None of them were important, and it felt good to put them aside for a moment, letting myself just exist in the here and now.
When I opened them again, blinking against the sunlight, my gaze roamed across the bay, searching for the outline of Owen. It baffled me that he’d still wanted to come down to swim, despite the fact it couldn’t be more than ten degrees in the water.
He’d tried to convince me to get in with him again. Even offering me a wetsuit and promising me it would keep me warm, at least once I got in and got used to the chill. And while I appreciated the gesture, there was no way in hell I was going in.
I hadn’t done it over the summer, and I wasn’t doing it now. Freezing my balls, and my toes, off in the North Sea was not my idea of a good time. I was just here to watch him, enjoy the quiet, and get a hot drink afterwards.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come in?” Owen asked, calling to me from about ten or fifteen meters out. His head and shoulders were a little above the water, hair slicked back and a wild smile across his lips. I assumed it was probably more of a grimace from the cold. Because he couldn’t be enjoying itthatmuch, could he?
“No, thank you. I’m fine here,” I said with a grin. “This is close enough.”
I was already standing by the edge of the water, wrapped up in my jacket and beanie. Any closer and the water would be running over my trainers. And the last thing I wanted was wet, cold feet.
“It’s nice when you get in. Very refreshing.”
“Still a no. I’d rather stay warm. And dry!”
Owen laughed. “Fine. Can you grab my hoodie please? I’ll get out.”
I bent down quickly to open his bag and grab the giant towelling hoodie he’d stuffed in there. It was the same dark green one he’d worn the first morning I’d seen him here. That felt like so long ago now. Almost an age away.
So much had changed, all of it for the better, but I was glad we still did this. It felt like part of our routine now, and I knew wherever we went in the world, we’d keep doing something similar.
Although maybe some days we’d just do a walk along the beach instead. I couldn’t imagine Owen wanting to go in the water when we came back to Heather Bay in February. Then again, if he was armed with a wetsuit, who knew what he’d do.
The water sloshed and splashed as he waded out towards me, arms out wide. I laughed and threw the hoodie at him, dodging out the way before he could shake off like a Labrador and spray me.
Owen flipped his hair over and squeezed it out before shaking it back and forth, like he was headbanging to music I couldn’t hear. I loved how long his hair was getting now, and I kind of hoped he’d keep it like this. Especially as it was the perfect length to sink my hands into whenever he fucked me.
Which I hoped he’d do as soon as we got home.
We definitely had time for a quickie before work.
“Coffee?” Owen asked as he pulled his hoodie over his head and shot me a grin.
“Sounds good,” I said, holding out my hand for his as Owen slung his bag over his shoulder. “Does Wendy close over the winter? Will we be forced to go home and make our own coffee at some point?”
“I don’t know,” Owen said. “We can ask. But I can’t picture her closing, just ’cos I feel like she’d try and out-stubborn the weather.”
“True. I can’t imagine her closing either. I’d have thought a lot of people want something warm in their hands while they’re walking.”
We pottered along the sand hand in hand, chatting idly about nothing in particular. It was one of those gentle, everyday conversations, where nothing really happened but that didn’t matter. We were simply enjoying each other’s company.
Climbing the steps at the end of the beach, we headed towards Wendy’s coffee hut. She laughed when she saw Owen because she couldn’t believe he still wanted to go swimming, but she also confirmed the only time she closed was on Christmas Day. “Otherwise I get bored,” she said. “And I do quite well in winter, especially with the hot chocolates.”
Taking our coffees, we walked along the front, sipping them slowly as the town quietly came to life around us.
“I need to do my new passport application tonight or this weekend,” I said. “Then we can look at booking some flights as soon as it arrives.”
“Sounds awesome! I’ll find some options for us to look at. And I promise, I won’t only find the ones with huge layovers. I know you’re not up for sleeping in the airport.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.”
“No worries. I wanna make this the best fucking trip ever!” Owen was practically dancing with glee, his smile so bright it was like the summer sun had returned. His excitement seemed to be growing with every passing day, his feet itching to get out of Heather Bay again. Only this time, the thought of him leaving didn’t fill me with dread.
We got to go together, and I couldn’t wait to see the world with him.
I knew it would make me fall even deeper in love with him than I already was.
