The Road Trip(38)

‘You doing OK?’ Luke says, looking at me sideways.

‘Yes! Yeah,’ I say, swallowing. ‘Just . . .’

‘It’s a lot,’ he says. ‘This is classic Marcus. Of course he didn’t bother warning you and Dyl that he’d invited us all.’ He rolls his eyes affectionately as we set the glasses down. ‘He’s acting out – he’s probably pissed Dylan’s preoccupied with someone other than him, for once. I’ve never seen Dylan look at any woman the way he looks at you. I think you’re going to be really good for him, you know. He needs someone to ground him. Like I ground Javier.’

I smile at his expression when he mentions his boyfriend. ‘Javier seems great,’ I say, straightening the knives and forks. Habit, I guess. It’s a bit weird being here as Dylan’s . . . whatever-I-am, as well as the villa’s caretaker.

‘He is. I want that for Dyl. And for Marcus,’ he adds. ‘Of course.’

‘Dylan said you and him were friends with Marcus when you were kids?’

‘Mm. We sort of adopted Marcus, really. Or he adopted us, maybe. Never been big on functional families, this group,’ he says, indicating the collection of beautiful people sprawled around Terry, by the pool, ‘and me, Dyl and Marcus are no different. You make your own family, don’t you?’

I think of my family. My dad, solid and reliable. My mum, always quietly one step ahead. Deb, whose last text to me read You need me, I’m there.

‘Stop hogging the new girl, Luke!’ Marcus calls across the terrace at us. ‘Addie, come on, I want to show you something.’

I hesitate for a moment. Marcus is stood on the steps down to the courtyard. His hair is pulled back in a ponytail now, and with the drawn-on eyepatch and goatee he should look ridiculous, but it’s actually all quite . . . I don’t know, villainous.

‘He’s not all bad, you know,’ Luke says beside me. ‘There’s a good guy in there somewhere. He’s just got a bit lost.’

I make a dubious face. Luke laughs.

‘Though by all means, tell him no. He doesn’t hear it very often. Might be good for him.’

After another moment’s pause, I roll my eyes slightly. ‘Oh, go on, I’ll humour him.’

I leave Luke at the table and head over towards Marcus. He trots off before I’ve caught him up, leading me down the lawn to the scrubby area near the villa’s boundary. He stops so suddenly I nearly pile into him, and have to put a hand on his shoulder to steady myself.

‘Shh,’ he says, beckoning me to stand next to him. ‘Look.’

I follow his gaze down to the shaded grass. It takes a moment for me to see what he sees: a snake. I breathe in sharply as I meet its slitted gaze. I’ve not seen a single snake all summer, but this one’s enormous. Coiled, all muscle. Its scales are almost-black and pale yellow.

I crouch down. I don’t know why; it just feels like the right thing to do. Marcus kneels beside me, and for a while we just stay like that. Watching it watch us.

‘It’s beautiful.’

‘Pure power,’ Marcus says.

‘Is it poisonous? Or venomous, or whatever?’ I ask in a whisper.

‘No idea.’

That should probably scare me, but it doesn’t. The snake isn’t moving, just waiting.

‘He loves you, you know,’ Marcus says.

For a weird second I think he means the snake.

‘Dylan’s easily hurt,’ Marcus goes on. His voice is level. ‘By the people he loves.’

‘I’m not going to hurt him,’ I say.

‘Course you are,’ Marcus says, tone still light, eyes still on the snake. ‘You’re too complicated for someone like Dylan. Far too interesting.’ He turns his head to look at me then. ‘This summer’s when you wake up, isn’t it, and you’re only just getting started. You’re just beginning to play around, and he’s nearly ready to give up and settle down and say, This is who I am, I’m done.’

There’s something indecent about his gaze. It feels hot. I keep my eyes on the snake, but I know my cheeks are starting to blush pink. I should have stayed up with Luke on the terrace. Nice Luke, who said I’d be good for Dylan.

‘I’m not playing around,’ I say. ‘I don’t know where you got that idea from.’

His gaze burns. ‘Maybe you should be.’

This conversation feels like it’s sliding away from me.

‘You act like you know me. You don’t know anything about me.’ I try to keep my voice as steady as his.

‘I told you, I’m an excellent judge of character. I like the look of the dark, messy parts of you, the fun parts. But Dylan wants a good girl.’

I frown, heart thudding. That’s so inappropriate. I don’t want to be here. As I move to stand, the snake recoils and slithers away from us.

‘I’m not Grace,’ I say shortly, brushing down my knees. ‘You don’t get a part of me just because I’m Dylan’s.’

He stands and I almost step back when I see his expression. His eyes are dark and angry. It’s disorientating how quickly he’s changed, or maybe he looked like that before, but I couldn’t hear it in his voice.

‘Well, you might be all Dylan’s,’ he says as I turn to walk away from him. ‘But he’s not all yours.’