Chapter Four

THEN

 

That night, Lenox dreamed of white sand and peaceful vibes. In the morning, he showered quickly, finished the last of his packing, and set off in an Uber cab for Gatwick Airport.

On the flight, he sat between Bambi and Bubbles, with Del Rey and Tulip occupying the seats across the aisle. They toasted their holiday with champagne and nibbles, despite it only being early afternoon. After polishing off two bottles of Moët between the five of them, they arrived in the Balearic Isles.

To Lenox, it never felt real until he stepped off the plane and felt the dry, blistering air of the Mediterranean on his skin. That was when it hit him. He had arrived in his little piece of paradise.

Ibiza.

As he closed his eyes and breathed in, the stresses of the last few months began to melt away from his shoulders. His final project had been turned in and now that the incident with his ex was hopefully over and done with, he could finally relax.

The tension that he kept in his back began to lessen as they boarded the shuttle bus for the arrivals lounge and he was filled with a newfound sense of ease and simplicity.

Lenox had been coming to Ibiza for as long as he could remember. It was his parents’ holiday destination of choice. They would venture over as often as they could, claiming there was something about the energy of the small island that kept them coming back year after year. They taught their only son about the history of the island and how to respect it when he came, being sure to abide by the ways of the locals and to leave his accommodation in the same condition as he found it. Despite their connection with the land, they would fluctuate their stays between lavish resorts and hotels like the Grand Palladium or The Can Lluc, where they would receive five-star service and be waited on hand and foot, and more demure and quaint locations where it was just them, the sea, and the sand.

Lenox quickly learned that authentic Ibiza lay away from the pampered experiences of the rich and famous, where you could mingle with the natives, swim on lesser-known beaches, and experience the real energy that Ibiza offered to those who walked on its shores.

When he turned eighteen, he visited for the first time without his parents and saw the island from a new perspective. He remembered his mother’s words as he found his way among the windy hills and dusty roads, being sure to respect everything and everyone he came in contact with. Although he was no stranger to the wild nights that Ibiza had to offer, these days, as he approached the end of his twenties, he much preferred the chilled holiday experience.

The temperatures in Ibiza were unforgiving. He and his friends made their way through Arrivals and collected their cases, then hopped in a waiting private-hire van and were off.

Lenox’s phone pinged and he reached down to pull it out of his back pocket.

“Did you tag us here already, B?”

“You know it!”

Bambi was never one to let anything be left to the unknown. She was what Lenox deemed to be a “social media hussy,” always posting lurid pictures of herself and all willing parties when out and about, and a holiday abroad was high time to show off to her thousands of followers the mischief she was bound to get up to.

“Ugh, when did you take that photo?” Lenox scoffed at his iPhone screen.

“What? Lemme see!” Bubbles demanded, getting closer to the screen.

“What? It’s a candid photo!” Del Rey chimed in.

“You can practically see the drool dripping from my bottom lip!” Lenox whined at the photo of him snoozing on the flight and the rest of the girls wrapped around him adoringly as he slept, completely oblivious to the selfie being taken.

“You look lovely, my darling,” Del Rey added.

“Fuck,” Lenox said under his breath.

“What’s wrong?” Del Rey asked.

Lenox turned the phone so she could see the comments below.

In big capital letters, was the word CUNT.

Lenox didn’t need to look any further to see who had written it. He knew immediately who the message was from.

Del Rey looked from the phone to him and quickly, in the way that she was so well versed, went on the defence. “Is that from…? Shit. I’m deleting it.”

“I thought we all blocked him?” Bambi said quickly.

“Shit. I’m sorry. I thought I had…”

The girls all checked their phones and searched for the relevant details to make sure he was on their list of blocked contacts.

“I’m so sorry, Lenox.”

Lenox’s eyes were unfocused as he stared out the window.

“It’s done. There. Blocked and I’ve deleted the comment. It’s fine.” Del Rey’s usually calm tone was shaky as she put her phone back in her bag and crossed her arms over her chest.

The van was quiet for a few minutes as the reality of the situation settled in, the vibe shifting from calm to tense in a matter of moments. Bambi put a hand on Lenox’s leg reassuringly.

“It’s okay, Lenox. Really,” she said in hushed tones.

“He knows where I am now, B…” Lenox whispered.

But Bambi didn’t respond; instead, she squeezed his knee.

Lenox drew in a deep breath, somewhat jarred and on edge all of a sudden. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled and his throat dried up.

