Chapter 17 Jimmy
JIMMY
We spend a lazy day together on Saturday, then communicate by phone and text for the next few days.
On Wednesday, I get a taxi to the farm bright and early, so we can go hiking. Flynn offered to pick me up, which was sweet, but a lot of driving for him.
He’s waiting for me in the yard in front of the farmhouse, a waterproof jacket tied around his waist and a rucksack at his feet. Like me, he’s attached his baseball cap to the rucksack handle. His is red, mine is blue.
“You look prepared.” I give him a hug and a slow kiss.
He blushes. “I planned a route.” He rolls his eyes. “Three. I didn't know how long a hike you want to do.”
“We’ve got all day.”
“And I guess you are pretty fit.”
I flex my biceps to prove his point.
The pink in his cheeks blooms into a deep red. “You're fitter than me.”
“I doubt that. We’re fit in different ways. I’m game for whatever length of hike you want to take. Long. Short. Medium. You choose.”
He smiles. “There’s a waterfall I thought might be nice to hike to. Maybe we could have our picnic there.”
“Sounds good. Have you packed towels?”
He frowns. “Towels?”
“In case we want to go skinny dipping.”
He widens his eyes, his pupils shrinking. “I don’t think we should— I mean, what if—” He clamps his lips together and shakes his head.
“Relax, I’m kidding. But we might want to soak our feet in the water, or go paddling. It’s a nice day.” I gesture to the cloudless blue sky. “I brought sunblock, plenty of water, and one or two things for the picnic.”
“Great. We’re ready to go.”
“Except for a towel.”
“Oh, right. I’ll be right back.” He slips inside, abandoning his rucksack.
I set mine on the ground beside it, pull out my sunblock, and apply a generous amount, paying particular attention to the back of my neck. I’ve just about finished when Flynn returns with a couple of small towels, rolled up. He hands one to me and puts the other in his rucksack.
“Do you need help with sunblock?” I ask.
“I already did mine.”
I pout. “Shame.”
“We’ll need to put more on later.”
I hook my fingers through his belt loops and pull him close. “That’s very true. I’ll help you then.”
“Only if I can help you with yours.”
“It’s a deal.” I smother his lips with mine. “Let’s go.”
“This way.”
He leads the way to the fields, before climbing a stile to walk through one. There are no cows in it. Flynn might be confident walking through a field full of cows, but I'm not. What if they got spooked or angry and decided to stampede?
It’s not long before we unhook our baseball caps and put them on. I turn mine backwards so the peak covers my neck. We hold hands and chat while we walk. We talk about the scenery, which is gorgeous, and catch up on the years we were apart. Somehow, we manage to keep Billy off the agenda.
The path varies between hard-packed earth, worn strips of grass through fields, and verges along the side roads. We climb stiles, pause at kissing gates for lengthy, tongue-tangling kisses, and drink often to keep hydrated.
We pass the odd dog walker, a group of people with walking poles who smile and nod in acknowledgement as they hurry past us in the opposite direction, and fields of sheep, cows, or horses.
As the morning progresses, our route becomes more hilly, and we veer off the roads into English wilderness.
The ground becomes spongier underfoot, and our path is lined with purple heather and golden gorse bushes.
The occasional bird of prey screeches and wheels overhead.
First a falcon, and then a much larger red kite.
“They’ve been reintroducing the red kites,” I say.
“Really?”
“Yes. They started with a few breeding pairs twenty-odd years ago. They’ve increased in number and have spread out.”
“How do you know that?”
I shrug. “It’s just one of those Leeds facts that everyone knows.”
Flynn gives me an incredulous look.
“I just picked it up. I have lived here for three years.”
“Huh. It’s a pretty cool fact.” Flynn shades his eyes with his hand and stares at the sky. “They’re beautiful birds.”
I nod in agreement, watching as the kite dive bombs something on the ground. “It would be amazing to have eyesight that good.”
“You’d rather have their eyesight than their ability to fly?”
I grin. “I’d rather be able to teleport.”
“Teleport?”
“Yeah. It would save so much time if I could just will myself to be somewhere else. Need to get to uni? Great. It takes two seconds, rather than walking or taking the bus. Want to go on holiday to Gran Canaria? No problem. Have relatives in Australia? Visit them in the blink of an eye.”
We resume walking.
“That would be pretty cool,” Flynn says. “But are we talking superhero teleportation or technology-based teleportation?”
I purse my lips and contemplate his question. “Superhero.”
