Sunrise in Bali - Across the Pond Trilogy (Book 1) by L.A. Shorter Read Free Book Online

suggested
they were getting close. By now the strength of the sun had begun to
abate, and the boys had returned from their tanning session on the
other end of the boat. As expected, Todd had caught a few too many
rays, his skin lit up like a lobster. “Screw it,” he proclaimed,
after a few teasing words from the group, “it'll turn to tan in a
couple of days.” He had a cockney charm to him, like nothing really
phased him at all.

    Henry
appeared to have gotten even darker over the last couple of hours,
his skin enjoying the kiss of sun on top of the salt water spray that
hit the deck at regular intervals, while Marks blonde hair appeared
even brighter than before. Perhaps it was the contrast with his
burgeoning tan?

    Jenny
laid back and smiled, looking up towards the bright blue sky and
beyond to the looming island in the distance. She caught Henry
looking at her, a melancholic expression on his face, but refused to
link with his eyes. “So, is Lombok like Bali?” she directed her
question at Andy.

    “ Well,
yes and no,” he started, “I guess it depends how you're looking
at it. From a landscape and climate point of view, sure they're
really similar...you know, beautiful mountains, tranquil beaches,
tropical rainforests, and all that. From a religious and tourism
point of view, they're completely different though. Bali is far more
built up than Lombok, and the people over there are mainly Hindu,
while over here they're Muslim. You'll see what I mean when we get
there....”

    This
started a line of questioning that Andy was happy to deal with, each
member of the group eager to know more about the island they'd be
traversing shortly. Before the conversation could get too in-depth,
however, the boat ground to a halt up at the dock in Lembar Harbor,
the tannoy ordering all passengers to gather their things and
disembark.

    Everyone
got up and stretched before heading off down towards dry land, with
Andy busily chatting on his phone to make sure their transport was
ready and waiting. Thankfully, it was, a slightly larger minivan than
before awaiting their arrival. “Righto gang, welcome to Lombok!”

    Jenny
looked around and quickly realized what Andy had just been talking
about. The dock was even less built up than in Bali, the roads seemed
more like dirt tracks, and the jungle appeared even thicker and more
dense. They jumped in the van and started the short journey to their
hotel up the coast near Mataram, Jenny huddled in the back beside
Sarah and Andrew. The atmosphere was quiet, everyone staring out of
the windows taking in the beautiful coastal views as they went. In
what seemed like no time, they had arrived at their hotel for the
night... “this'll be the classiest hotel you'll have in Lombok,”
Andy warned them. “It's got a pool at least, so enjoy it before we
disappear inland tomorrow morning!”

    As
they gathered their things from the back of the van and headed into
the hotel, Jenny felt a hand tug at her arm from behind. She turned
round to see Henry standing behind her.

    “ Have
I upset you in some way?” he asked.

    Jenny
tried to be aloof. She didn't want him to know that seeing him with
Emily had upset her. “No, what could you have done to upset me?”
she answered, an accusatory tone unintentionally infecting her words.

    “ Nothing,
I'd hope. You're the last person on this tour I'd want to upset.”

    His
words seemed completely genuine. Either he was ignorant of what he'd
done, or he still hoped she hadn't seem him and was covering his
back. He was a fine actor if it was the latter.

    “ No,
it's fine, you haven't done anything. Look, I'd better go, Sarah
needs me.” With that she sped off towards the lobby of the hotel,
where Sarah was gesturing her to come over. She felt a little bit
guilty for how she was acting. It wasn't her way to make anyone feel
bad, regardless of what they'd done to her. She'd been trampled on a
lot in her young life and was very much a pleaser, someone