“I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before,” he remarked casually as my toes touched the sand beneath my feet surprising me. I knew I’d been moving back towards the shore, but I’d been so distracted by the way the reflection off the water lit up his face I hadn’t been paying attention.
“You probably haven’t.”
It sounded like I was flirting. Maybe I was. It’d been so long since I’d even wanted to make a guy smile, I’d forgotten how much fun it could be. Even if it amounted to absolutely nothing, teasing Aiden and watching his eyes crinkle and that mischievous smile sneak across his face, was making me feel like I could fly.
“Didn’t think so…” At least I think that’s what he said. I couldn’t be sure. With my back to the ocean, I hadn’t seen the wave rolling through that knocked me over sending me tumbling under the water.
The minutes I was under the water were probably only seconds. It felt like a life time. I could taste the salt on my tongue as I frantically waved my arms and kicked my legs desperate to find the surface. Opening my eyes, the water stung but I needed to figure out which way was up. When my toes sank into the wet sand, I pushed upwards and broke the surface. Coughing and spluttering, I grabbed at my chest before spitting out the water I’d swallowed.
When a hand wrapped around my arm and began dragging me, I screamed in pure terror. Beneath my chest, my heart was pounding and my lungs burning. I could hear the blood roaring through my veins as I regained my bearings.
“Shit, Gemma. You okay?”
“Yeah. Nah. I don’t know.” And it was the truth. I had no idea if I was okay or not.
“Come on. Let’s get you out of the water.”
When I went to pull out of his grip, he simply clamped down. I should’ve been scared by the way he was manhandling me, but I was still getting over the shock of being dumped. I was wading out of the water, still knee deep, when another wave rolled through unbalancing me.
“Geez!” The arm holding me tightened as my feet got swept out from under me. This time though, I landed on my arse.
“Crap! This beach is trying to kill me,” I laughed dryly as a found my footing and scrambled out of the water.
Once I was safely back on solid ground, I hunched over with my hands on my knees sucking in the deep breaths. I’d complete forgotten about the sexy stranger standing next to me undoing the cord at his ankle. It took a few moments before my racing pulse steadied and I straightened up. Marching up the beach, I reached my towel and bent down to grab my sunglasses. My eyes were normally sensitive, but down here with the afternoon sun reflecting off the water I was almost blinded. Noticing my own reflection in the mirror fronted glasses, I gasped in horror. One of my boobs was mostly hanging out of my bikini top, barely a centimetre away from some nip slip action. My hair was a mess and my chest was turning pink as my pasty skin started to burn. After quickly fixing my top, I straightened the bottoms. If I thought having a boob hanging out was embarrassing, my bikini bottom was so far up my arse I was going to have to pry it out. After the extraction, I stared at the sand and considered my options. I wondered if I started digging how long would it take to dig a hole big enough to bury myself and my humiliation in.
“You okay, Gemma?” Aiden asked as he dropped down on the sand beside my towel. Guess he wasn’t in a hurry to get away from me. That fact alone stunned me.
My cheeks burned, and it wasn’t from the sun’s rays either. My embarrassment was all consuming. This guy was gorgeous, and in the five minutes since I’d met him, I’d managed to almost drown—twice, had my best attempt at a Janet Jackson impersonation nip slip and all the while my arse had tried to eat my swimmers.
“Fine,” I answered with a huff before flopping down on my towel.
For a long moment, we sat in silence. Out on the water, merely metres from where I’d been swimming, a pod of dolphins surfed amongst the breakers. Sitting up straight, I watched them playing, completely carefree.
High in the sky, a sea gull squawked.
“So,” Aiden began. “What are you doing in my part of the world?”
“Girls’ weekend.”
“Girls’ weekend?”
“Yeah.”
“Where are they? Surely, they’re still not out shopping?”
I let out a defeated sigh. Aiden wasn’t saying anything I hadn’t already considered myself, but for some reason, hearing it come out of his mouth stung even more.
“Who knows. They’ve probably found a café that serves wine.” I tried not to sound too bitter, but I’m pretty sure I failed miserably.
