Page 91 of In the Same Boat

‘Don’t let them see you,’ I tell him. ‘They’ll know we’re up to something, if they see us tailing them.’

‘I play a lot of video games, where you have to follow people…’

‘Like a stalker?’ I blurt.

‘No, like a cop or whatever,’ he corrects me. ‘Why would I want to play a game where I’m a stalker?’

‘Why would you want to play a game where you’re a cop?’ I reply. ‘That T-shirt you let me wear, the zombies one, I want to try that one.’

‘You do?’ he says.

I nod – not fast, I don’t think, but it makes me dizzy.

‘I’ll play with you,’ he tells me. ‘On the console, on the yacht…’

I don’t know if we’re talking louder, flapping our arms around, or what, but Hank looks over in our direction suddenly, like a jump scare, like the head of the evil doll moving on its own.

‘Shit,’ I blurt, shoving Nico into the open toilet behind him. I step in with him, quickly closing the door behind us. Then I lock it, just in case they come and check, but I think we got away with that one.

‘Did they see us?’ Nico asks.

‘I don’t think so,’ I reply.

It’s much quieter in here, maybe the quietest place in the whole club, but the music still rumbles through the walls. I can just about hear people out there, having a good time, but in here it’s just me and Nico, and suddenly it doesn’t feel like anything out there matters.

I lean back against the sink, laughing quietly under my breath, adrenaline and alcohol surging around my body. I can’t believe we’re hiding in a toilet.

Nico’s still standing close – well, it’s tiny in here. There’s barely a foot of space between us.

Wow, he really is close. The kind of close where I can smell his aftershave, despite the fancy air freshener, and the blue alcohol on my breath. It’s him that is intoxicating me.

It’s hard to say when is the right time to head back out there. Maybe Mum and Hank are still there; maybe they’re still looking this way.

We probably should head out, but neither of us moves a muscle. We just stare at each other.

My breathing feels much quicker, like my chest is rising and falling dramatically. Then again, Nico looks the same, like he’s gulping down the air, like he can’t get enough of it.

Or maybe there’s something else he wants…

I notice his eyes drop to my lips, then my eyes, then my body, then my eyes again. Is he checking me out, or is this just wishful thinking on my part? Because all I can think about is ripping open his shirt, sending his buttons flying in all directions, kissing my way down his body – but I have drunk a lot of… blue.

The music outside dulls slightly around the edges while my whole body becomes painfully aware of how little space there actually is between us.

‘Sammie,’ he says softly.

I know, he’s only saying my name, but it triggers the butterflies in my stomach.

‘Yeah?’ I reply.

I look into his eyes, his sexy dark eyes, in that wildly handsome face. Would it really be that bad, if I just…

Before I can overthink whether or not this is a monumental mistake, because I can’t carry out my usual risk assessment, I go in for the kill – for the kiss.

Technically, I think I made the first move, but it’s like Nico was waiting for me.

His lips meet mine, and this is chemistry. Forget volatile reactions. This is fusion, too much heat, too much pressure, two people colliding hard enough to become something else entirely and, oh boy, I can’t believe I’m thinking in science metaphors in a club bathroom, in Monte Carlo, while a sexy man is rolling my dress up over my hips.

I unbutton his shirt while we kiss. Nico picks me up in one swift movement. I wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist as he thrusts his body weight towards me, pinning me to the wall.