Angel (6 page)

'I'm ready now,' she whispered huskily.

Juan pulled her towards him and kissed her
deeply, then whispered, 'Oh, baby, I've been
wanting to make love with you for so long.'

Some time later Angel and Juan slipped back
into the party. Juan went to the bar to get them a
drink to celebrate and Angel found herself face to
face with Cal.

'Hi, Brad,' Angel exclaimed. 'Love the skirt!' She
laughed, seeing Cal looking so obviously embarrassed
by his costume.

'Yeah, well, it wouldn't have been my choice,
bunny girl.'

Feeling emboldened by the alcohol and by
having made love with Juan, Angel moved closer to
him and said, 'So what do you think of my outfit
then?'

Cal looked at her in the same way he had in the
club all those months ago, with such desire that
Angel's heart almost skipped a beat. 'Angie, I
wanted to say before, I'm really . . .' But at that
instant Mel joined the couple, looking less than
pleased to see them locked in intimate conversation.

Angel broke the awkward moment by saying, 'I
was just complimenting Cal on his skirt, almost as
good as Brad's.'

The shutters had come down on Cal's face and
he was back to keeping her at a distance once more.
He smiled briefly but his eyes gave nothing away.

Mel put in bitchily, 'And you seem to be doing
your best to be a Playboy tart, I mean, bunny, with
that lovebite on your neck. And did you know your
zip's undone?'

Angel was mortified and couldn't look at Cal.
Fortunately Juan came to her rescue. He put their
drinks on a nearby table and whispered, 'Come on,
let's dance some more,' and Angel was able to hide
her confusion. Before she hit the dance floor she
made an emergency trip to the Ladies with Gemma
and borrowed some of her concealer for the
offending mark on her neck and got her to zip up
her costume.

'Yes,' she replied to Gemma's raised eyebrows.
'We did it, and it was good.'

'I'll need a full report tomorrow,' Gemma
answered, smiling at her friend's boldness.

An hour later the party was drawing to a close.
The music stopped and Tony stood behind a
microphone. Immediately, Angel had butterflies
for her brother because she knew how shy he was.
He cleared his throat nervously, then began his
short and sweet speech, talking about how well Cal
had done and what a good friend he had been and
how they were all going to miss him, concluding
with: 'I just wanted to thank everyone for coming
here tonight. I know you all, like me, want to wish
Cal all the luck in the world at his new club.' And
with that he thrust the microphone at Cal. Cal's
speech was a little longer than her brother's and he
took time to thank people who had been involved
in his playing career, especially Angel's dad, whom
he credited with putting him on his path to success.
Frank blushed but looked pleased when Cal made
everyone give him a round of applause.

'I also want to thank Michelle for cooking me all
those meals and washing my kit; Tony for being
such a good friend and Angie for putting up with
me round her house so often.' At the mention of
her name Angel started and found Cal looking
straight at her. She stared back at him, feeling her
heart pounding, but he swiftly moved on to thank
Mel for organising such a great party. Gemma
tried to cheer Angel up by pretending to throw up.
Angel gave a small smile but after the euphoria of
her passion with Juan, she found herself gripped
with sadness at the prospect of Cal leaving
Brighton. Who knows when she'd ever get to see
him again. While it had been torture seeing him
from time to time, that was better than nothing.
There was no getting away from her feelings –
Juan had been a wonderfully generous and
sensuous man to make love with, but Angel
couldn't help wishing that it had been Cal. She had
tried burying her feelings for so long but now,
fuelled by alcohol and a sense of loss, she felt her
passion for him rise to the surface. Tears stung her
eyes. She was desperate to leave the party before
her emotions got the better of her but her mum
and dad had other ideas and were deep in
conversation with Gemma's parents.

And then suddenly Cal was in front of her again.
'Angie, I just wanted to say goodbye and good luck
with your designing.' And he leant over and kissed
her lightly on the cheek.

'Thanks, Cal,' she replied, amazed that he'd
remembered her ambitions, thrilled that he had
kissed her. 'And good luck at Chelsea, though you
won't need it.'

