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Sun, sand and... sleaze

Ashley gave me a surprise - but not the one I wanted


Published by: Paul Carter and Jean Jollands
Published on: 11th August 2011

That holiday feeling had well and truly got a hold on me! I had a week of sun, sea and sand to look forward to and maybe romance, too…
I’d arrived in Tenerife that morning with my boyfriend Ashley Edwards, 26, our four-month-old daughter Lily, and 12 friends.
The break was the first since the birth, but I was hoping by the end of it I’d be celebrating something else. ‘Are you sure it was him?’ I frowned to my pal Lucy, 25, as I wrestled Lily into her swimming costume.
‘Positive,’ she nodded. ‘I bumped into Ashley in town a couple of days before we came here, and he was coming out of a jewellery shop.’
Ashley had popped up to our hotel room to get a towel, and Lucy had plonked herself down on the sunlounger beside me. ‘So, has he asked?’ she said excitedly.
‘Do you think he’ll propose?’ I breathed.
‘Yep,’ she nodded.
Me and Ashley had been together for two years. Now we were on our first holiday abroad together. And maybe it was going to be a memorable one!
Seemed Ashley was on someone else’s mind too, though.
As he walked towards us, waving the towel over his head, I spotted one of the hotel’s waitresses, olive-skinned with long dark hair, watching him.
Who could blame her, though? His sexy 5ft 8in frame and brooding chocolate-brown eyes always got my heart racing.
And he looked so cute cuddling Lily. I could imagine her as a bridesmaid at our wedding.
All I had to do was wait for Ashley to propose.
Over the next couple of days, we hit the beach, hung out at the swimming pool, and enjoyed the sights. Yet, at the hotel, that waitress was only interested in one sight – my Ashley.
Every time he was at the pool, she’d gawp at him and, whenever he went to the bar, she served him.
‘She fancies you,’ I said, peering over my sunglasses and nodding in the waitress’s direction as he came over with a tray of drinks.
‘No she doesn’t,’ he snorted.
Taking off my sunglasses, I raised an eyebrow.
‘You’re jealous,’ he chuckled.
‘I’m not,’ I cried.
‘Well, you’ve nothing to worry about,’ he smiled. ‘I love you.’
Hopefully, during this holiday he’d show me how much.
In the meantime, I wanted Lily to enjoy her first holiday. So, the following day I took her to investigate the nearby town, leaving Ashley in bed.
Heading back to the hotel a few hours later, I found him at the bar – with that waitress.
As I got closer, I spotted her hand resting on top of his.
What the?!
Spotting me, she pulled it away. Ashley turned around, smiling.
‘Hey,’ he beamed.
‘Are you his girlfriend?’ asked the waitress.
‘Yes,’ I said, shooting daggers at Ashley who looked confused.
‘You’re lucky. Ashley’s very handsome,’ she purred.
‘You know his name?’ I said.
‘We’ve been talking,’ he shrugged. Since when did talking involve holding hands?
Back in our hotel room, I confronted Ashley. ‘Why were you holding hands?’ I asked him.
‘We weren’t,’ he blurted. ‘She’d handed me my change, and was resting it there.’
‘So why didn’t you move your hand?’ I demanded.
‘It would’ve been rude,’ he shrugged. ‘Don’t you think you’re over-reacting?’
‘But…’ Maybe he was right. After all, he hadn’t proposed yet and it was starting to get to me. Was I blowing this out of proportion because I was worried he was getting cold feet?
‘Sorry,’ I sighed. ‘I’m tired.’
‘It’s okay,’ he smiled. ‘We’ll spend tomorrow by the pool.’
And we did, but I couldn’t relax.
That waitress kept coming round, asking if we wanted drinks, but never taking her eyes off Ashley. ‘Can I get you anything?’ she asked.
‘I’ll have a beer,’ he smiled.
‘And I’ll have half a lager, please,’ I interrupted.
‘Do you work out?’ she asked, ignoring me.
‘Sometimes,’ said Ashley.
‘It shows,’ she smiled.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. ‘Is she for real?’ I hissed when she’d left.
‘She’s just being friendly,’ Ashley shrugged. ‘You’re exaggerating.’
‘She’s being a flirt,’
I huffed. ‘And you can’t see it.’
Grabbing my book and towel, I stormed up to our room with Lily.
This was getting silly, I wanted to be celebrating my engagement by now.
Instead, I was watching a Spanish waitress engage Ashley in sexy glances and giggles.
Still, in our hotel room, I wondered if I was exaggerating.
Was she being friendly? It was her job to make visitors feel welcome, after all
Maybe the heat was getting to me! Why should I be jealous of a woman we’d be rid of in a week?
Feeling foolish, I headed back to the pool to say sorry to Ashley. But he wasn’t there.
Searching everywhere, I finally headed along a pathway around the back of the pool and stumbled upon a cheeky sight.
A woman was up against the wall, her legs wrapped around her lover’s waist, her knickers dangling off one ankle.
The man’s shorts were pulled down, exposing his bum! ‘Sorry!’ I blurted.
Then I spotted the guy’s blue t-shirt.
It was Ashley.
He was having sex with the waitress!
My stomach lurched as I gripped the wall
for support.
‘Kirsty!’ I heard him cry. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Watching you have sex,’ I spat.
His eyes looked wild as he searched for an excuse.
‘She’d been attacked,’ he babbled. ‘I was comforting her.’
‘I’m not stupid,’ I cried.
All along he’d fooled me into thinking I was over-reacting.
But that waitress had been flirting with him, and he hadn’t been able to resist a holiday romance – only it wasn’t with me.
Storming back to our room, I threw his stuff over the balcony.
‘I’m sorry,’ he begged from the terrace below.
‘I never want to see you again,’ I screamed.
He moved into a different hotel room and, over the next few days, my friends tried consoling me. But I was heartbroken.
I felt like an idiot, getting excited thinking Ashley was going to propose. Who was I kidding?!
I locked myself in my room, didn’t venture out for fear of bumping into him or the waitress. But I couldn’t stay there forever.
At the airport, I spotted Ashley in the departures queue.
‘Kirsty…’ he started.
‘Don’t talk to me,’ I fumed. I was so angry I couldn’t even bring myself to ask if he was going to propose or not – I’ll never know.
Luckily, he swapped his seat on the plane and, back home, he moved out.
Although he still sees Lily, me and him are over.
My holiday turned out to be memorable, but for the wrong reason.

• Ashley Edwards, 26, said: ‘I don’t really know what I was doing, that wasn’t me behaving like that, it was someone else.
‘I was a different person over there. Soon as Kirsty spotted us, I knew I shouldn’t have done it.
‘But I haven’t been with any other girl since that holiday, I still want Kirsty back.’
Kirsty Slater, 25, Bristol