Off The Cretan Track chapter 16

A Chapter by Repgreece

Nick and Sal find a hotel room

“What?” It wasn’t the answer he had hoped for or expected but sure enough when Nick looked up he saw that there was a group of people approaching them. He jumped up and held out his hand to Sal who was sitting brushing sand off her arms. Sal pretended not to notice his gesture and, choosing to keep her distance, she stood up just as the people passed them. There were about five or six people in the group and they were all dressed in beachwear, laughing and chatting excitedly. Sal pretended to show an interest in the people but Nick was studying her with a frown.

What did I do wrong? We have been getting on so well today too. But then why didn’t she move straight away from me if being near me bothers her that much? Come to think of it she didn’t exactly protest when I put my arms around her earlier, and she seemed to enjoy my closeness on the bike. Then again I guess she does like physical contact, she’s like that with all her friends. Damn, maybe I should just ask her. Yeah right, I’ll just say ‘Sal, how do you feel about getting really close to me because if it’s okay with you I’d like to take all your clothes off and get as close as I possibly can.’ Don’t think that would go down too well somehow!

“Nick!” Someone was calling him from the group. Nick turned around to see that a couple of the people had hung back and were hesitantly moving towards him. “Nick, is that you?” the woman asked with some uncertainty.

Nick squinted to make out the face of the woman and then realisation dawned on him. “Sandra?”

“Oh my god Phil it is him!” she said, rushing forward and kissing him on both cheeks.

The man she was with held out his hand to Nick and they shook, both with smiles on their faces. “Long time no see eh mate, what you doing all the way out here?” the man asked.

Nick looked amazed to see them both. “We’ve come on a road trip. Just staying the night. Oh this is Sal by the way,” he said turning to introduce her. “Sal, Sandra and Phil.” They shook hands. “I didn’t even know you two were still on the island,” Nick admitted.

“Yeah, but we moved to Hania a couple of years ago,” Phil explained.

“You traitors, moving to the west and not even telling anyone!” he jested.

Phil and Sandra laughed. “Hey, you have to come tonight. We’re having a beach party here. There’s a whole group of us, they’ve got a barbie going and there’s tonnes of beer, come along,” Sandra invited.

Nick turned to Sal to see her reaction. She smiled and nodded enthusiastically.

“Sure, we’d love to but we have to find a hotel for the night first. We’ve not long arrived,” he informed them.

“Well, if you don’t have anywhere in mind I’m sure they have rooms at the hotel we are staying in,” Phil said.

“Oh brilliant,” Sal exclaimed with relief. “We’ve left it a bit late. I was beginning to think that we’d have to sleep on the beach!”

Phil laughed. “No, you won’t have to go that far. The hotel is called ‘The Matala Helios’ and it’s really easy to find. If you follow the road along the sea front you’ll come to a row of tavernas, it’s on the street above but you can see it from the road.”

“Great, we’ll join you a bit later then,” Nick confirmed.

“We’ll be here,” Sandra assured them, waving as they moved further up the beach in search of the party.

“Come on Sal, let’s find that hotel,” Nick said, throwing an arm over her shoulder and directing them back towards the bike.

Phil had been right, the hotel was easy to find and although the man at the tiny reception looked a bit uncertain when they asked for a room, he managed eventually to magic one up. The old man led them up two flights of stairs and down a small corridor to room 23 where he left them with the key, wishing them ‘kali nichta.’

When they opened the door both of them immediately realised their mistake. The man must have assumed that they were a couple, well why wouldn’t he? They had forgotten to ask for a twin room and were faced with the dilemma of there only being one double bed.

“Ah.” They turned to each other awkwardly. “Maybe he has another room,” Nick pondered.

“I doubt it. He took long enough to find this one.” They hovered in the doorway.

“Well I guess we could try to find somewhere else,” he suggested.

Sal sighed. “It’s a bit late Nick.” She moved into the room decisively and placed her bag on the bed.

