Chasing Daisy

of the races.’
    He purses his lips at me, thoughtfully. Then he points the remote at the telly and switches it back on. I hear the sound of the porn channel before I see it.
    ‘Jesus, this bloody TV,’ he mutters, hastily pointing it again and changing the channel.
    I burst out laughing.
    ‘What?’ he asks. Then it clicks. ‘Did that just happen to you?’ He lifts up the remote control. ‘Is that why you think I’m not a nice boy?’ He’s grinning.
    I nod, unable to speak.
    He starts to laugh, too. ‘So if I watch porn, it means I’m a bastard?’
    ‘Well . . .’ I consider his question.
    ‘What if I’m lonely?’ he interrupts. ‘Seeing as, like you say, my girlfriend doesn’t come to any races . . .’
    ‘Whatever takes your fancy, Will,’ I say, flippantly, and he stares at me with those beautiful blue eyes.
    ‘What?’ I ask, when he doesn’t look away. It makes me feel jittery.
    ‘Nothing.’ He presses a few buttons on the remote control to bring up a menu. ‘Now, what shall we watch?’
    ‘ Debbie Does Dallas ? Deep Throat ?’ I crack up laughing again.
    ‘Now, how would a nice girl like you know the names of porn movies?’
    I immediately hit him back with, ‘How would a nice boy like you know that I’m talking about porn movies?’
    He gives me a sly look. ‘I bet you’re not a nice girl.’
    Want to find out? No! Girlfriend! Girlfriend! Girlfriend!
    ‘Is Laura a nice girl?’
    He glances away at the TV. ‘Of course she is.’ My stomach falls flat. ‘Right, then,’ he continues. ‘What shall we watch? The Bridge On the River Kwai ?’
    ‘Are you joking?’ That’s a war movie!
    ‘ The Great Escape ?’
    Another one! I give him a comedy glare and he leans over and drops the remote control on the sofa next to me. ‘You choose.’
    Forty-five minutes later, my viewing of When Harry Met Sally is disturbed by the gentle sound of Will’s breathing. I look over and see that he’s asleep. I watch him for a moment, the rise and fall of his chest almost hypnotic, his face so peaceful. Finally I tear my eyes away, turn off the television and quietly leave his suite. I’ve seen this movie a thousand times anyway, and if I don’t leave now, I might do something stupid like climb into his arms.

 
Chapter 8
     
    ‘I waited for you in the bar last night, bun tart. Where the hell were you?’
    ‘Good morning, Luis. How are you on this fine, sunny day?’
    ‘Is it sunny again? I hadn’t noticed.’
    ‘Maybe you should take your dark glasses off, then,’ I tell him. ‘Too much to drink?’
    ‘Had to drown my sorrows all on my own.’
    ‘Yeah, right. Sorrows? What sorrows? Anyway, I bet you picked up a girl, eventually.’
    We’re waiting in the hotel lobby with a few other team members and we’re about to head off to the track for the first time since we got here. I’m excited about seeing Holly again.
    ‘Hey . . .’ I hear footsteps behind me and turn around to see Will, looking fresh as a daisy in comparison to his team-mate.
    ‘Hello!’ I chirp.
    He comes over to us and taps me on my elbow. ‘First you make me watch that crap, and then you go and leave before the end! Bad girl.’
    I start to laugh. ‘You fell asleep!’
    ‘What crap?’ Luis butts in.
    ‘ When Harry Met Sally . We watched it in Will’s room,’ I tell him distractedly. Simon has just emerged from the lift and Will goes over to him. Catalina isn’t with him, so I presume she’s having a lie-in. Nothing new there, then.
    ‘You blew me out for When Harry Met Sally ?’
    I ignore Luis and wave my acknowledgement at Simon and Frederick, who has also just appeared.
    ‘Let’s get this show on the road.’ Simon claps his hands and the group of us start to follow him out of the lobby to the two black people carriers waiting at the bottom of the steps.
    ‘I would never fall asleep in your company, bun tart,’ I hear someone say in my ear as I climb into one of the cars. I whip around to see Luis wink at me as he climbs into the other one.
    Holly is already at the track when we arrive and I run over to greet her.
    ‘Hello! How are you?’ She’s breathless from the force of my hug.
    ‘I missed you!’ I complain.
    She beams at me, warmly. ‘I missed you, too. I had to make friends with some backpackers after you left.’
    ‘Any hotties?’
    She turns her nose up. ‘Sadly, no. And I almost got bitten by a monkey.’
    ‘Seriously?’
    Langkawi’s mangrove swamps are home to plenty of