a little. A woman from the other group had dropped the jug. Glass was scattered all over the wooden floor, shining like little diamonds in the light. At least the woman wasn’t hurt, but by the way her eyes narrowed she wasn’t happy.
‘So, guess you bitches won by default,’ the woman said.
Gem laughed. ‘It’s not our fault you’ve got butter fingers.’
‘I’d say the best bitches won,’ Elle added.
Ciara squeezed her eyes shut, but changed her mind the second the room started spinning.
‘Come on girls, time to go.’ She had visions of getting into a cat fight there was no way she’d win. Especially now the alcohol seemed to be doing its job.
‘After our victory pic,’ Elle slurred, pulling the phone out of her pocket and pulling them close. Ciara didn’t see the flash and dreaded how she looked in the picture but before she could ask to see it Elle had already launched it into social media land.
‘I think I’m going to be sick,’ Gem said.
‘Fresh air will help,’ Ciara hoped.
They collected their prizes and Elle took the bag since she didn’t want Gem throwing up on it. Somehow the air only increased the horrible, dizzy feeling and Ciara wished she’d ignored Elle’s advice to starve herself earlier. She was definitely getting something more substantial than a salad when she got back.
***
‘I don’t even care that I’m tempted to be sick in it, this was so worth it,’ Elle said, hugging the new bag to her chest.
Ciara ignored her, pulling her body through the massive pool. Gem was on the patio near Elle, perfecting her morning yoga routine.
She’d already done twenty lengths before breakfast, but not to burn off all the calories from her mammoth cocktail. This was so not about keeping fit.
Last night after they’d gotten back, she’d raided the fridge and found it lacking so had ordered a pizza. The others had gone to bed, saying they were not eating that many carbs when they had a beach day coming up.
While she’d stuffed her face, her mind had gone back to LA, her first night with Zack and something had happened that she never thought possible. She’d gone and completely lost her sanity.
She’d pretended he was there with her, sharing the pizza and was telling her about himself. He’d told her he wanted to study architecture because he was passionate about sculpture and that he worked out because it took his mind off everything.
And worse, she’d started talking to herself in reply to the imaginary questions!
Though she knew her conversation with him was an alcohol induced fantasy, she hoped to find some truth in it so she tried tearing through the pool doing as many laps as possible. It was helping a little. The burn in her muscles and the rolling feeling in her stomach were stealing most of her concentration.
‘You know, Ciara if you hadn’t stuffed yourself with pizza last night you wouldn’t need to make that horrible splashing sound just now,’ Gem said.
‘It is a bit too loud for my fuzzy head,’ Elle agreed.
When she reached the end of the pool, she climbed out. Giving up was much better than being moaned at and they weren’t the only ones who felt a bit light headed. ‘I’m bored waiting for you two to decide it’s time to hit the beach, that’s all.’
‘Holidays are meant for relaxing, not always being on the go. We’ll have lots of time for partying tonight,’ Elle said.
That’s not what she’d meant. They were in Miami, somewhere she’d never been and probably never would again. She wanted to explore every inch of the city, not just the shops, bars and clubs. All this sitting around was going to drive her even more insane.
Her expression must show how unimpressed she was by partying because Gem said, ‘Grab a magazine and get some sun, Ciara. We’ll leave soon, promise.’
She gave in, crossing to one of the sun loungers in the shade and lay face down, leaving the magazines on the table. If they were planning a party tonight she really should get some sleep first.
***
It took an hour for Elle and Gem to find the perfect spot and unpack. They were now lying on loungers close enough to the sea to catch the breeze but not too far from the refreshment stands so they wouldn’t have far to hike for an iced tea. Elle had flirted with a guy so he would move the loungers away from the masses of tourists for them.
Then they unpacked the sun lotions, the mini fold up table so nothing got all sandy and a few windbreakers for privacy more than protection from the wind. Ciara didn’t care about any of that stuff, not with a view like the one they had. The ocean was beautifully blue and so clear she could see the golden sand beneath. People were windsurfing and there were even speedboats and jet skis cruising across the expanse of the water.
She wondered how much it would cost to have a go, but then what fun would it be by herself? Elle and Gem were settled back and ready for a serious bronzing session. She slipped off her flip flops. There was no way she was coming all the way here and not having at least a paddle in the ocean. Unlike Gem and Elle, she wasn’t worried about her bikini being wrecked in the salt water – it had only cost a twentieth of the price of theirs.
‘I’m going for a dip,’ she said.
Gem rolled her eyes. ‘Just watching you is all the exercise I need.’
‘I like to keep busy,’ she said.
Elle laughed. ‘What are you going to do now you don’t have all that studying? Even in Brighton over Easter you didn’t relax one bit. All you did was cram and cram and cram. It’s good to clear your mind and chill out sometimes.’
‘Until we got arrested,’ Gem corrected.
Ciara shook her head. She’d never even had a telling off from her teachers until she’d met Gem and Elle. Now she had a trip to jail on her record, both sides of the Atlantic.
Ciara headed straight for the ocean.
‘I’ll have lots of time to chill out when I’m old,’ she said over her shoulder, not willing to share that keeping busy was her way of avoiding thinking too much about what she would do when this holiday was over.
She was exactly like her ma. She got bored too easily and couldn’t imagine a career that would hold her attention. Maths and statistics had been a challenge and she liked it because almost everything could be calculated or worked out by formulas.
People were different, beyond the chemistry that made them up. There were all different emotions and behaviours she couldn’t understand – her ma leaving was at the top of the list. Because even though she had her mother’s attention span, she couldn’t bring herself to leave her da alone forever. She’d go back to Ireland and keep close because he was all she had and he’d never given up on her. He’d worked himself half to death to send her to university, and she owed him more than she could ever repay.
But the rest of it – the job, a potential husband and kids? She couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t leave
