particular type, unlike some people, who only liked dark hair and blue eyes. Jade just knew her type when she saw him. She sat up and looked out to the sea which looked an amazing deep blue, and clear turquoise in places. A fair-haired man in red shorts was walking out of the ocean and Jade had to prevent herself from gasping. Wow, now he was her type! His hair had obviously been highlighted by the sun, and he had a mahogany tan and the most beautiful face she’d ever seen on a man. Simply gorgeous.

‘I think I’m in love,’ she whispered to Kelly.

‘What?’

Now understanding the clock time signal, Jade muttered, ‘Twelve o’clock.’

Kelly sat up, gazing at him secretly through the black lenses of her sunglasses. She nodded approvingly and smiled. ‘Very nice.’

Jade watched as he walked past. His body was to die for. He definitely worked out to get abs like that! His eyes were a striking green colour. He was perfect. She was annoyed that she didn’t look better herself. He didn’t even look in her direction and she couldn’t blame him. There were so many pretty girls around!

Her thoughts were interrupted by Adele shouting out Kelly’s name. They sat up and both crossed their legs so Adele could sit at the end of their beds.

‘Alright, girls?’

‘Good babe, you?’ Kelly asked, re-applying some sun lotion.

Jade was amazed at how different Adele looked compared to a few hours ago. She had a lovely purple embellished bikini on, which looked very expensive, her hair was wavy and loose and she was wearing mascara. She wasn’t beautiful, and she was a bit too masculine to be pretty, but quite attractive. Jade smiled, feeling a bit shy and out of place.

‘Yeah good. Boiling,’ Adele said with a giggle, wiping her forehead. ‘Have either of you got a mirror?’

Kelly handed her a compact which had a small mirror inside. Jade had to hold back from laughing as she watched Adele coat her lips in gloss and pout at her reflection. She looked completely in love with herself. Kelly caught Jade’s eye, bit her lip and turned away, also finding it funny to watch.

‘Where you off to tonight?’

‘Where’s good to go?’ Jade asked.

‘Think everyone is starting at Sinatra’s bar tonight, so go there first. Luckily I have a night off before I start work again.’

They chatted for a while and Jade decided that Adele seemed really nice, which was good as they were going to be working alongside her. She offered them both a cigarette and they declined, as she lit her own.

‘You both single?’ Adele asked.

They nodded.

‘There are loads of nice blokes this season. I’ve just started seeing this guy called Lee, from Glam nightclub,’ Adele said. ‘I really like him, met him when I first got here last month.’

‘Ah that’s good,’ Kelly said. ‘I well wanna meet some nice new guy while I’m here. I’ve been single for ages.’

Adele took a drag from her cigarette, exhaled and said, ‘You seen anyone you fancy yet?’

‘Nearly everyone here!’ Kelly giggled. Then she looked over at Jade. ‘She’s already in love, this one.’

Jade felt embarrassed. Thanks a lot, Kelly, she thought.

‘Come on, spill the beans. Who do you like? You’ve only just got here,’ Adele laughed, flicking the ash from the end of her cigarette. ‘You two are worse than me.’

‘I don’t like him, I don’t even know him. I only just saw him for one second!’ Jade protested.

‘Don’t be shy, babe, show her who you fancy,’ Kelly giggled looking round to see if she could spot him again.

Jade hesitated, feeling as though she was in a school playground discussing her first crush. ‘I just think the bloke over there,’ she looked back quickly to check where he was, ‘the one at the bar with the red shorts on and blondy hair, is quite nice.’

Adele’s jaw dropped. ‘Oh my God. What, Sam?’ she asked, looking over at the two men.

‘Why, do you know him?’ Kelly questioned.

She nodded and exhaled another puff of smoke. ‘He’s my ex.’

Jade felt her heart sink. How embarrassing. She felt extremely uncomfortable and unsure what to say. Adele, obviously knowing that she felt awkward, added, ‘We went out for a year, ages ago, babe. He’s a nice boy, but we just used to argue about anything and everything.’

Jade smiled and began to backtrack instantly. ‘I just thought he looked nice, that’s all. I only saw him for a second.’

‘We’re still mates,’ Adele continued, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. ‘I’ll put in a good word for you, if you like?’

‘No, don’t be silly, that’s fine.’ Jade flushed beetroot, feeling completely weird about the whole situation.

‘Oh babe, that’s so nice of you, definitely put in a good word for her,’ Kelly said. ‘And while you’re at it, set me up with him,’ Kelly said, pointing at a man with the biggest muscles Jade had ever seen. They all giggled.

‘Flipping hell,’ Adele said as she stubbed out her cigarette with her white Havaianas flip-flop, covered in purple Swarovski crystals to match her bikini. ‘He’d eat you for breakfast!’

He looked over and Adele waved at him as if she knew him. He waved back, baffled, and the girls sat there laughing. She is so confident, Jade thought, enviously.

Adele looked at Jade’s bikini and she wasn’t sure if she was imagining it, but it looked like she was smirking. She then turned to Kelly.

‘Lovely bikini, babe. Where’s it from?’

‘Thanks hun,’ Kelly replied adjusting the straps. ‘It’s from this online boutique in the States. They had amazing ones on there.’

Adele grinned and raised her eyebrows. ‘Did you know that there’s another girl wearing the exact same one over there?’

