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I was happy to work another double shift, both for the distraction and the extra money, and I finished up around six in the evening. The summer sun was high in the sky, and today had been another scorcher. My new bedroom caught the evening sun and would be unbearably hot for the next few hours. It was just as well I had plans.
I went upstairs long enough to apply sunblock, grab a floppy hat, and pick up my camera and King’s lead. Another bonus of working here was that my dog could stay with me during the day. He dozed in the courtyard, happy to hang out with the café patrons and make eyes at them for scraps. I had to make a special tag for his collar, to ask people not to feed him, otherwise he’d be enormous. He was a huge dog anyway, like a shaggy rug with legs, and I adored him.
The café was a ten-minute walk from the beach, and I dawdled, King ambling beside me. I enjoyed the feel of the sun on my arms and the shriek of the early cicadas in the trees. Keeping busy was essential. The quiet times were when I’d get stuck in my own head, and the dark thoughts would creep in.
Thoughts of Marnie were never far away, but today I tried to push back on the guilt and focus on the happy times. The pizza restaurant where we sometimes ate with her brother, Zack, was around the corner, and I still loved the place. Every time I went, I pretended they were both here with me. It was a harmless fantasy, and really, every daydream of Zack was a fantasy anyway. He only ever saw me as his little sister’s best friend. And now he had a girlfriend, Holly. I wanted to like her, but I clung to the hope that they’d split up and Zack would turn to me.
Yeah... I believed in the Easter Bunny, too.
When you were in love with the perfect guy, nobody else matched up.
It was hotter outside than I expected. I should have picked up some water. I ducked into the corner shop and was assaulted by another jolt of memories. I came on holiday to this sleepy village, as a kid, tagging along with Marnie and Zack and their mother. We used to walk here for ice creams. I could picture Marnie now, counting out her coins to see what she could afford, and Zack lending her another ten cents to buy her favourite. I shook my head. There were ghosts everywhere.
Gritting my teeth, I paid for a bottle of water and hurried out, glad to be back in the sunshine.
I sat on a wooden bench at the top of the beach and gazed at the damp sand near the water’s edge. My canvas.
A young woman lay on a brightly striped towel, two toddlers playing nearby. Further down, an elderly couple walked a grey-haired poodle on a long lead. Apart from that, it was empty. The sun wouldn’t be setting for a couple of hours, so I had time for my art.
There were plenty of sticks lying in a blanket of driftwood, and I selected one with care. Smooth enough for me to hold comfortably, strong enough to dig into the sand without snapping, and the right size. Finding one the width of my thumb was perfect.
The tide was on the way out, and King was happy to nose around at the water’s edge. I walked toward the sea and found a space that was just right. Grasping the stick firmly, I scraped letters in the damp sand, pausing every so often to make sure they were lined up correctly. I needed to get the depth even too. I took my time. If I rushed, I’d make a mistake and have to start again on a fresh patch of sand.
It takes courage to grow up
and become who you really are
I hadn’t read much ee cummings, but this quote resonated with me. When the words were complete, I sketched out a simplistic tree that leaned over the text, with leaves drifting down. I usually drew trees or flowers, depending on the positioning of the quotes, and this one worked like a dream. I finished with my signature, a stylised S.
I stepped back a pace, and then another. I liked this one, especially in the evening light. The sun was dropping and the shadows were long. I snapped some pictures. Turned and walked further away, crouched to get a different perspective, and then snapped some more.
“So you’re the one who does this.”
Lost in my own world, I only saw the jogger when he spoke to me, but I recognised him right away. Dean.
He was smartly dressed this morning, in the Fire Service uniform, but now he looked edible—tall and fit, with his head covered by a ball cap, and his eyes obscured by expensive Oakley shades. His arms and legs were tanned and corded with muscle. He jogged on the spot, his breathing easy.
“Um, yes,” I said. Did he watch me scrape the letters out?
“What did yesterday’s say?” He flashed me a grin. “Half of it was washed away by the time I ran past.”
My mind went blank. In the face of such overt confidence and so much testosterone I could practically smell it, I wanted to curl up and hide. I tugged down my sleeves and averted my gaze.
“You’re the new girl from the café.” Amusement lined his voice.
And you’re the new fireman, I wanted to reply. “Yes.”
“It was great coffee.”
“Thank you.” Why was he still talking to me? He was a customer, and I couldn’t be rude and ignore him. Good manners ingrained from childhood wouldn’t let me.
The on-the-spot jogging stopped. “I’m sure I know you from somewhere.”
