The Sun in My Eyes

10 Follow the Sparks, I'll Drive

It was hot enough to fry the freckles right off of Bobby's chest. He lay back on his grass, brain hazy from the sun and watched the show unfold.

Priya sat perched on a nearby sun lounger, in a metallic gold bathing suit that hardly contained her glistening oiled breasts. Every man in the villa, save for Noah, surrounded her, rapt, as any man would be.

Lottie sat with her back to everyone, tattooed legs dangling in the infinity pool, pretending not to be listening to the conversation. Bobby shook his head. He liked Lottie, he really did, but she was exhausting. She'd declared emotional warfare on Priya, and spent the morning shifting between shunning and trading snide insults with her. It was clear she'd been hurt by other girls, hurt badly, and viewed Priya as a threat to her heart. But the reality was that Rocco was the real threat. The guy was eye-banging every girl in the villa. Even now, while Rocco talked to Priya, his eyes were crawling all over Lili, who sat on another lounger, rubbing sun cream on her arms; Ibrahim draped over her shoulders like a giant, ab-riddled quilt.

"Weren't you in a 'Hot Men of Golf' calendar, Ibrahim?" Priya asked.

Ibrahim twitched. "I—it was 'Men of Golf', and it was the most embarrassing photo."

"Shirtless I'm told," Lili said. "I bet it was dreamy."

Bobby sat up on his elbows. "Can we call you 'Ibrahim the Dream'?"

"Please don't. But my friends call me Rahim."

Priya leaned forward, pointing her sizable assets his way. "Can I be your friend, Rahim?"

His eyes glazed over. "Hell no," he said abruptly.

Everyone went quiet. Priya's eyes softened with hurt and her lower lip jutted out. "Oh?"

Ibrahim stumbled his way through an explanation babbling about the show Friends, until he gave up, smacking his head with his meaty palm. "What I mean is, with a beautiful lady like yourself, I'd wish to be more than friends."

"We've got to work on your chat, mate" Gary said, cringing.

Priya beamed. Her gaze, and everyone else's, flicked to Lili, who was massaging sun cream onto the tops of her feet. She stopped and smiled warmly at Ibrahim, as if she were happy to see him getting on with another girl. Unlike Lottie, Lili maintained a steadfast cheerfulness with Priya that Bobby found fascinating, laughing even as the newcomer flirted with Ibrahim right in front of her.

"Seeing as we're all getting to know each other..." Priya turned. "You ever done it in a kitchen, Bobby?"

He nearly choked on his water, and laughed to cover his discomfort. There were few things in life he felt truly confident about, but sex was one of them. He was excellent at the deed, but talking about it was a whole other thing. Feeling trapped he shared an awkward story about a time he almost fucked a girl who'd requested his help in making chicken and leek pie for her family dinner. But since neither of them had a condom, they finished rolling out the pie dough, and then he made her a toastie instead.

"That's really responsible," Lili said.

"Well, you have to be, don't you?"

Ibrahim slid his hand over Lili's, his gaze intense. "Personally, I do everything I can to keep my partner safe."

Priya looked down at Ibrahim's hand. A scowl passed over her face but it disappeared as quickly as it came. Bobby suddenly felt much closer to her. Ibrahim was such a melt.

"What were we talking about before we got onto condoms?" Priya asked.

Bobby laughed at her mental detour. "I have no idea. My head's in a spin and I really fancy a cheese toastie."