Page 10 of Unexpected Boyfriends

I slot the phone back into its cradle with a click, and my grandmother looks at me inquiringly.

“I’m going to the beach with Axel tomorrow,” I tell her, as if it's nothing important, and I resume clearing up after dinner.

“I’m pleased you two have hit it off,” she says. “I worry about you spending your holidays on your own.”

“Hardly on my own,” I reply, “you and Grandpa are here.”

“That’s not the same. You need friends your own age.”

“I don’t mind being on my own. I’ve got plenty to keep myself happy. Anyway, Axel is hardly my age, he’s probably just being polite.”

Which, all things considered, is a pity.

Chapter 04

The Rock Walk

AXEL

When I arrive to pick up Justin the next morning, he's fidgety.

“Something wrong?” I ask him, noticing the tight set of his features and the nervous chewing of his lip.

“Um. My grandma wants to invite you to dinner tomorrow night,” he says, awkwardly.

“Just me, or…?”

“Just you. I think she really wants us to be friends.” Oh! He’s embarrassed. He looks down as his cheeks turn a bright cherry pink, and the driveway gravel must have suddenly become incredibly fascinating, because he’s staring at it and won’t look at me.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to,” he adds, digging his shoe into the gravel, shifting some stones around. “I’ll just tell her you already had plans.”

“I don’t have any other plans,” I tell him gently. “And I’d love to come, unless of course, you wanted some time to yourself…”

“Oh. No, I’d like you to come,” he says hastily, finally looking up at me, an earnest expression on his face. “I just don’t want you to, you know, feel obligated, or anything.”

“Nah, it’s cool. Tell her thanks from me.”

Justin’s smile is shy and pleased. This guy is so transparent it’s almost painful. He really wants me to come, but he doesn’t like to say it. It makes me feel strangely warm inside. I haven’t had anyone that genuinely keen for my company in a long time.

“Are you ready to go?” I ask him, eyeing the backpack slung over his shoulder.

He nods.

“Let’s go then.” I get back in the car and Justin gets in the passenger seat.

Before starting the engine, I pull out my phone, unlock it and toss it to Justin, who catches it neatly. “Put your number in my contacts and send yourself a message so I’m in yours. Then we don’t have to rely on the landline.”

Justin does as I ask, then asks “How far away is this place?” as I back out the driveway.

“Not far. It’s the next beach along, but it’s a bit of a winding drive to get there. Then it’s maybe, ah, forty-five minutes or an hour to walk around the rocks to get to the blowhole itself. Most people don’t go far enough to find it, but it’s basically as far as you can go, because you can’t get round it safely. And you can only reach it if the tide is super low. A normal low tide won’t cut it.”

“Sounds cool,” Justin seems excited by today’s planned excursion. His voice is upbeat, his eyes wide and shining.

“It is. I’ve been out there a few times.”

“You must have done a lot of exploring around the beaches and rocks,” he says. “I suppose it gets old after a while.”

“Not really. I love everything to do with the ocean, especially the way the ocean changes moods. It’s always different. You go down to the beach each morning and you never know what you’re going to find. Sometimes the sea seems wistful or lonely, sometimes it’s happy or hopeful. Kind of a metaphor for life really.”

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