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Gem shook free. ‘Don’t be silly. Plus the rest of the group gets a $1,000 gift card to spend in the Aventura Mall. Even you can’t say no to that! If we win, you get to keep the voucher and Elle and I can share the bag. Deal?’
Ciara bit her lip. Bloomingdales was in that mall. The most expensive thing she’d owned had come from a high street store back home. And her friends were right, she could hold her booze. But they’d been on the cocktails for a while now and a glance around at all the new people walking in, looking fresh and ready to go, didn’t help convince her this was a good idea.
‘You’re not allowed to think about this,’ Elle said. ‘Gem, go enter us before Ciara comes up with an excuse to get out of it.’
Her friend’s azure eyes were steely now, and Ciara knew there was no point in arguing. Elle pulled out her phone, tapped the screen a few times and then handed it to her. It was a list of all the lovely, lovely shops in the mall, with the lovely, lovely clothes just waiting for her to pick them.
It wasn’t like she’d be able to afford something that wasn’t on sale without the voucher. If they won this competition, she could spend and spend and spend without the guilt. Which is exactly what Elle had been thinking, handing her the worst kind of temptation.
‘Fine, I’m in. But if I end up with liver failure I’m holding you responsible,’ she said.
Chapter Five (#ulink_1a7c71c8-8450-5f91-b8a0-7b804e6bd256)
‘Right guys, you know the rules. Drink up as fast as you can and the first group back to the bar with their empty pitchers wins,’ the bartender said.
The crowed rumbled their excitement, while Ciara stood over the tallest, fattest jug she’d ever seen. The colours were pretty, and she hoped the limes diluted some of the rum, but the sheer size of the thing scared her.
Almost everyone had to stand up to get to the straws.
The queue for the bathroom was going to be tremendous after this. If she even made it that far. Which was very unlikely.
Gem and Elle didn’t look as put off as she was. Elle’s refusal to quit had got her far in uni, but this was something else entirely. Gem no doubt had her eyes on the prize, and she did love winning.
Maybe that would work. Keeping focused on the prize.
‘Quick, before we start we need something to remember this by!’ Elle pulled out her phone again and set it up for a picture. ‘Stand behind the glasses and strike a pose. Come on, Ciara. Smile.’
The phone flashed, making her eyes go all spotty for a second.
‘Get me, Gem!’ she handed over the phone and Gem snapped another.
‘I’m Instagraming these. Go Team Elle!’
Ciara rolled her eyes while Gem’s narrowed. Trust Elle to take over.
‘Ready, set, go!’ the bartender boomed.
Ciara did, putting the straw to her mouth and trying a steady suction while breathing through her nose. She doubted anyone could keep guzzling the freezing drinks all the way to the bottom and reckoned her strategy had a 6:2 chance of winning – considering she could handle however many units of alcohol it was packed with.
Gem had taken the guzzle approach, stopping to gasp occasionally and then get stuck back in.
Elle was keeping it steady too, but at a faster pace than Ciara. In fact, she was way behind when she glanced around the room.
She sucked up mouthful upon mouthful, trying to catch up then a searing pain stabbed behind her right eye. ‘Ow, brain freeze.’
‘I’ll knock your brain into next week if you don’t hurry up. Drink through it!’ Elle commanded.
Ciara forced herself to keep going, but the stabbing in her temple didn’t ease up. Someone retched and she looked over to see a ripped guy with bleach blond hair sucking in lung fulls of air, no doubt to stop from being sick. He didn’t succeed and she shut her eyes so his gut load of cocktail making a reappearance didn’t encourage hers to.
‘Done,’ Gem slurred, then giggled. ‘Oh dear, I’m drunk.’
Ciara felt like the floor was swaying beneath her feet and she opened her eyes before the dizzy, sick feeling kicked in. She was neck and neck with Elle and they didn’t have much to go.
‘Quick, just pick it up. It’s not heavy now,’ Gem said.
Elle did, but Ciara’s jug didn’t seem to shift much off the table.
‘Come on, Ciara. Think of those vouchers.’ Gem grabbed the bottom, then helped her tip it up.
After a deep breath, she chugged the remainder of the glass as fast as she could, not caring about the unladylike affects that would no doubt follow. Not caring about much at all anymore as a warm, giddy feeling soared through her.
She finished up within seconds of Elle and they shared a grin.
‘That shit’s finished too,’ Elle said, pointing to another table.
He was, and the women he was with were finishing up as they watched. ‘Don’t we have to get these jugs to the bar?’
