Page 95 of Prove You Wrong

‘Sounds brilliant. You’d be great at it.’ His hand skims my thigh. ‘Do you ever do freelance accounting?’

‘I haven’t really, but I could. Why?’ I risk a glance at him. ‘Do you need an accountant?’

‘Not me.’ He gives me a little squeeze where his fingers rest on my leg.‘But I might know someone.’

Excitement prickles at my skin and then zings through me. Things are starting to look up. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

Helena drives smoothly all the way to the coast, eating up the road, almost like she’s pleased to be stretching her legs again.

We park by the sea front. The brisk sea air, salty and fresh, whips me in the face as I climb out. There’s a row of multi-coloured beach huts lining the promenade, all pastels and draped with bunting, and we head towards them, hands entwined.

‘Can we get some ice cream?’ I ask.

‘In December? It’s about two degrees,’ he chuckles.

‘So?’ I scoff. ‘You can’t let the weather get in the way of good ice cream.’

Nate leads me over to a little shack selling hot drinks and snacks, and the server doesn’t bat an eyelid when I order a scoop of raspberry ripple.

‘See,’ I cock my head towards the stall and grin. ‘Every day’s an ice cream day.’

‘Okay, I’ll have a — ’ he pauses to read the list of flavours ‘ –– a scoop of dark chocolate, please.’

We pay and take our order.

Eyeing his cone, I say, ‘Bold choice.’

‘I think our flavours are complimentary.’ He winks.

I taste my sweet, tart, treat and Nate’s eyes darken as he watches me.

‘You want to try it?’ I offer my cone and he dips his head down, flicking his tongue out and licking up a melting trail, keeping his eyes locked on mine.

The things that tongue can do.

‘I didn’t know ice cream could be so dangerous,’ I murmur, half wanting to toss the snack aside and climb him like a tree.

We wander along the promenade, sharing tastes of each other’s ice cream until they’re gone.

Nate takes my hand as we venture up some steps to climb onto the breakwater. The wind picks up and we’re spritzed by the aqua-grey water swirling and frothing below us. My hair flits around, the breeze pulling tendrils from the messy bun as we pick our way along the top.

Near the end, Nate perches on a raised part of the balustrade and holds a hand out to me. ‘Come here.’

I move closer and he pulls me onto his lap, arms tightly encircling my waist and his mouth going straight to my neck. ‘I couldn’t resist anymore.’

My head falls back as his lips work over my throat. My gasp is whisked away into the squall.

I fist my hands into his jacket feeling like I might get lost in his kiss if I don’t hold on tightly. It’s as if we’re the only people left in the world, out on this precipice, the tumultuous sea teeming around us.

‘Will you stay with me tonight?’ Nate whispers, so quiet I almost miss it in the roar of the breaking waves.

‘I thought you had a shift? Wait.’ I sit up straighter. ‘Don’t we need to leave soon?’

‘I do … and probably. But after?’ His eyes lock on mine. ‘Will you come to my place? Stay over?’

I’ve never heard this tone in Nate’s voice before –– softer, unsure. Vulnerable.

I scan his face, trying to read what he’s thinking.

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