Page 46 of The Making of Jonty Bloom
Jonty would rather wait for something that didn’t cost him an arm and leg. He didn’t want Devan to offer to pay.
“This beach is incredible,” Devan said.
“Best for surfing in the north-east. Best for a lot of things. Follow me.”
Jonty headed away from the sea to the back of the beach. “When I was a kid, I used to think these dunes were my personal adventure playground. They’re constantly shifting and full of secret dips. Plenty of places where I could jump and run and roll and dive. I played endless games of hide and seek with my friend.”
I was better at hiding than you.
“Tay was better at hiding than me.” Jonty took a deep breath. “A couple of times, when I couldn’t find him, I thought he must have gone home and left me, then he’d jump out, pretend to be a raptor, and scare me half to death.”
Jonty fastened his trainers to his backpack and hoisted it on his shoulders. “First one to the top gets—”
Devan was already powering past him. Jonty laughed and set off after him, using the indentations Devan was creating until they were closer to the top, when he nipped to the left and got to the summit first. They both bent over breathing heavily.
“Shit… I made that…easier for you…didn’t I?” Devan panted.
“Yep but… you cheated… You didn’t wait for me to say go… I win.”
Devan slumped onto his backside. “What do you win?”
“Damn. I was going to let you win. In the excitement of having my face inches from your arse, I forgot.”
Devan caught hold of Jonty’s sleeve and tugged him down to sit at his side.
“That’s a better work out than my run.” Devan was still panting.
“Are you sure you’re only thirty-five?” Jonty laughed at Devan’s glare then gazed out to sea. “Check out that view.” The sun was glinting off the waves and now they were out of the wind, it felt warm.
“Spectacular.”
But Jonty could feel Devan looking at him and not the sea. He wanted to face him, but nerves stopped him. He took his water bottle from the side pocket of his backpack and offered it to Devan.
“Thanks.”
Jonty used his socks to brush the sand from his feet, then put his socks and his trainers on.
Devan shrugged out of his jacket and Jonty laughed.
“What’s funny?” Devan asked.
“You’re taking stuff off as I put stuff on.”
“I wasn’t thinking of taking anything else off.”
Jonty did his best pout. He put his hand inside his backpack and pulled out a Flake. “Not even for a bite of this?”
Jonty watched Devan’s Adam’s apple rise and fall. His own copied it. He ripped open the top of the chocolate bar and peeled down the crinkly yellow wrapping.
“It’s your lucky day,” Jonty said. “I don’t usually share my Flake until the third date. I hang on for a trip to the cinema first. Did you know that Flakes won’t melt in the sun or in a microwave or in abain marie?”
“Really?”
“They don’t melt in your mouth until you’ve crumbled them or sucked really hard. The fat and cocoa solids are arranged in a way that prevents the melting fat from lubricating the cocoa particles to the point where they’ll flow. The impossible of the chocolate world and the best chemistry lesson I ever had. We all got chocolate that day.”
Jonty held the bar out to Devan.Damn, my fingers are shaking and not because I’m cold.
Devan opened his mouth and moved in.