They continued on down the road for a minute or so before Tulip’s harsh tone interrupted the silence. “Bloody hell, I can’t believe how hot it is!” she stated from the front passenger side seat.

“What did you expect, you saw how balmy it was in the UK, didn’t ya?” Del Rey countered, fanning herself with a foldaway fan as if she was a film star from the twenties.

“I know, but I’m sweating my tits off up here. Any chance you can crank up the A.C., mate?” she asked the driver, who only looked at her eyes briefly before his gaze lowered to Tulip’s enormous cleavage which appeared buttery smooth in the early afternoon sun. “Hiya, mate. I’m up here!” she yelled, only half serious, clicking her fingers to divert his attention from her boobs.

The whole group laughed heartily, thankful for the break in tension. Even Lenox eased up slightly, his face cracking into a wide grin as he took in the situation. There was nothing he could do to change what had just happened. He drew in a deep breath and tried to convince himself that it really would be okay.

“What do you expect, hun? The girls are commanding everyone’s attention today,” Lenox said as he raked a hand through his thick black hair, sweeping it off his sticky forehead. “I’m afraid to say that I can barely take my eyes off them, and I’m about as queer as they come!”

It felt good to laugh. This was exactly what Lenox needed and one of the reasons they had all planned this holiday in the first place.

“Well, if you’re starting to zero in on boobs these days, then I’m thinking there is no better time than the present to find you some dick!” Tulip threw back at him, causing the car to erupt once more into a series of catcalls at Lenox’s expense. “And I mean some good dick. Not some crazy-ass dick like the last fool, but some good old-fashioned sane dick.”

“Yeah, yeah, like I’d ever let a ho like you play matchmaker for me.”

“Uh, excuse me? Who you callin’ a ho?”

“I’m just saying. When’s the last time you had a boyfriend?”

“Who said anything about boyfriends?” Tulip asked, twirling a finger through her short crimson bob. “I’m just saying it’s time we got you laid!”

“She’s right, Lenox. Sometimes all you need to get over one guy…” Bubbles began.

“Is to get under another one!” the girls chorused together, before erupting into a fit of high-pitched giggles.

“Trust me, I don’t need to try to get over this one. I need to bloody forget about him,” he said, trying to make light of the situation.

Lenox averted his gaze and peered out the window, knowing despite his retort that they were right. After what happened he knew it would take a lot before he could trust someone again. Watching the rolling hills of the Ibizan countryside pass by outside his window, he inwardly castigated himself for not seeing the signs or taking notice of the red flags that had shown themselves so regularly in his last relationship.

If he closed his eyes long enough he could still see his face with that look of rage plastered across it. If he concentrated hard enough he could still hear the crack of his ribs as he was kicked repeatedly, or the steely taste of blood in his mouth that he thought would never go away. Never had he experienced such anger and violence from someone before. Now all he could do was pray every night that it was over.

Bambi patted his knee in a slightly condescending manner, bringing his attention back to the van.

“Tulip’s right, actually. You have been spending quite a bit of time lately either holed up in your darkroom or surrounded by strippers and rowdy straight men,” she remarked, almost reading his thoughts. “Maybe it is time you got yourself back out there.”

“What, on holiday?”

“Yes, on holiday! Specifically, on holiday!”

Lenox only shook his head. “A holiday romance isn’t what I need right now.” He returned his eyes to the views outside his window.

“Uhhh, hands up if you disagree with Lenox.”

He turned to see Del Rey raising her hand firmly in the air. The rest of the ladies raised a hand each in turn.

“Oh, come on! What’s the point? Anything that happens while away isn’t gonna last…”

“That is the point, my raven-haired friend! It’s the perfect scenario, because you know you’re leaving!” Bambi purred, flashing him a wink.

“I believe what you’re referring to is ‘expiration dating.’”

“There you go again with that dating crap,” Tulip argued, putting the word in-between air quotations. “It doesn’t have to be dating. It’s sex. Good old-fashioned holiday-abroad sex. Shake off that stalker-y mojo you’ve been dragging around with you.”

Lenox returned his gaze to the window and tucked his hands tightly away in his lap.

“Listen to your friends for once, Lenox. We’re on holiday. You never know what might happen!” Bambi proposed, planting a seed in the air around them.

As the countryside began to disperse and the landscape became littered with resorts and billboards advertising club nights and DJs, Lenox let their words wash through him. He allowed himself to consider, just for a moment, if there was some truth behind them.