Page 18 of What Happens in Dubai

‘She’ll be lucky to get that hat in there.’

I began to grin, watching people having to edge away from Ashley and the sheer circumference of her accessory when they passed her still wearing her sunglasses.

‘You OK, wee yin?’ he asked.

‘Yeah, I’m good. You?’ I replied.

‘I’m good. Looking forward to some hot weather!’ Raj raised his eyebrows, making a fed-up face.

‘Are you sure? You seemed a bit touchy earlier.’

‘I’m honestly fine. I’m just stressed out we’ve closed, not unnecessarily, I hope.’

‘I don’t think it will be, Raj. Andrew’s always been spot on with his advice so far.’

‘Ooh, Andrew,’ Raj teased as my cheeks blushed just from saying his name. Everybody seemed to know how much I crushed on him.

‘I know, Zara, but we’re struggling with the volume of new clinics opening offering cheaper, shitty products. I don’t really need to be jetting off to Dubai when I should be working.’

‘Raj, it’s a free trip to Dubai! These clinics are dishing out humungous duck lips for practically nothing. We’re the crème de la crème of aesthetics. Fucking hell, man, we’re going to Dubai! Just relax. There’s virtually nothing that could go wrong.’

‘Thanks, Zara.’ He smiled. ‘If one more girl asks me for duck lips, I swear to God …’ He paused for a second and faced me. ‘I don’t know why you’re single, you know. You have so much to offer someone. I know it’s cheesy but I wish you could realise that, you know?’ He pressed the tip of my nose gently, then closed over his eyes while I felt my heart buzz with warmth, completely grateful to have such a great friend.

I rested my head on Raj’s shoulder, thinking over the last few months. I really didn’t want to bethatgirl, but the sheer thought of letting anyone else into my life to potentially hurt me the way Tom did was utterly terrifying. Surely this is a normal reaction following a break-up? I didn’t intentionally try and hurt anyone after all. I needed to be alone, I needed to have fun and let my hair down. I needed this holiday.

As the plane soared through the sky, leaving Glasgow small and twinkling behind, I pushed back on my seat, pulled down my complimentary eye mask and eventually got some rest.

Chapter Seven

A few hours later, we arrived safely in Dubai. As the plane descended and I peeked out the window, my eyes widened with delight. I was instantly captivated by the ultra-modern city, crammed with skyscrapers, luxurious cars and scorching hot weather. It felt surreal that we’d left Narnia behind only a few hours earlier, and now we were transported to one of the most beautiful cities in the world. My stomach ached with excitement, and I couldn’t wait to hop off the plane and start exploring.

When the plane doors opened and we were allowed to disembark, I immediately regretted my lazy decision of not changing out of last night’s jeans and T-shirt combo. As I walked down the burning steps with the stifling sun beaming directly into my eyes, I felt the hot, humid air attack my foreign pasty body. After accomplishing the stairs with my hand luggage, I stopped on the tarmac, panting for water as an extreme BO and excess sweat spell occurred. I peeled my jacket off my damp skin and caught a glance of Ashley, who casually promenaded past me, looking as though she was just off a catwalk.How can she still look so good after seven hours on a fucking plane?I thought.

We eventually reached the terminal building to collect our luggage, and I was thrilled.

‘Wow, fresh air!’ I cried out, enjoying the air con. ‘Thank fuck we’re out of that heat!’ I puffed, placing my hands on my knees for breath. ‘Jesus Christ, that was terrible. Hopefully it’s not as warm as this the rest of the trip.’

My friends looked at one another and began to laugh.

‘You were outside less than three minutes, Zara,’ Raj said.

‘Eh, it was at least five. And I swear, I thought this terminal was a fucking mirage at one point. It seemed to get further and further away.’ We all began giggling while I patted my sweaty forehead with my soggy sleeve.

‘And this will be it cooling down too – it’s 3 p.m. Good luck for tomorrow, kiddo,’ Raj said.

‘It’ll be better when you get your pins out and a bikini on. Both of you are wearing jeans – honestly!’ Ashley tutted as she tapped away on her phone, keen to join the local mobile network and‘check us in’.

The thought of wearing a bikini next to Ashley made me shudder, and I felt my insecurities creep back in. Suddenly, standing in the airport, I became aware of every girl’s perfect figure around me, their top-to-toe designer clothing and their handsome partners draped over them. I looked down at my own atrocious childlike outfit and general physical appearance and I felt my stomach sink. I hadn’t even showered off my rendezvous with Luke yet, and here I was, with frizzy hair, puffy ankles and my chronic singledom in the midst of the most glamorous city in the Northern Hemisphere.

Finally, the luggage belt began moving, and we collected our cases and headed for the exit. To our surprise, we were greeted by a driver holding up a card with ‘Individualise’ written across it, who then led us to a private Mercedes to escort us to the hotel.

During the half-hour drive from the airport to Palm Jumeirah, our eyes remained fixed on the sights passing by the tinted glass windows, awed by the state-of-the-art city jammed with palm trees, construction sites, high-rise towers and wide, dusty streets. We pulled up outside the hotel and looked up in wonder at the sheer size of the grandiose entrance.

‘Guys, this is insane!’ Ashley took out her phone and immediately began snapping.

‘Andy’s certainly pulled it out the bag!’ Raj said, looking dumbstruck.

As soon as the car stopped, he jumped out to get a better look while I sat there in awe. I couldn’t agree more – it was by far the most extravagant place I had ever seen. Eventually, I picked my jaw up and got out of the car, admiring the arched, glass-tunnelled entrance as an entourage of staff came out to greet us. We were escorted directly into the hotel, and our cases followed with the bellboy. The hotel lobby was glazed in marble and gold. Ashley entered with her phone stuck firmly in her hand, capturing every inch.

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