Summer Loving Read Online Free Page B

freezing to me whenever I went in for a paddle. At the time, I didn’t understand about wetsuits and how they worked.
    ‘It’s this coffee,’ says Franklin to the waiter, ‘It tastes, er, different from the last couple of days. Could you get me another cafetière, please? Hurry it up.’
    ‘Certainly, sir. I won’t be a moment.’
    And off he went.
    *
    One day, when Lucille and I were finishing our breakfast doughnuts and coffee, we saw one of the surfers approaching us, carrying a bright orange surfboard. I’d noticed that board being ridden way out at sea about half an hour earlier. You couldn’t really miss it. Perhaps, I thought, that was the point.
    The wind was blowing the fine sand across the beach and his eyes were closed as he attempted to unzip his wetsuit from the back. He was having problems. The wind was trying to whip the board out of his hand as he struggled with the zip and I could see that the high- speed sandstorm was making it all too much for him, blinding him and attempting to take his balance.
    ‘Want some help?’ shouted Lucille.
    He laughed and walked over to us. I could see the water leaking from his black and red wetsuit as he approached us. I kept thinking how awfully uncomfortable that must feel. Lucille got up and positioned herself behind him, jerking at the long piece of fabric attached to the zip.
    ‘You’ve got a bit of this lead thing caught in the zip.’ she said. ‘That’s why it’s not coming down.’
    She fiddled with it for a few seconds, and while she did so, I suddenly found myself making eye contact with this guy. He met my gaze with a bemused, quizzical expression. I felt as if my whole body had turned to water. I felt faint and dizzy, even though I was just sitting on the sand.
    This, in case you hadn’t guessed, was Kirstan. I’m not sure if my mouth was hanging open or not, but I’m sure the expression on my face must have given an excellent impression of extreme stupidity. He must have known the effect he was having on me, the bastard, as I could see the amusement in his eyes and the slight smile passing over his lips.
    It sounds like an awful cliché, but I’m pretty sure it was love at first sight. He was one of the most handsome guys I’d ever laid eyes on; black, wavy hair, piercing blue eyes, and a kissable mouth – you know – all the usual stuff. He gave off such a vibe , too, if you get my meaning. I didn’t know whether I was coming or going. I didn’t know who I was or where I was.
    When Lucille had successfully tugged the wetsuit zip down to his waist and he’d thanked her, he walked up to me, crouched in front of me and gently touched the side of my mouth. I could smell the sea on him and I could feel my heart beating like a hammer in my chest.
    ‘Bit of doughnut there on the side of your mouth. It’s OK, it’s gone now. Chocolate, were they?’
    ‘What were? What were chocolate?’
    ‘The doughnuts you were eating?’
    ‘Sorry?’
    ‘I prefer the ones with the coffee icing, myself. Thanks, ladies. You can get back to eating now.’
    And then he was gone. Lucille was laughing quietly to herself.
    ‘What? What is it? What are you sniggering about?’
    ‘You! God almighty, Sask. You’re so bloody transparent. You should have seen your bloody face! His too! Why didn’t the both of you just get a room?’ She shakes her head.
    ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about!’
    ‘Sure.’
    ‘What do you mean by his too ?’
    ‘His face, too!’
    ‘What do you mean exactly?’
    ‘How old are you? Fourteen? Finish your bloody coffee.’
    That evening, when Lucille and I made our late afternoon supermarket visit, I bought some doughnuts with coffee icing on them, surreptitiously slipping them among the others so that Lucille wouldn’t notice. She sniggered all the way home.
    *
    The waiter returns with a fresh cafetière and waits while Franklin pours some of the contents into a cup, adds sugar and milk and takes a cautious