Read Online Rachel Does Rome by Nicola Doherty - Free Book Online Page A

a
player.
    ‘OK. Stand up, and come over here . . . closer . . . Now hand me your mobile and
     your wallet.’ I put down my drink and hold out my hands for them. ‘Great. Now –’ And
     before I can lose my nerve, I push him as hard as I can, backwards into the hot tub,
     where he lands with a beautiful and satisfying splash.
    ‘What . . . the . . . FUCK?!’ He bobs up, spluttering and dripping all over; his
     half-unbuttoned shirt is clinging to him, and his jacket and his artfully done hair
     are ruined. ‘You crazy bitch! What the fuck was that for?’
    ‘It was for being a GOBSHITE and cheating on me. Now button your shirt up!’
    Then, giggling madly, I drop his stuff on the grass, and sprint off towards the other
     two girls, who are standing beside the bar with the two guys, all of them open-mouthed.
     Catching my breath, I manage to gasp out, ‘RUN!’ And we run as fast as our heels and
     hysteria will allow us, shrieking and laughing like maniacs.
    ‘Oh, shit! They’re coming after us, hide!’ says Lily. ‘This way!’ We zigzag off the
     path, into the trees, and sneak along SAS-style until we’re safely out of sight and
     back on the gravel path, stumbling towards the exit.
    ‘Oh my God, Rachel,’ Lily says, gasping for breath. ‘I cannot believe you did that.
     I don’t know what he did, but I bet he deserved it. Respect.’ She holds up a hand
     for a high-five.
    ‘I’ve never seen anything like it in my life,’ says Maggie. She’s much fitter than
     me and Lily, so she’s breathless with laughter rather than from the running. ‘Rachel,
     you pushed him into a
hot tub
.’
    This makes us all laugh again; I’m actually doubled over in pain, I’m laughing so
     hard. ‘I know . . . wasn’t it great? In fairness, I did take his wallet and phone
     from him first, so they wouldn’t get wet.’
    ‘I absolutely love it,’ says Lily. ‘You pushed him into a hot tub, but in an organised,
     sensible way. Brilliant.’
    ‘Yes! It could have been a fountain, but that would have been dangerous.’
    ‘Anyway it was his fault for taking us to a nightclub with hot tubs,’ says Lily.
     ‘What was that about?’
    ‘Exactly!’
    ‘But, Rachel,’ Maggie says, ‘what did he do? I mean, seriously – what happened?’
    So I explain: about our sadistic six-month relationship that wasn’t, because we were
     ‘friends’, and how he cheated on me.
    ‘Can I point out as well that his real name is Jason?’ I add. Not that there’s anything
     wrong with being called Jason, but it’s typical of Jay that not even his name is real.
    ‘That’s awful,’ says Maggie, looking stricken. ‘If we’d known about all that, we
never
would have come out to meet them.’
    ‘It was my fault, I should have told you earlier. I’m just sorry we had to leave
     early if you were having a good time.’
    ‘God, no,’ says Lily. ‘The place was fun, but I was taking a hit for the team. The
     team being you and Rob.’ She points at Maggie.
    ‘Did Rob ask for your number?’ I ask Maggie.
    ‘Yes, but I won’t answer if he calls. I don’t like the company he keeps. It’s my
     year of saying yes to everything, but not to
anything
.’
    ‘Woohoo! You are on fire this weekend, girlfriend,’ says Lily. ‘You too, Rachel.’
     She starts to laugh to herself, and I can tell she’s thinking again about me pushing
     Jay into the hot tub. It is a beautiful memory. I wish I could have taped it.
    ‘Hmm,’ says Maggie. ‘How are we going to get back to the hotel?’
    This is an excellent point. We’ve left the park now, and we’re on a dark street with
     no shops or bars and nobody going by. I didn’t bring my guidebook, which was stupid
     of me, and Lily’s phone’s not working.
    ‘We could always go back to the club and see if someone will call us a taxi,’ suggests
     Lily.
    ‘No!’ I say, panicked. ‘I don’t want to run into Jay again. Oh, God! He’s bound to
     be on his way out