Fun In The Sun (Edited and extra chapters) by Repgreece Repgreece (fiction novels to read .txt) 📕

"I missed you of course but I didn't have a fantastic time of it back there to tell the truth, and I didn't want to bore you with all my moaning."

"Hey," she said, putting a hand over his, "we're friends remember? You can bore me as much as you like. I want to know if my friend is unhappy."

He smiled. "Thanks Sal, but I'm happy now, now that I'm back here anyway."

"Me too," she smiled back at him. "Hey, you know what we need?” she began, lightening the mood, “some seriously good tunes. There’s a CD case on the back seat; take your pick,” she offered. “But make it upbeat and fun,” she amended with a smile.

“With you Sal, how could it be anything else?” he laughed, reaching behind himself, grabbing the CD case and flicking through her CD’s. He had to admit, she didn’t have bad taste in music. In the end though, he gave up searching for anything specific and put faith in her music collection by choosing a random compilation CD and slotting it into the CD player.

When the music began, Sal did a little whoop of delight and turned up the volume as high as it would go, as she always did.

“One of my favourite songs,” she shouted above the music, “It describes my ‘mind shattering man’ perfectly,” she giggled.

Nick smiled when he recalled Sal’s obsession with finding what she called her ‘mind shattering’ guy. He could still remember their initial conversation about it during Sal’s first disastrous transfer shift, just after they had first met. Somehow, they had begun talking about Sal's future love life and she had described how she imagined having lots of fun before settling down, getting married and having kids. She had said something about sailing away on a yacht to have 'mind-shattering' sex with some guy before returning to get married and settle down with a more sensible man. Nick had advised her to forget marrying 'Mr Sensible' and to stay on the yacht with 'Mind-Shattering' guy. Hell, he gave good advice, and he’d certainly got Sal figured out quickly: pretty soon' Mr Sensible' was well forgotten and 'Mr Mind Shattering Guy' had become Sal's new favourite fascination.

The song continued and Sal accelerated out along the open, coastal road. The wind rushed in through the open windows, cooling Sal's flushed face and causing an adrenalin rush as she sang the words with uninhibited abandon.

As Nick watched her, he couldn't help but catch what he'd always mentally referred to as the 'Sal Bug'. She had a lust for life that was addictive and very contagious as far as he was concerned; and at that moment, for the first time in months, he felt exhilarated and alive.

My god! This woman was going to break his heart somewhere along the line; he just knew it! And the stupid thing about it all, was that she was not even going to realize it when she did!

He laughed to himself at the irony of the situation, and the fact that she was singing to some invisible, non existent lover that she was so very desperate to meet.

"Hey, what are you laughing at?" she asked, turning to him with amusement.

"Nothing Sal," he said, grinning back at her.

She gave a carefree laugh and grabbed hold of his hand. "It's great to see you again Nick, it really is!"

He turned his hand around and linked his fingers through hers. "It's great to see you too, Sal."

"We're going to have the best summer ever this year," she shouted over the music.

He believed her. He couldn't wait for it to begin.

In her excitement, she sped up even more and they both laughed as the wind rushing through the car intensified.

Squeezing his hand, she let it go and tugged at her necktie to release it, setting it free in the wind.

Nick did a double take and watched as the necktie whipped out of the window and floated down the highway.

He burst out laughing. "Sal, don't you need that?" She was completely nuts!

Sal grinned back at him. "Probably."

She was definitely nuts... and he loved it!

 Changes and new content.

"Thanks for the lift, Sal," Nick said, turning to her as she pulled up outside The Apollo hotel. "Will you be out tonight?" he asked, "I definitely will. Want to say hi to everyone again."

Her face lit up. "Good idea. Actually, I decided earlier that I'd go out tonight. It's the treat I usually promise myself after an airport shift," she smiled.

"Great. See you in The Wheelhouse? Around 8?" he asked.

She nodded, "Definitely."

He smiled. Things were going great.

Nick opened the car door and manoeuvred his legs, head and finally the rest of his body out of Sal's tiny car.

