Chapter 15
The Lakes is a quieter area of Firecrest, dedicated to arts and crafts, right on the edge of the site.
We walk past a large platform that has been erected to hold a stained glass window workshop.
A dozen small arched windows circle the edge of the platform, eager faces sitting in the centre carefully placing colourful shards into their frames.
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 was your idea, 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.
‘You’ve become completely deranged if you think that you have any effect whatsoever on my feathers,’ I snap, desperately fighting the urge to let my eyes drift down to the torso that is now on proud display.
‘Alright, princess, relax. We’ve already got some fellow hunters on our tail,’ he murmurs, his eyes focussing on something behind me. I turn to see a few of the girls that were in the Mirrorball tent. Damn.
One of them tries to contain a giggle behind her hand as she eyes Elliot’s bare chest greedily. Long, perfect blonde curls flow down her back and dark, thick lashes frame her eyes. I taste something sour in the back of my throat as she casts a furtive smile in our direction.
‘Maybe you have ruffled a few feathers,’ I mutter.
They start to approach us with an eagerness I do not like.
‘Okay, I’m heading in. Any ideas, just shout!
’ He hands me his phone and wallet, and quickly jumps over the rope without another word.
I consider making a joke about stealing the lot but find myself distracted; my gaze is immediately glued to the lines and muscles that ripple across his back as he walks towards the water.
Shaking myself, I force my gaze away from him to surveil our surroundings and check for any potential security staff that might very well escort Elliot off festival grounds for getting in the lake. To my relief, there seems to be none.
Elliot darts into the water without complaint and, to my amusement, immediately finds himself in water that only reaches his knees. As quickly as possible, he wades towards the signpost that looms above him.
Oh my God, his fucking arms. It’s not fair.
I remind myself that I have, indeed, seen arms before. But other arms were not like these arms. Good Lord. How does one even acquire biceps like that? Does he regularly deadlift Owen? And Josh? At the same time??
When I hear a light thud, I look down at my feet to see the drumstick on the ground. I yelp and snatch it off the grass with horror.
Maybe I have a thing for arms, fine. Who knew. Not me!
Gripping the stick more tightly, I watch as he approaches the small island in the centre without any struggles. He looks puzzled as he searches around the area, even reaching up to the signpost and running a hand over it. He scratches his head and turns to me.
I shrug and impatiently point with the drumstick back towards the signpost. ‘Keep looking,’ I mouth. I can just about see his eye-roll from where I’m standing.
After a minute more of searching and looking generally flummoxed, he puts his hands on his hips and turns to me with an exaggerated shrug. He retreats back into the water and walks back towards me looking deeply dissatisfied. In fact, he looks pissed.
‘Well, looks like I just did that for absolutely no reason,’ he declares.
‘Seriously? There wasn’t anything? You’re sure?’
‘You want to check it out for yourself, princess?’ he retorts, plucking his t-shirt out of my hands.
My eyes betray me and flick down to take in his broad chest before he covers it back up, and I almost want to whisper goodbye to it.
For the briefest moment, my gaze drops even lower, to the deep v-lines that run down underneath his waistband.
Christ, he looks like he belongs on upmarket underwear packaging. My heart hammers as I suddenly find my thoughts within reach of dangerous territory.
Fucking hell. It’s becoming very clear that I am not accustomed to spending time with men who are this attractive.
Dragging my gaze back up to his face, I desperately scramble to put my brain into reverse.
‘Where are our friends?’ I blurt.
He just shakes his head and looks around us. ‘Don’t know, I told them we were heading here. Probably bad service.’
Miraculously, his t-shirt is back on and I find myself feeling a little cooler in the face. He retrieves his side of the drumstick before twitching his head towards the exit.
As we walk together, he starts to speak quietly. ‘Just get me to a tap to wash off a bit and I’ll report properly.’
‘Report what?’ I ask, hope rekindling in my chest as I force us to a stop. But he walks onward again, pulling me gently with him.
‘Ssh. We’re surrounded by Queen Ego fans who are desperate for answers, and also desperate to not get in the water. We don’t want them to think we’re about to march off to the next clue.’
My jaw drops with a sly smile. ‘You deceiver. Wow, you really had me fooled.’
‘C’mon, don’t give us away. Just… try to look disappointed.’
I’m not much of an actress but I still make an attempt to look downtrodden as we make our way out of The Lakes area. Elliot’s standard unreadable expression would never give away our success to any passers-by anyway.
‘There’s a tap just around the corner here,’ he says as I follow close behind him.
Under a patch of trees are a few gushing taps mounted to the fence, currently in use by people washing their hair and their underarms. A long queue of exhausted looking festival-dwellers holding towels and toothbrushes line the fence. Damn festivals.
‘Oh, no way. Let’s just save time and go to the next clue, this will take forever!’
He frowns. ‘I smell of pond, Nora. I’m not going to walk around covered in algae.’
He starts to walk towards the back of the line. I throw my head back in exasperation and drag my heels behind him, not unlike a child.
‘You’re fine! If it makes you feel better I never would have guessed you’ve just been in a body of water. You smell absolutely fine from here.’