All Summer Long
Chapter 16: The Real Reason Why

Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! I really appreciate it! Sorry for the delay in updates once again.

This chapter is for Astrid, as part of our quest to keep Huxon alive and for Beccy, welcome back!

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"You okay, Nik?" Diane asked, noticing that her friend was looking dejected. Things had been better between them since she had told Nikki she was no longer seeing, or sleeping with Callum, at least until now.

Nikki looked up, she had barely even noticed Diane was in the room. "I just rang the kids. Doug wouldn't talk to me." She was close to tears but didn't want Diane to see her cry.

"What a bastard." Diane said immediately, sitting beside Nikki on her bed without a second thought. "He really hurt you, didn't he?"

Nikki nodded, fighting back a sob that desperately wanted to escape. "But it's not all his fault."

"Nonsense." Diane replied briskly. "He should realise how lucky he is to have a wife like you."

Nikki smiled, but she knew Diane was only saying this to cheer her up.

"You know I told you he gave me an ultimatum before I left?" Nikki asked, unsure why she was divulging so much. Diane nodded in reply. "I wasn't completely honest about that. He told me that if I went on this trip with you then our marriage was over." She stared at Diane, waiting for her reply.

Diane blinked a few times. "Nikki, what do you mean?" It hit her suddenly, and she realised she hadn't been imagining things between them. "Oh, I see." She smiled softly, taking Nikki's face in her hands and giving her a soft kiss.

Nikki let out a long sigh and pulled Diane to her, feeling for the first time that perhaps she had made the right decision after all.


Kerry was still at the hospital with Dale, so Sam had the hotel room to herself that night. She was surprised how lonely it felt after sharing such a small tent, and quite a lot more, with Phil the previous night. Sam still felt doubt niggling at her when she let her mind wander back over the last twenty four hours. She could regret what had happened but it would do her no good but what was really keeping her awake and churning her insides, was the conversation she had had with Phil. She knew she had hurt him but she was almost convinced that, in the long run, she would get hurt far worse.


"Are things okay between you and Neil?" Honey asked quietly the following morning as she and Andrea sat sipping coffee together.

Andrea looked up in surprise, swallowing a mouthful of hot coffee too fast. "Why do you ask?" She replied, answering Honey's question with one of her own.

"I don't know, it's just a feeling." Honey shrugged. There was much more to her than just the pretty face and the bubbly personality.

"I don't really know what's going on." She sighed, it wasn't really what she wanted to talk about so she quickly switched topics. "So, how about you and Dan? You two looked pretty cosy the other day."

Honey grinned. "Things are good; really good. I just hope they continue to be this good once we get home."


"Hey Sam," Nate grinned, cornering her in the corridor on her way to get some breakfast. "I was thinking about hiring a boat for the day, do you want to come out with me?"

Sam wanted to say no, she knew she should say no but it was practically impossible to ignore that grin and those twinkling eyes. Once again she was reminded of how much he was like a younger model of Phil, but she pushed the thought aside as always. Being with Nate would allow her to forget about Phil and her doubts, and she might even enjoy herself.

"Okay, that sounds good." Sam smiled, noticing that Nate's grin grew broader still. "Thanks, Nate."


While Stuart worked out at the gym, Libby sat in one of the resort's cafes sipping an iced latte. She watched Kayla and Zain walk in, oblivious to everything except each other. She watched as Zain bought Kayla a protein smoothie rather than the coffee she really wanted. Libby sighed, suddenly feeling jealous of what they had. For the first time she was considering having a family herself and wondered what Stuart would think about it. She was in her early thirties now and she didn't want to leave it too long before having a child. She was worried though, she had heard the rumours about Stuart when he was with Sam and how he had been less than supportive during her pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage. She shivered slightly and hoped that Stuart was different to the man he had been then.


"Hey," Kerry smiled, watching as Dale's heavy eyelids finally opened. "Good news babe, the doctors say you can be discharged later as long as you get plenty of rest and not too much excitement." Her eyebrows shot up and a smirk twisted at her lips.

"That's great." Smithy smiled groggily, feeling the best he had felt since the accident. "You haven't been here all night, have you?"

Kerry nodded a little sheepishly. "I couldn't leave you alone here, it's hardly like you're in St. Hughes."

Smithy reached for her hand. "Thank you."

Kerry felt tears spring to her eyes when his gaze locked onto her's. She squeezed his hand back.