Sal giggled to herself as she watched him. Then he disappeared from her view through the passenger window and she felt the back of the car lift slightly as he retrieved his suitcase from the boot. She reached across and closed the passenger door but it wasn't long before he was back, his head appearing through the open car door window.

"You weren't laughing at me, were you, Sal?" he asked, his eyes narrowing at her suspiciously.

She stifled a laugh and tried to look as serious as possible, shaking her head.

"Not me."

He reached into the car then with a sudden urge to break her resolve, making an attempted tickle attack on her ribs.

The laughter that she had been holding in came rushing out then as she tried to fend off his hand.

Nick looked pleased with himself and withdrew, seemingly satisfied with his revenge.

"Bobby dies," he announced.

"Not my Bobby," she replied, throwing herself dramatically onto the steering wheel.

She kept her face pressed against the hard rubber wheel for a moment before flinging her hair out of the way and turning her head sideways to see Nick's reaction.

But Nick's mind was on something else now. She was surprised to see he had a soft smile on his face and was watching her thoughtfully. Slowly she sat up and leant back in her seat, watching his expression and wondering what he was thinking.

His eyes travelled around her face for a moment, contemplating something until he finally spoke.

"Sal," he began.

"Yes," she replied, a little intrigued.

"Put on your best dress tonight. After 'The Wheelhouse', we're going down town," he said, and with that, he was gone.

***

Sal drove back to her apartment and got straight into the shower, mentally sorting through the clothes in her wardrobe for the best dress that she could wear that evening. She suddenly felt excited. It was going to be one of those nights, one of those great nights that nobody plans but it turns out to be amazing.

Earlier, she had thought maybe she would just go for a few beers in the 'Wheelhouse', that was all. But now Nick was back and everything seemed much more exciting.

An hour later and she had showered, dried and styled her hair and applied her makeup. She stood in front of the bathroom mirror with a towel wrapped around her and added a little extra lip gloss, standing back to view the finished results. Tilting her head for a moment, she studied her reflection and wondered how other people saw her. She was definitely happier with her appearance with makeup applied. Without it, she had always thought she looked too young somehow. Stupid really, it was good to look young. But now... she narrowed her eyes and drew her head back, to look at herself as if from another angle, or perspective. Now she looked sort of sophisticated.

She could maybe see herself as one of those girls on the front of some magazine. Nothing very famous or anything like that. But her eyes would pierce through the image at the reader, her skin, perfectly smooth and flawless with a hint of blush across her cheekbones, her lips soft and slightly parted, drawing the reader in.

She shook her head suddenly, pulling herself out of her day dream. No time to waste; she had to get changed.

Strolling into her bedroom, she searched in her wardrobe for the outfit that she had decided to wear. In Sal's head, it had just seemed perfect for that night. It was in some ways a classic  black dress, but Sal would never have bought anything quite so predictable, and certain features of it had caught her eye in the shop. First of all, the material was really good; it was so soft and clung so invitingly to the curves of her breasts and hips. The hem stopped well above the knee and the material dipped daringly down her back, showing an expanse of tanned skin. She finished the outfit off by slipping on a pair of the highest black stiletto shoes she could manage to walk in and a pair of long, dangling, shimmery ear rings.

Ok, so now even she had to admit, she didn't look bad at all. If she didn't manage to catch the attention of 'Mr Mind Shattering guy' looking like that, then there had to be no hope for her!

"Go get him, gorgeous," she mouthed to her reflection, grinning to herself as she grabbed her bag, keys and phone, and left the apartment with a spring in her step.

She felt confident, excitable and... she had to admit it, daringly flirtatious.

 Extra chapter

    Sal exited her apartment building into the cool twilight of the evening and strolled down the narrow back street towards the town. It was that wonderful time of late afternoon when it was not to hot, not to cool, and there always seemed to be a buzz in the air, like an anticipation of the evening yet to unfold. In Crete, all evenings were the same. People worked in the morning, took a siesta nap in the intense heat of the day, and then in the evenings... people stirred to life again. A nice meal with friends, sharing a carafe of the local wine. A gathering of family. A stroll with the locals through the town, past the lake and around