At six o’clock, Jas filed into her car to head back to her apartment, which was a fifteen-minute ride from the hotel. She rolled down her window and squinted at me through the harsh glare of the streetlight.

‘If you see Jason around here, you tell me,’ she ordered.

‘I will,’ I lied.

My mind was a jumbled mess while I watched the car spew up sandy smoke as she sped away. I trudged wearily back to my room. I thought about using the laptop, but the Internet was so crap around here that it was virtually impossible to load Facebook.

Since I was probably going to be seeing Jason tomorrow, I decided to have a makeover. I rummaged through my make-up bag, finding a little packet that read "facial mask: vanilla". I washed my face carefully before applying it. I sat on the balcony, shaded now that the sun had started to dip toward the sea. I leaned my head back, letting the minerals in the mask soak into my blemished and oily skin.

After fifteen minutes, I sat up, neck muscles sore. The mask had dried up on my face, and I wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or not. In the bathroom, I washed it away, pretending that I could now see a lustrous new shine to my skin.

Having had a homemade manicure already, I decided to apply the same turquoise colour on my toenails, which went surprisingly well. I had just finished when I heard a harsh, stern knocking on my door. I glanced up, surprised. Who in the world could want to see me right now? Thinking that it must be my uncle, I headed over to the door without a thought over what I looked like.

Only when I opened it, I found myself standing face to face with none other than the skinny and black-haired guy from the beach.

For a few moments, we both just stood there, completely silent. He was looking at me from eye to eye, as if he didn’t know which one to settle on. Meanwhile, I was staring back at his blemished skin. I wasn’t the only adult with the skin of a teenager.

Slowly, gradually, like I couldn’t quite notice the change straight away, his face filled with belated shock, like a tank slowly filling with water. I frowned at him, weirded out by his behaviour. What was his deal? My change in expression must have awakened him, because suddenly he thrust his hand forward. Hesitatingly, I grabbed his hand and shook it. His skin was smooth and clammy, and I could feel his bones through it. I gave him a suspicious look.

‘Hello,’ he said by way of introduction, ‘I’m Blake.’

‘Just Blake?’

‘Blake Rubenstein,’ he added hastily.

‘Rubenstein?’ I repeated, dumbfounded. What an incredible name, I mused. His English was flawless, but he couldn’t originate from an English-speaking country with such a name.

‘Yes. And your name is?’

‘Oh. I’m Mithra Leontiadis. A pleasure to meet you.’ I wasn’t so sure that it was a pleasure.

He nodded, swallowing. ‘I, um, I came to ask about your friend. The blonde girl. With the pink bikini.’

Oh. Of course. Why was I even surprised?

‘Yeah, she’s my friend. What about her?’

He looked uncomfortable again. He was shy; he probably hadn’t done anything like this before. He had obviously taken a big step, mustering up the courage to find out information about Jas through me. Something about that endeared him to me.

‘I don’t know, I thought maybe you could tell me her name at least?’

‘Jasmine McKenny. She’s got Facebook.’

‘Oh, good,’ he said, relieved.

‘She probably won’t accept your friend request.’ The sad look on his face squeezed my heart. Instantly I felt bad about saying something so mean and took an involuntary step toward him. ‘Hey, I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant that she doesn’t add strangers. You’ve gotta give her a reason to.’

‘Can you help me with that?’ he asked hopefully.

‘You want me to tell her to add you?’

He ran a hand through his spiky hair. ‘Um, yeah.’

‘I guess I could do that.’ I pondered for a moment. ‘But I can’t guarantee anything.’

‘Okay,’ he said solemnly.

Suddenly, I had an idea. It was crazy and reckless, and so out of my comfort zone, but I was riding a wave of spontaneity and couldn’t stifle the urge.

‘Look, if you really want to impress Jas, you’ve got to work on your body a bit. She’s already got her eyes on a guy and doesn’t settle for skinny.’ Blake looked utterly defeated. I ignored it and continued. ‘But—I have a solution for you. See, I’m starting self-defence classes tomorrow at this gym. As you can see, I too need to work on my body. At that gym you can also learn offensive fighting, or just do weights, I guess. Whichever. But I could take you there if you want.’

I felt immensely playful over manipulating fate like this. What if this scrawny man turned into a beauty that even Jas could want? Not only did he complement her fair looks, but it would leave Jason free.

I scrutinised him, trying to see the potential. He had a nice, if a bit small and narrow face. High cheekbones, a large but straight nose that cut through his face like a blade, almost slanted eyes that were so dark they appeared black, defined, black eyebrows, thin lips, and slightly hollow cheeks. There was potential, I could see it. Unlike me, where a pretty woman needed to be dragged out from the depths of her body, this guy needed to build, like he was an unfinished house. I felt gleeful at the prospect of what he could look like.

‘You’d do that for me?’ he asked, suspicion shadowing his features.

‘Yes,’ I replied impatiently, ‘sure I would. Why not? Isn’t this how people make friends?’

He laughed then. It was a bubbling laugh, uncontrollable, like he was so unused to doing it that he found it difficult to let it out. I smiled, suddenly liking him.

‘Yeah,’ he managed, ‘I guess this is how people make friends.’ Then he gave me a rueful look. ‘Are you implying you want to be friends?’

‘Well, we’re both trying to impress impossibly beautiful people that we can never have. I figure two people sitting in the same sinking boat might as well enjoy each other’s company.’

He inspected me, puzzled. ‘You’re in the same situation?’

‘Yes,’ I grumbled, ‘unfortunately, yes.’

His face sobered. ‘You really think we don’t stand a chance?’

I met his black eyes—and kept looking. It was like there was no limit to the depth of the darkness in them. I shuddered involuntarily. Was I really volunteering to be friends with this stranger, this man whose background I knew nothing about?

Then I thought, what the hell. Life was short, he didn’t look threatening, and even if he were, I would bet all my life that I could beat him in a fight. I might have been overweight, but my body had leftover muscle from all the sports I had engaged in when I was younger.

‘As a realist, I can tell you that the chance is small, but not non-existent. You make what you want of that.’

He gave me a crooked smile. ‘When do we start?’

‘Tomorrow.’

With that, we exchanged numbers and said an awkward “see you later” before he walked off, staggering a little on his unsteady legs.

Huh. Just like that, I had made a new friend. Who knew it could be that easy?

With nothing left to do, I decided to get back to my makeover. I got in the shower, making sure my legs and armpits were perfectly shaved. I scrubbed my body with rigid force, almost scraping the skin off.

When I was finished, I made tiny braids in my wet hair, which would ensure that it was thick and wavy tomorrow. After applying all my lotions, I finally collapsed into bed, sighing with exhaustion.

Before I knew it, I was asleep.