Page 51 of Summer in Sunset Harbour
‘Oh, god,’ Josie muttered, grabbing hold of the hips of Robinson’s jeans.
‘Are you all right?’
‘I’m terrified.’
‘Just hold on. Put your hands around my waist and lean into my back if you get scared. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.’
The road naturally sloped down into the village, so Robinson barely had to pedal at all. Holding on to the brakes, he took them gently down the coast road until they reached the outskirts of the village, houses on either side. The road widened and they passed a couple of cars coming the other way. Josie, hanging on for dear life, tried to enjoy the thrill of the wind in her hair as they freewheeled past expensive clifftop houses.
‘Right, are you ready? Here’s the fun bit,’ Robinson said, as they came around a corner and found themselves at the top of the steep hill dropping diagonally down the hillside to the harbour below. A sheer stonewalled hedgerow overhung by trees made up one side. On the other was a line of cottages built into the hillside.
‘Let’s go,’ Josie said, voice trembling.
‘Are you sure?’
‘Y … yes.’
‘All right.’
Robinson pushed off again. For a few seconds they moved gently, like a rollercoaster reaching the top of its incline, then quickly accelerated, the noise of the wind filling Josie’s ears. As their speed increased, she clung on tighter, the hill so steep she could barely muster the nerve to breathe. Robinson had one hand on the brake, but Josie nudged his arm.
‘Faster!’ she screamed.
Laughing, Robinson let go of the brake and they plunged into an apparent freefall, the houses flashing past them in a blur. Josie clung to Robinson, no longer pedalling at all but leaning forward over the handlebars as though to streamline them, send them rocketing even faster.
‘Faster!’
Up ahead was a tight, switchback corner, beyond it seemingly only the sea. Josie let out a gasp in terror, certain now that Robinson meant to dissect a gap in the crash barriers, send them flying over the edge into oblivion. A call for him to stop bounced on her tongue, but none would come. She wanted to shut her eyes, but found them opening wider as she peered out from behind his shoulder, the wind billowing into them drying them open, freezing her vision on the potential disaster.
And then, with an expert twist, Robinson both braked and turned at the same time, hacking them around the corner. The world swung, Josie’s stomach lurching, and she found herself facing the pretty village set into the valley as they dropped down the last section of the hill, gradually flattening out as it came to another corner and a humpbacked bridge over the river.
There was one last thrill as they bumped over the bridge, then they were coming to a stop outside a fish ‘n’ chip shop not far from the harbour.
Josie could barely move. Robinson stepped off the bike and turned to face her, his face ghost-white.
‘I never went that fast even as a kid,’ he gasped, running a hand through hair that was now hatless. ‘Are you out of your mind?’
Josie grinned. ‘I am now,’ she said.
They ordered fish ‘n’chips, then proceeded with a more sedate walk back up the hill, Robinson pushing the bike, collecting his hat from the branch of a low-hanging tree halfway up, while Josie walked alongside.
Exhausted by the time they got back to the viewing spot, Robinson suggested they sit down on a bench overlooking the sea to eat.
‘What about your dad?’ Josie asked.
Robinson grinned. ‘We have a microwave. He was in the middle of a sculpture anyway. He won’t mind. I’ll just tell him there was a queue.’
As they sat side by side, their food on their laps, Josie had a sudden moment of clarity that to all intents and purposes they were on a date. The freedom with which she had talked about nothing important on the walk up the hill deserted her, her tongue appearing to tie itself into an abrupt knot.
‘It’s … um … pretty.’
‘The sea?’
‘Yes.’
‘What in particular about it?’
‘Huh?’