Please go away. “I don’t think so.” I stared at my sand art and willed him to leave.
“Where did you come from?”
What kind of question was that? “How d’you mean?”
“Your colleague, Lou? She said you just moved here too. Did you come down from Auckland?”
“No.” I lifted my head and sighed. I wanted this conversation over. “Wellington.”
“’Kay.” He tucked up one leg behind him, standing like a flamingo while he stretched out the muscles, before repeating with the other leg.
I watched, fascinated. He was light years away from the guys I normally hung out with. No. The guys I used to hang with. He was more like Zack.
Unapologetically male.
I itched to take his picture. To capture his image from a dozen shifting viewpoints. I shook my head. No. Banish that thought. That would be inviting a level of intimacy I wasn’t prepared to handle.
“So why d’you do them? Is it a Facebook thing?”
I felt like asking why he went running. Or why he felt the need to talk to complete strangers. At my side, King grew bored and headbutted my leg, and I reached down to fondle his soft ears.
“It’s part of my portfolio,” I said. “I’m a photographer.”
“Okay,” he said. “So what did yesterday’s quote say?”
“The night is darkest before the dawn.”
His brows tugged together, making him look adorably confused. “Batman?”
“Yes.” Zack was a huge superhero fan. That one had been for him.
Surely Dean had interrogated me enough by now?
“Do you create a new one every day?” he asked.
“Yes. And I need to go.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out King’s lead. “C’mon, boy.”
“Nice dog.”
“Thank you.” I nodded. “Enjoy your evening.”
“You too.”
I managed to get a couple of steps, before he spoke again. “See you tomorrow.”
I paused, and then replied over my shoulder. “For coffee.”
“Of course. G’night, sandy girl.”
Sandy girl? What the hell kind of nickname was that? Was he teasing me? I wanted to be annoyed, but it made me smile.
*
I slept poorly. Even with the window wide open, my bedroom was hot and stuffy, and a succession of night insects buzzed around me. I not only woke up with bags under my eyes, but also multiple bites down my arms and legs. I kept my arms covered as a matter of course, but they itched. There would be no chance to go to the nearest pharmacy until my afternoon break.
I stood behind the Gaggia coffee machine and felt miserable. My ankles were ringed with red spots, and I wanted to scream at how itchy they were. Nothing soothed them. I was working, though, so I had to smile at the customers and play nicely.
In my head, I made a shopping list. Some kind of salve, to ease the bites, and insect repellent. Lots of that. I could do with a fan, too, but funds were short, so that would have to wait. All my money was going toward the cost of the exhibition. The gallery would do the advertising, and they’d host the opening night and put on the drinks and snacks, but I still had to prepare the exhibits. They needed to be printed onto large panels and mounted onto blocks, and none of it was cheap.
The stream of early morning commuters was constant. Most of them would spend an hour on the train or in their cars, travelling to the city for work, and then the same home again. How did they do that without going insane? Not just the travelling time, but also sitting in an office all day, every day. I struggled enough with university. I needed flexible jobs, where I could move around and occasionally go outside. This little café was perfect, and a million times better than the stuffy restaurant I last worked in. It also didn’t serve alcohol. No temptation here.
Lou was busy with something else, so I was also taking the orders. I welcomed the bustle. Being busy meant I didn’t have time to brood, and I dealt with each order as it came in. Cappuccino with a dusting of cinnamon. Two large flat whites with an extra shot in each. One soy latte.
And then it was Dean’s turn. He waited patiently in the queue, his gaze drifting over the baskets of freshly baked goods.
I was too busy to get pulled into conversation with him.
Or not.
“Morning,” he said, with a friendly smile. “Large flat white, please, and something to eat. What do you recommend out of these?” He gestured to the food.
The question threw me. I scrambled to answer without sounding like an idiot. “What do you like? Uh... sweet or savoury?”
“Sweet. Definitely.”
His smile widened a notch, and my cheeks warmed. Was he flirting? I was about to suggest the doughnuts, when Lou bustled back to the counter and nudged me aside.
“Thanks, hun. I’ve got this.” Lou did a little stretch that made her tits jiggle, and I hid my smile. She flirted as easily as she breathed and would have his tongue hanging out within minutes.
I prepared his coffee and found myself watching him. He flicked a glance back at me, but I looked away and focused instead on his espresso shot.
Lou tried to persuade him to go to a party at the weekend, but he declined. She’d already asked me if I wanted to go, and I’d made an excuse. Maybe she was just being friendly? And why did I care if she liked Dean?
