All Summer Long
Chapter 2: Not Enough to Keep Me Here
Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I'm so relieved that you're still interested in this story! Reading it back though I kind of noticed it's half a soap opera and half chick flick, which is so not my usual style. Still, it's fun to write!
I just realised that I got the pairings a bit wrong at the start of the last chapter. They're going to be: Sam/Phil/Nate, Kerry/Smithy, Andrea/Neil, Honey/Dan, Jo/Millie, Stuart/OC, Zain/OC, Diane/Callum/Nikki.
Hope you enjoy this chapter. More to come soon! Reviews are loved! Xx
Kerry Young crawled out of bed at five o'clock on Saturday morning, walking towards the bathroom to shower with her eyes barely open. As she stepped under the fierce torrent of water she told herself that once the plane touched down in sunny, hot Majorca it would all be worth it. It was unusually hot for early June and although dawn had barely broken, Kerry could tell that it was going to be another warm day. She showered quickly and checked that she had packed all the essentials. She was making herself a final cup of coffee when the phone began to ring. She hoped it wouldn't be anything that would keep her from getting to the police station in time to catch the mini-bus.
"Hello?" She asked, even after the shower and two cups of coffee, Kerry's voice sounded sleepy even to her own ears.
"Hey, it's Honey. You are up, aren't you?" She sounded a little panicked.
"Yeah, doesn't mean I'm awake though." She laughed, glad that it was only Honey Harman on the end of the phone and that there hadn't been a last minute emergency.
"I just thought I'd check, I know what you're like in the mornings." Honey explained. "I'll see you in a little while then."
"Bye, Honey." Kerry said hanging up with a smile. She was definitely looking forward to this holiday, and the fact that her sergeant was going too helped.
Phil had slept badly the previous night after arguing with the mother of his youngest child, Kate Maltby. She didn't like it that he was going away for a fortnight and leaving her alone with their son. Phil had mentioned that he often went longer than two weeks without seeing their baby and this had caused a fight to break out between them. Phil had hung up feeling guilty and lousy. He loved Alfie but having to deal with Kate was a burden he found hard to bear. It was harder still knowing that if he hadn't been so careless with Kate, he could be with Sam now. That was the main reason he couldn't turn down this trip, even if it wasn't fair on Alfie and Kate, he could not pass up the opportunity to spend two weeks with Sam away from the confines of the office. Although he wouldn't admit it to anyone else, he also hated the idea of Sam going on this holiday with PC Nate Roberts. He had seen the way the younger man looked at Sam, and the way she sometimes played along with his flirtations. Nate reminded him of how he was at that age and he hated the thought of him getting close to Sam. He hated to realise it, but he was jealous of the younger, good looking man.
All of this had combined to make Phil unable to sleep, but when he finally did drift off he slept heavily. His alarm finally woke him up at ten to six and he literally bolted out of bed, throwing on jeans and a t-shirt. He grabbed his packed suitcase and hand luggage, and ran out that door, hoping that he had everything.
"I'll miss you," Philippa Manson cooed sleepily in her husband's ear when the alarm went off. He pulled back the covers and got out of bed a little too eagerly for this time of the morning.
"Me too." He mumbled sleepily, walking to the ensuite bathroom before he had to say anything else.
Philippa had fallen back to sleep by the time Neil had finished showering. He went into his son's bedroom to say goodbye to Jake. They'd said a proper goodbye the previous night but he wanted to make sure that Jake knew how much he loved him and how much he would miss him while he was away. Neil would've left Philippa a long time ago if it hadn't have been for their son.
"Love you, Jakey." Neil kissed his son's head, retreating out of the room.
"Love you too dad." He replied just before Neil left the room, feeling the father with pride and a little bit of guilt.
Neil loaded his luggage into his car and looked at his watch, he was early so he decided he'd go round and see Andrea first. He hoped that seeing her would make him forget about the guilt he felt over living this double life.
"Morning babe." Neil greeted when Andrea opened the door to her apartment. She was wearing her dressing gown and her long dark hair hung in damp curls.
"Hey, I didn't expect to see you yet." Andrea smiled, standing back to let Neil inside. She kissed his cheek. "I've got a few things to sort out and then I'm ready." She said, retreating into the bathroom. "There's coffee in the pot!" She called back to him.
"I'll drive us to the station," Neil told her, pouring himself a small cup of coffee and following her into the bedroom where their late night trysts eventually lead them to. "My car should be safe there."
"Thanks," Andrea replied. "But won't it look a bit suspicious if we turn up together?"
"I don't care." Neil said with passion, pulling her to him and kissing her deeply. "And anyway, they're going to be more than just suspicious after these two weeks are up." When he spoke his mouth was close to her ear, sending shivers down her spine. "I really hope you packed a bikini," He trailed kisses down her neck. "Or several."
Andrea swatted him away, giggling lightly. "If you keep this up we're going to be late!"
"Are you sure you want me to come with you, babe?" Libby Barnaby asked her steady boyfriend of six months, Stuart Turner. This was at least the fifth time she had asked the same question that morning.
"Of course," Stuart said, knowing he wouldn't have said yes to going on the trip if Libby hadn't been able to go too. They were at that stage in a relationship where they still wanted to spend every waking, and sleeping, moment together. Stuart was sure that this holiday was just what they needed. "I talked to Heaton and Gold, they were both fine with it."
"It's just that it's a police thing, not a personal thing..." Libby protested.
"It's both." He said firmly. "Now shut up before I change my mind about asking you to come along." He laughed, kissing her gently. Since they had been together, Libby had really brought out the best in Stuart that no one else, not even Sam, had really seen. She had been the perfect way for Stuart to move on from his failed relationship with Sam.
"Fine, I'm sorry, I'm just worried about your friends not liking me." Libby admitted.
"They'll love you," Stuart told her. "I do." He kissed her again.
Libby smiled. "I love you too."
By five to six the officers were waiting for the mini-bus to come and pick them up. Sam was pacing the pavement, having left her luggage with Jo, wondering where Phil had got to. If he didn't turn up soon the bus might leave without him. She wasn't sure if she would enjoy this holiday as much if Phil wasn't there to experience it with her. She was shaken out of her Phil-related daydream by Nate approaching her.
"Morning Sam," Nate grinned, looking far too good for this time in the morning in jeans and a tight t-shirt.
"Hi, Nate." She smiled back, not oblivious to his good looks. She could feel herself blushing and was grateful when Phil came running around the corner, gasping for breath. Sam was relief was obvious and Nate picked up on it, going over to stand with Smithy, Dan and Callum instead.
"Alright Nate?" Dale Smith asked as the younger man approached.
"Yeah thanks," Nate replied a little more brightly than he felt. "You guys look cheerful for this early in the morning."
Smithy laughed. "Callum and Dan are trying to decide who's going to look better in a bikini." He looked over to where the girls stood chatting.
"Tough one," Nate said, following their light of sight.
"We're stuck between Kerry and Honey at the moment," Dan explained. "I guess we'll have to wait and see."
"What about Millie?" Nate suggested. "I have an inkling she'll be hot."
"You're wasting your time there." Callum said knowingly but before he could explain the four men were transfixed by a tall blonde walking by holding Zain's hand.
"Whoa, who's that bird with Zain?" Nate asked.
"She's hot." Dan chimed in.
"That's Kayla," Dale told them. "She's Zain's girlfriend."
"Good for him." Callum muttered, tearing his eyes away from Kayla to see the mini-bus coming around the corner.
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