Page 50 of Kissing Games
They reached the edge of the village and stepped off the side of the road onto the loose shingle by the edge of the loch.
‘Ah,’ he replied. ‘How convenient.’
She shot him a filthy look and he laughed.
‘You know full well that all of them would approve, and Abuela would ask for photographic evidence.’
‘You’re right. She keeps asking if I know where your dragon tattoo ends.’
He squeezed her hand. ‘You can see in a minute if you like?’
‘Charlie!’ she hissed, looking around in case anyone was about. ‘I will not look.’
‘You’re more than welcome. After years in the army, I’m perfectly fine with my own nakedness.’
‘Well, I am not fine with mine,’ she whispered back.
He stopped abruptly and looked down at her. The rain that had bucketed down earlier had stopped and the skies had cleared. Pale moonlight illuminated his shocked face. ‘It’s okay if you don’t want others to look at your body, but you’ve got to be happy in your own skin.’
She pulled at his hand, trying to get him to walk on. It was like trying to move an intractable bull. ‘Come on, let’s get this over and done with.’
He wasn’t budging, so she dropped his hand and set off alone along the shore, the loose stones crunching under her boots. He jogged to reach her.
‘Woah, hang on, back up a bit.’
She ignored him.
‘Valentina, wait, por favor.’
She stopped, hot and embarrassed. ‘What?’
He sighed. ‘Lo siento. I just want to ask, are you happy with your body?’
She glanced away and shrugged. ‘I do what I can with what god gave me.’
‘Valentina,’ he said softly. ‘You’re a fucking goddess.’
She shrugged again. She didn’t want to be having this conversation. ‘It will not last. And in Hollywood, I’ll always be fat.’
There was silence, then he let out an incredulous laugh. ‘What the fuck, Valentina? That’s bullshit. Fat? Jesus Christ.’
She crossed her arms.
He stared at her. ‘Whatever dipshit said that to you is blind, jealous, has a tiny dick, or all of the above. Fuck my life. What is wrong with the world? I’m never going to LA if it’s full of people like that.’
A hole opened inside her heart. Their lives were so very different and Charlie was only in hers for a short time. Whatever she shared with him was fleeting and soon they would go their separate ways. Expecting any more from this situation was like trying to hold onto a beautiful dream when you’re waking up. She took a deep breath. Her life outside of Kinloch could wait. She wanted to stay in this dream for as long as she could.
‘This is why I keep asking you to keep your eyes closed.’
He nodded. ‘I may be a dickhead but you can count on me. I won’t look.’ He paused. ‘Valentina, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. You never have to do anything you don’t want to. This is meant to be fun.’
She looked behind them. The lights of Kinloch were far enough away. ‘Wearedoing this.’ She lifted her chin. ‘We are going skinny-dipping.’
He grinned. ‘Alrighty then!’ He shucked his jacket to the ground. ‘Last one in’s a wazzock!’ He pulled his T-shirt over his head and threw it behind him.
‘Wait! Stop!’ She darted forward, putting her hands on his bare chest, then lifting them off as if scalded. She blinked, trying to avoid looking at his chest.Oh god, his body. ‘Er, I thought we could do this slowly?’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘It’s pretty cold. Better just to jump in. It’s like taking off a plaster – best to rip it off.’
