Party 'til you pass out / When the party's over

2.27

'Ey bud,' I said, smiling and kneeling down to his height.

'Oli, are we gonna play in the pool again?,' Elliot asked me with big eyes. I smiled at him and nodded, thinking back of how we had done so in LA when recording Amo.

'Sure we are.' I ruffled his hair with my hand. Elliot grinned and went back to his mother, who was holding his baby sister Eden. I got up and saw Alison stare at me with a loving look in her eyes.

'What?'

'Nothing,' she shook her head with a smile. 'It's just cute how you handle Elliot.' Then she pulled her eyes away from me and got in line to check in. I pulled my suitcase with me and got behind her, wrapping my arm around her waist and kissing her temple. We all checked in, went through security, the girls went shopping tax-free and did a coffee run when we were waiting at the gate.

'No sex in the lavatory!,' Lee hollered after me and Alison when we boarded the plane and sat down two rows behind him, Deni and their daughter Evalyn. We both laughed and I gave him my middle finger, making him do the same.

'Elliot, no!,' Jordan said from across the aisle. I looked back and chuckled when I saw him pull down his son's held out middle finger. 'Oli, please, watch your language and gestures coming time?' I promised Jordan, but winked at Elliot, who giggled.

The plane wasn't filled completely, so Alison and I had our row to ourselves. Alison was reading a book to stay distracted from the flight, and I was scrolling my phone. After about an hour and a half, Elliot got bored and started talking to me from across the aisle.

'Come sit here, bud,' I told him, pointing at the empty seat next to me. He looked at his parents and Emma nodded at him, and he happily crossed the aisle and sat down next to me. Alison looked at us for a moment and got that sweet, loving look on her face again. Jordan handed me a note block and some crayons, and Elliot and I drew animals and dinosaurs for a while. Then he got bored again and sat back in his chair, eventually falling asleep against my side.

'I can take him if you want to,' Jordan offered. I shook my head and put my arm around the boy, sliding back in my chair a bit and closing my eyes too.

Elliot and I both woke up when we landed, and he went back to his parents. We all got off the plane, welcoming the warmth of the sun, gathering our luggage and walking out to our rental cars.

'Almost feels like tour,' Alison said as we collected our keys and got up to the SUV we shared with Tom and Lizzy.

'Almost,' I chuckled, thinking of how much more relaxed I already was then I would be when going on tour.

The fifteen person Airbnb Chloe and Alison had rented was located on a rocky hill, overlooking the turquoise water of the Mediterranean way below. It was an old, traditional farmhouse that had been renovated to meet beyond today's luxury standards; it had a pool and a big backyard with olive trees and a fire pit, seven bedrooms all with their own bathroom, and a huge kitchen and living room, all modern and light.

'Oh my God, girls, this is amazing!,' Tilly, Kean's wife let out while looking around. Everyone agreed, and Alison and Chloe high fived each other with a grin.

'Now I know why we paid so much,' Nicholls joked. Chloe whacked his chest. We agreed to get installed, and afterwards Alison, Chloe, Emma, Kean, Lee and Lizzy decided to go out for grocery shopping. They asked everyone to make a list, and it took them a long while to get back.

I was in the pool with Elliot – as promised -, and Jordan when they came back. Alison smiled and sat down on the edge of the pool, taking her sandals off and putting her feet in the water. She closed her eyes and put her face up to the sun, enjoying the moment until Nicholls crept up behind her.