Kelly’s jaw dropped. ‘Shut up! Please tell me you’re joking?’

Jade turned to look and then tried to make her feel better. ‘She’s sitting really far away, don’t worry. Plus, you look so much better in it.’

‘Anyway girls, I’m going to head back to my sunbed and soak up the sunshine,’ Adele interjected, looking pleased with her work and standing up.

‘Like you need it, Del, you’ve got the best tan ever,’ Kelly complimented her.

‘You can never be too tanned,’ Adele pointed out. She paused before she left and turned to Jade. ‘Seriously babe, I’ll put in a good word for you. It’s been ages since I was with Sam and I’d love to see him happy with a nice girl. I’m happy with Lee, so trust me; you’ve nothing to worry about.’

‘Honestly, it’s fine,’ Jade protested shaking her head.

‘Okay hun. Well if you want me to, let me know. See you tonight girls,’ she said walking away.

‘Bye,’ they chorused.

‘Right quick, we need to go somewhere else,’ Kelly said hastily, as soon as Adele was out of earshot.

‘What? Why?’

Kelly’s voice shrilled as she jumped up, stuffing the sun lotions in her bag. ‘Babe, did you not just hear that there is another girl wearing this bikini? We can’t stay here now! People will see!’

‘Don’t be so silly. Just forget about it,’ Jade replied as she stretched lazily, too relaxed to want to move again.

Kelly looked down at her, her head blocking the sun much to Jade’s irritation. ‘Come on, we have to go. I searched far and wide for the most amazing, unique bikinis and now someone has the same one. I can’t believe it! It’s sooo embarrassing!’

Knowing her friend wasn’t going to give up, Jade exhaled loudly, stood up and put her shorts on reluctantly. ‘Come on then, let’s go.’

*

Adele walked back to her sunbed and glanced at Sam, who was sitting by the bar. She could see why Jade fancied him; he was exceptionally good looking and she couldn’t believe her luck when she’d managed to get with him a few years back. When Adele wanted something, she always got it, and Sam had been no exception. If she was honest, when they had first met she knew he wasn’t overly keen on her. She was the one that always had to text and call him first, otherwise she doubted their relationship would have ever happened. Secretly she guessed it was because at the time, every one of his friends had girlfriends and the lads’ nights out had stopped, so Sam just thought he’d do what everyone else was doing, which was get a girlfriend and have quiet nights in. Adele didn’t care though; she’d had exactly what she wanted. Their relationship had lasted a year in the end, longer than she’d even expected. Eventually, they’d both decided to end things. They were too young for anything serious, and Adele had guessed that Sam had wanted to be single. Adele had never felt completely secure in their relationship and had often snogged other men behind his back. He’d never found out, he would have hated her for it. Not that she ever would have been stupid enough to get caught, she mused, she was an excellent liar and always managed to twist things round with ease. The closest he’d ever come to finding out was when someone had uploaded a photo onto her Facebook page of her with her arms around a guy she’d met at a club. She made the person delete it immediately and luckily Sam had never seen it.

She saw Jade walk past with Kelly. She was prettier than she even realised. One of those annoying girls who didn’t have to try too hard to look fantastic. So she liked Sam did she? Adele had a niggling feeling, and she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was. She didn’t like the idea of Sam and Jade together. Jade was really nice and she’d bet that Sam would like her too. Well, not if she had anything to do with it. She didn’t want to be with Sam herself, as she really liked Lee, but she definitely didn’t want Jade with him either. She had no choice but to put a stop to it.

*

After they left Plaza Beach, Jade stopped and bought a bikini from the store they’d been in earlier that day. She’d realised that she kind of needed it, and if she missed the chance then someone else might buy it and she’d be left with her rubbish cheap bikinis. Plus, they’d saved money on their cheap flight, so it was fine. She’d wear it all the time, on every holiday she had until she was thirty-five. Plus, two hundred euro spent on a bikini wasn’t that bad, was it? She decided on a pretty lemon embellished one. Definitely Marbella swimwear Jade thought happily, as they walked back to the hotel. How annoying that she could only afford one though, after all, she couldn’t wear it every day because people would notice. It was amazing how expensive they were, especially when it didn’t even look that hard to make. The thought struck her like lightning.

‘Oh my God. I have, like, the best idea ever.’

‘What?’ Kelly peered at Jade excitedly.

Jade was so enthusiastic that she couldn’t get the words out quick enough. ‘We could make our own swimwear! Customise them so they’re different to everyone else’s. Design our own patterns! Create our own styles! There must be a market or shop around here somewhere where they sell cheap crystals and sequins or something? Then we can sew them on. It’ll be fun!’

‘That’s such a good idea, babe! We’ll have the most reem swimwear in the whole of Marbs!’ Kelly agreed animatedly.

‘Exactly! We just need to know when the market is on and head down there.’

‘Let’s ask at the hotel,’ Kelly said, walking faster.

‘What are you wearing tonight?’ she asked Kelly.

‘Dunno, babe. Maybe my white strapless dress with nude Gina heels.’ She thought for a second. ‘Actually, no, I’ll save white for when I’m more tanned. I might wear my black lace Alexander Wang dress, you know, the one which makes my boobs look massive.’

‘Kelly,’ Jade giggled, glancing at her naturally huge chest. ‘Every dress makes your boobs look massive!’