Page 51 of Love on the Rocks
We headed down toward Kamini at a brisk pace, Yiannis panting beside me through the narrow, winding streets. Whenwe neared the square, the sound of excited chatter echoed through the still evening air. A crowd had gathered near the school, people milling about, drinks in their hands. I spotted Dimitris and his friends carrying a large speaker and called out to him. He shot me a worried glance and whispered something to the other little troublemakers. They were up to something. I hoped that didn’t mean I’d be splinting someone’s extremities later.
As if reading my mind, one of the boys very deliberately dropped the speaker on Dimitris’s foot.
“Aie, aie!” Dimitris howled and rolled on the ground, his cast in the air.
I’d played enough soccer with these boys to recognize when they were faking an injury. “A little dramatic, no?”
When I bent to take his shoe off, Dimitris protested, “Not here, doc, please. At your office. I need an X-ray.”
“That’s funny, I usually have to drag you to my office. Now you’ll go willingly?”
I touched his other foot, and he squealed. “Okay, I don’t know what you’re up to, but you win. Am I going to have to carry you?”
“Yes!” His friends laughed at the idea. I lifted him up and then helped him hop to my office. He moved at a snail’s pace, clearly stalling. It took us a good five minutes to make it inside. Then he made a big deal about taking his shoe off.
“Do I need a cast?”
“For your big toe? No. There’s nothing wrong with it.” I handed him back his smelly sock. “Now, are you going to tell me why you didn’t want me to come near the school?”
“I promised I wouldn’t.” He gnawed on his dirty nails. “Maybe we could wait a few more minutes though, so she thinks I did my best?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Who do you want to impress?”
“Miss Calista. She promised me fifty euros if I helped her today. You weren’t supposed to be here.” He glared at me.
What was she up to now? And why was everyone in on her plan but me?
I sat back and crossed my arms. “So this is how you repay me for all the hours I’ve spent teaching you English? For all the times I’ve mended your bones? As soon as my back is turned you start plotting against me.”
“It’s fifty euros, doc.” He shrugged.
“I’ll give you fifty more if you tell me what she’s up to.”
He was a shrewd kid and considered my offer but finally shook his head. “No, sorry, I don’t want to betray her.”
“But me, no problem?”
“She’s nicer to look at.”
“Can’t argue with that. Go on. I’ll give you a two-minute lead.” He raced out of the office, not even pretending to limp.
By the time I wandered over to the schoolhouse, the entire island had gathered there. I ran into Panos at the door, carrying bottles of his homebrewed IPA. He blanched when he saw me. “Et tu, Pano?”
“It’s a party,” he said. “It would be rude not to come.”
A podium had been set up at the head of the room and, behind it, an image of the horrible hotel was projected on a screen. And there she was. Dressed in another flowy dress, her lips plump and red, and her hair up in a Grecian style with whisps of golden strands framing her face. My entire body hardened at the sight of her, and images of her coming apart on top of me flashed through my head.
As she turned toward me, the look of dismay that flickered over her face made it crystal clear that my presence was not welcome. She flattened her lips and, turning away, proceeded to ignore me. Or at least pretended to. Clearly, I was no Angelos and wouldn’t have her licking honey off my fingers tonight.
I made my way through the room full of my fellow islanders, all laughing and chatting. That is, until they saw me coming. They bowed their heads and went silent as I passed like I’d caught them out. It was a weird sensation, like I was the outsider and they’d been humoring me this whole time, pretending to be against the resort, when in reality they were all too ready to lie down and roll over for Greystone.
“Niko.” I turned to find Teresa, pinning me with a suspicious glare. We’d always been at odds and held very different opinions about the future of Lyra. We argued about everything really, but we respected each other.
“Teresa, how are you?” We embraced quickly.
“Fine. And you?”
“Can’t complain,” I said as I studied the array of soft drinks on the plastic table.
