Page 111 of Be More Octopus

'But we already have surfers stay here sometimes,' said Em.

'They're experienced surfers. I'm thinking about beginners. We sell the holiday and the lessons as a package. We do a deal with Dashford surfing school, so our holidaymakers get the accommodation and the lessons cheaper than if they booked them separately. And they don't have to worry about coordinating accommodation, board hire, lessons and so on. We sort it all out for them.'

Em nodded. It did make sense. 'But what if someone in their party doesn't want to surf?'

'Yoga! We offer a yoga option for those reluctant to hit the waves. Or art. Could you give art lessons? What do you think?'

'I know an excellent yoga teacher who lives in the next village,' suggested Ben.

Em grinned at him. 'Is she supple?'

'HE is very supple! Not all my friends are women,' he smirked.

'Excellent. I've already spoken to Gary, who runs the surfing school. He's keen too. How about we start promoting the idea on social media? See what level of interest we get?'

'I've got our Instagram posts scheduled for the next few weeks,' Em said. 'But we can swap some of those out or add some extra ones. I haven't got any suitable photos, though.'

'That's where Ben comes in. No offence to Gary, but he's seen better days. You would make a much better model, Ben. I'm happy to pay for your time, of course.'

'Another woman who only wants me for my body!' Despite his words, Ben didn't seem too put out by Nancy's suggestion.

'Excellent. When are you available for a photo shoot?'

'Who's the photographer?'

'The lovely Em, of course. You can use my camera.' Nancy said.

Which was how Ben and Em came to be spending a cold Friday afternoon in late November on the beach taking surfing-themed photos.

'I think we've got enough now,' Em said, flicking through the images on the back of the camera. She had a varied selection: action shots of Ben surfing, Ben walking on the beach carrying his surfboard taken from a variety of angles, Ben posing with his surfboard by the surf school building, and a close-up of Ben looking windswept which was worthy of an aftershave commercial, even though Em said so herself.

'Good,' he said. 'Because it's getting cold, even for me. I'll go and get changed.'

'Meet you at Mary's? I'll buy you a hot chocolate?'

Ben gave her a thumbs up as he headed to the surfing school building. Em walked up the beach to the cafe.

Mary smiled as Em walked up to the counter. 'I've been enjoying the view. Nice work if you can get it. He's a bit different to Jack.'

Was Mary looking for an update on her favourite professor? Or just trying to work out how Ben fitted into Em's life?

'All women like Ben.' Em said.

'A lot of women like Jack too.'

'Not me, not any more.' Was that true? It felt uncomfortable saying that.

'I'd heard you were off to London soon with his portrait.'

'Yes, I'm not looking forward to it.' That was true. Em should be excited, but the closer the exhibition got, the more the thought of seeing Jack again was putting a damper on the whole thing. Less than four months ago, the prospect of spending an evening out in London with Jack would have been something she'd have looked forward to. One stupid misunderstanding, and now life was completely different. She was worried that seeing him again would bring all those feelings of attraction back to the surface.

'Two hot chocolates, please,' she said.

Mary looked amused. 'It must be nice to be ordering two drinks again.' So she was fishing for gossip.

'It's not like that,' Em said, picking up the two steaming mugs.

'Shame. I wouldn't kick him out of bed for eating crackers.'