Every summer I take myself to Spain for a bit of rest and relaxation. About 30 years ago my parents bought a villa on the Costa Brava, and so I spent a lot of time there on family holidays growing up. But it wasn't until I was a bit older, and was able to go away on my own, that I realised what a privilege it was -- with no need to pay for an Airbnb or hotel, it was a cheaper holiday than most, and I could go whenever I could get time off work. Plus, the villa was less than five minutes from the beach!
I'd taken friends out a few times for more party-oriented trips, but mostly I liked to go out by myself -- get away from the stress of the city and the office and soak up the serenity of the Catalan coastline. My days would revolve around going to the beach, reading, eating great food and having a few beers in the evening while taking in the sunset. From the years of visiting and picking up the language, I'd also made a few friends in the town, but most days I'd keep myself to myself.
I was always open to a holiday romance too, but speaking to girls was easier said than done. The area primarily attracted family holidays, and most of the people around my age -- I was 23 at the time -- tended to be couples. And even when I had been out there partying with my mates, getting drunk and going to the nightclubs in the area, I wasn't brilliant at approaching the opposite sex.
It wasn't like I was particularly insecure, I just always found the "chatting up" dynamic a bit unnatural and awkward. So while the idea of meeting a girl out there was nice, it was hardly top of my list. If I could return home more relaxed and with a bit of a tan then I was more than happy.
But one summer that all changed, albeit not in a way I could have ever expected. Following a particularly stressful month at work, I decided to book an impromptu trip out to the villa, and went straight to the sea on my first morning. Refreshed and de-stressed, I chilled and read my book on the beach for a couple of hours, went back to the villa for a light lunch, and returned in the afternoon.
One of the reasons I loved the local beach was that it was quite secluded, so it never got too busy or noisy. Nevertheless, when I got back, there were a few more people there than in the morning.
I laid down my towel, took off my shirt and went straight back in the water. After about 20 minutes of swimming and floating, I noticed a couple of girls had come down to the beach and had set up camp about 2 metres across from my towel. They looked around my age, and were pretty attractive too.
Knowing I now had an audience, I attempted to get out of the water in as smooth a fashion as possible -- the beach was pretty stoney, and even after years of experience I still wasn't 100% efficient at walking out without stumbling or hurting my feet. Sure enough, my right foot got caught on a rock and I ended up tripping over and crawling up to my towel.
I looked over to see both girls having a chuckle at my expense, to which I jokingly replied "It's treacherous out there".
"You bet!," they exclaimed back at me in unison, before letting out another giggle.
With that, they both got up and went in for a dip, and I lay back to soak up the rays and get back into my book. Before I knew it they'd returned to their towels, and a couple of minutes later one of them asked me about the book I was reading -- it turned out she'd read it before, and the conversation flowed from there.
Her name was Maya, and her friend was called Emily. At least I thought they were friends, for all I knew they may have been another of the many couples here on a romantic break. Maya was tanned, quite tall, had long, dark curly hair, and possessed a slim and relatively athletic figure, while Emily was quite short and very pale with blonde hair -- not as conventionally beautiful as Maya, but still pretty cute in my estimations, especially in her flowery swimsuit.
"Oh by the way, I'm Jamie," I said, "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too Jamie!" They both replied in unison.
We chatted for a while. After establishing that I'd been going out there for years, they quizzed me on the best bars and restaurants, and asked me if there were any secret swimming spots that only those in the know were aware of. I thought about withholding that kind of exclusive information, but they both seemed nice, so I gave them one recommendation -- I figured if we actually became friends I could take them to some more places.
Like me, they were both from London, so we had some common ground, and it turned out they were friends. They'd both recently come out of long-term relationships, and had also both recently turned 30, and so they'd come out on a girls holiday to celebrate their freedom, and booked a big villa for them and some other friends -- although they were yet to arrive. I was a bit surprised when they told me their age -- I'd never hung out with girls that much older than me -- but we seemed to be on a pretty good level, and I think they assumed I was older than I was.
The conversation fizzled out and we all went back to sunbathing for a bit. At one point I could sense some eyes on me -- they couldn't be checking me out could they? I was in decent shape but hardly ripped, no real muscle definition, plus I had an unusually hairy torso.
I had a little check and Maya was looking vaguely in my direction, but up at the cliffs beyond the beach. Unsure whether she'd changed her gaze as I looked over or if she was genuinely checking out the view, I put it to the back of my mind -- I was probably just imagining it.
Then after about another 30 minutes of basking in the sun, they called over again.
"We're heading up to our pad," said Emily, "Fancy a beer?"
