Sequel: Forgive and Forget ›
A Summer Romance
Intro
Leaning back against the side of the silver coloured Volvo V70, her hair pulled into a bun and simple Aviators resting on her nose, facing the sun and enjoying the warmth of the rays against her skin, she silently cursed herself for letting her thoughts stray.
And her parents for forcing her to come along on this trip that was sure to becoming nothing but a monumental disappointment. All she wanted to do was to lie in her bed, pillow over her head and listen to depressing music on her iPod...
But no, her mother had ordered her to finish packing her damn things and get her ass downstairs. And her mother never cursed, so when she did everyone knew that she meant business.
Turns out that she was the only one who was ready, even if they had to be at the airport in less than two hours if they wanted to make their flight....
Saying that she was annoyed was an understatement....
They hadn't been on this kind of holiday, ever, and where she usually would have been jumping for joy at the prospect of sun and beaches and no friends around to ruin her life, she currently wasn't. She was depressed, angry, betrayed and a whole bunch of other feelings and she was so not looking forwards to sharing a room with her two younger brothers and having to explore a culture she was already very familiar with.
Sighing as said brothers came barrelling out through the front door of the house, she pushed herself away from the car and went to open the trunk so they could put in their suitcases, her own already in there.
Ordering them into the backseat, she called for her parents before joining the two boys in the cramped backseat, thanking her lucky stars that they weren't older than 13 and 15 or the three of them would never have fit in there.
The two boys continuing a conversation that had already started inside of the house, she kicked of her untied trainers and pulled her foot up on the leather seat, iPod already plugged in and seatbelt fastened as she looked out through the tinted window.
Barely acknowledging as her parents finally placed the final bags in the trunk and joined them in the car, she silently watched as the familiar nature passed by outside the car. She’d travelled the very same way more times than she could count during the years and nothing ever really changed along the route, but that morning it seemed like the most interesting in the world...
Vacations weren't something foreign to her, quite the opposite actually, and she was usually elated about the prospect of seeing new places and learning new things. About relaxing and getting away from the mundane routine of everyday life, but this time she just didn't have it in her to get excited about it.
The pain of reality had taken that away from her...
-x-
Half-jogging across the semi busy street in the edge of the village, he slowed back down to a walk once he was back on the sidewalk and continued where he was heading, towards the beach. Repositioning the baseball cap on his head as he walked, only to have to dodge a tourist with a map in her hands who wasn't looking where she was going as she left a large hotel, he could only shake his head as he continued forwards.
The island had become a very popular vacation spot as of late. Vacation resorts were filled to the max from May to September, vacationer from all over the continent and beyond coming to enjoy the amazing weather and the seemingly endless number of secluded beaches.
But that wasn't why he was there...
No, he was there to try and wash away the disappointment he was feeling after having been eliminated out of the Euro’s just days earlier. And it wasn't even like they left with any sort of dignity, they’d come last in their group, there had been no dignity left.
Shaking his head, trying to not remember the monumental disappointment he’d felt when he was walking off the field after that last game, he pulled his phone from the pocket of his shorts and checking the time, her cursed slightly under his breath. He was running late.
Turning left onto the beach walk as he pocketed the device, he glanced up at the small, older hotels that were facing the water; most of them were gated with pools on the grounds but most of their guests enjoying the beaches as well.
Young children were playing in a Fiji-shaped pool, adults were tanning on the sun loungers, a couple was having lunch in the shade and a couple of young teenagers were kicking a football around, one of them wearing a white t-shirt with green trims; ‘Portugal’ printed in green block letters across the shoulders.
Attempting to ignore the sudden ache in his heart and the painful reminded, he shook his head and was about to head out on the beach to search for his brother as he caught sight of someone standing on a second story balcony.
She was blonde, slender with curves as far as he could tell and he could see the straps of a dark bikini beneath the white tank top she was wearing. And judging by the way she nodded as one of the teenagers yelled something to her, she there on vacation, they were speaking a language very different from his one, one he couldn’t understand.
Lingering for a moment, he watched as she disappeared from view for only a moment before reappearing once again, a large bundle in her hands. It was a bundle she proceeded to throw over the railing, into the waiting arms of the boy below and he jumped slightly as he felt his phone vibrate against his leg.
Reading the text his brother had sent him, asking him where he was, he shook his head before glancing back up at the hotel only to find the balcony empty. The girl was gone and so were the boys, the only thing revealing that they’d even been there in the first place was the abandoned football still laying on the lawn.
Shrugging slightly, he pushed his hands into the pockets of his shorts and walked out on the beach, searching for his brother and his brother’s girlfriend who were there with him.
Finding the couple stretched out on lounge chairs in the white sand, he soon joined them, making himself comfortable as he pulled off his polo-shirt and slipped on a pair of shaded to shield his brown eyes from the bright sunshine.
