Page 67 of The Suite Life
‘Well, I never thought I’d be invited to sip cocktails by a private pool, Gigi,’ my dad says proudly. ‘Have you won the lottery and not told us?’
I laugh because, while that isn’t true, that’s not completely unlike the situation I’ve found myself in – or the situation hotel staff think I’m in, anyway.
‘It’s incredible, Gigi,’ Lucy adds.
‘Yeah, you’ve been holding out on us,’ Sunshine adds, with just a hint of snippiness.
Is it weird that I feel embarrassed? I mean, I know I’m not rich, and that I have no right to be here but, still, it feels oddly shameful to have something so nice, all to myself.
‘Anyway, let’s get comfortable by the pool,’ I say, moving things along. ‘There’s waiter service here if anyone wants drinks.’
‘Screw that,’ Rick announces. ‘I’m getting in!’
Rick charges towards Nathan, grabbing him on his way to the pool, flinging the both of them into the water at the same time.
‘Wateryou doing,’ Dad jokes with an amused laugh, following them, an inflatable unicorn in hand – oh, great, it is his. ‘I suppose I’ll play lifeguard – someone has to be the mature adult around here.’
Says the man with the inflatable unicorn.
‘Well, why don’t us girls get set up on the sunloungers,’ Lucy suggests. ‘I love to warm up my skin in the sun, before getting in a cool pool.’
‘Girls just wanna have sun,’ Dad calls back as he heads for the pool steps, getting one last dad gag in there – he’s on top form today.
‘And yes to the drinks,’ Mum enthuses. ‘Do you get better cocktails here?’
She’s joking but I actually think we do.
We take our seats on the sunloungers outside my suite. If it were just my mum and Lucy, I would invite them in, and show them around, but Sunshine’s presence is – ironically – a black cloud. I just know she’ll find some way to ruin it for me, because it’s almost as though she can’t stand to see people have something she doesn’t. That’s actually a trait that she and Nathan have in common.
The morning sun bathes the private pool area in a warm golden glow, casting long shadows across the beautifully manicured surroundings. That gentle Hawaiian breeze that I’ve come to love dances through the air, carrying with it the subtle fragrance of scenery around us. The temperature is just right, neither too hot nor too cool, making it a perfect day for hanging out by the pool.
‘Mother Marsden, cover your ears,’ Sunshine commands jokily. ‘Lucy, I’ve got a little something for your wedding night.’
‘Oh, really?’ Lucy replies, one of her eyebrows raised with curiosity.
‘Yes, I got the most stunning lingerie, for a sponsored post, and now I’ve got my shots, there are a few items going spare – they would be perfect for your wedding night,’ she explains.
‘Oh, thank you,’ Lucy says with an awkward laugh. ‘I hadn’t really thought about… that part of the wedding.’
‘Well, why not?’ Mum muses. ‘You’ve planned every other part of it in great detail. You can’t start slacking on the wedding night – start as you mean to go on.’
I snort with laughter. Lucy covers her eyes with her hands.
‘Your mum is right,’ Sunshine tells her. ‘Nathan honestly loves it when I dress up for him – literally obsessed – in fact, these days, I swear, he would rather I was wearing something spicy, than have me completely naked. I don’t think he’s had much sexual stimulation, in previous relationships, it’s all been so vanil…’
Sunshine’s voice tapers off about, oh, I don’t know, ten minutes too late.
‘Awkward,’ she blurts, avoiding eye contact with me.
Wow. I mean, if that wasn’t an intentional dig, then I don’t know what is.
I don’t think I’m vanilla – I was certainly more adventurous than Nathan who, frankly, never wanted to do anything that wasn’t strictly horizontal. Honestly, the man probably thought foreplay was the name of Channel 4’s streaming service, and to him sixty-nine was nothing other than the number that comes before seventy.
If Sunshine dressing up in the freebies she has been given to flog on Instagram does it for him then good for him – good for both of them. I’m not going to let her make me feel embarrassed. Instead, I’m going to double down, and hit her where it actually hurts.
‘So, you like the suite, huh?’ I prompt, mostly in Mum and Lucy’s direction.
‘It’s all so amazing,’ Lucy says. ‘I still can’t believe it.’