The other group noticed they weren’t alone in their victory and picked up the jugs.
‘Run!’ Elle said.
They did, kind of. Staggered would be a more apt description. But the other group didn’t seem unsteady on their feet at all as they rounded tables.
Ciara bumped into a girl who hadn’t finished yet and managed a convoluted apology while she got back her balance.
‘Move it!’ Elle screamed.
Ciara scampered to catch up. They reached out with the jugs, ready to throw them on the bar. The bartender’s eyes were wide and he shuffled back to the wall of spirits as they approached.
Team Persistent were neck and neck with them now, and since the girls were fast Ciara knew they were going to lose.
‘That bag’s mine lady. Back off,’ Elle said to the other group.
‘In your dreams,’ she replied.
Ciara slammed her jug down on the bar, and a loud smash splintered her ears. She blinked at her glass – still fully intact. Both Gem and Elle were beside her, with their jugs on the bar too, without so much as a scratch but her friends were looking behind her with their mouths gaping.
Ciara spun around and staggered a little. A woman from the other group had dropped the jug. Glass was scattered all over the wooden floor, shining like little diamonds in the light. At least the woman wasn’t hurt, but by the way her eyes narrowed she wasn’t happy.
‘So, guess you bitches won by default,’ the woman said.
Gem laughed. ‘It’s not our fault you’ve got butter fingers.’
‘I’d say the best bitches won,’ Elle added.
Ciara squeezed her eyes shut, but changed her mind the second the room started spinning.
‘Come on girls, time to go.’ She had visions of getting into a cat fight there was no way she’d win. Especially now the alcohol seemed to be doing its job.
‘After our victory pic,’ Elle slurred, pulling the phone out of her pocket and pulling them close. Ciara didn’t see the flash and dreaded how she looked in the picture but before she could ask to see it Elle had already launched it into social media land.
‘I think I’m going to be sick,’ Gem said.
‘Fresh air will help,’ Ciara hoped.
They collected their prizes and Elle took the bag since she didn’t want Gem throwing up on it. Somehow the air only increased the horrible, dizzy feeling and Ciara wished she’d ignored Elle’s advice to starve herself earlier. She was definitely getting something more substantial than a salad when she got back.
***
‘I don’t even care that I’m tempted to be sick in it, this was so worth it,’ Elle said, hugging the new bag to her chest.
Ciara ignored her, pulling her body through the massive pool. Gem was on the patio near Elle, perfecting her morning yoga routine.
She’d already done twenty lengths before breakfast, but not to burn off all the calories from her mammoth cocktail. This was so not about keeping fit.
Last night after they’d gotten back, she’d raided the fridge and found it lacking so had ordered a pizza. The others had gone to bed, saying they were not eating that many carbs when they had a beach day coming up.
While she’d stuffed her face, her mind had gone back to LA, her first night with Zack and something had happened that she never thought possible. She’d gone and completely lost her sanity.
She’d pretended he was there with her, sharing the pizza and was telling her about himself. He’d told her he wanted to study architecture because he was passionate about sculpture and that he worked out because it took his mind off everything.
And worse, she’d started talking to herself in reply to the imaginary questions!
Though she knew her conversation with him was an alcohol induced fantasy, she hoped to find some truth in it so she tried tearing through the pool doing as many laps as possible. It was helping a little. The burn in her muscles and the rolling feeling in her stomach were stealing most of her concentration.
‘You know, Ciara if you hadn’t stuffed yourself with pizza last night you wouldn’t need to make that horrible splashing sound just now,’ Gem said.
‘It is a bit too loud for my fuzzy head,’ Elle agreed.
When she reached the end of the pool, she climbed out. Giving up was much better than being moaned at and they weren’t the only ones who felt a bit light headed. ‘I’m bored waiting for you two to decide it’s time to hit the beach, that’s all.’
‘Holidays are meant for relaxing, not always being on the go. We’ll have lots of time for partying tonight,’ Elle said.
That’s not what she’d meant. They were in Miami, somewhere she’d never been and probably never would again. She wanted to explore every inch of the city, not just the shops, bars and clubs. All this sitting around was going to drive her even more insane.
Her expression must show how unimpressed she was by partying because Gem said, ‘Grab a magazine and get some sun, Ciara. We’ll leave soon, promise.’
She gave in, crossing to one of the sun loungers in the shade and lay face down, leaving the magazines on the table. If they were planning a party tonight she really should get some sleep first.
