‘Yes,’ she whispered, as tears of joy trickled across her temples and soaked into her hair. ‘I love you.’
He kissed her then and stared at her as if seeing her for the first time.
‘And I love you, Tawrie Gunn. I do. It would be so much easier if I didn’t, if I hadn’t met you yet, not while my life is so ... complex.’ He shook his head, and she understood, knowing how tricky it was to navigate a less than conventional family. Not that she cared, not that she cared about much in that minute. ‘But I do. I really do.’
The morning light crept gently across the ceiling as she woke in the arms of the man she loved!Loved!It was exciting, life-affirming and the most glorious feeling she could imagine.
‘Morning.’ He yawned, pulling her towards him. ‘Tawrie.’ He sat up slightly and she nestled against his chest.
‘What?’
‘I ... I can’t think straight!’ He gave a nervous laugh.
She understood, knowing that to be wrapped in this bubble of love was indeed brain-scrambling. She felt drunk without having consumed a drop!
‘It’s okay, I understand.’ She kissed his chin. ‘This is such a lovely room.’ She stared at the eaves of the bedroom, once an attic, liking the irregular shapes. ‘But sadly I have to go; I need to get to Hele Bay.’
‘Course you do, little mermaid. Actually’ – he sat up, leaning against the wooden headboard – ‘that would be a better name for your swim group. You know peacocks can’t swim, don’t you?’
‘Not at all?’ The thought made her laugh. Of all the swimming creatures Maudie and Jago could have chosen.
‘Not at all, they’d sink like stones!’
‘Think I’ll keep that to myself.’
‘So this swimming malarkey, why are you so hooked?’ He wrapped his arm around her bare shoulders and pulled her close to him, her head now resting in the slight dip between his chest and throat. She could feel his heart beating against her cheek.
‘It’s weird really. I’ve always liked cycling, pottering around on my bike and walking – hard not to like walking when you live in Fore Street.’
‘True.’ He chuckled.
‘Then I saw a couple of videos online of people wild swimming and it wasn’t so much the swimming but the way they looked when they got out of the water: just exhilarated! Happy! Rosy cheeked. And some wild swimmers who come into the café to cosy up after their swim, they had this air about them, and I thought, I could do with a bit of that! And it’s turned into my favourite thing.’
‘I get it.’ He sighed.
‘So come on, what’s your favourite thing?’
‘This!’ He squeezed her tightly. ‘This is my favourite thing!’
‘I wasn’t joking, I want to know!’
‘I’m not joking!’ he countered.
‘But I mean, you’ve done this before?’
‘What? Sex?’ he shrieked. ‘Are you suggesting I’m a novice?’
‘No, not that.’ She felt her face blush. ‘I mean this!’ She pointed back and forth between them. ‘This whole loving thing, which sounds odd but I don’t know how else to say it.’
‘Where to begin?’ He closed his eyes and wiped his face with his palm. ‘Why, haveyoudone this before?’ He pulled away slightly and looked at her.
She took her time, knowing this history sharing was important, more stepping stones to help them along the way. ‘I’ve had a couple of boyfriends, one serious-ish, Jamie, who I was with when we were at school and then for a few years after. But it just’ – she made a dull pop noise with her mouth – ‘fizzled. He’s a fisherman, part of the lifeboat crew and he’s happily married with a little one. I still see him, it’s fine. He’s nice. And then the usual crap dates that don’t go anywhere that are part of the checklist.’
‘The checklist?’ A wrinkle of confusion formed on the top of his nose.
‘Yeah, you know, all the things you need to do before you become a fully formed grown-up.’
‘I am unaware of this checklist, and therefore decidedly concerned that I might not be ticking off all that’s necessary before I can claim entry into the world of grown-uphood.’