I finished his drink. He stood waiting to take it, but didn’t leave. “You got bitten last night too? Damned sandflies. I forgot to apply repellent.”
“I think I had mozzies in my bedroom.”
“I’ve got salve in my car, if you want to use it. The bite marks on your hands look sore.”
I was tempted.
Lou must have been listening. “Go on,” she said. “I’ll cover you for a minute.”
She made it difficult to refuse.
Dean’s car was a typical alpha-male vehicle. A shiny, black SUV. Light years apart from my junker Toyota. I smiled.
He rummaged in the glove box and pulled out a tube that he handed to me. “It’s good. Takes out the sting, and it’s antibacterial too, if you’ve been scratching.” He bent down and tugged up his trouser leg, to show me the ring of bites above his ankle. He pulled a face. “Tonight, I’m using repellent. Big time.”
He was running again tonight. I had a funny feeling I’d be looking out for him.
I popped the cap and squeezed out some blue gel into the palm of my hand.
“You only need a little,” he said. He leaned against the car, casual and relaxed, his gaze focused on me. Why was he paying me so much attention?
I dabbed some of the gel onto my ankles and let out a sigh at the instant relief. “God. This feels amazing. Where do you buy it?”
He shrugged. “Picked it up in Auckland, but they probably sell it here too.” He frowned, and shifted his feet. “I’m sure I know you from somewhere. I never forget a face, sandy girl.”
It was my turn to shrug. I dabbed more of the cooling gel on the backs of my hands, but there was no way I was showing him my arms.
I didn’t know whether to feel disappointed or relieved when he left.
Thoughts of Dean weren’t far away for the rest of my shift. His smile. The way his eyes crinkled at the corners. The hot body underneath the fitted uniform. And his kindness, in offering me the salve for my bites, before I scratched my skin into a living hell.
I wanted to bang my head on the counter. No matter how confident and mature he seemed, it was bad for me to think about getting involved on even the tiniest level.
I had a devil on one shoulder and a scolding angel on the other, and they duked it out over the course of the day.
He looked older than me. Late twenties, while I was barely twenty-four.
I prefer mature guys to boys.
He might already have a girlfriend.
Not if he just moved here.
Gah. Saying I was confused was an understatement.
There was a fresh spring in my step in the evening, when I worked on my sand image at the beach. The temperature was as high, and the sandflies were out in force, but today every inch of my bare skin was slathered in insect repellent. I smelled like a walking citronella candle. It made King wrinkle his nose and face the other way. Was I looking forward to seeing Dean again? Of course. I was stupid like that.
I sat on the sand, next to my completed art for the night, while King bounded in and out of the shallows.
“Hey, sandy girl.”
I looked up at Dean’s greeting. He wore a Batman T-shirt that clung to his clearly defined abs. Had I been waiting for him before I left? That would be dumb, but yes, I had.
“Hey,” I said, and I smiled.
He leaned over, hands on his knees, and drew in a series of deep breaths. “Shit. It’s hot out here tonight,” he said a few moments later. “And I forgot to bring water.”
I held up my bottle, still mostly full. “Would you like this? I don’t have far to go.”
“You sure?”
I nodded.
“Thank you.” He took a long pull, and then another. “Legend. I’ll owe you.”
“You don’t need to. It’s only water.” I tucked my knees to my chin and gazed up at him.
He dropped to the sand, to sit near me, and tilted his head to one side as he gazed at my quote. “I give up,” he said. “It sounds familiar, but I’ve no clue.”
“At night he was wicked, fiendish and sly,” I read aloud. “It’s from a children’s book, Slinky Malinki. He’s a cat that keeps stealing things from the neighbours.” I nodded to my artwork. “That’s why I added pawprints around the outside.”
He huffed a laugh. “Yeah. I’ve seen that book. I’ve probably read it to my niece a couple times.”
It was the perfect segue to go fishing. “You don’t have any kids of your own?”
“Nah.” He slid the cap off and ran his fingers through his hair. It stuck up at odd angles. “Never married. You?”
“No.” I tossed a stick for my dog. “King is my baby.”
“Uh huh.” He took another drink, and I dragged my gaze away from his throat and the way it worked when he swallowed. Why should that be so sexy?
“How are you liking Peka Peka?” I asked. “Isn’t it a bit small after Auckland?”
“Yeah.” He stared into the distance, and then scrambled to his feet. “Enjoy your evening, sandy girl.” He was off, breaking into a run after a few steps.