Lily slept the longest and the deepest, and had the worst hangover.
‘Urgh,’ she groaned, peering up at the curtains dangling just six inches above her head. The sunlight sneaked its way beneath them and hurt her eyes. ‘What time is it?’
No one answered.
Lily closed her eyes and groaned again. Her tongue felt like a dry sponge and stuck to the roof of her mouth. Someone in the room had halitosis; it made Lily gag.
She could smell bacon. Bacon? And she was actually hungry even after last night’s large dinner. She sat up slowly, her head thumping. No more cider. Ever again.
She shimmied down to the end of the bed, her knickers riding up and giving her a wedgie as she did so. She wriggled to unravel them, then placed her feet on the floor. The carpet felt cold and rough. The halitosis was even stronger now; she looked around for the culprit.
‘Oh,’ she said, finding herself alone. The other two beds were neatly made. When did that happen?
She stood up and felt the room sway. She grabbed hold of the end of Tess’s bed and manoeuvred herself along the floor to her suitcase. There was no sign of any of the other bags which had been piled there the night before. Unzipping a corner, she reached in, fished around and pulled out a pair of socks and a long cardigan.
‘Morning, Lily,’ Tess said, smiling when Lily entered the kitchen. ‘Coffee?’ Tess waved a cup at her.
‘Yes please. Where did that come from?’
‘I brought supplies,’ Gemma called from the other end of the room. She was sitting at the dining table in front of expansive French windows. Behind her the vista was bright blue.
‘What’s that?’
‘Breakfast,’ Gemma answered.
‘No. I mean that blue.’
‘It’s sky.’
‘What? Really?’ Lily padded down to the table but before she could look outside she had to sit down quickly.
‘Hanging?’ Gemma laughed.
‘Mmm. Weren’t you two?’
‘Yes,’ Tess called over. ‘A bit. That local cider is strong stuff. We’ll have to be careful.’
‘Not me.’ Gemma’s voice was smug and superior. ‘I stuck to soda water all evening.’
‘Did you?’ Lily doubted that.
‘Here, drink these.’ Tess put the coffee and a glass of water in front of Lily.
‘That smells nice,’ Lily said, eyeing Gemma’s empty plate.
‘Which is more than can be said for some of us.’ Gemma arched a perfect eyebrow. She wore full make-up including lipstick which hadn’t been dislodged by her breakfast.
‘Is that smell me?’ Lily asked, sniffing. Of course it was and it really wasn’t pleasant.
This is the fourth excerpt from my romantic comedy ‘Mermaid Hair and I Don’t Care’ which I am currently writing. It’s a first draft, so excuse any typos/erros. Hope you enjoy and come back next week for another taster.
CJ Morrow - the inside stories 