Nick followed her and glanced around the room. “Hey look, it’s no problem, I’ll sleep on there.” He pointed to a large, wooden, Greek style sofa which was almost the size of a single bed anyway.

“There’s no extra bedding though,” she pointed out.

He threw down his bag and moved over to her. “It’s okay, I’ll rough it out.” He took her hands and held them loosely in his. “Are you okay Sal? I mean after earlier…on the beach…” He finished awkwardly, unsure of how to continue. He was used to Sal coming to his rescue in situations like this, nothing ever seemed to faze her, but at that moment she looked as awkward as he felt.

“Yeah of course I’m fine,” she laughed, moving her hands out of his. “Come on, let’s get ready and go. They’ll be wondering where we are.”

She went to her bag and began searching through it. Nick watched her for a moment and then shrugged.

“You want to use the bathroom first? I know what women are like for getting ready,” he teased.

She smiled. “I’ll be quick," she said, grabbing her bag and disapperaing into the bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later Sal pulled a towel from off the rail and climbed out of the shower, wrapping the towel around her and securing it before turning to the mirror above the sink. Her face was positively glowing from the hours spent on the bike and there was little point in applying much makeup, apart from maybe a little lip gloss and a touch of mascara and eye shaddow. She was just reaching into her bag for her makeup when the sound of her mobile phone could be heard from the bedroom.

“Nick, can you get that?” she called out.

A few seconds later she heard the muffled sound of Nick’s voice from the other room and then a loud knock on the door.

“Sal, it’s your mum!” he shouted to her.

Sal’s eyes widened and she swung around in a panic, opening the door and colliding straight into Nick. Her line of sight hit a muscular chest and her surprise at seeing it there rendered her momentarily immobile, her earlier panic forgotten. Nick glanced down to see Sal’s eyes fixed ahead of her and for just a second or two she looked almost mesmerised until she shook her head abruptly and moved backwards with a small laugh, tucking her towel more tightly around her.

Nick’s eyes followed the movements of her hands as she secured the towel and then lifted to her face, a slight smile tugging at his lips.

“Here,” he said handing her the phone, “What’s the rush?”

She whipped out a hand and swiftly took the phone from him, covering the mouthpiece and whispering,

“What did she say?”

He whispered back, mimicking her. “She said that she’d like to talk to her daughter.”

“And what did you say?” she asked.

“I said I’d get you,” he whispered again, looking at her as if she’d gone slightly mad.

She narrowed her eyes and paused for a second before asking, “Is that all you said?”

Nick folded his arms across his chest and watched her as if he knew that she was up to something and he’d quite like to know what it was.

“Well I explained that we had gone away for the weekend and that you were just taking a shower before we went out to a beach party."

Sal just stared at Nick in horror, clutching the phone to her chest and tightening her hand over the mouthpiece.

Nick had to laugh at the look on her face. “Calm down Sal, I just said I’d pass you over to her, that was it. You gonna speak to her now or what?” he said, glancing at the phone in her hands.

Sal looked momentarily relieved but still felt anxious about having to speak to her mother. She took in a deep breath, turned and walked away from Nick, speaking in the quietest voice she could without making her mother suspicious.

“Hi, it’s me,” she began, listening to the immediate reply that she knew was going to come. “He’s just a friend.” Her mother rambled on at the other end, giving Sal little chance to explain more. Sal slipped back into the bathroom and grabbed her bag as her mother nattered on. Hopefully now Nick would use the bathroom and give her a chance to speak to her mother in private. She moved around Nick to the dressing table, opening her bag and taking out her cosmetics and a hairbrush. Taking a quick glance backwards though she was dismayed to see that Nick had thrown himself on the bed and was watching her with amusement. He was lying on his back with his hands behind his head, propped back against the pillows and looking as if he had no intention of moving anytime soon. ‘Bathroom’s free,’ she mouthed to him. ‘Just finishing watching this,’ he mouthed back, moving his eyes to the TV screen. She tutted and turned back. “No mother. Yes mother. Yes, yes, I know,” she replied, rolling her eyes. “Mother, I can’t really talk right now, I’ll phone you back tomorrow…because I’m just about to go out… yes, with my friend…yes we go out all the time, that’s why we are called friends,” she emphasised sarcastically. “Gotta go now mother…no I’ll speak to daddy tomorrow. I’m going now,” she warned, cutting her mother off in mid flow. She’d probably pay for that the next time she spoke to her mother but at least she could make sure that Nick wasn’t listening in!

