The rest of them follow Brian, shedding clothes everywhere. I notice Jason as he takes his shirt off. In contrast to Brian, his chest is more defined, less boyish. Still pasty white, but he has the beginnings of stomach muscles, faint lines rippling under his skin. He’s also being more reserved, not rushing into the water like a toddler.

I drink some more champagne and sit back down next to Tracey. She rolls her eyes at me, but then I notice her watching Jason too as he bobs in the water. One of them has produced a beach ball from somewhere and an impromptu game of volleyball breaks out.

“Who knew he had that hidden under his school shirt?” Tracey says to me quietly and we giggle.

“Ladies!” Eloise, Steph and Emily walk through the door, looking like they’re attending the Oscars. El is wearing bizarre, massive sunglasses that cover most of her face, despite it being dark outside. Steph and Emily are like identical twins in matching purple bikinis beneath denim jackets. It is my turn to roll my eyes.

I get up again, pour some more champagne into cups and hand it around. I think El was expecting more fanfare when she arrived, but the boys are too engrossed in dunking each other and pelting the beach ball around to notice her, so she is scowling already.

She puts her huge beach bag on a lounger and flings off her long coat to reveal a very skimpy yellow bikini underneath. “Hi, Brian,” she says, waving her fingers at him. He looks over, momentarily stunned. The beach ball smacks him on the side of the face. The rest of the boys start laughing and, embarrassed, he turns his attention back to his friends.

El rips off the sunglasses in annoyance and drains her cup before indicating I should refill it. I drain my cup too. She sees my Polaroid camera on the table.

“Emily, take a photo,” she commands.

“Cool, of all of us?”

“No, just me and Hels.”

“Oh,” Emily says, her face falling.

Eloise puts her arm around me and poses, her other hand on her jutting hip, her eyes wide, her boobs pushed forward. The flash blinds us as we smile. I see Brian watching us and El gives me a knowing smirk as she takes the photo from Emily. She wafts it dramatically, like she is wielding a fan, looks at it and shakes her head.

“For god’s sake, Emily. Not just our faces. You never get anything right.” She tosses the photo aside and snatches the camera from Emily before she can take another photo and stalks off. Steph and Em follow her like sheep as she sets herself up on the loungers, right next to where the boys are throwing themselves around.

I look at the photo and it’s a nice one. We are both smiling and look pretty, happy.