Pulling off her sandals and clutching them like heels removed during a night out, Lucia set them neatly beside the door where they basked in the warm sun. She rummaged in her tote for her phone before hanging the bag on a coat hook and springing onto the bed. After a morning spent on the hot beach the cool, soft sheets were a welcome relief and the click of her
Ophelia could not deny there were worse places to spend her vacation. The sun was scorching, yet the burning rays were tempered by the fronds of hunchbacked palms, which stooped over her like servants clutching broad, green fans. The reflection of the pool dappled the walls of her villa in dancing silver patterns, while the cool sea breeze carried with it the distant caw of exotic ocean birds as it
She was pacing. That was what worried Harriet the most. She never paced. Not when one of the nerds failed to complete her homework. Not on the rare occasion a man turned her down, imagining himself to be too good for her. Not even when her parents had briefly considered moving halfway across the country, a decision that would have robbed her of her position as the clique’s queen bee
‘So, what about this one?’ Strutting out of the bathroom, Roxie posed in a beautiful aquamarine swimming costume. In truth it was little more than a bikini, connected by a thin strip of material front and back that left her toned midriff on full display. Tessa looked up from her phone and pursed her lips. She was lounging on her bed in her silk pyjamas and had been acting as
Eyes closed, face immersed in the steaming torrent, Stella let out a long, weary sigh. Slowly, as the heat soothed her aches and pains, she came to realise it was not a fatigue of the body that plagued her, but one of the soul – an exhaustion so complete it pursued her even into the depths of sleep. She didn’t dream, not anymore, yet still she could feel it gnawing
Rolling over in her sleep, Sia turned into the sunlight shafting through the sheer curtains. Her dreams scattered by the sudden brightness she frowned briefly, made a murmur of sleepy discomfort, then let out a weary sigh as her eyelids fluttered open. For a moment or two she pondered trying to get back to sleep, but already her drowsiness had been chased away by the nagging doubt she had gone
Tangled up in the messy bedsheets, Kaitlyn smiled blithely as she stared out over the bay. Location of the island’s only harbour, it was fringed by little pockets of buildings that clustered near the water as though they might become lost and forgotten if they ventured into the rolling, forested hills inland. As the last blushes of dawn melted away beneath the heat of the morning sun, the islanders were
Drawing the cubicle curtain across, Zara gave a sigh of relief: finally some privacy. Usually she wouldn’t have visited somewhere like this, but she was keen to make an impression tonight. She and Chad had been sexting for the better part of a month and tonight was to be their first proper dinner date. Given how raunchy their online exchanges had become, if things went well she had no doubt
Kenny did not recognise the woman who entered. She was small and slender – a waif of a thing really – with the grey of age showing in her temples. She wore a tweed jacket over a plain white blouse and plainer black trousers, her flat shoes some fifty years out of date – older than she was, he was certain of that – and though she cast him a
Dropping heavily into the leather seat, Maria shivered as she slammed the door. Heavy flakes swirled angrily against the glass, the howl of the wind furious like a beast denied their prey. So grateful of the respite from the foul weather she entirely forgot she was not alone in the car. ‘Cold one tonight,’ said the cabbie, startling her. ‘Oh, yes, it is. Sorry, I was in my own little
