Page 37 of Dance With Me
Seb stood still for a minute in utter shock until he realised what Joe wanted.
“Erm, yes, of course.”
He handed Joe the lead, and they walked along side by side; neither one of them said anything.
“This is nice. We should do it again.” Joe bumped Seb’s shoulder as he said it.
“We should. It’s great to be out of the city. I love the beach. Reminds me of home.”
“Where is home?”
“My parents are from Israel. When I was four, we moved over here to the south coast, a place called Fairlight, not too far from Hastings. My parents live on the east coast now, but I haven’t visited in a while.”
“I know you have a brother; you mentioned him. Any other siblings?”
“A sister, Becky. She’s currently studying Psychology at university. She got the brains out of all of us.” Seb smirked. “Ben got the charm. What about you?” Seb asked. “You’ve talked about a sister before.”
“Just me and Jayne, and you know she’s married with kids. There’s my mom and dad, Pam and Chris, but that’s about it, really.”
As Seb looked across at Joe, he could see the joy in his face as he talked about his family.
“Do you want kids, Joe? Is that something you and Clare have talked about?”
“Not really. I’m thirty-six, and Clare’s thirty-four already. I know that’s not too old, but I don’t know if she wants to give up her career to have children. I wouldn’t mind. I love my niece and nephew, and I often wonder what it’d be like to have kids of my own. What about you?” This time Joe turned to look at Seb, but he looked away.
“Not really on the cards. I’m a gay man with no partner and nobody on the horizon. I suppose surrogacy would be an option, or adoption, but I’m not at that point in my life. I’ll console myself with just teaching them. Some of my pupils are enough to put you off kids for life.” Seb laughed as he said this, anxious to change the subject. He didn’t want to think about Joe and Clare starting a family. It gave him a strange feeling in his chest that he wasn’t quite ready to acknowledge yet.
“Let’s head to the shore. We can let him off to run in the sea.” Seb took the lead from Joe and made his way across the sand.
As they got to the water, he let Rocco off. The dog ran into the surf, and Seb got his ball out of his bag to throw for him.
The next hour was spent with them running across the beach, Rocco getting wetter and wetter and Joe and Seb getting more out of breath. Breathing hard, Seb put the lead back on, and Rocco shook himself, water spraying everywhere.
“Oh my God, did you bring a towel?” Seb asked. “I forgot to put one in for him, and you’re not going to want him in the back of your car like this.”
“It just so happens,” Joe said as he opened the boot, “I did put one in, but I was thinking we could take a walk along the front and get some food first before going home. Fish and chips OK?”
“Sounds great, let’s go.” Seb held the lead again, and Joe sauntered alongside him, hands in his pockets.
“This has been great, you know,” Joe started. “It’s been a while since I’ve been able to relax like this. So much pressure at work at the moment and the wedding plans?” Joe snorted. “Don’t even get me started on those. I’ll be glad when it’s all over.”
Seb didn’t know what to say to that. It was almost as if he wasn’t looking forward to getting married, but Seb wasn’t comfortable bringing it up. When he looked at him, Joe was frowning.
“Hey, it can’t be that bad, can it?”
Seb thought he heard him mumble something under his breath that sounded like ‘if only you knew’, but he couldn’t be sure.
“I’ve had a good time too. Things have been hard these past couple of months, what with the stalker and Natalia leaving. It’s been a welcome change to get out.”
They eventually reached a small fish and chip shop just on the seafront, and Joe went inside to get some for them. He bought a sausage for Rocco, and they sat at the table outside to eat, the little tables and chairs mostly empty. Even though it was June, it was still cool at night, especially on the coast, a brisk breeze chilling the air. Seb ate most of his food and sat back in his chair, closing his eyes. Tonighthad beengood. Getting out with Rocco and Joe, of course, had been just what he needed.
Seb opened his eyes and looked over at Joe. He was staring out to sea, a faraway look on his face.
“Penny for them,” Seb whispered softly.
Joe swept his gaze to Seb. “I don’t think we have enough time. Maybe another day.” Joe smiled ruefully as they looked at each other, their knees touching under the table, neither moving away.
“We’d better make our way back. It’s getting late, almost ten.” Seb stood and Joe followed, Rocco walking between them.
