Trouble in Tinseltown. Aimee Duffy

bar and small dining table – not to mention the integrated appliances and even crushed ice maker. It did make Elle’s job of filling a massive jug with ice much easier, but everything seemed so foreign, like she was watching an episode of MTV Cribs not getting ready for her first stop on a crazy round the world trip.

      ‘Should we take our bags up first?’ she asked, having visions of jet lag kicking in when she was poolside and falling into a margarita induced coma.

      ‘No way. I say we dig around them for a bikini then chill at the pool for a while,’ Elle replied.

      Gem agreed, unzipping her bag and picking out one of goodness knew how many two pieces, all still with the tags on. Ciara did the same. After all, she was as unlikely to win a fight with Elle as she was able to pick up a car and swing it over her head.

      They took turns in the laundry room getting poolside ready and slapping on the SPF 30, then Elle led them through another hall.

      ‘Does that belong to one of you?’ She asked, toeing a bag out her way with her flip flop.

      The sports bag was so full it almost burst the seams. ‘No,’ Ciara said at the same time Gem did.

      ‘Hmm,’ Elle scowled at the bag like it was filled with manure, then shrugged. ‘The housekeeper must have left it.’

      Ciara slipped her sunglasses on the second they were outside. Elle and Gem insisted panda eyes was never a good look but since the weather back home was overcast eighty percent of the year, bright sunlight generally fried her retinas. And if she wanted to stay awake instead of lying out here all day frazzling, she needed to keep her eyes open.

      It wasn’t too hard to manage since she was hit with another dose of the OMGs. The pool area was about the size of a holiday complex, with a stone terrace, terracotta furniture and the comfiest sun loungers she’d ever had the pleasure of lying on.

      ‘Drink up girls. The Adventures of Muir, Bree and Howard have begun!’ Elle filled up their glasses.

      Gem pouted. ‘I still prefer Geeks on Tour.’

      ‘Nonsense. We’re too chic to be geeks, right Ciara?’ Elle said.

      They might be, but all she’d ever been was a geek as far as her schoolmates were concerned. Instead of taking sides, she shrugged and chugged down some of the drink. Her eyes watered and she made a vow to make the next round or that margarita coma might come sooner than she’d feared.

      ‘It’s really, really, scorching here,’ she said to change the subject. Sticky lotion aside, her whole body was melting.

      ‘It’s great isn’t it?’ Elle said, chugging down more of her drink.

      Against her better judgement, she did the same but the ice didn’t help cool her off. Since they’d left the wonderfully air conditioned house, the lack of a breeze and sun beating down was a little too much for her.

      ‘Feck it,’ she said, finishing the last of her drink and getting up.

      ‘Don’t wuss out on us already, Ciara. We’ve got hours and hours of tanning time left,’ Gem said.

      ‘Then I’m going to have hours and hours of cooling off to do.’ The tequila had already created a tiny, giddy buzz and the thought that she was in California, LA, hell Hollywood, kicked in.

      That’s all it took to get over the shock of Elle’s grandfather’s house, the heat, the worry she might pass out on the sun lounger and frazzle – after all crazy girlie holidays were about having fun and not worrying about the little things. So she kicked off her flip flops, removed her sunglasses, took a run for it, and jumped into the pool.

      The water was lovely, not cold, more like a warm bath that had been left for a bit to cool down. She swam from one end half way to the other before she broke the surface grinning.

      Gem and Elle were already up, giggling at her change of attitude – she had to admit she’d been a bit of a moody cow so far. In her defence, the never ending plane journey had made her so restless and the cabin caged her in. Sitting for a few hours was her limit before the boredom had made her stir crazy… not even the inflight entertainment could distract her.

      ‘Good to see the tequila’s kicked in,’ Gem said, jumping in too.

      Elle didn’t, instead she stayed on the side and pulled her long, blonde hair to the top of her head, twisting it into a bun. What was worrying was the look on her face that said she was a girl with a plan. A plan Ciara wasn’t going to like.

      ‘I have an idea, since we’re just having a pool day…’

      Yup, the wicked glint in her azure eyes definitely meant Ciara was going to hate her friend’s idea.

      Elle dashed back into the house and Ciara threw an anxious glance at Gem who rolled her eyes and started swimming like a pro. Sighing, she floated at the deep end, trying not to worry about what mad thing Elle had come up with now.

      She was in LA with her two best friends, she needed to relax. Or learn how to. She’d always had studying and classes, even during the holidays. It might help a little if she stopped worrying over having no clue about her future career, or much else. But she was determined she wasn’t going to think about that until she had to. No point in making herself miserable and ruining this trip.

      Soon, Elle returned with two huge poles wrapped together by what looked like a net under her arm, clutching a bottle of tequila. After ditching the bottle she came to the pool and started to unravel the two poles.

      ‘Ciara grab this one and stick it in the hole at the other side. Gem, there should be a ball in that shed,’ Elle commanded.

      Ciara did as asked, giving into Elle’s bossy streak because it made life so much easier and she knew Elle didn’t mean anything bad by it. That was who she was, and why her granddad was going to train her to be CEO of their family business. Elle wasn’t all designer and class, she had authority and command too.

      The net that stretched across the middle of the pool reminded her of 90210 volleyball games on the beach. She’d never played and didn’t expect to be very good since she had as much coordination as a faulty compass. Maybe the tequila was the prize rather than the punishment.

      Gem returned from the shed with a massive, blown up ball which made her relax a little. Hitting something that huge should be easy, even for her.

      ‘Okay, tequila volleyball,’ Elle said. She’d found a whistle somewhere and blew it once, then put the string it was on around her neck. ‘One on one, you can only hit the ball with your fists and no bouncing off the water or the sides. If it hits the surface, you lose a point.’

      ‘First to five?’ Gem asked, sliding back into the pool.

      ‘Yes, and I play the winner,’ Elle announced.

      ‘What does the winner get?’ she asked, hoping it was a shot of the tequila.

      Elle smiled. ‘Bragging rights. The looser of each point gets a shot of this.’ She held up the bottle.

      Half an hour of losing and she’d be legless.

      Elle blew the whistle, one sharp, shrill sound. ‘Go!’

      Gem threw the ball in the air and wacked it with her fist. Ciara tried to run forward but the resistance in the water made it feel like she was wading through sludge. Determined she wasn’t going to lose, she dove forward, hands clenched together and hit the ball as hard as she could before she face planted into the pool.

      She righted herself in time to see Gem fall back into the water and watch the ball hit home on the other side of the net. She laughed, relieved not to be the first to hit the shots.

      Elle took the bottle over as Gem coughed up water. ‘Open up and swallow as you go.’

      ‘You said one shot, not half the bottle,’ Gem protested.

      Elle pulled an expression that on anyone else could be mistaken for innocent but