Fun In The Sun, Chapter 1

Sal peered into the bathroom mirror and patted some more powder foundation onto her nose and cheeks to cover up the sprinkling of freckles that had always frustrated her so much. She put down the powder puff and picked up her mascara, applying a thick coating of the dark substance which made her lashes look longer and her eyes more piercing. She had always considered her eyes to be one of her most appealing features. They were such an unusual shade. Although they were predominantly indigo, flashes of green could be seen in them at times, depending on her mood. She stood back to assess the results of her labour.

"Sally Fitzroy-Smith, airport supervisor on the sunny island of Crete, almost ready for duty," she said to her reflection. She turned to glance out of the window briefly and then shrugged, swinging her head back to the mirror. "Sunny day, nothing different there. Would love to go to the beach right now but alas, needed at airport shortly for touristic commitments. Time," she looked at her watch, "twelve fifteen, day...oh hell! Twelve fifteen! I'm late!"

Grabbing her hairbrush from off the sink, she dashed for the door, pausing very briefly to shout to the mirror, "Still waiting for my Mr Mind-Shattering guy by the way!"

In the bedroom, she threw on her airport clothes as quickly as she possibly could and ran a brush through her shiny, auburn hair. When she had begun the summer season as airport supervisor that year, she had decided to adopt a more classy, sophisticated look to fit the part, and she considered her new hair cut to be an addition to her transformation. She liked the fashionable bob that she now wore and it suited her lively, outgoing personality. She quickly surveyed the finished results: her smart, figure hugging, navy blue skirt, pale green blouse, which accentuated the colour in her eyes, her high heeled stiletto shoes and the blue and green neck tie, which she hated wearing but which made her look the part all the same. Although her clothes, shoes and makeup all epitomized the classic airport staff, her freckles, eyes and hair betrayed the true Sal. She was anything but run of the mill. Sal was different, fun, and often quirky, but most of all, Sal was unique.

"Hmm, not bad," she said to herself, backing away from the mirror but pausing for thought before she left the room. "Hold on, you may be starting to look too much like one of them." She pointed a chastising finger at herself in the mirror. "Tonight you are putting on the most outrageously sexy little dress and going wild in town." Narrowing her eyes at her new, reserved looking reflection, she chuckled and stuck out her tongue to herself before grabbing her handbag and leaving for the airport.

Outside of her apartment, Sal jumped into her bright yellow Cinquecento, which was parked by the curb, and turned the key in the ignition. The car shuddered for a moment and then fell silent.

"Oh no! Please, not now Bobby. Come on, work for me please!" she begged, stroking the steering wheel for a while before starting up the car again.

There were a few heart stopping moments when she thought that it was going to refuse to start, before it hummed into life and she breathed a sigh of relief, pulling out into the road.

She had spent the remainder of her savings at the end of last summer on the car, but now that she had been promoted, on several occasions she had contemplated trading the car in for a more reliable model. Every time she thought about giving up her beloved Bobby however, she pictured it being mangled and squashed into a metal cube and so the car had remained in her possession, and she had resigned herself to cajoling it to start up every morning.

Finally, Sal was able to turn onto the main highway which ran alongside the east coast of the island to Heraklion airport, at which point she put her foot to the floor. Reaching into her glovebox, she pulled out a CD and slotted it into the CD player, turning the volume up full blast as she sped around the bends in the road cut into the mountainside.

She made it to the outskirts of Heraklion in record time but was dismayed as she approached the airport to find that the road slowly became more and more congested, forcing her to slow the car down. She spent a frustrating ten minutes crawling towards the airport until eventually the road widened and split into several lanes, allowing more traffic to move past the busy town centre.

At the last set of traffic lights before she could turn into the airport, Sal stopped, waiting for the lights to turn green and glancing out of the window at the car next to her. Her eyes immediately came into direct contact with a cheeky pair of chocolate ones as the man in the adjacent car grinned and winked at her. She did a double take and laughed, blowing him a kiss and speeding off suddenly when the lights changed.

"See ya later sexy Greek guy!" she shouted out of the window as she passed him.

At the airport, she faced a buzz of activity by the outside desk as the reps crowded around Adam, the company manager, who had been organizing the coaches and transfers of the guests since early that morning.

"Sal, thank God! Sort this lot out for me will you? I have to go now. I said I'd meet Fay and she'll think I've forgotten her," Adam appealed to Sal.

"No problem, but I thought this lot would have left on the coaches before now. Hasn't the Gatwick flight landed yet?" she asked in confusion.

"Afraid not, there's a delay but you can get more details from the handler's office inside. Good luck," he said, leaving the situation in her capable hands.

Adam had been surprised at how quickly Sal had got to grips with the airport work, and when Fay had suggested that he promote her best friend to airport supervisor, he had decided to give it a go. Sal hadn't let him down and it had given him more time to spend with the new love of his life, Fay.