***
It took an hour for Elle and Gem to find the perfect spot and unpack. They were now lying on loungers close enough to the sea to catch the breeze but not too far from the refreshment stands so they wouldn’t have far to hike for an iced tea. Elle had flirted with a guy so he would move the loungers away from the masses of tourists for them.
Then they unpacked the sun lotions, the mini fold up table so nothing got all sandy and a few windbreakers for privacy more than protection from the wind. Ciara didn’t care about any of that stuff, not with a view like the one they had. The ocean was beautifully blue and so clear she could see the golden sand beneath. People were windsurfing and there were even speedboats and jet skis cruising across the expanse of the water.
She wondered how much it would cost to have a go, but then what fun would it be by herself? Elle and Gem were settled back and ready for a serious bronzing session. She slipped off her flip flops. There was no way she was coming all the way here and not having at least a paddle in the ocean. Unlike Gem and Elle, she wasn’t worried about her bikini being wrecked in the salt water – it had only cost a twentieth of the price of theirs.
‘I’m going for a dip,’ she said.
Gem rolled her eyes. ‘Just watching you is all the exercise I need.’
‘I like to keep busy,’ she said.
Elle laughed. ‘What are you going to do now you don’t have all that studying? Even in Brighton over Easter you didn’t relax one bit. All you did was cram and cram and cram. It’s good to clear your mind and chill out sometimes.’
‘Until we got arrested,’ Gem corrected.
Ciara shook her head. She’d never even had a telling off from her teachers until she’d met Gem and Elle. Now she had a trip to jail on her record, both sides of the Atlantic.
Ciara headed straight for the ocean.
‘I’ll have lots of time to chill out when I’m old,’ she said over her shoulder, not willing to share that keeping busy was her way of avoiding thinking too much about what she would do when this holiday was over.
She was exactly like her ma. She got bored too easily and couldn’t imagine a career that would hold her attention. Maths and statistics had been a challenge and she liked it because almost everything could be calculated or worked out by formulas.
People were different, beyond the chemistry that made them up. There were all different emotions and behaviours she couldn’t understand – her ma leaving was at the top of the list. Because even though she had her mother’s attention span, she couldn’t bring herself to leave her da alone forever. She’d go back to Ireland and keep close because he was all she had and he’d never given up on her. He’d worked himself half to death to send her to university, and she owed him more than she could ever repay.
But the rest of it – the job, a potential husband and kids? She couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t leave them someday. She hadn’t spoken to her mum since and so she’d never know what triggered the behaviour – in Ciara’s mind it just wouldn’t be fair to lead someone along for years, start a life with them and then just walk away without a word. Like mother like daughter.
It wasn’t something she’d want to do, but without knowing the catalyst for her mother’s decision, how could she be sure?
As she reached the water with her mood lower than it had been in a while, Ciara pushed the thoughts away and decided a walk along the edge of the sea would take her mind off everything. After all, Miami really was beautiful. It would be a shame to not see as much as she could.
***
An hour later she returned with achy legs and Gem made a trip to the refreshment stands to get them all iced drinks. She sipped at her iced tea, wishing Gem had fulfilled her request of a ‘sweet’ one but she was too thirsty to care.
Elle perked up when a trio of guys started throwing what looked like a brown rugby ball not far from them.
‘There’s a good place to start rebounding, Gem,’ Elle said.
Gem slipped her sunglasses down her nose. ‘You’re not wrong. I don’t usually go for blonds but with those muscles I could make an exception.’
Ciara could definitely appreciate the muscles as they kept throwing the ball, harder each time until they got closer.
‘And look, poor things are trying to be subtle about picking us up,’ Elle grinned. ‘Should we show them how it’s done, girls?’
‘I’m in,’ Gem said, jumping up. ‘What angle are we working?’
‘Hmm, English girls wanting to learn the American way to play rugby.’ Elle suggested.
Ciara laughed. ‘American football is brutal, Elle. I don’t think it will be your thing.’
‘We’re not actually going to play. But I wouldn’t mind one of them holding me from behind and showing me how to throw the thing.’
‘Me either,’ Gem added.
‘So what you’re really saying is you’re using the excuse of throwing a ball for foreplay?’ Ciara asked, still stumped that after all these years she had a lot to learn when it came to this stuff. She’d dated a little and hooked up with guys at uni but they’d been more about relieving exam stress than anything serious. And it hadn’t taken much to stumble across a man willing to have sex with her. The only thing was they’d never understood why she didn’t want more than that. Elle and Gem never had that hassle as far as she knew.