I had no plans that evening, and they seemed fun. "Yeah why not," I replied. I gathered up my things, stuck on my shirt and sandals and followed them up to their place -- luckily it was just down the road from mine, so an easy journey home was guaranteed if the drinking got out of hand.
Their villa was super nice, way more modern than where I was staying. The kitchen and living area had windows which took up the entire height of the room, and ran almost the perimeter of it as well, giving you a near-360 view of the sea. With more friends still to arrive, the place was big too -- multiple bedrooms, a couple of sizeable bathrooms with big walk-in showers, and a garden fit with a swimming pool and jacuzzi. They were both lawyers, and so had the money to rent such an upmarket abode.
"This will be perfect for watching the sunset," I noted.
"I know right," said Emily, "Let's get some tunes on!"
Maya got up and plugged her phone into the speaker, and 'Everybody Loves The Sunshine' by Roy Ayers was soon filling the room. The mood was perfect.
She then handed me a beer, and we toasted the evening. They were both super easy to chat to, and just as the conversation flowed, so did the booze. Soon enough we were all about four bottles deep, and were increasingly in the holiday mood. Maya was having a groove around the kitchen, while Emily had pulled up a chair to the big window, sticking her feet up on the glass and taking in the view.
Suddenly it dawned on me how hot it was -- the sun might have been going down, but the humidity was constant, and I was sweating more than was comfortable.
"Does this place have air con?" I asked.
"Haha, yes, but we can't work it for shit!" said Emily.
Maya chimed in. "It's so annoying! There aren't even any instructions."
They showed me the controller and the device, but I was equally useless. It was one of these new smart air conditioning units -- but the actual on switch seemed impossible to find on the menu. I was too tipsy and having too good a time to bother putting any more effort into getting it to work, but I needed to cool off some how.
"Hey, would it be weird if I used your shower?" I asked, "I'm absolutely boiling."
"Not at all," replied Maya, "There are loads of spare towels in the bathroom."
"Fantastic -- cheers!"
"No worries. Enjoy!" She said with a smile and a wink.
I made my way down to the bathroom, stripped off and got in the shower, turning the dial to cold. It was exactly what I needed, just three minutes of cooling down and washing off the sea salt and sweat. I dried myself off, and stuck my swim shorts back on. My shirt was drenched in sweat and had begun to smell, so I decided to leave it there -- the girls had already seen my bare chest at the beach, I'm sure they wouldn't mind. I say bare chest, but it was covered in hair of course.
When I went back upstairs, Maya and Emily were in an excitable mood. They'd moved on from the beer and were now sipping on margaritas, and were giggling about something as I re-entered the room.
"What's so funny?" I asked.
"Oh nothing... oh hello!" Emily exclaimed, turning her attention to my newly bare torso.
"Haha, apologies, my shirt was too sweaty to stick back on. Do you mind?"
"Oh we don't mind one bit!" said Emily, giving me a cheeky grin and looking me up and down.
They both burst out laughing, and then Emily continued.
"I mean, we both got a good look at your rug on the beach, and I can't lie, we liked what we saw... Maya in particular!"
"Shut up Emily!" Maya responded, giggling in embarrassment. However, within a second she turned to me with a smile. "Ok, I admit it, I was checking you out a bit!"
I knew it! Clearly my powers of perception were stronger than I thought. And instantly I got a confidence boost like I'd never had before. Never had I received this kind of attention, or objectification as you'd more accurately describe it, let alone two very attractive women who were seven years my elder.
"Haha, well what can I say, I'm a pretty hairy guy," I replied.
"You can say that again!" Emily blurted out, "You're a seriously fucking hairy guy!" They both burst out laughing again.
Suddenly, my newfound confidence turned to embarrassment. I'd always been a bit self conscious of my abnormal amount of body hair -- it wasn't exactly in keeping with male beauty standards in the 21st Century. And while I wasn't ashamed enough to shave it off or wax, I didn't imagine many girls found it particularly sexy.
Sensing my embarrassment, Emily toned it down a bit.
"Ah don't be shy! Sorry, we got a bit over-excited. And anyway, there aren't enough hairy young guys around these days. If you've got it flaunt it, I say!"
"Haha, cheers, I guess I follow that mantra pretty accurately" I replied with a smirk.
"Yeah you do!" Emily replied, mixing me a margarita.
That was sweet, I thought. Clearly they weren't taking the piss out of me, and maybe they even found me somewhat attractive, even if it was in more of a lighthearted, matey fashion. Nevertheless, with the sun now down behind the sun and the liquor getting heavier, the atmosphere had certainly changed.
