Page 102 of Second Chance Summer
His heart ached with a painful pleasure. Was she saying what he thought she was? Could this be happening?
She met his gaze, and he knew the answer. He picked up the blankets from the beach and took her hand in his.
‘You have got to be kidding!’ Lily said when she saw him pull off his T-shirt on the sand. The waves broke softly on the beach but further out, there was a swell that rolled in.
‘It’s now or never.’
‘I’ve been in the sea already once this holiday and it’s not an experience I’d like to repeat!’
‘This will be different,’ he said, unzipping his jeans. ‘It’s our choice this time.’
She shook her head. ‘You’re mad.’ Then she tugged her T-shirt over her head. ‘And so am I.’
Seconds later they stood on the beach, Lily in her bra and knickers, Sam in his boxers. She scrunched sand under toenails painted a pearly pink.
‘We’ll get wet,’ she said.
‘We’ll dry. That’s why I brought the blankets.’
Lily stared at him, then at the sea, and heaved a huge sigh. ‘Oh, sod it. You only live once!’
Seconds later, they were hand in hand, running towards the foamy waves, their clothes abandoned on the beach.
‘Oh! Oh!’ She swore extravagantly and loudly because no one could hear. ‘Arghh!’ A wave broke at thigh-height. It was enough to make her stumble.
Sam scooped her up in his arms. ‘I’ve got you!’
She shrieked.
‘And I’ll never let you go – whoops!’
He tossed her from his arms. Her scream of thrilled horror was cut off instantly by the shock of the water. She went under but bobbed up immediately, spluttering and cursing him before he pulled her into his arms again.
He was standing, holding her up, her legs wrapped around his waist and her arms around his neck. Sam was frozen yet exhilarated. In holding Lily, he felt he’d finally let go of the past.
‘Lily,’ he said, as the swell lifted him off his feet, ‘I think I might be falling in …’
Suddenly, her eyes widened in horror. ‘Look out!’
He turned to see the foamy crest rolling in behind them. The wave should have knocked them over but somehow he kept his balance and pulled her even tighter.
‘I think that’s enough,’ he said and she nodded, unable to speak because her teeth were chattering. Feet sinking in sand, he carried her back to the beach and set her down.
‘That was––’
‘Absolutely nuts!’ Lily danced up and down, shaking off water droplets. He loved the way her bottom was dustedwith sand and wanted to tell her. She drew a blanket around her. ‘It’s freezing.’
Still wrapped in the blanket, she came up to him and stood on tiptoes, covering his mouth with a soft kiss. He put his arms around her and kissed her back and soon they were devouring each other like ravenous creatures. The blanket slipped from her shoulders and, in no time at all, they weren’t cold any longer.
Sam gazed upwards, feeling the warmth of Lily’s body next to him. They’d pulled the other blanket over them to look up into the sky. It wasn’t dark and wouldn’t be. This midsummer twilight would last a few hours until the earth turned its face to the sun again.
All too quickly.
‘You realise we’ll have to sneak back to the retreat.’ She spoke to the stars. ‘Although the girls will be asleep. Probably Étienne too.’
‘Does it matter if they know?’ He rested his fingers on hers under the blanket, feeling their warmth.
‘There might be questions that I don’t have the answers to.’