Phil had found out from Callum that Sam was spending the day with Nate on a boat they had hired and was finding it difficult not to explode with frustration. He had been to the pool but even swimming thirty lengths hadn't calmed him, neither had an intensive work out in the gym. No matter what he tried he still wanted to fight Nate Roberts, he was sure that was the only solution. He knew that this wouldn't help things between him and Sam though. He couldn't understand why Sam refused to trust him yet she was completely bowled over by Nate's charm.

When he saw them arrive back from their trip, smiling and heading for one of the restaurants, Phil decided to beat Sam at her own game. Or so he thought. He showered and dressed in smart black trousers and a blue stripy shirt. After applying some aftershave, he left his hotel room and went down to the nearest cocktail bar. He had noticed that a lot of the waitresses had been very attractive but he hadn't chosen to act on that fact, until tonight.

"Hi there, what can I get you?" A waitress approached his booth and took out her pad and pen. Phil looked up at her, his eyes taking in her short black skirt, tight white shirt and her olive skin.

He ordered a beer and waited impatiently for her to bring it to him.

"Excuse me, can I ask your name?"

"Sure," The waitress replied. "I'm Natalia."

"Phil." He replied, offering her his hand. "What time do you finish work, Natalia?"

She looked at her watch. "In about fifteen minutes, why?" She was intrigued by this handsome stranger.

"Would you like to come and have a drink with me when you finish?"

"I'd like that." Natalia grinned, tucking the money Phil had left on the table under her bra strap and heading to the next table.


Millie and Jo had spent most of the day avoiding each other but trying to make it seem like they weren't. All in all it was exhausting and Jo was getting frustrated.

"Let's go out." Millie had said, twisted her long red hair up into a clip and putting on one of the cocktail dresses that made rational thought disappear from Jo's mind.

"Okay," She had agreed half-heartedly, knowing that she would be rewarded for indulging in Millie's whim.

"That guy keeps staring at you." Jo said through gritted teeth a while later as they sipped margaritas. "Not that I'm surprised." She added, taking another look at Millie.

"Do you want to dance?" Millie asked, apparently unaware of the attention she was attracting from a guy who was barely out of his teens.

"Okay." Jo agreed, allowing Millie to drag her into the group of dancers. "He's still looking." She muttered.

"He can look all he wants." Millie replied, swaying slowly to the rhythm of the music. "But you're the one I'm going home with."

Jo smiled, suddenly pulling her into her arms and kissing her passionately on the lips.


Callum had taken Jessica out to dinner at one of the restaurants in town. It was a great place and the food had been wonderful but Callum wasn't enjoying the evening. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy Jessica's company, but there just wasn't a spark between them and they both knew it.

"Thanks for tonight, Callum." She said as the parted ways outside the restaurant. "I had a good time, but I don't think we should do this again."

Callum was relieved. "No, me neither. Maybe as friends."

Jessica nodded smiling, wondering if she should tell him that it was really Nate she had been interested in, but she decided against it. "Goodnight."

"'Night Jessica." He smiled, feeling a lot lighter as he walked back towards the hotel.


Finally the visitors had stopped arriving and Kerry and Smithy could be alone together. The hotel had offered Smithy another room to make him more comfortable.

"Stay with me." It wasn't a question and Kerry nodded, turning off all the lights except for the small desk lamp.

She went to sit by him, taking his hand and kissing his cheek. He grinned up at her.

"I'm feeling a lot better now," He paused, slipping his hand under the hem of her shirt and over the warm, smooth flesh of her stomach. "But I can think of something that would make me feel much better..."

"Smithy..." Kerry tried to maintain a serious face but it was difficult. "I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't." He assured her.

She hesitated a moment longer, before slipping out of her clothes and into bed with him.


Phil was beginning to feel lightheaded and knew he was going to have one hell of a hangover in the morning. He could feel Natalia's hand on his thigh and clearly her thoughts were going in the same direction as his.

"Let's get out of here." She murmured in his ear. He followed her blindly down the corridors, eventually ending up at his room after a few wrong turns.

She reached for him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him hard. Phil moaned into her mouth, pressing his body into her's. He was fumbling in his pocket for his keys when, for no particular reason, Sam's face popped into his head.

"I'm sorry, I can't do this Natalia, I'm sorry." He could barely look at her and she glared back at him.

"Goodnight Phil." She stalked passed him, making Phil feel even more guilty than ever.

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