“Well there’s a few of those around here. Not to mention the winery just down the road.”
God, I hope they hadn’t found out about the winery. A weekend camping in the bush, sleeping in a tent and cooking dinner on the barbeque was never going to be able to compete with a three-course dinner with matching wines and table service.
“I guess I should get back then,” I replied deflated. Springing to my feet, I tugged my shorts on and stuffed my feet back into my thongs.
“Or…”
Shaking the sand off my towel, I countered, “Or what?”
“Or… you could forget about them, and we could go have some fun.”
My palms were sweating. I knew I shouldn’t want to go off and have an adventure with some guy I met in the surf barely half an hour ago. The smart, sensible girl inside of me was reminding me how dumb it would be to follow him. For all I knew, he could be a murderer or a thief. Or worse still, he could have a girlfriend. But before I had a chance to think too much, I stomped her opinions back down and threw caution to the wind.
“Let’s do it!”
“Really?” Aiden seemed shocked by my decision. Honestly, I couldn’t blame him. Now my words were out, I was already second guessing them.
“Yep. Let’s go!” I needed him to lead the way and start moving before I chickened out.
After dragging his board further up the beach, I hid my stuff amongst the long grass on the edge of the sand dunes and headed back to the waters edge where Aiden was waiting, his hand outstretched. The moment my fingers touched his, an unsuspecting wave of warmth shot through me. If it hadn’t been for the cool sand squelching between my toes, there was a very good chance I might’ve combusted.
As we walked hand-in-hand along the beach, anyone around who could’ve seen us, may easily have mistaken us for the perfect couple. No one would have guessed we were barely strangers.
“So, where are you taking me?”
“Well, I thought we’d go just around the point. It’s low tide so we can get right out to the edge. You can usually see the coral and the fish swimming around.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It’s pretty cool. Most people only go out to fish, but the rock pools are full of cool stuff. You just gotta look.”
I let Aiden lead me down the beach towards the rocky platform he was excited about. After a few awkward moments of silence, we fell into an easy chatter. We talked about work and friends, holidays and food and everything in between. Aiden was surprisingly easy to talk to. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d felt so comfortable talking to a complete stranger.
I lost track of time as we frolicked around in the rock pools, watched the huge navy ships navigate the bay while the sun began to sink on the horizon, turning the sky from a beautiful blue, dotted with white fluffy clouds, to a mix of orange and purples. It was stunning.
When the breeze kicked up, I shivered. “We should head back. It’s getting late,” Aiden suggested helping me up from the rock I’d been perched on. My butt was numb. When I rubbed my hands up and down my arms, I got the crooked smile I was quickly becoming addicted to.
Replacing my hands with his, Aiden tried to warm me. “You’re freezing.” His tone was scolding.
“I’m not that bad.”
“Come on. Let’s get you warmed up.”
We headed back as quick as we could given the rocky, uneven surface under my feet.
Given my footwear wasn’t the best for scurrying across the rocky outcrops, we took it slowly. Halfway back to my stuff, Aiden asked me to wait for him before he scampered towards the sand dunes. I was cautiously curious. I had no idea what he was up to. He’d left me, standing on the edge of the water in the fading light.
Minutes past, and Aiden was nowhere in sight. I was beginning to feel like a fool standing out here all by myself. Checking my watch, I noticed how late it was. On cue, my stomach grumbled, reminding me how long it’d been since I’d eaten. With no imminent return of Aiden, I stared down at my feet, suddenly feeling flat. I shuffled my way down the beach. I might have had an afternoon for the memory bank—one filled with a lot of laughs, some good conversation and a really cute guy; one I thought liked me. Obviously, I was pretending something was there that wasn’t.
With my head down, I wrapped my arms around myself and hurried my pace. All I wanted to do now was get back, get some more clothes on and stuff my face with chocolate.
“Hey! Wait up!”
Spinning around, my toes caught in the sand and I wobbled but managed not to fall on my arse. Not this time anyway.
