Page 52 of What Happens in Dubai

‘Well, different folk like … eh … diplomats and …’ I tried to think back, wondering if Cameron and I had covered this chat on the flight or if I was too distracted by his protruding biceps and bulging crotch.

‘No, to a French guy who almost pumped your sister!’ Ashley burst out laughing, and I joined in briefly while Emily looked utterly confused.

‘Stop!’ I snorted, trying hard not to choke on my chicken tikka sandwich. ‘He basically works for an agency and guards whoever needs protecting at the time. Hot though, eh?’

‘But he stays in Dubai,’ Ashley said, shattering my vision.

‘Yes, but he is currently on holiday in Turkey. We’re talking like twenty-four hours a day. He phoned me last night for like two hours.’ I stuck out my bottom lip, feeling nostalgic for my late-night call with Cameron.

‘So, like, have you done anything? Like anything physical?’ Emily enquired.

‘Eh, no. We met on the plane on the way home from holiday. We went for hot chocolate afterwards, and he asked me not to see anyone else until we work out what’s going to happen with us.’

‘Wow, Zara. I’m shocked. Like a good shocked, but still shocked.’ We paused briefly, all munching on our food, then Emily continued, ‘So you haven’t even seen a picture of his dick or anything sexual?’

I giggled. ‘Well …’

My friends joined in immediately.

‘Last night, he said he was getting horny, right? I sent him the overedited unbuttoned booby pyjama picture, one of my favourites from the archives. The poor cunt had no idea – he thought it was just for him. Anyway, the conversation was growing heated, like … what he wanted to do to me and all this. I told him to send me a sexy picture of him, but he didn’t want to. He doesn’t take selfies or any of that shit, but I was saying it’s not your face I want to see.’ I rolled my eyes as my friends listened intently. ‘So, he sent me a picture of like his rock-hard abs and his dick – sort of.’

The two of them gawked, waiting for further information.

‘Well, he put an emoji over his penis, so I couldn’t actually see it.’ I held up my hands disappointedly.

‘No!’ Ashley gasped, looking slightly disgusted. ‘That’s weird, Zara. Do you not think, Emily?’

Emily swayed her head from side to side.

‘I’m not sure. Maybe he’s just shy?’ She shrugged.

‘Or, more likely, he has a tiny penis.’ She held up her pinky finger, waggling it around. ‘What emoji did he use?’

I grinned. ‘The wee guy with the shades!’ As soon as the words left my mouth, I shut my eyes, cringing for poor Cameron.

‘Noooo. He thinks he’s been cool. Ditch him, Zara. Creepy!’ Ashley said.

‘But I like him. He’s sweet and kind and so fucking sexy. Plus, he said he’s going to try and re-route his travel plans and visit me soon! Is that not the most fairy tale-like thing you’ve ever heard?’ I tried my hardest to stick up for my latest flame.

‘No, I think you’re right, Zara. I say go for it! I’ve not seen you like this with anyone since Tom, and …’

Both Ashley and I erupted into hilarity, and I turned back to face my sister.

‘About Tom … You’ll never guess what happened!’ I said.

We spent the remaining lunch break chatting about Tom and the photoshoot in Dubai. Emily was in her element, and it felt great to watch Ashley become animated as she shared the gossip with me, having a slight distraction from her heartache with Dave.

The rest of the afternoon was slow. Yet again, we had further cancellations. Ashley asked the clients to rebook but they all had similar excuses: they’d call back later, or they couldn’t afford the treatments just now and so on. The social media drive Ashley had promised was lacking, but I didn’t want to push her when she already felt so shitty. I spent a large part of the afternoon staring jealously through the damp square towards the high activity going on in Botox Boxx. I returned to my notepad, writing down ideas, competition plans, and statistics. I felt my optimism dwindle as the day progressed and began to feel more intimidated at the edgy new competition from across the road. Despite this, I had a plan and I couldn’t wait to share it with Raj and hopefully get him on board.

Cameron’s day seemed less gloomy than mine as he sent scenic photographs of Istanbul combined with cute messages about how pretty my WhatsApp profile picture looked. This pleased me, as I had changed it about twenty fucking times that day, all for his benefit.

Ping.

I was in the middle of a YouTube seach for ‘How to turn your business around in 24 hrs’when another WhatsApp from Cameron came through.

So, what if I told u I had booked a flight to Glasgow on Tuesday? Would that b crazy?? xx

My stomach flipped, and I screeched.

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