Sal delegated work out to the reps that were standing around the desk and disappeared into the airport, heading for the office upstairs to find out more details about the delayed flight.

xxx

Nick Elliot stepped onto the runway into the blazing Cretan sunshine and gave a whoop of delight.

Back at last! He loved this place.

As he boarded the shuttle bus, he took out is mobile phone to send a message to Jen, his girlfriend back in London who was going to join him at the end of the week.

"I'm here and it feels great! You had better hurry up and get here or I'll find someone else to enjoy the sunshine with!" he texted, laughing light-heartedly but suddenly pausing after reading the message for a second time.

Oh damn, she had been so moody lately, he'd better change that last part.

He looked down at his phone, wondering what to put instead.

To hell with it!

He deleted the whole message and decided to text her later.

As the bus jolted its passengers in its journey across the runway, Nick wondered if Adam would give him another job that year. Yeah, he probably would. He wasn't half bad for a posh, executive, business guy type! He could see if Adam could tear himself away from Fay for a bit to watch the football that night in The Wheelhouse. He could even make it into a guy's night out. Yeah, he could do with a good night out. Well, even if Adam couldn't make it, Sal was always up for a fun night on the town. Then it hit him, he didn't even know for sure that she would still be there. She'd better still be there! He should have kept in touch with her really, it's just that...

Nick gave some thought as to why he hadn't contacted Sal over the winter that he had spent in London. If he was honest with himself, Sal had begun to linger in his thoughts a little too much for his liking at the end of the last season, and when Sal did that, Nick's frustration levels headed to unbearable heights. It's not like it was his fault. She just had that effect on him, and goodness knows he'd tried to ignore it. But it wasn't that easy, and so he had decided to put some distance between them, uncertain at the time if he would return to Crete at all. I mean, they were friends, nothing more, and he wasn't a sadist! How much sexual frustration was one guy expected to take? But he hadn't counted on missing his life there so much. He had missed the town, the people he had met, his friends, and also, he had to admit it, Sal.

Flashing his passport at the customs officer, he retrieved his luggage after a long, frustrating wait and entered the busy airport building.

Right, he needed to see if he could hop on a transfer bus back to Agios Nikolaos. He really needed to sort out a motor bike rental as soon as he could too. He couldn't wait to hit the open roads on a bike again! Damn, he needed to get some money together first though. Perhaps he would see if he could get some transfer work while he was at the desks. The sooner he got work, the sooner he could get himself that bike.

Outside the main building, he scanned the line of booths for number eight transfer desk where he was hoping to see Adam. Unfortunately, there was no sign of Adam, but desk number eight was surprisingly busy and crowded with reps.

Adam must have been doing well that year. He'd taken on enough staff anyway.

At the desk, Nick asked one of the girls if she knew where the boss was. The girl looked at him with a horrified expression and stuttered and stammered before nervously admitting that it was her first day at work and pointing him in the direction of another rep.

You'd have thought he had two heads or something the way she'd jumped and looked at him. Maybe he was losing his touch with women; he seemed to be scaring them off!

He tapped another rep on the shoulder and asked once more for the boss. The girl glanced up and registered the floppy, blonde hair and mischievous blue eyes, not to mention an incredibly hot body! She smiled after unashamedly mentally undressing him.

Ah, that was better. He must still have what it takes!

"She's in the handler's office upstairs inside," the girl informed him.

So, Adam had employed a new supervisor, and a woman too. Not that he had anything against working for a woman, it's just that he would have quite liked that job himself. Never mind, time to go meet this new woman supervisor and persuade her to give him a job.

Nick left his suitcase outside the office door and peered into the room. His eyes widened at what he saw. A woman with her back to him, bending over the desk and jotting something down onto a piece of paper. The tight skirt she was wearing clung invitingly to her figure and revealed a shapely pair of tanned legs beneath it.

Mmmm, he may forgive Adam after all for employing her. What a sexy lady!

His jaw dropped in shock however when the woman stood up and turned slightly to speak to a man sitting at the other end of the room.

"So, do you think it will be delayed any more than this now? Or has the plane left the UK already?"

"Sal?" Nick said in amazement. "Is that you?"

Sal swung around to see Nick leaning against the doorframe, his face a picture of shocked surprise.

"Nick!" she squealed in astonishment, and then grinned. "I don't believe it. You're back!"

"You look completely different, Sal. You look fantastic!" he said, running his eyes over her.

She frowned. "Only just got back and already you're insulting me! I must have looked bloody awful before then," she said, placing her hands on her hips.

"Just as much of a drama queen as ever. Come here you crazy woman," he replied, holding out his arms.

She tutted, but couldn't hold back the excitement as she ran to him, jumping into his arms with a squeal of delight.