“Why?”
“It would be free, for starters. And much better for the planet. I reckon dismantling someone on the molecular level, transporting them across the world, and putting them back together again would consume the same amount of energy as a jumbo jet carrying three hundred passengers would.”
Flynn laughs. “Is this something you’ve thought about a lot?”
“Nope. This is my first time.”
“If you say so.”
“It is!” I tickle him, making him double up as he giggles. “What superpower would you like?”
He hums. “Teleportation would be the most useful. Or speed. Travelling at the speed of light would be less scary than being teleported. What if my molecules got mixed up with someone else’s? What if I got teleported into a wall?”
“What if you collided with someone while going super fast?”
He chuckles. “I guess there are drawbacks to both.”
“Too many.” I sigh. “I’ll have to stick to walking and the bus.”
“Will you get a car once you have a job? You passed your test.”
I stare at the uneven path ahead. My parents paid for driving lessons as soon as Billy and I turned seventeen. Billy decided it was a race to see which of us would pass our test first.
“I haven’t driven since I left home,” I reply.
“You could get some refresher lessons.”
“True. I haven’t thought about it. Right now, I live within walking distance of the university and town, so I don’t need a car that often. When I do need to get further afield, there are buses, trains, or taxis.”
“Will you look for a place that’s close to town?” Flynn asks.
I shrug. “Maybe. I’ve got to get a job first.”
“How’s that going?”
“I’ve applied for a few things. I figure the priority is getting a job—any job. I can figure out what I want to do once I’m secure. If I wait until I get my results, I won’t have time to get a job and find somewhere to live before I get kicked out.”
“That makes sense.” Flynn nibbles his bottom lip.
I squeeze his hand. “What are you thinking?”
“Nothing.”
“Uh-huh.”
“It’s just… There are tons of rooms at the farm. But it’s not mine to offer, and you wouldn’t want to be that far out of Leeds without a car.”
“Why, Flynn, are you asking me to move in with you?”
His face goes bright red. “No! I mean, it’s far too early for that. We’ve only been together for five minutes—”
I pull him to a halt and smash my lips to his. I wrap my arms around him, stroking his nape. “It’s been more than five minutes, and we’ve known each other forever, but I know what you mean.”
“A week is too soon to be talking about living together.”
He’s right, making me wonder why he mentioned it at all.
Knowing Flynn, he was trying to be helpful.
It’s one of many things I adore about him.
He’s always thinking of others, sometimes to the detriment of himself.
Okay, a lot of the time it’s been to the detriment of himself, especially when he was putting Billy first.
“Even if Angus’s dad were willing to let me stay at the farm, it would be a bit too far.”
Flynn nods.
“But that doesn’t mean I want or need to live close to the city centre, either. I could live somewhere in between. Thinking about the future.”
Flynn smiles. “That’s good to know.”
“For now, I’ll look for a cheap flat. I need a roof over my head until things are more certain.”
“More certain?”
“Yeah. With work. With us. It won’t always be too soon to talk about moving in together.”
Flynn replies with a sweet, lopsided smile. He tilts his head, gazing into my eyes as he strokes my jaw. “No, it won’t be.”
We thread our fingers together and carry on walking.
“I imagine you’re enjoying living alone,” I say. “After so long of living with other people.”
He shrugs. “I’m not living alone.”
“Angus and his dad give you lots of company, do they?”
He chuckles. “No. Which is fine. Angus is out more than in, and Tony is focused on the farm and watching sports on TV. It’s very different to living with your parents.”
“Different good?”
“Just different.”
The ground is rockier now. Water babbles a short distance away, just out of sight. The hill rises steeply to our left, flecked with dark stone. The weather is still beautiful, though it’s somewhat breezy up here. We only have sheep for company.
“I love your parents,” Flynn whispers. “It hurt a lot to lose them when Billy and I split up.”
“You didn’t have to lose them,” I point out.
He takes a deep breath. “No. I distanced myself. It felt weird maintaining a relationship with them when Billy wanted nothing to do with me.”
“I get that. But, hey, at least my parents will approve of my boyfriend.”
He cringes. “Will they? Or am I the guy who broke their other son’s heart?”
I clench my teeth for a few seconds before replying. “He broke your heart.”
“I’m not sure that will matter.”
It will. I’m sure my parents only have Billy’s version of events. He would never paint himself in a bad light, even if it meant telling a barefaced lie.
“Let’s not talk about Billy, okay?” Flynn says.