Stretching out on the lounger, he let the disappointment of the Euro-tournament wash off him, he forgot the girl he’d seen and he allowed his body to relax for the first in what seemed like a lifetime, but in reality was closer to a year...
And her parents for forcing her to come along on this trip that was sure to becoming nothing but a monumental disappointment. All she wanted to do was to lie in her bed, pillow over her head and listen to depressing music on her iPod...
But no, her mother had ordered her to finish packing her damn things and get her ass downstairs. And her mother never cursed, so when she did everyone knew that she meant business.
Turns out that she was the only one who was ready, even if they had to be at the airport in less than two hours if they wanted to make their flight....
Saying that she was annoyed was an understatement....
They hadn't been on this kind of holiday, ever, and where she usually would have been jumping for joy at the prospect of sun and beaches and no friends around to ruin her life, she currently wasn't. She was depressed, angry, betrayed and a whole bunch of other feelings and she was so not looking forwards to sharing a room with her two younger brothers and having to explore a culture she was already very familiar with.
Sighing as said brothers came barrelling out through the front door of the house, she pushed herself away from the car and went to open the trunk so they could put in their suitcases, her own already in there.
Ordering them into the backseat, she called for her parents before joining the two boys in the cramped backseat, thanking her lucky stars that they weren't older than 13 and 15 or the three of them would never have fit in there.
The two boys continuing a conversation that had already started inside of the house, she kicked of her untied trainers and pulled her foot up on the leather seat, iPod already plugged in and seatbelt fastened as she looked out through the tinted window.
Barely acknowledging as her parents finally placed the final bags in the trunk and joined them in the car, she silently watched as the familiar nature passed by outside the car. She’d travelled the very same way more times than she could count during the years and nothing ever really changed along the route, but that morning it seemed like the most interesting in the world...
Vacations weren't something foreign to her, quite the opposite actually, and she was usually elated about the prospect of seeing new places and learning new things. About relaxing and getting away from the mundane routine of everyday life, but this time she just didn't have it in her to get excited about it.
The pain of reality had taken that away from her...
-x-
Half-jogging across the semi busy street in the edge of the village, he slowed back down to a walk once he was back on the sidewalk and continued where he was heading, towards the beach. Repositioning the baseball cap on his head as he walked, only to have to dodge a tourist with a map in her hands who wasn't looking where she was going as she left a large hotel, he could only shake his head as he continued forwards.
The island had become a very popular vacation spot as of late. Vacation resorts were filled to the max from May to September, vacationer from all over the continent and beyond coming to enjoy the amazing weather and the seemingly endless number of secluded beaches.
But that wasn't why he was there...
No, he was there to try and wash away the disappointment he was feeling after having been eliminated out of the Euro’s just days earlier. And it wasn't even like they left with any sort of dignity, they’d come last in their group, there had been no dignity left.
Shaking his head, trying to not remember the monumental disappointment he’d felt when he was walking off the field after that last game, he pulled his phone from the pocket of his shorts and checking the time, her cursed slightly under his breath. He was running late.
Turning left onto the beach walk as he pocketed the device, he glanced up at the small, older hotels that were facing the water; most of them were gated with pools on the grounds but most of their guests enjoying the beaches as well.
Young children were playing in a Fiji-shaped pool, adults were tanning on the sun loungers, a couple was having lunch in the shade and a couple of young teenagers were kicking a football around, one of them wearing a white t-shirt with green trims; ‘Portugal’ printed in green block letters across the shoulders.
Attempting to ignore the sudden ache in his heart and the painful reminded, he shook his head and was about to head out on the beach to search for his brother as he caught sight of someone standing on a second story balcony.
She was blonde, slender with curves as far as he could tell and he could see the straps of a dark bikini beneath the white tank top she was wearing. And judging by the way she nodded as one of the teenagers yelled something to her, she there on vacation, they were speaking a language very different from his one, one he couldn’t understand.
Lingering for a moment, he watched as she disappeared from view for only a moment before reappearing once again, a large bundle in her hands. It was a bundle she proceeded to throw over the railing, into the waiting arms of the boy below and he jumped slightly as he felt his phone vibrate against his leg.
Reading the text his brother had sent him, asking him where he was, he shook his head before glancing back up at the hotel only to find the balcony empty. The girl was gone and so were the boys, the only thing revealing that they’d even been there in the first place was the abandoned football still laying on the lawn.
Shrugging slightly, he pushed his hands into the pockets of his shorts and walked out on the beach, searching for his brother and his brother’s girlfriend who were there with him.
Finding the couple stretched out on lounge chairs in the white sand, he soon joined them, making himself comfortable as he pulled off his polo-shirt and slipped on a pair of shaded to shield his brown eyes from the bright sunshine.
Stretching out on the lounger, he let the disappointment of the Euro-tournament wash off him, he forgot the girl he’d seen and he allowed his body to relax for the first in what seemed like a lifetime, but in reality was closer to a year...