Cal again looked as if he had something else to
say but Mel the limpet magically appeared at his
side.
She must have an inbuilt radar
, thought Angel
bitterly.
Every time a woman comes within kissing
distance of Cal she gets her bony arse over there
.

'See you then, Angie.'

'See you, Cal.'

Suddenly the summer that Angel had thought so
full of promise had lost its charm. She had
imagined saving up all the money she'd need for
the first year of her course, but so far, by the end of
August, she'd only got enough for her first term.
Gemma was now spending most of her free time
with Tony so Angel hardly got to see her and she
sorely missed her best friend. But, above all, she
missed Cal. It had never just been about his good
looks. She was in love with him, with his passion, his
determination, his irresistible charm. And she
loved him for all the emotions she sensed he kept
back and which she wanted to unlock. In Cal she
recognised a kindred spirit.

She tried to suppress these feelings, lose herself
in her relationship with Juan. But their sweet little
romance was about to be blown apart. Angel had
noticed him becoming ever so slightly distant but as
he still said he loved her at least ten times a day, she
thought nothing more about it. Then, one night
after work, Juan said he couldn't meet her, that he
was tired and needed to have an early night.
Something didn't ring true to Angel and when she
went home she found she couldn't relax. She
phoned Juan but his mobile was switched off – also
very unusual. Refusing her mum's offer of supper,
she got back on her bike and cycled round to his
flat. She rang the bell but there was no answer and
there was no light on. More and more she felt
something wasn't right and by now she was
desperate to see Juan. She decided to try all his
favourite haunts. It had started to rain and Angel
was soaked through but she couldn't give up and
go home until she had found him.
I'm being silly
,
she tried to tell herself.
He's just gone out to get
something to eat.
But the feeling of unease wouldn't
go away.

It was at the third restaurant she tried that she
finally tracked him down. He was sitting at a table
in the window, wearing a suit and looking more
handsome and groomed than she had ever seen
him. He was alone. She felt a huge surge of relief
and was about to tap on the glass and alert him to
her presence when a beautiful Spanish woman
walked over to his table and sat down. Angel's
stomach lurched; this wasn't so good.
I could get on
my bike now and leave and ask him about it in the
morning
, she thought,
or I can go in there and find out
what's going on.
Never one to run away, Angel wiped
the rain from her face and pushed open the
restaurant door. Immediately one of the waiters
came over, saying, 'I'm sorry, miss, we are fully
booked.' Angel shook her head and walked over to
Juan's table. The beautiful woman looked at her
questioningly, then Juan turned round, going pale
under his Mediterranean tan.

'Angel? What are you doing here?' he exclaimed,
looking supremely awkward.

'I could ask you the same. Aren't you going to
introduce me?'

Juan looked as if he wanted the floor to open up
and swallow him.

'Um, this is Rosa.'

Rosa looked at Juan, then at Angel, obviously
realising that something was going on.

'I'm Juan's fiancée,' she finally said, slowly. 'And
who are you?'

Angel looked at Juan, speechless. All right, so she
hadn't imagined being with Juan for ever, but to
discover that she was simply his English bit on the
side was incredibly hurtful. She mustered all the
dignity she could.

'You'd better ask Juan,' she said, trying not to
cry, then she turned on her heel and ran out of the
restaurant and into the rain.

'Everything okay, Angie?' her mother asked her at
breakfast the following morning, taking in her daughter's
subdued expression and red-rimmed eyes.

'Fine,' Angel mumbled, trying and failing to
force herself to eat any cereal. Realising she wasn't
going to be able to eat anything, she got up from
the table.

'I'm going to work early today so I'll see you
later,' Angel said to her mum.

'Have a good day then,' her mum replied
anxiously, obviously at a loss to know how to get
Angel to open up.

The first thing Angel did when she arrived at
work was track down Tim and tell him that she
didn't want to work with Juan any more.

'Oh, have you little lovebirds had a tiff, then?'
Tim couldn't resist taking the piss; she and Juan
had been the talk of the lifeguards all summer.

'Actually, I just found out that he's engaged.'