“Hey, Gem,” Aiden’s hand reached out and took mine like it was the most natural thing in the world. My heart almost burst out of my chest. Suddenly, I felt vindicated. Firstly, having Aiden back beside me meant he wasn’t a figment of my imagination—an idea I’d fleetingly considered. Secondly, he hadn’t disappeared into the darkness, forgetting me.
“Why didn’t you wait?”
Now I felt bad. He’d asked me to wait and I hadn’t even been able to do that. Before I could answer him, he cut me off.
“You didn’t think I was coming back, did you?”
“I…I…”
“You thought I’d left you standing in the dark. Didn’t you?” He nudged my shoulder. “It’s okay. You can admit it. I brought you something.”
“What? Why?” I was genuinely stunned. There I was, thinking he’d run off and left me and now he was handing me a present. My head was starting to spin.
Aiden didn’t answer. Instead he handed me a soft bundle. Untangling it, I discovered it was a worn, grey hoodie. I didn’t question it and instead tugged it over my head, instantly feeling cloaked in warmth. I knew I should’ve stopped myself—I should’ve resisted—but I just couldn’t: I grabbed the neck of the jumper and pulled it to my nose, breathing in the scent of Aiden. He smelt like heaven: sun, summer and man. I’d had it on for barely a minute and I was already scheming ways on how I could make this a permanent addition to my wardrobe.
Knowing I should stop acting like a creeper, I stopped my sniffing and thanked Aiden. “Come on. Let’s grab your stuff and get you back.”
Noticing the back pack now slung over his shoulder I found myself wondering where he’d ducked off to. “What’s in the bag?”
With a mischievous gleam in his eye, Aiden winked, and I swear my knees weakened. “Why? You worried?”
Digging my hands into the back pockets of my shorts, I made a conscious effort to be confident. Or at least to appear that way. Chanting the mantra, ‘fake it til you make it’, I answered directly. “Not at all. I just wanna know if you have any snacks in there that you’re not sharing.”
I think I shocked him into silence because for the longest moment he said nothing and just stared at me like I had two heads. I don’t think he’d been expecting that from me. If I was being honest, even I didn’t expect it from me. I’d never been the one to have a backbone and speak my mind. It just wasn’t who I was. I doubted I’d ever be that girl.
While I was busy patting myself on the back for silencing him, Aiden burst out in a deep, booming laughter. He didn’t give me a chance to question him though. He bent down and swept me off my feet before spinning us in circles. I wanted to believe my arms snaked their way around his shoulders to ensure he didn’t drop me. At least that’s what I was trying to convince myself.
“Set me down!”
When my feet touched the sand, an unexpected wave crashed on the shore and over our ankles. Jumping, I dashed out of its way, but before I could get too far, I found my fingers tangled once again with Aiden’s. It scared me how much I liked it.
“Come on, let’s get you back. I’m sure your friends are wondering where you got to.”
Up ahead, I could see my stuff and suddenly my stomach wasn’t grumbling anymore. It was feeling heavy and filled with dread. I wasn’t ready for my day to end—not my day with Aiden. Part of me was scared that once we got back to the camp site, he’d disappear into the darkness and I’d never see him again. All I’d be left with was an amazing memory of a great day with a sexy new friend.
As I collected my things, Aiden grabbed his board tucking it under his arm like it was weightless. I hated how coordinated he was. Or maybe it was I hated how uncoordinated I was.
“You at the Green Patch camp site?” he asked as we headed towards the opening leading into the dark scrub.
“Yeah.” I knew I sounded like a petulant child, but I couldn’t shake off the desire to sulk. “How’d you know?”
“It’s the most popular around here. Most out of towners stay there. It’s the only one they really know about.”
“Is it the best?”
“Not even close.”
We turned onto the track and Aiden dropped my hand. I tried not to be disappointed. Tried and failed. Three steps down the track I understood why. There wasn’t enough room for him to walk beside me, hold my hand and carry his board. Instead, he ushered me in front of him and shooed me along.
