Three's a Crowd by Sophie McKenzie Page B

back from the meals out with their dads until about two a.m., when Jonno made Eve go straight up to bed. In some ways that was the worst time for me. I knew Alejandro had a room in the main part of the hotel, near the private apartment where Eve was staying with Chloe and her dad and Lola. Eve couldn’t go through the lobby towards my room without the overnight receptionists seeing her. But there was nothing to stop her sneaking unnoticed into Alejandro’s room in the middle of the night.
    But what could I do?
    I’d promised not to be jealous. And although I broke that promise every minute of every day, I couldn’t let her know it.
    On the fourth morning after Alejandro’s dad came to visit, I checked that Jonno was by the pool, then marched up to Eve’s room.
    She looked anxious when she saw me.
    “This isn’t a good idea, Luke.” She gave me a quick hug then stepped away. “What if my dad comes back. . .?”
    “Screw him,” I said. “It’s not fair. Tonight you have to tell him you don’t want to go out. Say you’re ill or something. Anything.”
    Eve bit her lip. “I can’t. But Alejandro’s dad’ll be gone in a couple of days. Things’ll get easier then.”
    I pulled her towards me. “Don’t you want to see me?”
    “Of course I do.” She hugged me again, resting her head on my shoulder.
    We stood there for a minute. It was so good to feel her against me, her body all warm and soft and curvy. I breathed in the lemony smell of her hair, then leaned down and kissed her neck.
    She tilted her head back. Seconds later we were snogging furiously, our hands everywhere. Suddenly I was off my head with wanting her. I started backing her towards the bed, loving the way she was tugging at my T-shirt, pulling me after her.
    The bedroom door clicked open.
    We both whipped round.
    Chloe was standing there, her arms folded, a disapproving look on her face. “Ryan’s just called me. He says Jonno’s in reception and could be up here any minute.”
    I groaned. “Can’t I say I’m visiting you? You’re my sister for God’s sake.”
    “Then you’ll have to come next door into my room and actually visit me, won’t you?” Chloe said, tartly. “And I’m not sitting there like some anti-chaperone watching you two grope each other to death.”
    I turned to Eve. “What are your shifts today?”
    “Pool duty in half an hour,” she said. “Then you have to do homework and I have rehearsals and then crèche with Chloe from four to six.”
    I clenched my jaw. “And I’m in the restaurant from six to eight.”
    “Which is when I have to get ready for the nightclub.” Eve sighed. “God, I hate singing in that bloody place.”
    “So we have half an hour now.” I slid my hands down her back. “Why don’t we go down to the beach?”
    Eve looked up at me. “Because it takes fifteen minutes to get far enough away to be sure no-one from the hotel will see us, so as soon we get there, I’ll have to come back.”
    She stroked my face with her fingers. I closed my eyes.
    “Hel-lo,” Chloe called from the door. “I strongly suggest you two tear yourselves away from each other. Now. After what Jonno did to that guy last night I would think you—”
    “What guy?” I said.
    Eve blushed. “It wasn’t anything. Just someone at the restaurant we went to. He was drunk. He tried to . . . sort of . . . grab me when I was going to the loo. . .”
    “ What? ” I stared at her. “What happened?”
    “My dad punched him.” Eve looked at the floor. “If Alejandro and his dad hadn’t pulled him off, he’d have—”
    “Guys.” Chloe’s voice was urgent now. “Luke, you really should leave.”
    I blinked, my head whirling with an anger that spiked in several directions at once – at whoever had laid a hand on Eve, at Jonno for being the one who was able to punch him, at Alejandro for just being there.
    Then I had an idea.
    “Swap shifts with me, Chlo,” I said.
    She frowned.
    “I’ll do your crèche