Page 33 of Musical Games
She sat up, a look of surprise on her face, and her bottom slipped off the stile. As she fell backwards with a cry, he lunged to catch her, pulling her towards him. Suddenly she was in his arms, his hands on her back, her hot breath on his cheek. They both scrabbled to get away from the other, a hurried confusion of apologies and embarrassment. She yanked the net back over her face, hopped off the stile and strode away up the hill.
He hung his head.Way to go, Romeo. He climbed over and followed. He needed to remember the only woman in Kinloch who wanted him to be an officer and a gentleman was Mrs McCreedie.
When he knewthey were nearly there, he closed the gap between them. He wanted to be with her when she saw it. The ground was steep and uneven and the sound of water was getting louder. She rounded a corner and stopped abruptly, lifting the net off her face. In front of them, a waterfall cascaded down into a small pool. The sunshine made tiny rainbows in the spray and everything glittered.
‘Oh,’ she said.
He ached to hold her. ‘Do you like it?’
Her face shone brighter than the sun. ‘Jamie, it’s beautiful. How did you find it?’
He shrugged. ‘I’ve always known about it. Fi and I used to come up here and swim. It’s not deep. Mum would sit on the side and watch us and a couple of times she got in herself. I haven’t been up for years, though.’ He felt a sadness as if life had slipped by without him even noticing.
‘Do you want to swim now?’ Her voice was quiet, her eyes searching his. ‘I won’t look.’ She held up her little finger. ‘Pinky promise.’
Heat, lust and raging need burned through him. He wanted to douse the flames that licked his skin. He wanted the primal force of the water to counter the pull of her.
‘I, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.’
‘Jamie, I’m an actor. I’m used to being around naked bodies.’
‘I’m not.’
She smiled. ‘I can tell.’
She can? She knows? How?
‘Look, I’ll turn around and you can tell me when you’re comfortable.’ She didn’t wait for an answer but walked away and turned her back.
He looked at her, then the pool. He wanted to recapture his happy memories. Before he could second-guess himself, he stripped and entered the water, welcoming the cold as it pricked his skin. He dipped under the surface, swam a few strokes, then stood, his eyes still closed, running his hands through his hair. It felt amazing. He heard a squeak and opened his eyes to see Sam staring at him, her mouth open.
‘You said you wouldn’t look!’ he yelled, dipping back under the water. He’d been waist deep.What else did she see?
She whirled back around. ‘I heard a splash and wanted to make sure you were okay,’ she blustered. ‘And anyway, you didn’t accept my pinky promise, so it didn’t count.’
He sank back under the surface. He could hear the bubbling of the water as it fell into the pool. Did it really matter if she saw him half-naked? She’d seen him carrying Mrs McCreedie and it wasn’t like she found him attractive.Just get over yourself.He lifted his head. She was still facing away.
‘If you could stay there a moment, I’m just getting out.’
She nodded.
He stepped out of the pool, suddenly very aware he was completely naked, a few feet away from the woman he loved. He shook his head, dried himself the best he could with his boxers, then pulled his T-shirt and jeans back onto his damp body. He lay his boxers over a stone and sat down.
‘I’m decent,’ he said. ‘You can turn around now.’
She sat, far enough away it would be impossible for them to touch. He followed her gaze to his boxers. ‘I didn’t have a towel.’ Her cheeks reddened and she licked her lips. Was she embarrassed? Had he made a mistake? ‘Do you want to go home?’
She looked at her watch. ‘In a bit.’ She looked out across the water. ‘It’s so beautiful here. Can we stay a little longer?’
‘Yeah, sure.’
They sat in silence, held in the web of sound from the waterfall, the faint rustling of leaves and the trill of birdsong. He remembered talking to Rory about meditation, about being present in the moment. He let his senses take in every detail. The feel of the hard rock underneath him, the fresh smell of the water, the slight dampness in the air, the sunshine on his skin, the sight of Sam. She made everything more alive and more beautiful. Was she the frame for this picture or the picture itself? He wanted to hold onto this memory until it was the strongest image in his mind.
Eventually Sam stirred, stretching her arms and legs. ‘Can we go now?’
He rolled his boxers up and put them in his back pocket, then waited for her to lead the way.
‘I was thinking,’ she said.
