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“Yeah, but there was other stuff too. We’d grown apart over the last year. Different priorities,” Chris said before sipping his coffee.
“Do you still fancy her?” Lucie mentally kicked herself. This sort of questioning was going to get her hurt.
Chris shrugged and looked away. Lucie rolled her eyes when she saw him staring at the group of teenagers that were always close by in the public areas. They played with the hats outside the gift shop, hollering and laughing about something.
Emma had suggested his ex-girlfriend was hot. Anyone dating Chris would be stunning, and lucky too, and Lucie was neither of those things.
“No, I haven’t for ages,” he finally answered. “And I think I fancy someone else.”
He was staring at her. The heat in her cheeks returned, and this time the butterflies in her belly joined it. If Emma hadn’t been so against him, Lucie would talk to her and get some advice. Her mum wouldn’t help, as she was on her dad’s side about Chris. Lucie’s lips were sore from all the time she spent chewing them, but she couldn’t keep her mouth still.
She squinted against the sun as it appeared from behind the clouds before popping her sunglasses back on. “I get what you mean about uni, by the way. It’s okay to be scared, though. I don’t want to go back to school and be around people who ignore me or laugh at me. It would be fun if you were with me at school.” Lucie moved across to a corner of the page and made swirls and patterns.
“It would be hilarious. I bet we’d get in trouble a lot.”
“Especially as it’s an all-girls school,” she joked, but the sun beat down on her skin. What sort of trouble was he imagining? Sweat beaded her upper lip, and she licked it off. The salt droplets were on her tongue. Did he taste like salt too, or was his tongue sweeter?
“But we’ll keep in touch when we leave here, right? We can talk on the phone and text,” he added. She smiled but remained fixed on the drawing as she imagined staying friends with him. “You have to give me your phone number. I can’t believe I haven’t asked you for it before now.”
A zip of joy jumped inside her.
“If you get your phone out now, then you can call me, and I’ll have it,” he replied, eagerly reaching in his pocket.
“I haven’t got my phone on me,” she confessed. “I got a new phone last weekend, and I haven’t learnt the number yet.” She nibbled at the inside of her mouth. Did he think she was lying? “It’s back at the lodge. My dad doesn’t let us have our phones when we go away on our annual September weekend. He has this thing about the weekends being family time. I bet it’s to stop us ignoring him or texting about him in front of his face. That is one of Emma’s specialities. It’s ironic because he’s on his phone all the time during weekends at home. He says it’s work, but he’s probably playing games or something. I should be able to get my number tonight.”
“My dad barely uses his phone, but technology isn’t his thing. He’d rather be watching football or baking. Not what you’d expect, right?” Chris suddenly added, “Does that mean we can meet up tomorrow? I have a birthday surprise for you.”
Lucie’s eyes widened as she stared back at him. “Seriously? That would be great. We’ll be having family birthday pancakes in the morning, but I should be free from eleven. Shall I meet you on the beach like this morning?”
He nodded keenly, his dimples showing. “Yes, please.”
She looked down again, hoping to hide her smiles. Chris wanted to meet again, and he wanted her number.
“Actually.” He moved his chair next to hers and sat down. His leg was warm as it brushed repeatedly against hers. He snatched her pencil out of her hand and wrote his number on her paper. “So you have it for when you get your phone back.”
“But I thought you wanted this drawing?”
“Oh yeah, well, give me it tomorrow and write the number down again somewhere safe before that.”
“Good idea,” she whispered as she turned to him. His lips were close to hers, and his eyes were bright and sparkling against the sun. A wisp of her hair danced between them, and he clumsily reached for it and tucked it behind her ears. She gasped as his thumb touched her skin. Her heart thumped against her chest, and a warmth filled her limbs.
“So you can draw without your hair getting in the way,” he replied, but his voice had an extra gruffness that hadn’t been there before. He no longer smelt of Lynx Africa, but of sweat and suntan lotion. The bustle of thoughts made it hard to focus on any one thing, and so she returned to her drawing to help bring calm.
The swirls she’d been drawing had transformed into a star. When did that happen? She added some feathering to make it a shooting star. “You’ll be brilliant at university. Everyone will love you because you’re caring and funny. When you get there, you will find a home and the place you belong too. If I can be the exception, then so can you. And if you get scared or unsure or lonely, then you can remember—”
“To spread my wings, reach for the stars, and change the world?” he asked with a laugh. “Like what we said on the beach earlier.”
She laughed back. “Yeah, maybe. Or remember you’re not alone.”
He was still close, but now his arm rested on the back of her chair like they were together. He was staring at her again too. She placed the pencil on the table and lifted her sunglasses so she could meet his gaze. Excitement skittered through her body. A day ago, her fears of the future and how she lived a life she hated consumed her. Most mornings she woke on the brink of tears and worried if today would bring an anxiety attack or passive-aggressive argument with her dad. And now there was Chris. Would she wake up every day thinking of him? Maybe she would wake every morning with a text from him. She smiled despite herself. Should she try and kiss him now, in front of everyone? No, that was a stupid idea. Her first kiss should be in private in case she made a mistake.
He said quickly, “Do you know what you should do?”
Her forehead was tight from furrowing her brow with an unspoken question. Was this the moment? Maybe Chris was going to ask her to go somewhere to kiss. “What?”
“You should confront your dad tonight. You should tell him you’re not going to study law, but that you’re going to art school instead.”
Her chest tightened, and she squeezed her eyes shut. Her legs began to tremble, and her mouth was drying up. She opened her eyes, quickly embarrassed by her reaction, and took a quick sip of her coffee to calm her nerves, but it didn’t help. “I can’t,” she spluttered.
