Page 73 of The Little Flower Shop By the Sea
‘Wow,’ Ash says, looking impressed. ‘You OK?’
‘Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s get out of here, shall we? It’s starting to feel a bit stuffy.’
It’s quite hot in the bar, but for once the reason I’m feeling suffocated has nothing to do with the place being crowded or because I’ve picked up the scent of a bunch of flowers. It’s because I’m aware of Jake’s eyes glancing across at us every few minutes.
‘Sure thing,’ Ash says, standing up.
We make our way out of the busy pub into the cool night air, and I stop for a moment to breathe in the fresh saltiness coming off the sea.
‘You OK?’ Ash asks again. ‘Sorry about your brother…’
‘Ash, I should thank you,’ I say, turning towards him. ‘It’s the first time since I’ve been back in St Felix that I’ve been able to tell anyone that. It’s as if you’ve released something in me, something that needed to be set free.’
‘Really?’ Ash says, moving towards me slightly. He reaches out his hand and gently takes a strand of my hair that’s blowing in the breeze and tucks it gently behind my ear. ‘Is there anything else you’d like to set free?’
His hand lingers on my jaw, his fingers stroking my skin so delicately I can hardly tell if it’s him or the sea breeze caressing my face.
I look up at him and nod.
Ash leans down, his face hovers in front of mine for a second, his bright blue eyes examining my face, until they fall upon my lips, then he leans forward that tiny bit more and I feel his lips on mine…
Twenty-five
Sweet Pea – Delicate Pleasures
The next morning I wake up in my bed at the cottage and see the wonky ceiling above me.
Nothing odd in that, I do it most mornings as soon as the sun starts creeping through the thin curtains to wake me. What is odd, I realise, suddenly remembering last night, is the extra person lying naked next to me in the bed.
I turn my head carefully so as not to disturb him, and see Ash sleeping peacefully, his face turned towards me on the pillow.
Oh God…I hadn’t.
But I had.
Last night after he’d kissed me outside the pub, Ash and I had gone a bit mad. We’d run along the harbour, then up over the other side of the hill that St Felix is perched on, to the beach, where we’d taken off our shoes and run laughing and kissing along the length of the sand, until Ash had taken me in his arms and kissed me so hard and fast that we almost did it right there on the sand.
But I still had a little bit of sense about me, and managed to peel him off my body long enough to suggest we might have a more comfortable time if we headed back to the cottage.
When we’d got back we’d crept in quietly in case Amber was still awake. She’d told me before I went out that she was going to take a bath, do some meditation, and have an early night.
So Ash and I had sneaked straight into my room, trying to be as quiet as we could. It did cross my mind I was being a bit reckless – after all, I hardly knew Ash, and he was a fair bit younger than me. I may have done many things in my life that were irresponsible, but sex wasn’t usually something I messed about with.
But this felt right. I needed to let off some steam, and Ash, apart from being very attractive, had been the catalyst to make me want to do so.
And best of all, I didn’t think about Jake once.
It had been quite some time since I’d woken up with someone in my bed next to me, and it felt as awkward today as it had always done.
I wonder how sound a sleeper Ash is. I move, and he doesn’t stir. So I pull back the sheets and sit up. He shuffles a bit, but his eyes don’t open. So I lift myself slowly off the bed and grab my PJs from the chair. I wish I had a dressing gown I could sexily slip into, but I hadn’t expected to be staying this long in St Felix when I’d originally packed, so it isn’t something I have the luxury of this morning. I take one last look at him still sleeping, and then I slip out of the door.
‘Well, well, well!’ Amber says, eyeing me from her place at the sink as I enter the kitchen. ‘Look who snuck out of the love nest early!’
‘What do you mean?’ I ask, wandering over to the fridge to get juice.
‘Come on, Poppy, I may be a bit ditsy sometimes, but I’m not deaf. I heard you sneaking lover boy into the cottage last night.’
‘Ah… that.’
