Page 14 of A Cornish Love Story
‘Hi, Sarah, it’s nice to meet you.’ I waited for her ‘you too’,but she just nodded sullenly, so I went on. ‘This is Kira, Freddy and Orwell. Guys, this is Ethan – and Sarah.’
There was a round ofheysand handshakes between the boys,I’ve seen you in Design,andwe’re in Maths togetherpolitely exchanged, like we were proper grown-ups.
‘I’m going home,’ Sarah said, and Ethan frowned.
‘I should come.’
She put a hand up in front of his face. ‘No offence,big brother, but it’s a ten-minute walk. I can manage it by myself. I’m really starting to get bored of you being my shadow, for absolutely no reason whatsoever.’
‘You know why.’ He turned away from us, as if that would stop us from hearing their conversation. ‘I can’t protect you if I’m not there.’
‘I don’t want you to.’
‘Youknow—’
‘I’m going home now.’
He dropped his shoulders, defeated. ‘Text me when you get there.’
Sarah rolled her eyes and stomped off across the sand. Ethan stared after her, his arms limp at his sides.
‘I’m the youngest of four,’ Freddy said, ‘so I have experience of being a shithead to my older sisters and brother. Looks like she’s taking the job seriously.’
Ethan shook his head. ‘She’s unhappy. We moved here a couple of months ago and she had to leave her friends behind. But even before that, things weren’t great. I’m just trying to look out for her.’
‘Seems like it’s a losing battle,’ Kira said gently.
Ethan rubbed his eyes, then his gaze found mine. ‘How are the injuries?’
‘Gone,’ I said, because it had been two weeks. ‘All down to you, of course. Otherwise, the gravel would have burrowed inside me and given me blood poisoning.’
‘You shouldn’t joke about it,’ he said, but he was fighting a smile. ‘It could have been serious.’
‘It wasn’t, because of you. You settling in OK?’
‘Not too bad. It’s great having the beach so close.’
‘It’s the best,’ Kira said. ‘Race you to the rocks?’
It was a standard thing we did to blow off steam, but Ethan looked surprised because the rocks were quite a way out, past some pretty big waves, and it was also March, and freezing.
‘You wear costumes under your clothes?’ he asked. ‘Do you bring towels with you, then?’
‘I know it looks a long way, but there are sandbanks – it doesn’t get that deep.’ Freddy pulled off his beanie.
Kira was already lifting her T-shirt, revealing her sleek black swimsuit underneath. ‘You can’t live in Alperwick and not give the rocks a go.’
Ethan glanced towards the seafront, as if he regretted not following his sister home, then looked at me. ‘Are you doing it?’
I hadn’t been planning to stay long. Mum had been in a weird mood that morning, physically OK but staring out of the window a lot, distracted and vacant, and I needed to check on her. But the idea of leaving Ethan to race to the rocks with my friends, without me there, was unbearable.
‘I will if you will.’ I started unbuttoning my dress.
He watched my fingers move and, despite the temperature, I wished I was wearing a slinky, sexy bikini, low cut and brightly coloured, instead of the modest navy costume I had on. After a moment’s hesitation he mirrored my movements, unbuttoning his shirt, exposing his strong shoulders, a lean chest, pale but with clusters of freckles. My gaze snagged on his belly button, the trail of brown hair that ran down his stomach, and I turned away, letting my dress pool at my feet. When I risked a glance, Ethan had taken off his shirt and jeans and was standing in a pair of blue boxers. He didn’t seem self-conscious, but my cheeks heated at how much of him was on show.
‘You doknowthat it’s March, don’t you?’ he said. ‘Aren’t we heading into hypothermia territory?’
‘It’s exhilarating,’ I said, though I knew it would be almost unbearably cold.