From memory, I only had to go a hundred metres or so. Twenty steps down the track and I heard a noise, freezing me mid-stride. It was a rustle—the crack of a twig snapping under a weight.
“Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
Maybe I was being over sensitive. Shaking my head, I marched on maybe a little quicker than before. I hadn’t made it far before I heard it again. Louder this time. Closer.
“Surely you heard that?”
“Gem, come on.”
I’m not exactly sure when Aiden decided to shorten my name, and I couldn’t remember telling him he could. No one ever shortened my name, not even when I was a kid. I kinda liked it—liked having something special that was just for us. Damn it! I was screwed. Now I was thinking of Aiden and me as an us.
“What! There’s something out there! I heard it. I swear I did.”
“I’m sure you did.”
“Then why aren’t you freaking out?”
“Cause it’s the Aussie bush, Gem. It’s not like we’re in a hallway here. Of course, there’s animals out there.”
Part of me wanted to slap the smirk off his face, but I knew he was right. What had I expected? Really? When we’d arrived, I’d been worried about how Claire would cope with the wildlife out there, now I was the one freaking out over a cracked stick.
“Let’s just get back to safety.” It wasn’t like I was worried that something was going to jump out of the darkness and eat me. We didn’t have those kinda animals around here. At least I was pretty sure we didn’t.
Hurrying along, I could hear Aiden’s chuckle taunting me with every step. Shit-head was laughing at me. Rounding the corner, I could see our tent up ahead. Surprisingly, there was no sign of Claire’s car. I could barely believe it. They weren’t back yet.
With the empty camp site in sight, I hurried towards it, a bit unsure of what came next. What I wasn’t expecting was the biggest, baddest kangaroo I’d ever seen to bound out in front of me almost barrelling me over as he tried to squeeze by.
A high-pitched squeal slipped past my lips, one I’m sure they heard back in civilization, and I dropped the arm full of shit I was carrying and threw myself desperately at Aiden. When his surf board dropped to the ground with a thud, I climbed him like a tree, pressing myself against him. Instantly I felt warmer but maybe even more importantly, I felt a million times safer than I had with my own two feet on t
he ground.
One of Aiden’s hands was under my arse holding me up, while the other brushed the hair from my face. As he spoke, I could feel the warmth of his breath on my cheek. Everything about his presence right now was reassuring me and making me stupid at the same time.
“Hey. It’s okay. You’re okay. It’s just a roo. They’re bloody everywhere around here.” Aiden was doing his best not to laugh. I knew I didn’t have to look at his face to know he was smiling.
Looking around, I saw the terrorising menace was already long gone. Obviously, he’d bounded through, scared the crap out of me and gone on his merry way. Arsehole. Carefully, I unwrapped myself, determined to put some much-needed distance between us as quickly as I could. Although I wasn’t ready to say good bye to him just yet, having his hands on me was doing absolutely nothing to help me accept that today was nothing more than a perfect summer day.
Heading towards camp full of purpose, I stepped into the clearing, grateful for the lights of the carpark as they flickered. Being completely alone in the dark with Aiden wasn’t smart. Neither was being near a tent, but there wasn’t much I could do about that right now.
“I’m just going to grab my phone,” I explained as I stuck my head in the tent. Earlier, I’d wanted to kick myself for being so dumb and taking off without it, but a day cut off from the world was just what the doctor ordered. Take away the hormones that were in overdrive at the moment and I was completely relaxed.
Grabbing my phone, I noticed the missed texts. The girls had found some guys to hang with and were staying in town for dinner at the pub. Jacinta had offered to come and pick me up so I wasn’t out here by myself, but based on the rest of the messages and the way her words degraded, asking her now to come back wasn’t really an option. After tapping out a quick group message telling them to have a great time, I grabbed the bag of marshmallows and a few other things and stepped outside.
“Well, you know how to make a fire?”
“Is that a challenge?” Aiden smirked.
I would almost bet my life savings on that boy never backing down from a challenge in his life. He just seemed like he didn’t have it in him.
Key to My Heart: An Anthology of Sweet Romance Page 19