"I can't believe you're back!" she laughed as he spun her around, taking advantage of the feel of 'Sal curves' pressed tightly against him. He just couldn't help it.

"Yep," he put her down before his hormones started to soar, taking a closer look at her. "I like the new hairstyle, very sexy Sal. It suits you." He smiled. "However..."

She was still reeling from his complements, but nevertheless, she knew him well enough to know some teasing would follow.

"It's not working you know," he said.

"What's not working ?" she asked in confusion.

"Your attempts to cover up these," he grinned, gesturing to the freckles on her face.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't know what you mean."

He chuckled. "Sure. You can't fool me you know, Sal. I know you too well. You may have poshed yourself up but you're still the same old Sal underneath."

She huffed, a pretense of offence, and moved back to the desk to the sound of his amused laugh.

"Want some advice?" he asked.

She collected a pile of papers together off the desk and glanced over her shoulder at him. "No, but I'm sure that you're going to give me some anyway."

"Leave the freckles alone, they look cute," he smiled.

She sighed and smiled back at him, some of her initial enthusiasm fading though as she dropped the papers back onto the desk. She really was glad to see him again, but some small voice in the back of her head was asking why he hadn't kept in contact as he'd promised he would. "So, how did you know that I'd be up here?" she asked.

"I didn't, it was a complete surprise. Came looking for the supervisor to ask for some transfer work and found you in the job."

She grinned, a flicker of a challenge glinting in her eyes. Picking up a clipboard from off the desk, she leant over slightly to begin to slipping some of the papers under the clip.

"Yep, started last month as airport supervisor for Adam," she replied casually.

"I'm impressed," he said, watching her.

She glanced up at him.

A smile tugged at his mouth as he contemplated her with interest, his arms folded across his chest as his eyes flitted over the sight of this new looking Sal before him. New but the same...familiar, but even more...even more what? He had to focus.

Returning his eyes to her face, his heart quickened for a moment from what he saw. For a second he sensed something that he hadn't sensed before with her. He'd always wanted to. He'd looked for some sort of sign before...any sign. But the look on her face then, something in her eyes, seemed to intensify for an instant. And then it was gone. Maybe it had just been wishful thinking on his part?

She stood upright suddenly as if having remembered something and snatched up her bag which had been hanging on the back of a chair. Rifling through it momentarily, she proceeded to pull out her mobile phone. "Hold on a sec." she said.

Dialing a number, she waited impatiently for someone to pick up.

"There you are! Listen," she began, turning away from Nick to continue her conversation on the phone, "the plane isn't due in for at least another hour, so if things are sorted out down there, you can tell the girls to go for a break...but make sure that you are all back in forty five minutes at the latest," she added firmly, hanging up and turning back decisively to face Nick. The phone call had been enough time for her to formulate her plan. With Nick, she had to think quickly.

"So Nicholas, you'd like a job with us, would you?" she said formally.

He shook his head at her. She was up to something.

She reached towards the desk again and picked up a pen.

"Yes please Miss," he came back politely, his inquisitive eyes following her movements. These games they always played...they were, they were... actually, they were quite fun!

"Hmmm," she pretended to look thoughtful, chewing on the end of the pen. "We may have a vacancy. And you're in luck..." she said, pointing the pen at him.

His face lit up. He could picture the bike he was going to get with his wages.

"I just have enough time to conduct an interview for the position," she finished, grinning at the way his expression changed.

Ooooh, she was a cheeky one! They had always been equals and she knew it. Still, this new role as boss kind of suited her. It was even quite stimulating.

"Interview...of course," he came back with a smile, calling her bluff. "Go ahead."

She sat down behind the desk and gestured for him to take the empty seat opposite her. "Please, take a seat."

He smiled politely and sat down.

Sorting through the paperwork on the desk, she found a suitable piece of paper and took a firmer grip on the pen, letting the nib hover above the paper.

"Name?" she asked, trying to keep a straight face.

"You know my name cheeky!" he replied incredulously.

She nodded and jotted something down.

"Age?" she grinned.

"Oh no you don't! You don't get to know my age. I'm youthful in outlook but experienced in all areas," he said, leaving her to wonder how experienced and in what particular areas.

She looked impressed but continued the questioning. "References?"

He smiled slowly. "Well, as I recall, a certain transfer rep I used to know assured me that I was the best transfer rep in the world. I think that's a good enough reference, don't you?"

Not that she'd had any choice in the matter at the time. He'd tricked her!

She growled at him. "Hmm, I think that the said transfer rep must have been blackmailed into admitting that!"

He shook his head. "Not blackmailed, just honest enough to admit the truth."

He was incorrigible!

She growled again and threw the pen at him. "Okay, okay Mr Smug, you can have the job!"

He ducked to avoid the missile and laughed. She laughed with him.