That shut him up. 'I'll put you with Julie.' Angel
didn't look at him, just nodded her thanks, grabbed
her bike and set off along the cycle path that ran by
the sea. Working with Julie meant that she'd be at
the opposite end of the beach to Juan, a good mile
separating them, and with any luck she wouldn't
have to see him. She had been furious last night,
unable to decide whether the situation with Cal or
with Juan was more hurtful and humiliating, and
even now, in the early morning August sunshine,
her anger had lost none of its intensity.
How dare he
treat me like this?
She was humiliated, hurt and very,
very angry. Juan had never promised her any longterm
commitment, but neither had he so much as
hinted that he might already have a girlfriend,
never mind a fiancée. She hated the fact that he'd
lied to her.

All morning she stomped around, needing to be
busy so as not to brood over him, but there really
wasn't much to do as a lifeguard and she could
hardly wish for an emergency just because her heart
was broken. And Julie was one of the nosiest women
Angel had ever met and wouldn't stop asking her
questions about Juan, probing into their relationship.
She knew immediately that something was up,
but Angel refused to tell her, saying instead that
Tim had wanted to move people around. She
couldn't bear the thought of Julie's beady eyes
lighting up when she heard about Juan's betrayal.
Gossip for Julie was better than sex.
Though, maybe
,
thought Angel to herself,
she's just had really bad sex.
Then she furiously tried to banish all thoughts of
sex, but an image of Juan kissing her rose up in her
head, and even though she hated him for what he'd
done, part of her already missed the intimacy she'd
shared with him.

'Excuse me, miss, can you tell me where the nearest
restrooms are?'

Angel looked up at the middle-aged American
woman and could tell even at a glance that this was
someone who'd had a lot of work done. She must
have been in her late forties, but there wasn't a line
on her face, her boobs were as perky as an eighteen-
year-old's, her lips looked collagen-plump and her
teeth dazzling white.

Angel gave her directions but the woman seemed
in no hurry to leave.

'I guess this is your summer job?'

'Yeah,' Angel replied, reluctant to make small
talk.

'So what will you do after the summer?'

Angel frowned, wishing the woman would mind
her own business, then shrugged. Hell, even
talking to a complete stranger was better than
enduring Julie's endless questions.

'I'm hoping to go to art school, but I haven't
saved up enough money yet so I'll have to get
another job.'

'Hmm.' The woman didn't seem to be listening
but was staring intently at Angel's face as if sizing
her up. Then she reached inside her designer bag,
pulled out a card and held it out to Angel, who read
Carrie Rose, Agent.

'Just so you know, I'm not a weirdo. I run a
model agency in London and I would love to see
some pictures of you.'

Angel laughed. 'Seriously?'

'Seriously. You are one good-looking girl. By the
way, what's your name?'

Angel clambered up from her plastic chair, much
more eager now, and shook the woman's hand.

'I'm Angel.'

Carrie smiled, or at least gave a Botoxed impersonation
of a smile, and said, 'Well, your parents
had the right idea. You sure look like an angel. In
fact, there's no time like the present. I'm going to
get my partner down here to shoot a roll straight
away.' And she flipped up her mobile and started
talking.

'Great,' she said, ending the call. 'He can be here
in ten minutes.'

Angel looked at her watch. 'I'll just have to see if
Julie can cover me.'

When Angel told Julie what was planned she
pulled a face.

'Actually, I was supposed to be meeting Juan for
lunch, he's just texted to ask me,' she said slyly,
watching Angel's reaction out of the corner of her
eye.

Bitch
, thought Angel. 'Great, then he can tell you
all about his fiancée and you won't have to ask me.
And you weren't going till one, were you? So as
soon as the photographer gets here and we've
finished, you can go.'

While they waited, Carrie told Angel to brush out
her hair. When Angel said anxiously that she didn't
have any make-up with her, Carrie whipped out
mascara and started layering Angel's lashes, then
dabbed a bit of Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream
on her lips.

'I've never done any modelling before,' Angel
said. 'How will I know what to do?'

'Just do whatever Ryan asks and don't worry,
you'll either have it or you won't.'

