Chapter Eight #2
We walked down towards the front, which was a wide concrete path that ran along the top of the beach.
The beach itself was still quite busy with people, although the incoming tide had already narrowed the available amount of sand, and I could see a few families packing up.
Quite a few of the beach huts were occupied, and I suddenly hoped Theo and Laurie were either at home or busy, because I didn’t want Theo spotting us.
“How’s your day been?” I asked as we walked. “I’m assuming very busy?”
“Yeah, but it’s been good though. I think we’re starting to find a bit more of a rhythm, and Darcy and I agreed we’d re-evaluate staffing at the end of our first week because I’m not sure it’s feasible to do the whole summer with only the three of us. Not if we want to survive in one piece.”
I winced. “Yes, that doesn’t seem like a good arrangement. Not if you’re making everything yourselves and serving customers.”
“And doing admin and cleaning and trying to exist as functional adults.” He chuckled wryly. “Unfortunately, I have to sleep, shower, and do my washing too. Not unless Darcy wants me to start turning up in whatever’s in the back of my wardrobe.”
“Should I be intrigued?”
“Not really. It’s just all the old, ratty stuff that was in the back of my wardrobe in Sheffield that I meant to sort out and throw away before I moved. But I ran out of time, so I shoved it in a bag and then re-shoved it back into my wardrobe when I unpacked.”
“I’ve never really moved much,” I said. “But I imagine it’s a very stressful process. And I don’t even know what’s in the back of my wardrobe.”
“Have you always lived here then?”
“Yes.” I nodded, once again feeling slightly awkward.
A lot of the people I’d gone to school with had moved away for university, but I hadn’t known what to study and I didn’t want to waste three years of my life on something I hated.
“I grew up here and my parents still live in the same house, and then after school I hopped from job to job and lived at home. But two years ago, I moved out and into a tiny house by St. Michael’s.
My mum said she was happy to have me at home, especially with the cost of living, but I really wanted my own space and some quiet.
I love my family, but my brother still lives at home and so does my sister when she’s back from uni, and five adults in a small house gets a little overwhelming. ”
“I can imagine,” Alfie said as he licked his ice cream, and I tried not to focus on his tongue. “And at least this way you have room for all your minis. How’s the Angel Eater coming? I didn’t get much of a chance to look at the picture, but what I saw looked amazing.”
“Good. It’s mostly base layers and starting to build up the colour but I’m enjoying it. Although I’m not sure my shoulders are, or my spine. I should remember to stretch more.”
“Yeah, taking breaks is important,” he said with a fond smile, the playful note in his voice making my stomach flip. “Do you need me to send you reminders?”
“You could, but my phone is usually on silent, so I doubt I’ll see them.”
He chuckled. “Fair enough. We’ll think of something for you.”
We kept chatting as we walked, occasionally stopping to look at something on the beach or to talk about one of the shops or takeaways that stood on the other side of the road, comparing notes from our time growing up here.
Heather Bay had definitely gotten busier over the years, especially recently with several articles popping up online and in high-end magazines naming it as one of England’s hidden coastal gems, as well as the castle being used to film a new period drama called Llewelyn, featuring Hollywood superstars Henry Lu and Jude Kane, who in some strange turn of events both knew Theo and Laurie. It really was a small world.
The influx of tourism had been good for the locals, but there had been downsides too, like the increase in house prices and more places being bought up by landlords to turn into holiday rentals, which made living here even more expensive.
But Heather Bay was my home, and I couldn’t imagine wanting to live anywhere else.
Alfie told me about living in Sheffield and his old job, and then we moved back to talking about Sword & Flame, walking all the way to the other end of the front as we discussed our favourite models and dream armies.
I loved my shadow elves and my vampires, and hoped to keep expanding both of them, but several of my wish list models were very expensive and the pair of us playfully bemoaned having such a costly hobby.
We stopped on the other side of the little ice cream and coffee hut, that stood near the steps leading down to the beach, not far from Laurie and Theo’s primrose-yellow beach hut, which was mercifully empty.
We’d both finished our ice cream and Alfie was leaning on the railing looking out over the beach, the late afternoon sun making his eyes sparkle.
I knew he’d have to go back to work soon, but just for this moment I got to have him all to myself.
And suddenly, I was hit by the overwhelming urge to kiss him.