‘I was at an utter loss,’ Marcus says. ‘Split up from my girlfriend and came over on a lads’ holiday. I was such a miserable twat and when it came to going home, I just couldn’t bear it. I was working as a joiner for a big housing company and I was sick of the sight of cheap skirting boards. I’d made up my mind to stay, but I had no idea how I’d afford it. Anyway, I was sat in a bar and these two losers,’ he winks at Paul, ‘appeared on stage with Kat. After the show, I tried to chat her up. When she looked me over, I thought eyup, I’m getting somewhere here. Little did I know she was sizing me up for a part in the Hunks.’ He laughs.
‘I didn’t even know you could breakdance then, either,’ I say, laughing along.
‘To be fair, I didn’t even know I could still do it.’ He turns to Jay. ‘Throwback from my early teens.’
‘What about you, Ant? How did you come to be in the Hunks?’ Jay asks.
‘My mum and I moved over here when I was ten. She met a bloke and moved back to England a few years ago, but I was an established Hunk by then. I wasn’t giving that up,’ he winks. ‘Anyway, I was working in a bar and saw a poster – Kat was advertising for an exotic dancer. But my dance expertise was a little unconventional – ballet.’ He coughs over the word to hide it.
‘A bloody good one too, and you shouldn’t be embarrassed! Ballet is an art form,’ I interrupt. ‘Sorry, you were saying …’
‘You know what the boys are like!’ He laughs. ‘Anyway, I auditioned and Kat figured out a way to make me use my talents and look sexy. The sexy part was pretty easy though.’
‘Nob,’ Marcus says, and the others laugh.
‘Sammy, how about you?’ Jay asks.
‘Nobody wants to hear my story.’ Sam makes an over-the-top cutthroat gesture with his hand.
‘Oh come on, I want to hear it more now,’ Jay says.
‘I’d been out with the lads, in Playa de las Americas on the bevvies, and we went into this club and these guys came on the stage. Anyway, when “Pony” came on, I jumped on stage and started grinding. A couple of the blokes who worked in the bar came and tried to drag me off stage but I backflipped out of the way. The crowd loved it and thought it was part of the act – women even wanted selfies with me afterwards – so Kat asked me to stay. To be honest, I didn’t have much to go back to in England. I was still living with my folks and I didn’t have a job so I thought I’d do a gap year. That was three years ago.’ He grins.
I smile at the memory. At the time, I was sure I’d made a mistake taking on Sammy. I thought he’d fly back home the minute he felt a little homesick or something didn’t quite go his way and I’d have to rejig all the choreography again. He’d surprised me.
After our food, we head to a bar on the strip for a drink with the guys, but slowly they’ve all dispersed. Marcus is slow-dancing with a blonde, Pauw has gone home with Phil and I have no idea where the others have got to. There’s an older guy at the other end of the bar who keeps staring at me and I’m starting to feel quite uncomfortable. His back is stooped as he clutches his small glass of dark brown liquid. This is my cue to leave. I throw back the last of my beer and make my way to the exit.
As I step into the inky-black quiet, I feel a spindly hand on my shoulder.
‘Where are you going?’ It’s the man from inside the bar.
‘Home.’ I peel his hand away, but he steps forward so his warm, pungent breath fills my airspace.
‘Don’t I get an invite?’ he slurs.
‘I don’t think so,’ I say, trying to move past him.
‘How about a dance before you go?’ He presses himself against me.
‘Excuse me.’ I try to sidestep him but he mirrors my movement.
‘You haven’t even let Billy show you a good time yet.’ He licks his cracked, dry lips.
‘I don’t know who Billy is, but I don’t need him to have a good time, thank you.’ Something inside is screaming at me to stay calm and not anger this man.
He steps forward again, pinning me to the wall, pressing himself into my pubic bone. ‘Oh, I think you do.’
I glance at the bar. People are inside, dancing, lost in their own fun. Nobody gives us a second glance. My chest tightens.
‘Get away from me!’ My voice comes out with a small tremble, and he laughs. That enrages me, so I shove him back as hard as I can and slam my knee into his crotch. He doubles over in pain. I contemplate going back inside to tell the others what happened, but I know they’ll make a huge scene. In the split second it takes to contemplate my choices, Billy is upright again. He grabs my arm.
‘You bitch!’ he spits, and for a second I don’t know what he’s going to do. I’m frozen.
‘Get your hand off her.’ A firm, male voice sounds from behind us. Billy looks up and his eyes widen. Immediately, he releases me.
‘If I see you treat a woman this way again, you’ll be sorry.’ The voice is a low growl and Billy scurries off. I turn, surprised to see Jay, all six feet, two inches of solid muscle. No wonder Billy backed off so easily.
‘Thank you. Not just for chasing him off, but for not causing a scene,’ I say. The last thing I want is for the Heavenly Hunks to make the front page of the Canaries Today for being involved in a mass brawl and that would have happened if any of the other Hunks had come over.
The corner of Jay’s mouth curves into a grin. ‘You seemed to have it under control.’
‘It’s not my first encounter with a drunken idiot.’
‘I’m sure dealing with drunken idiots is a regular occurrence being the manager of Marcus.’
I smile. He’s not far wrong. ‘Have you settled into the apartment all right?’ Jay is now bunking in with Marcus.
‘Yes, Marcus is a messy sod but he makes a great coffee in the morning.’
I agree on both counts.
‘Are you heading home?’ He tilts his head to the side.
‘Ahh, I forgot you needed someone to escort you,’ I tease. ‘But yes, I’m going for a taxi if you want to share?’
We set off to the taxi rank and chat about how well the show went and how great the Hunks have been at showing Jay the ropes. When we arrive at the apartment complex, Jay holds out his hand to help me out of the taxi. His sleeve rides up revealing the script tattoo on his arm.
‘What does it say?’ I ask, pointing to it. I’ve been dying to read it.
‘Oh, that. Nothing really. It’s just something from my past.’
I squint, trying to read the cursive font, but he moves his arm down by his side, covering it. I’m all the more intrigued now but it’s obvious he doesn’t want to talk about it anymore so I don’t press him.
We reach the staircase that leads up to my apartment. ‘Thanks again for dealing with Billy in such a civilised way and not just punching his lights out like the others would.’
Jay frowns.
‘Billy was the idiot in the bar.’
‘Ahh. Not a problem. I’m just glad you’re okay.’ Jay’s eyes linger on mine for a moment and I feel some sort of connection. It makes me feel uneasy so I try to ignore it. My phone pings, letting me know an email has come in, so I open it for a distraction. It works.