Nefertiti Nights

Chapter 5

Bea hurried into her hotel room and shut the door. Her head was swimming and she wasn’t sure if it was the heat or the interaction she had just had.

“Oh my goodness! Oh god! I… I need to ring Maia!” She said as she sat herself on her bed.

Glancing at the clock she saw it was 4pm. That meant it was 3pm in the UK so she was safe to ring. She dialled her friend and lay on the bed with relief.

“Hello?” Maia answered.

“Hi, Mi. It’s me.” Bea said.

“Bea? Aren’t you supposed to be on… What was it Lowe called it? A working holiday? You should be sunning it up and getting that pasty skin of yours a tan! What's up? Oh god! What IS up? Has something happened? Are you ok?”

Bea giggled at her friends rambling.

“I’m ok, Mi. Promise.”

“Ok, good… So why the call? Is Egypt that boring? What’s the hotel like? Is it amazing?”
“The hotel is beautiful, Mi. So lush! You would love it. All oranges and deep browns and golds… Beautiful. But I… Ok, so there's this guy here…”

“A guy?! You met a guy?!” Maia interrupted. “Bea! This is huge! Tell me all!”

“I’m trying!” She laughed. “Let me get a word in edgeways!”

“Sorry,” her friend laughed. “Ok, go.”

“So, there’s this guy. I met him on my first night here. He is… Oh, Maia, he is gorgeous. He’s tall and toned and he has these amazingly blue eyes…”

“Where did you meet him?” Maia jumped in. “I mean, sorry. Go on…”

“He’s the night manager of the hotel. He checked me in when I got here…”

“I bet he did!” Maia laughed.

“Not like that! I mean… maybe. I don’t know! Anyway, he came to sort out my shower that night and then today, at the pool, we got talking about the book you recommended…”

“It’s a great book! Are you loving it? Wait! Never mind! Sorry!”

“I am loving it, Maia. And he came to talk to me about it when he saw me reading it. We talked for nearly 2 hours and he invited me out to dinner tonight.”

“Oh. My. God!” Bea held the phone away from her ear as her best friend squealed with excitement. “Beatrice Tallow! You tell me you said yes? Does Mr Gorgeous have a name?”

“His name is Jonathan and I did say yes but…”

“There is no but! No. Don’t do this to yourself! He doesn’t know you yet. You have a chance to reinvent yourself if you want to. Don’t let shy little anxious Bea take over. Bring on the confidence. Bea, you’ve come so far since… Everything. Come on! Where are you going? What are you wearing? Spill!”

“So, Jonathan said he is going to meet me at 7pm at the reception desk. He is taking me to his favourite restaurant, apparently. And as for what to wear… I don’t know what to wear! Oh Mi! Can I really do this?”

“Yes. Ok, what have we got as choices? Bea, this is my specialty!”

The conversation continued and the two friends chose an outfit that was both smart but casual and - most importantly - not too hot.

Bea looked at herself in the mirror. She had been given the confidence boost talk from Maia and she didn’t think she looked too bad. She turned around slowly to see the back of the outfit. They had chosen a little black number - not too short though as Bea hated her thighs. It was a peplum style to hide her fuller stomach area as she was very self conscious of it. Under that, she had a brand new black lace bralet and pants set. She had picked it up on a whim and never worn it so packed it for her holiday “just in case”. Seems like now was just the moment! She had settled on some pink ballet style flats to match the little pink shawl she had on to add a pop of colour. Make up was minimal due to the heat. But she lined her eyes in black and added some mascara. She smiled as she smoothed on a deep red lipstick.

“Not too bad, Bea. You can do this.” She said.

Bea grabbed a small black bag as she left to meet Jonathan in the reception area.