‘I can go get you one.’
I don’t answer immediately – too distracted by the flush in her cheeks – and she holds up her coffee, giving me a questioning look.
‘Oh, right. Erm, sure – a cappuccino’d be great. I’ll get dressed while you’re out.’
We stare at each other for a moment – god only knows what she’s thinking – then she spins around, calls out, ‘Be right back,’ and leaves, the door banging loudly behind her.
‘Get it together, will you?’ I tell myself, scrubbing a hand over my face. ‘And you too,’ I add, lifting the covers and glaring at my cock.
Waking up hard may be a normal bodily function, but there’s no denying I find Delaney attractive – and it’s not because of the lacy knickers. Well, maybe a bit. She’s also very pretty – large green eyes, freckles across her turned-up nose, long, wavy reddish-brown hair, and when she breaks into a smile, her whole face lights up. If I were describing her in a screenplay, she’d be the quintessential girl next door. And she’stiny– couldn’t be more than five-foot-one, which makes me feel giant next to her. A massive contrast to her larger-than-life personality – energetic and funny, with that charming hopefulness.
I like being around her.
Which, under the circumstances, isnot good.
Figuring I only have a few minutes before she returns, I fling back the covers, forage for some clean clothes in my duffel, and take the second-quickest shower of my life. The quickest was a couple of weeks ago when the hotel’s solar hot water system was sabotaged by nesting pigeons. And Nordic meltwater iscold.
By the time Delaney returns, I’m dressed and I’ve repacked my duffel – something she notices right away.
‘You’re packed already.’
‘Yep. I’ll head out as soon as we get word from Vittorio – leave you in peace.’
She gives me a small smile and hands me my coffee.
‘Thanks.’ I take a sip and it’s delicious. Now I just need the caffeine to hit my system. Ironically, sleeping late tends to make me groggy.
‘So, I spoke to True North this morning,’ she says, leaning against the arm of the sofa.
‘Oh, that’s right. Sorry – that slipped my mind. What’d they say?’
‘First off, there was a lot of grovelling – I mean, crawl-over-broken-glass-level grovelling.’
‘Well, I should hope so. At least they’ve admitted fault.’
‘For sure. I mean, I did have to explain it three times, but once he got it’ – she snaps her fingers – ‘he went straight into solution mode.’
‘Which is?’
‘Well, nothing they can do about the ash cloud bringing most of Europe to a standstill. Oh – on that…’ she says. She gets up and heads to the balcony door, beckoning me to follow with a vigorous wave. We step outside under a brilliant blue sky – not a single cloud.
‘Oh my god,’ I say, lifting my free hand to shield my eyes from the glare.
‘Yeah – no ash cloud.’
I look at Delaney, a grin breaking across my face. ‘Does that mean we ca?—’
‘Uh-uh,’ she says, cutting me off. ‘Because look.’ She goes to the railing and leans over it – and too far for my liking.
‘Can you maybe…’ I place a hand on her shoulder and ease her back.
‘Safety first, huh?’ she asks, flashing me a smile.
‘Always. Now what am I look— Oh… right.’
In the distance, there’s a blanket of haze so dense, it’s impossible to discern the water from the sky.
‘It’s heading for the mainland,’ says Delaney, and I tear my eyes from the apocalyptic scene, ‘so we’re still stuck, but at least we don’t have to breathethatin.’ She waves her finger at the haze.