Placing her phone on the dressing table, she picked up her brush and began untangling her hair.

“Daddy? Did I hear you call your old man daddy?” Nick grinned.

Sal sighed and turned to look at Nick who was now propped up on his elbows watching her.

“Eavesdropper,” she accused. “Are you now going to ruthlessly make fun of the parent thing?” she asked, hoping that he wouldn't.

He laughed. “Nah, actually I think it’s quite cute. I bet you are a real Daddy’s girl aren’t you?”

She turned back to the mirror and resumed brushing her hair. “Not really, but I suppose I do get on better with my dad than my mother on the whole.”

Nick chuckled. “Told you, a daddy’s girl.”

“Whatever you say Nicholas,” she replied, placing her hairbrush down and searching in her makeup bag.

“So why don’t you get on with mum then? And why the look of panic on your face when I answered the phone?” Nick asked.

Sal paused for a second and fiddled with the mascara tube in her hand. “Well, she interferes a lot and she just can’t stand not knowing every little detail of my life, especially since I’ve moved out here. She didn’t like that at all," Sal frowned. "She wanted me to marry who she thought was the right guy, settle down there and have babies and all that, but I wanted more for myself and so I escaped while I had the chance,” she replied, turning to look at him again. “I mean don’t get me wrong, she just wants the best for me and everything. It’s just that... well, we don’t exactly see eye to eye on that.”

Nick listened with interest. She had never spoken about her parents before and he tried to imagine what her mother was like? A mother who wanted to pin Sal down, that would never work. Sal was a free spirit.

“I sometimes wonder if I was adopted or something,” she continued. “I’m not like my mother or my father at all! Well, apart from the fact that me and mum look the spitting image of each other, but personality wise, we’re worlds apart.”

“Have you got any brothers or sisters Sal?” Nick asked suddenly out of the blue.

“No,” she shook her head.

He shrugged and lay back against the pillows. “Well maybe you were adopted then.”

“Right, and they chose me because I just happened to look very much like mum. Very sneaky,” she concluded.

Nick put his hands behind his head again and grinned. “Extremely! Good job we’ve got them sussed eh Sal,” he winked.

She laughed and he smiled back at her for a moment before his eyes returned to the TV screen again.

“Hey you! Don’t you think you should be getting ready to go out? Your friends will be wondering where we are!” Sal exclaimed.

“I’ll jump in the shower in a bit, you’ll be ages yet,” he said dismissively, seemingly now fully focused on the TV again.

“All right,” she replied, turning back to the mirror and her makeup, “but I don’t take that long to get ready so you’ve only got a few more minutes.”

“Okay bossy boots. I take it all back Sal, you might be more like your mum than you think!”

She swung her head around. “Oooh, that’s sacrilege to say that!”

He grinned. “Get on with it Sal or we’ll never get to the beach!”

“Pot calling the kettle black Nicholas!” she said, leaning closer to the mirror to apply the mascara.

Nick ignored her comment and gazed at the TV screen but his mind had wandered from the programme now. He was trying to picture Sal’s parents whilst at the same time wondering what they would make of him, particularly Sal’s mum. Would he not be the kind of guy she’d want Sal to be with? Not that it made any difference, they were only friends after all but still... he couldn’t help wondering. Then again, if Sal and her mom were so different it may not be a good thing: her mom approving of him. He liked to think that he was as carefree and impetuous as Sal, not the kind of person her mum would approve of. Sure, he’d like to settle down some day but just because a guy finds a girl he sees a future with, that doesn’t mean that life has to suddenly become dull. He sure as hell hoped not! Would life become dull with Jen? Who was he kidding? Life was hardly a barrel of laughs with her even now, never mind about in years to come! And that brought him back to Sal. As always, his thoughts constantly and most annoyingly returned to her.

