Two men work together to sand a long, mushroom shaped table, their pink skin glinting angrily in the sunlight. A man with a long grey beard cycles past us on a three-wheeled bicycle, with long multi-coloured ribbons flying behind him as they whip through the wind.
The sunshine is relentless on our backs, and the promise of more heat to come tingles on my skin. The crowds had slowly melted away on approaching The Lakes, even though it seems to be the perfect time to visit. My body feels almost giddy with relief. I gaze up at enormous poles placed entirely at random around the area decorated with unwanted plastic – the alienesque, bulbous shapes entirely made up of used green and pink bottles.
As we approach the larger of the two actual ‘lakes,’ it’s no surprise that they have been cordoned off with neon painted ropes.
‘You really think they want us to break the rules and actually get in the lake?’ I ask with skepticism.
‘I’m not sure there’s much else for us here. Unless you had any other bright ideas from that clue?’ he asks in his dry rasp. I resist glaring at him.
‘Not currently.’
‘Didn’t think so,’ he says with his easy smirk.
‘Maybe we should cool the competitive chat, champ,’ I say shortly. ‘If you look at the bigger picture we actually make quite a good–’
He suddenly pulls me to the right, carefully switching his hands on the drumstick so his body is close behind mine as we both hold the stick right-handed. His hand is gentle on the top of my back as he directs me through a crammed horde of people.
‘You have a point, actually. With your unstoppable brains and my “strangely unshakable calm”, we just might have a winning combination,’ he murmurs. My breath stalls somewhere near my throat and humiliatingly, goosebumps appear on my back where his skin touches mine. I try my best not to stammer a reply.
Stop it. Stop reacting to this man.
‘Yep,’ I bark pathetically in response.
We emerge from the throng side by side, and the lakes stand proudly in front of us.
Feeling thrilled with myself that I had managed to not vomit on myself whilst moving through such a dense crowd, I turn to him with my face beaming.
‘Okay! So here we are. In you get,’ I say, flourishing my hand in the direction of the biggest lake.
He spins to face me with a scowl. ‘Are you serious?’
I look at him with wide-eyed innocence. ‘This wasyouridea, I assumed you were volunteering! If you truly hold the theory that the clue is in there, see it through, I say.’
He pins me with a dark stare, something mischievous and warm glinting in his eye.
‘Alright,’ he says slowly. He starts to walk towards the lake, but stops to point at something in the distance. I follow the direction of his finger to a small island in the centre that homes a tall signpost with dozens of colourful plaques stuck to it pointing in different directions – hundreds of fairy lights erupt from the top of it, spreading in all directions as they hang unlit in the sun.
‘I guess I’m aiming for that? “Look out for a sign?” Makes sense with the clue, right?’
‘Oh. Yeah. It does,’ I say with surprise.
‘Since you get your way and I have to get in this lake, I’m sure it won’t be a problem that I let go of this,’ he says with teasing eyes, lifting the drumstick to my attention.
‘On this occasion, I’ll let it slide.’ I smile sweetly.
‘You’re too kind,’ he bites out.
He tilts his head with a tight smile as he lets go of the drumstick with a flourish. In the same movement he reaches to the bottom of his black t-shirt and pulls it up over his head swiftly.
Well. Didn’t see that coming.
I clear my throat in an attempt to breathe efficiently, turning away quickly to give him some semblance of privacy. I hear him scoff.
‘I’m not getting naked, Nora, it’s fine. I just want to keep my shirt dry, at least.’
I can just about see him holding out his t-shirt to me in the corner of my vision. I snatch it out of his hand and twist back round to see a deeply infuriating grin.
‘Didn’t mean to ruffle any feathers,’ he says lightly as he kicks off his shoes.
