ALMOST A BRIDE (Open On Annie)

17

I’d had a great day. We rounded it off with a game of Frisbee in the pool and a competition to see who could hold their breath for the longest. After that we’d gone back to our room for quick- private- showers we before getting ready for supper. I’d been secretly hoping that the previous conversation would start up again, and had even been trying to steer it in that direction, but it hadn’t.

Previously, I’d put no thought into ‘what to wear’ around Chris, but all that had changed. You know what happens when you start liking a guy, everything becomes a mission--

How to do your hair?

What to wear?

How much cleavage to show?

Makeup?

Perfume?

I rummaged through my suitcase and realized that I didn’t have any dressy clothes, it hadn’t occurred to me to bring anything other than simple beach attire. There was only one vaguely promising item; a simple white sleeveless shift dress that had a bit of lace detailing around the neckline.  I fastened my hair into a loose, messy bun. Some wavy, rebellious red tendrils fell down into my face and I tucked them behind my ears. I grabbed some black mascara and gave my lashes a coating, as well as smeared on a good dollop of translucent pink lip-gloss.

One last mirror check and I was ready to go.

“Wow. You look amazing.” Chris was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs and it looked like he’d also gotten dressed up for the occasion too- I had to wonder why.

He’d actually “styled” his hair, that is to say that it looked like it had been brushed. He was also wearing a non-stained shirt and a pair of smart looking jeans. Half- way down the stairs I could already smell the warm, rich, welcoming scent of musky sandalwood. It was intoxicating, and it made my heart pound.

“Thanks. You don’t look too bad yourself.” I tried to give him a vaguely normal looking smile, not a doe-eyed, eyelash- batting, woman falling in love smile. I wasn’t sure how successful I was being though, as I had to mentally tell my lips to stop curling up so much and remind my eyelashes to stop their bloody stupid fluttering.

“The white dress really compliments your sunburn.’

“Oh thanks.” I felt a little deflated, “Give me a compliment and then take it away why don’t you.”

It was obvious Chris could see what I was feeling, because he quickly added, “Annie, surly by now you’ve noticed that I deflect with humor. It’s my defense mechanism. You know… if something feels too real, I make a joke. If something feels too awkward… I make a joke.”

“Why would you feel awkward?’

A coy look played on his face, “Well, I always feel a bit awkward in the presence of a really beautiful woman.”

It was my turn to be coy now, “Thanks.”

“Oh Annie, Annie, Annie what am I going to do with you…” He shook his head and smiled.

Again with the pounding heart! And the plummeting sensation in my stomach felt like I was riding a rollercoaster. “What do you mean?”

Chris shrugged, said nothing and walked over to me extending his arm as if he were the perfect gentleman plucked from the pages of a Jane Austin novel. Dashing Darcy asking the lady to take a turn about the room, followed by a spot of tea and a song on the pianoforte.

Clearly Chris was thinking the same thing, “I would be honored if you would accompany me to dinner.” He had all the words right, the posh British accent wasn’t bad either, but his mannerisms were far from gentlemanly. He had a dangerous glint in his eye and I couldn’t help notice how his gaze flicked up and down my body as he got closer, and closer.

He winked at me playfully and a chill ran up my spine. Then he took me by the arm and led me out the door.

We walked arm in arm all the way to dinner without saying a word. Our legs were moving together in unison, our bodies swaying as one and it felt like we were a real couple. Did Chris feel the same way?

Dinner was one of those elaborate buffet spreads. The kind that sees you eagerly eating way too much- - it’s just not necessary to have desert seconds. But we did. Chris even went back for thirds, which meant that two hours later we practically rolled out the door.

“Look there.” Chris said pointing at a colorful poster that had been put up on the wall outside the restaurant.

I read it out loud. “Karaoke evening.” I cringed at the thought, nothing worse than watching a bunch of drunken, American Idol wannabees with no singing abilities sing.

“It’ll be fun.” Chris grabbed me by the wrist and rushed me down the corridor, across the garden and towards the beach bar. The whole thing was as cheesy as hell, and looked like a bad 80’s flashback. Purple, pink and blue disco lights blinked on and off at seizure pace. A decrepit looking disco ball hung from the thatch roof and a mat had been rolled out onto the sand to act as a temporary dance floor. The whole thing looked like a makeshift school social. It was horrendous.

And it soon got worse, because as we got closer I could hear the blaring, bleating, off-key singing of a Julio Iglesias song. It quickly became apparent that the one thing this party was not lacking, was sound. Speakers about ten men tall circled us and the sound was so loud, I’m sure fisherman in Antarctica heard it

All of a sudden I felt an excited tug on my arm and Chris buried his face in my neck, “It’s Trev. He’s singing!” He whispered through a clenched jaw.

“What?” I looked up in horror and saw that Trev was indeed the Iglesias offender.  Definitely one too many Coconut cocktails!

Trev was raised up, front and center on the stage and serenading Tess in the most appalling manner. He moved around like some kind of a Spanish matador, I almost expected to see him waving a red piece of fabric and shouting “Ole, Ole” while wild bulls charged him.

To top it all off, Tess looked genuinely touched, I could just make out the start of a tear forming in the corner of her eye. She was in rapture and gazed up lovingly at this catastrophic crooner as if he had the voice of an angel. I glanced around at some of the other people; they too seemed to be gazing at him as if he were doing a good job. Maybe I was just biased; but in my opinion, everything that came out of his mouth was a load of shit. Suddenly I wished I possessed a big red button that I could press, which would halt the singing.

“Ouch” I grabbed my side after feeling the jab of an elbow. I turned and saw that Chris had practically turned red in the face from trying to hold back his laughter. His hands were slapped over his mouth tightly, trying to contain the sounds that were making his shoulders shake.

And then that was me…. Finished.

I burst out laughing.  A few people close by turned and looked at us as we both covered our mouths trying to hold back the building laughter that threatened to erupt like a volcano. 

But when I saw Trev give a few pelvic thrusts, the volcano could no longer be contained. We must have laughed very loudly, because suddenly everyone in the room was staring at us. Including T squared.

Trev glared at me.

There was no need for a thought bubble to pop up above his head, because I knew exactly what he was thinking.

He hated me and he was furious.

How dare I mock him? How dare I laugh at him?

And then a smile- a cold, calculating, cunning - smile spread across his face. I automatically stopped laughing and was overcome by this feeling of danger. Dread. A sense of doom closed in around me.

Chris stepped forward protectively, as Trev fixed his blazing eyes on me.

Something bad was about to happen. I could feel it.