This time it was him who opened his mouth to say something, only for him to close it again as though he thought better of it before he shook his head and practically growled, “Fine,” and he took off, moving around me and walking past in some kind of half-march, half stomp.
I glanced over my shoulder to watch him go, trying not to focus on the strong muscles of his tanned, toned back, or the way rivulets of sweat trailed down the dip of his sun-kissed spine. I was sick of men like him walking around on this planet like they owned every rotten inch of it while women like me were nothing but an inconvenience to them when they had better things to do. There was no way I was letting anyone treat me like shit anymore. Not even a complete stranger I’d probably never see again.
“Hey, arsehole!” I called out. “You have a splendid day, won’t you? Try not to scare any children or puppies by actually smiling at them or anything. Wouldn’t want to put a chink in your stony face now, would we?”
Before I could even see if he turned around or responded, I spun back around and made my way to the bar, wondering why the hell all the best-looking men in this world had to act like complete and utter knobheads. Revelling in the fact that, for once, I’d said what was on my mind, and it had felt damn good to do so, too.
It was hard to be anything other than impressed by the beauty of Mykonos. Wherever I looked, crystal clear waters and a thousand shades of blue stared back at me. The white-washed stone buildings and colourful domed caps almost blinded you if you weren’t wearing your sunglasses. White windmills lined the ever-breezy shoreline of Mykonos Town, with tourists all around taking pictures, losing themselves in the flash of a camera and the company of their loved ones, their hair whipping around wildly as the island’s winds demonstrated what they were famous for.
In our first few hours of being here, I walked around in awe, unable to believe that the real thing turned out to be so much better than any picture I’d seen on the internet or any photograph I’d seen in a magazine.
Our apartment complex was as luxurious as any of us had ever stayed in, buried in the small hills of Mykonos, with an infinity pool that stretched out to the very edge so you could see the ocean beyond it and look out at the crystal blue waters whenever the urge took you. Even the sun loungers were pure comfort, full of plump, cream cushioning that made you want to close your eyes and drift away to another life.
Fourteen days and nights of this wasn’t going to be hard. I was here to appreciate every flash of beauty, every ray of sun, every moment of pure peace.
My friends, however, had other ideas.
“I’ll be damned. Take a look at those cuties.” Bailey nudged my arm from her lounger on my left as we sunbathed around the pool.
I closed my eyes behind my Ray Bans and tilted my chin towards the sun. It was the fourth group of guys she’d tried pointing out to me in less than an hour.
“Man, I love Greece already.” She sighed, her grin obvious even if I couldn’t see it. “So many shirtless men. So many opportunities to smother them in sun lotion. What do you think, Phoebe?”
I peeled my eyes open slowly. “Well… Ithink our pool is gorgeous.”
“Thepool?”
“Mmhmm.”
“Phoebe,” she groaned. “You promised you’d have fun on this trip.”
I rolled my head lazily in her direction. “Who says I’m not having fun?”
“You know what I mean.” She arched a perfectly shaped, dark brow at me.
Too tired to deal with her scrutiny, I rolled my head away from her again to look straight ahead instead. “You promised me you wouldn’t push, Bailey.”
“You think this is me pushing?”
“I think we’ve been in Mykonos for six hours and you should already stop trying to get me laid.”
“Never. I have one mission for this trip, and it’s to see you smile.”
On cue, I smiled, then closed my eyes again.
“Withoutme having to coax it out of you,” she added.
“I know this may be a hard concept for you to grasp, but I don’t need a man to make me happy.”
Bailey mock gasped. “Phoebe Elisa Turner. Take yourself to church right now.”
“Leave her alone, Bailey,” Rhea piped up on my right.
“Don’t act like you don’t want to see her hook up, too, Rhea.”
“But that isn’t what this trip was supposed to be about, remember?”
“Things can change.”
