Page 56 of Just Like That

‘I did, yes. Many summers building sandcastles and exploring the rock pools hoping to find sea creatures.’

‘And freezing your butt off in that water? It looks cold.’

‘You get used to it. We can have a paddle if you like?’

‘Really?’ I screw up my nose, not at all sure that’s a good idea.

‘Why not? I’m not sure I’ve ever been here without at least getting my feet in the water.’

I continue to waver, erring on the side of ‘thank but no thanks’, which prompts Nick to cajole me further.

‘Come on. What’s the worst that could happen? You’ve scooped up elephant poo. Surely everything from then onwards should be a breeze.’

‘You’d think, eh?’ I throw him a beady-eyed look, then do a quick memory check to make sure I’m not about to reveal an unsightly set of toenails or something worse. ‘OK, you’re on.’

Nick seems delighted that I’ve risen to the challenge, and – after continually losing my balance – holds me steady while I remove my socks and running shoes, which I put on for this part of the date on his advice. Then I roll up my ankle-high skinny jeans as far as they’ll go, while he expertly takes off his own his own shoes and socks without so much as a wobble.

While I know it’s a bit shallow, I can’t help sneaking a look at his feet to make sure they’re feet I could see myself lying next to in bed. My squeamishness is something that extends beyond the likes of animal excrement, and I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve previously ended a promising relationship solely because the guy had the worst case of toenail fungus ever to have existed in the history of humanity. To my relief, Nick has very normal-looking feet, and while I’ll never be volunteering to suck his toes, I’m sure I’ll be all right cosying up beside them, as long as they stay at the end of the bed where they belong.

‘Ready?’ he asks.

‘Let’s do it – before I change my mind.’

We pad across the sand towards the water’s edge in our bare feet, avoiding stepping on the bits of broken shell and seaweed – which gives me the willies, but I put on a brave face – as we go. Nick strides straight into the water without a care in the world, while I stop dead the moment my feet feel wet and cold.

‘Come on, you can do it.’ He beckons me to join him.

‘I’ve changed my mind,’ I call out to him. ‘I’ll stay here and work up to going in next time.’

‘Nonsense. Get yourself over here. It’s great for your circulation.’

‘My circulation’s just fine, thank you very much. I’m not an old lady.’

‘You clearly have no real understanding of what causes circulation issues,’ Nick scoffs.

‘Maybe, but I don’t need a lesson on it either.’

Nick frowns at me and shakes his head. ‘OK, you leave me with little choice here.’

He wades back out of the water towards me.

‘You don’t need to come out because of me. I’m happy to… arrgh!’ I let out a yelp as Nick expertly scoops me up and walks straight back into the water.

‘What are you doing?’ I kick my legs helplessly, trying to release myself.

‘Keep that up and you’ll end up going in head first,’ he says to me and I stop struggling. ‘This is the best way to face your fear, because it won’t be nearly as bad as you think. Now, keep still and I’m going to lower your feet in gently.’

‘OK.’ I close my eyes tightly and hold my breath. My whole body seizes up in anticipation as Nick puts me into a standing position in the water. ‘Ahh, it’s freezing!’

I hop up and down as the icy water licks at my calves.

‘Stop thinking about it and just walk around a bit,’ he instructs me. ‘Focus on the view.’

Doing as he says, I find myself quickly acclimatising to the water, and before I know it, it feels wonderful and cool and therapeutic and I can’t imagine ever wanting to get out again.

‘This is amazing. Why haven’t I done this before?’

‘Because you let your brain convince you of awful things that are not really that awful. Now you know that, maybe you can look at shovelling animal poo in a different way.’

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