The Beach Club

17. Poppy

     The steak melts in my mouth and I can't help but groan with the satisfaction over the salty-smoky taste that seeps over my tongue. "Holy shit," I murmur, stabbing my fork into another piece. "I think this is the best steak I've ever tasted!"

Alvaro looks to me with wide, beautiful and brooding eyes. "I thought you might like it. Bassi only serves the finest food."

     I eye Alvaro with suspicion. "You say Bassi like he's some family friend. Do you know him?"

"Of course I know him. He's an acquaintance to my uncle."

     "Oh. I see."

     Alvaro chuckles, a deep reverberation rolling from his throat. "Sorry. My uncle is quite the businessman round here. He knows people and people know him. His success has made him the man he is today. Everybody admires him for that."

    I nod knowingly, but only being able to half imagine what it must be like to grow up into wealth and success. My childhood was the opposite: depraved and abusive. A pang of discomfort balls in my throat and I wash it down with some ice water.

"You know," Alvaro whirls some wine about in its glass, his eyes trained into mine. "I sense something about you Poppy. You're hurt. You have guards up. Because even though, the other night, I told you to let go, you never really let go. I don't think you've ever been able to let go. To find peace."

My heart tremors inside of me and for a brief moment I wonder if I'm going to throw up. Aside from Zara, I've told no-one of my past, and I'd always intended to keep it that way. It doesn't even seem plausible that Alvaro could know this about me. Yet, here he is, reading me better than anyone else has ever been able to do.

I swallow hard. "It's hard for me to talk about." I push my near-empty plate away from myself. "I've tried to keep my past tucked away. Sometimes it rears its ugly head, but I suppress it. I have to or I'll break. I've parted with that chapter of my life. Things will be different now."

Alvaro nods and his sympathy rolls through the space between us. He smiles to me reassuringly, before wordlessly chucking a wad of euros down onto the table and holding out his hand. "Come. I want to show you something."

I eye Alvaro suspiciously. "We're going?"

     "Yes. If I only have you for one evening, then I want to make this most of it."

    An unfamiliar feeling whirls in my stomach, but I don't think about it enough to let it deter me from following Alvaro to the gravelled steps—his hand in mine as we descend further and further down until our feet finally hit the silky sands below. Relief washes through my body; I can part with my heels and relish the softness of the sand against the soles of my sore feet. I've never been a heel girl, so to speak—that's Zara's forte—but I had, perhaps subconsciously, wanted to impress Alvaro. It occurrs to me suddenly that I'm becoming attracted to Alvaro in such a way that perhaps frightens me. I shake my head and free my worries—for now. It won't end well if I let myself be controlled by them.

      Alvaro leads me to a secluded mound of rocks, large enough to be used as a seat with front row view of the evening sunset. Alvaro climbs first, then his hand reaches down to mine. I take his hand, smiling and relishing the warmth that trickles through my body at his touch. I sit on the edge of the rock—not the most comfortable—but Alvaro's arm reaches around me and takes my weight.

     I can't help but lean into him. His shirt smells of fresh detergent and is soft against my cheek. Underneath, his peppery cologne emits from under the  cotton. For a brief moment, I want to close off my thoughts. I want to take in what's left of the sunset as it spills the last of its orange hue across the now dark but still waters. I want to admire the stars that emerge from the blue-black sky and inhale the salty scent of the mild breeze as it brushes the palm trees. I want to forget that a past life ever existed.

      "The best view here," Alvaro says, holding me closer—so close now I can feel his heartbeat. "Nobody comes down here because, of course, nobody wants rocks when there's miles of soft, sandy beaches. But they don't know that on this rock, the best view of the sunset comes into view."

     I smile appreciatively. Murmurs of the life above us filter in and out of earshot, but, once I focus on only the view, all I hear is my own heartbeat.

     "Hey." Alvaro shifts round, his hands finding my bare shoulders. He eyes bore into mine with compassion. "Who hurt you, Poppy?"

An almighty pang of pain and with worry spills into my stomach and grows into my throat. But somehow, as I look to Alvaro, his dark eyes completely captivating, I don't feel so scared anymore.