Finally Ryan arrived, laden down with photographic
equipment. He was a browner, male
version of Carrie and his teeth were so white they
nearly blinded her.
What is it with these people?
Angel thought. While Ryan set up his tripod,
Carrie told Angel to take off her sweatshirt and
shorts and stand by the shoreline in her red bikini.
It was a cloudy day and Angel couldn't help
shivering slightly. Finally Ryan was ready and he
started calling out instructions: he wanted her
hand on her hip; he wanted her pouting at the
camera; he wanted her smiling, running her
fingers through her hair; he wanted her to stick
her boobs out more; he wanted her kneeling.
Instead of feeling nervous, Angel found herself
enjoying the experience. But then Carrie came
over to her.

'It's looking great, Angel. What we'd like you to
do now is take your top off and we can shoot some
topless ones.'

This was not what Angel was expecting. Her
apprehension must have shown on her face because
Carrie rushed to reassure her. 'Just a few tasteful
ones, Angel.'

'I'm not sure I feel comfortable doing that,'
Angel replied. It might seem like a small thing to
Carrie but to Angel, who had only just got used to
feeling good about her body, it seemed like a big
leap to take. And she wasn't at all sure she wanted
to take it with Julie watching her every move, a look
on her face like a slapped arse, and with people
strolling past on the promenade.

'Well, of course it's up to you,' Carrie replied.
'But with your looks you'd be crazy not to – you'd
make a perfect glamour model. And didn't you say
that you wanted to save up money for your college
course?'

'I think I need time to think about it,' Angel
answered. 'Could I let you know on Monday?'
Sensing that it really would be pointless to argue
with Angel, Carrie pointed to her business card,
which Angel had left on her towel.

'Make sure you call me. From what I've seen so
far, I think you've definitely got what it takes. You
could do so much better than this, Angel.' Carrie
gestured at Brighton beach as if it was a shantytown.
'Seize the moment.'

'So have you got any message to give to Juan?' Julie
crept over and asked once Carrie and Ryan had
gone.

Angel smiled sweetly at her. 'How about "fuck
you"?'

Julie flushed with anger and marched off. But
Angel couldn't help noticing that it was hard to
flounce off in a huff on a pebbly beach, and she
longed to shout out that Julie's cellulite was
wobbling.

The rest of the day passed in something of a haze.
Instead of brooding over Juan, Angel now had a
whole other world to think about, a world that
seemed to have opened up to her completely out of
the blue. Looking at Carrie's card again, Angel felt a
bubble of excitement about her prospects. She just
needed to get her head round the topless bit. She
wished she could talk it through with her mum and
dad but knew they would freak out at the thought of
her doing any topless modelling, as would Tony.
Gemma was the only one she could talk to and she
wasted no time phoning her and asking her to meet
up after work.

At six she was unlocking her bike and preparing
to cycle to Gemma's when Juan jogged up beside
her.

'Hello, Angel.'

She gave him the briefest of glances and then
looked away coldly. He looked sad and defeated,
not at all his usual joyous self.

'I've got nothing to say to you,' she muttered and
she carried on unlocking her bike, intending to ride
off and ignore him.

'Please, let me talk to you, just for a minute.'

Angel gave a deep sigh. 'Okay, but I haven't got
long.' She pushed her bike along the sea front at a
swift pace, Juan falling into step next to her. The
distance between them seemed alien; she was so
used to the feel of his arm round her.

'I should have told you about Rosa.'

'Too fucking right!' Angel exclaimed, forgetting
her intention to play it cool.

'When I met you I thought you and I were just
going to have fun, not be serious. But then I fell in
love with you. And I couldn't tell you about Rosa,
because I didn't want to lose you.'

Angel glanced at Juan. He looked miserable.
Good, serves him right
, she thought.

'I'm going home at the end of the week and I
don't want to leave with this bad feeling between us.
I hurt you and I'm sorry and I want you to know
that if there wasn't Rosa, there would only be you,
it's just that we've been engaged for a year and our
families are expecting us to get married. And I
know that much as I love you, you don't really love
me.'