I hunch my shoulders, but nod all the same. If we keep seeing each other, we will need to talk about him. And think about him. If we stay together, we'll have to tell my parents; and Billy.
But we don’t have to think about that now. Maybe not for a long time. Right now, all I want to do is enjoy being with Flynn. I want to see what we can become. Together.
We reach the crest of the hill. A valley stretches below us, a river running through it, leading away from a huge waterfall, surrounded by jutting rocks.
“Wow,” I say. “That’s gorgeous.”
“The photos on the internet didn’t do it justice,” Flynn agrees.
My stomach rumbles, making me laugh. “We’ve arrived just in time. Let’s head over there, and eat.”
We have our picnic, then I take off my boots and socks, roll up my jeans, and test the water with my big toe.
“It’s cold,” I complain.
“What did you expect?”
“It’s summer!”
“Yes, but it takes a long time for water to warm up.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s a poor conductor.” He removes his boots and socks and sits beside me on the bank. Unlike me, he’s brave enough to put his feet in. He leans on his hands and stares at the waterfall.
“Did you learn that in farm school?” I tease.
He chuckles. “No. In secondary school science.” He winks at me.
“I don’t remember learning that.”
“Maybe you weren’t paying attention.”
“Or maybe you’re having me on.” I lean across and kiss his cheek. “But I don’t mind, because you’re cute.”
He wrinkles his nose. “So are you.”
I gasp in mock horror. “I am not cute.”
“Yeah, you are.”
“I’d rather be sexy.”
“You’re sexy, too. You can be sexy and cute.”
He pecks my lips, stands, and wades into the water, approaching the waterfall.
He puts his hand into the powerful stream of water, which bounces off his skin and sprays in every direction, splashing his T-shirt and face.
The way the sun catches the water creates a series of mini rainbows, which are reflected in his eyes. Damn, he’s beautiful.
Forgetting my objection to the cold, I step into the water and join him. I put my hands on his hips and pull him against me, kissing him.
“Coming here was a great idea,” I say.
He nuzzles my nose. “It was.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to skinny dip?”
He shivers. “Too cold.”
“Says the guy who’s standing almost knee deep in water.”
“Too public.”
I look around. “There’s no one else here.”
“No, but there might be at any moment. It's a nice day, so it could get busy.”
“Spoilsport,” I tease.
“You know what would ruin our day?”
I shake my head.
“Being reported to the police. Getting arrested isn’t on my bingo card for this year.”
I loop my arms over his shoulders and stare into his eyes. “No? What is?”
He shrugs. “Doing well on the farm. Hanging out with my sexy—and cute—boyfriend.”
“Putting the past behind you?” I venture.
“Yeah. That, too. You’re helping me do that.”
I raise my eyebrows. “I am?”
“Yes.” He kisses me and rests his head on my shoulder. “Thank you for believing in me, Jimmy.”
“Always,” I promise, holding him tight. “This is romantic, but I can’t feel my feet anymore.”
He laughs. “Imagine if we were naked?”
“Our dicks would shrivel up to nothing.”
His laughter turns into a cackle.
“You’re right, skinny dipping is a bad idea.” I shiver. “So is standing in the water for much longer.”
“You’re right, let’s go back.” He sticks his hand under the waterfall and splashes me.
I gasp, eyes wide. “You didn’t!”
“I did.”
I splash him in return. He splashes me back. Pretty soon, we’re soaked, laughing, and falling over ourselves to get back to the bank. We land on it, staring into each other’s eyes.
I stroke his damp hair out of his eyes. “This has been a great day.”
“Even though we’re drenched?”
I shrug. “We’ll dry.”
“Yeah, we will.”
We cup each other’s cheeks and kiss, tangling tongues until a dog bursts between us, barking and licking our faces.
“I’m so sorry!” its owner, a man in his mid-thirties, says.
“No problem. I like dogs,” I say.
The man clips a lead to the dog’s collar and pulls him away.
“And that’s why I didn’t want to skinny dip.” Flynn wipes the dog slobber off his face.
I flop onto my back, one arm under my head, the other over my stomach. “It’s official.”
“What is?” Flynn lies beside me, his head on my shoulder.
“You’re the sensible one in our relationship.”
“I am?”
“Yes. There has to be one.”
“I guess I’m okay with that.” He strokes his fingers over my chest. “As long as you’re happy being the uplifting one.”
I put my hand over his. “I am. As long as I get to be the joker, too.”
“Deal.”