He contemplated her with half closed eyes from the bed.

The problem he had with her was that he found her so bloody exciting… in all ways. The way she enthused about everything and was open to any suggestions, the way he could tease her senseless and always get a reaction from her; and yet she never took things to heart, but most of all the way that every item of clothing he’d ever seen her in seemed to make her look so damned sexy and he knew, just knew, she would be unbelievable in bed. A woman who makes no bones about the fact that she absolutely loves sex! He’d never met a woman like that before.

But despite all of that, one of the things that was stopping him from showing her how much she excited him was the fact that she was perhaps the only person on the island that he felt he could really talk to and he didn’t want to mess that up. Well okay, if he was really honest with himself he didn’t want to make a fool of himself either by coming on to her, considering that she constantly emphasised the fact that they were such ‘good friends.’ On the whole though he trusted her and could open up to her in a way he couldn’t with other people. Maybe that was because she was so open and honest about herself. Still that didn’t stop him from wanting a physical connection with her too, whether he liked it or not; his body had a mind of its own. Most worrying of all was the fact that one day he was bound to slip up and go nuts or something and just grab her and…

His eyes focused on her again. Why oh why did he lust after her to that degree? He watched her leaning forward towards the mirror as she fussed with her eye makeup with one hand whilst also trying to keep the towel from slipping down with the other. Maybe it was because she was so completely oblivious of the effect she had on men. If she had any idea she wouldn’t be sitting there in front of him completely naked save for a tiny towel wrapped around her that was then, at that very minute, in danger of slipping down and giving him an eyeful of what he’d spent many a frustrating moment trying to envisage. But no, she’d caught it again at the last minute and held the edges of the towel together loosely in one hand, nonetheless affording him a rather stimulating view of the nakedness of her hip, upper leg and now most of the entire left side of her body. He laughed to himself as realisation dawned on him; that just about summed it up, she was an outrageous tease. Not only that but she was one of the worst types, the kind of tease that didn’t even seem to know she was doing it!

His eyes travelled up and down the exposed side of her body and took in the smooth tanned skin and enticing curves, ‘Sal curves’, never seen before by Nick ‘Sal curves!’ And then there were the tantalising glimpses of white bits, really soft fleshy white bits which he really needed to see more of. He felt a heat inside him building, an aching, heat in his groin which had nowhere to go and no way of being satisfied. He only contented himself by imagining striding over to her, whipping the towel away and proving to her that he was more than capable of being her mind shattering sex man!

She jumped suddenly and cursed, pulling him momentarily out of his reverie. What had she done now? Apparently something had gone wrong with her eye makeup. Well she had better sort it out then, needn’t bother about the towel though Sal. She tucked a corner back into the side of the material, reached into her makeup bag for a tissue and proceeded to desmudge her eye. Nick inspected the proficiency of her ‘towel tucking.’ Hmm, there was still a chance that it would come undone, especially if she carried on wriggling like that. He grinned to himself, Sal tended to do that a lot, she was a wriggly one. Wriggly and bouncy and... ooops, the towel was coming untucked again. His grin widened, she hadn’t seemed to have noticed! The damp towel sides were clinging onto Sal’s skin for dear life, desperately trying to uphold her modesty.

“Hello! Can we have a bit of help here? Hey missus! Can’t hold on much longer!”

One side gave up and slipped a little way down her back...

“Help! we're falling!!!”

...the other remained determined however, keeping her front covered.

“You’re on your own, I’m losing suction here myself! Hey lady, isn’t it feeling a bit breezy suddenly?”

Nick’s eyes widened, mesmerised by the inevitable unravelling as more and more skin was gradually revealed: her waist, hip, thigh, lower back, the dimples at the very bottom of her lower back just before the towel was about to fall away completely from one half of her. Nick held his breath and felt his body going into overdrive, excitement was hardly the word for it, he was way beyond excitement!

