The Summer of Our Lives

Summer Starts Here

Noah:

The tyres of the jeep crunched to a stop on the gravel. He shifted his hand to the handle and opened the door, stepping outside. He raised his hand to shield his eyes from the blinding sun. As his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, he looked around at his surroundings. He saw the trees growing in a patch of soil to the left of the villa's mahogany front door. The bright sun reflected white in the glass wall surrounding the dark door. The air was perfumed with the smell of lavender and roses as he inhaled a deep breath.

He shut the door with a metallic slam and made his way to the trunk of the jeep where the driver was already pulling his luggage out. They gave each other an up-nod as they worked together to put hiss luggage just inside the villa door. As they got closer to the dark door, Noah noticed that the outside of the building looked as if it were made from stone and cement, framed by varying shades of white bricks.

'I can't believe I let you talk me into this Damien!' Noah thought as he walked through the rich mahogany door of the villa that would be his new home for the next eight weeks.

Damien and Tamara had refused to let Noah have a single moment of peace until he gave in to their demands and applied for love island. He knew that they wanted him to find someone, but he never in a million years thought that he would be accepted for the show. If he were being honest with himself, he was terrified and out of his element, he'd much rather be back at his cosy library in Romford, reading to the kids.

'Is it too late to turn around and leave?' he wondered to himself, not noticing the tall blonde who was walking towards him.

"Hi there, you must be Noah, right?" the blonde questioned once she was in front of him, looking down at her clipboard.

"What? Oh, uh, yeah I'm Noah" he stammered.

"Great! Follow me and we will get you situated with the other boys. You can grab a drink and introduce yourself; the girls will start coming out in about five minutes" she smiled, turned on her heel and started stalking towards the doors opposite the entrance; pausing as she realized that he had not budged an inch.

"Are you coming Noah?" she asked, while giving him a reassuring smile.

"Huh? Oh, yeah I, uh, Im coming" Noah replied, having been snapped out of his reverie. He started following the woman through the doors and he noticed the four other men that were hanging around, laughing, and chatting away with drinks already in their hands.

"Am I, uh, am I late?" Noah asked, not liking the thought that everyone had been waiting for him to show up.

"No, not at all", the producer laughed, "You're right on time actually."

'Thank God' he thought, letting out a sigh of relief as they walked up to the group of men.

"Alright lads, this is Noah, he's the last boy arriving, and the girls will start coming out in about five minutes" the blonde smiled and made her way back inside to the rest of the production crew.

"You alright mate, I'm Gary" said the well-built blond, holding his hand out for a handshake.

"I'm Noah, it's nice to meet you" he replied, returning the gesture.

"Hey there, I'm Rocco" said the curly-haired brunette.

"I'm Ibrahim, but my friends call me Rahim" said the well-built guy wearing what looked like golfing shorts, checking out his cuticles.

"You look like a model, not a librarian! Nah, I'm kidding, I'm Bobby" said the last guy, looking like he was up to no good already.

"Hi, it's uh, it's nice to meet you all" Noah replied after shaking everyones hands.

"So, what are you lads thinking of the birds then?" asked Gary, looking around the group.

"I'm just going to step forward for everyone and hope one of them picks me" Ibrahim smiled nervously, shifting from foot to foot.

"I'm looking for someone I can make a deeper connection with, you know? I want to feel someone's vibe and know that theyre on the same wavelength as me. And if their aura is pure as well..." Rocco started lecturing, completely relaxed in this new environment.

"I'm looking for someone I can have a laugh with" Bobby interrupted, smiling brightly.

"I'm, uh..."

"It's time lads, please go and stand in a line and the lovely ladies will be down one at a time in just a moment" the blonde producer said, walking up to them and pointing to the crosses that were marked on the path.

"Yes lads! It's about time! Time to meet the fitties!" cried Gary, as he practically ran for the first cross.

'Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap! I can't do this!' Noah thought, as he made his way to the second marker, followed by Rocco, Ibrahim, and finally Bobby.