“Lady! Any minute now and you’re on your own! Can’t hold on forever! What the hell is she doing up there?”

Sal was leaning forward, with her elbows resting on the dressing table, simply staring at her reflection as if she was in another world. In her head she was having a conversation, summing up the days events and requesting that tonight should be the night that she meets Mr Mind Shattering Man. This routine had come to be a bit of a habit lately after she had read the book ‘How To Keep Track Of Your Life And Get What You Want’ a few months ago and decided to give it a go. It wasn’t long before she was hooked and now she had convinced herself that it would be terribly bad luck not to keep up the routine just in case Mr Mind Shattering Man eluded her completely.

Everything seemed to have suddenly stilled and stopped. The wriggling, the makeup application, the towel slipping. Nicks eyes clung to the dangling corner of the towel, reluctant to move away from it in case he missed something, but in the end curiosity got the better of him and he lifted his gaze to the reflection of Sal’s face in the mirror. She was motionless.

“Sal? What you doing?” Nick’s voice abruptly cut into her thoughts and she jumped back from the mirror, grabbing hold of the towel and securing it once more firmly around her.

Damn! What did it matter what she was doing? What a dumb thing to do! No more soft fleshy bits to look at.

She frowned.

“Nothing,” she answered defensively. “Are you going to get ready now or what?”

Oh hell! He should have seen that coming. There was no way he could get up off that bed now! She’d notice his current state of horniness and know what he’d been up to!

“I’ll get ready in a minute, this programme has nearly finished,” he replied.

“Ah come on Nick or we’ll never make it to this beach party,” she groaned.

“Okay, okay, just give me two more secs Sal.”

She sighed and began to pack away her makeup from off the dressing table with her mind still contemplating the likelihood of meeting Mr Mind Shattering tonight, tomorrow night, or any other night in the near future. She’d heard that people who spent all their time waiting for Mr Right never got to meet him, but those who just didn’t give a damn if he came along or not invariably did. The problem was stopping herself from wanting a man, it was impossible.

Nicks eyes were glued to the TV screen. He had no idea what the programme was or what had been happening in it and he hoped to hell that Sal didn’t ask. He was trying his hardest to think of the most unsexy thing he could and his mind had gone back to his Aunty Beth. She was a podgy old woman who always wore the same violet, old woman smelling perfume and left a patch of saliva on his cheek when she kissed him with her rubbery lips. Yuk! It was working!

Sal felt suddenly downhearted and impatient for something amazingly exciting to occur in her life. She was fed up of being the happy go lucky girl who was not so lucky in love. She sighed and her eyes lifted to the mirror to see what Nick was doing. What was so fascinating about that damn TV programme anyway?

He was lazing back on the bed, his hands behind his head again. He always had such a casual, laid back, maybe even slightly arrogant air about him. No, maybe not arrogant, just self assured, at ease with himself; he was too laid back to be arrogant. That was probably why there were always girls hanging around him. Plus he had a knack of making women feel good. He always gave them plenty of attention, even though that usually came in the form of continual teasing. He wasn’t exactly ugly either. Bloody hell why wouldn’t he budge? And why did he have to be just lazing there half undressed making her feel even more impatient and unsatisfied with her life! Nonetheless, her eyes found themselves travelling from his face downwards over his shoulders, arms and chest. Now that was the kind of body she wanted her Mind Shattering Man to have. Knowing her luck though she’d end up with Mr Skinny guy. But no, it would have to be either Mr Hunk or no man at all.

Her gaze moved lower and she noticed that his jeans were slung very low on his hips. Her eyes homed in on the area just above the waist band on his jeans where they caught sight of a sprinkling of body hair which disappeared underneath the waistband. Oh lord! What the hell was she doing? This was Nick she was ogling! Her eyes quickly flicked upwards again guiltily at which point she froze and her whole body went cold as adrenalin surged through it. Her eyes had suddenly and most unexpectedly collided with his!

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