Page 32 of One Golden Summer
“Even I can’t mess that up.” Saffron laughed, staring at her Converses finding them suddenly fascinating.
“It’s hard to believe you can mess up anything.”
“Trust me, I can.” Saffron slowly lifted her gaze, and awkwardly offered a hand for Kirsty to shake. “Good night.”
Kirsty accepted the gesture, her skin soft and warm, while she placed her other hand on Saffron’s elbow. “Stay safe.”
“I doubt I can get into much trouble on the way back.” Saffron’s mind was going into hyperdrive coming up with compromising situations to get into with Kirsty, the most appealing one involved shoving her against the wall and finally feeling what it would be like to kiss those tempting, luscious, dark-red lips. “Good night,” she said again, failing to come up with any other words to express her true thoughts.
Outside, Saffron glanced back at the family home, wondering how everything would have been different if she’d had loving parents like Ruth and Ian. Would her love life not be such a wreck? Her one true contribution to any relationship worth pursuing was her ability to torpedo it because that was all she knew how to do.
A breeze kicked up, propelling Saffron along the path.
Several minutes in, she lingered at a pub facing the sea, the patrons long gone, making the tables and benches seem abandoned. The sound of the waves stilled Saffron to soak it all in. She’d craved moments just like this, when enduring endless fourteen-hour work days on theGirl Racerset. To have peace and quiet, allowing her the chance to think or not.
“Saffron!”
She turned to Kirsty, running towards the pub.
“You forgot your bag.”
Even though Kirsty held it in her hand, Saffron reached for the absent strap on her shoulder. “Oh, thank you. I don’t know where my mind is these days.” She stopped herself from adding, “Since meeting you.”
The security light of the pub bounced in Kirsty’s grey eyes.
“What were you thinking about?” Kirsty asked.
“How this place allows me not to think?” Saffron chuckled over her honest answer. “That probably doesn’t make sense.”
“It does, but the way you were standing, I thought you might be—” Kirsty waved a hand in the air. “It doesn’t matter. Just ignore me.”
“I could never do that. Go on. What did I look like?” Saffron really wanted to know every thought Kirsty had about anything and everything.
“It’s just… er… I wondered if you were thinking of your parents.”
Had Kirsty been mulling over Saffron’s comment about her childhood? Saffron was used to her social circles, who would have ignored the comment because that was part of her girl squad code. No questions or giving an offhand comment a moment’s thought.
“Not right before you called me, no. When I left, though, I had been thinking how nice it would have been to have parents like yours.”
“What were they like? Yours?” She wrapped her arms around herself, and Saffron wanted to experience being held by Kirsty.
“Not the most responsible, but what can you expect from two adults who named their daughters Ginger and Saffron?” She tried laughing it off, adding awhat can you doshrug.
“I know they aren’t in the picture anymore, but what happened to them?”
Saffron took a seat at one of the wooden tables. “They died in a car crash years ago. They had a big night out. That was their thing. For most of my childhood, I remember them leaving Ginger and me alone every Friday night… and…” Saffron turned her face towards the water. “It’s been just Ginger and me for so long now. It’s why I want to do everything I can for the party. She was my sister and parents all rolled into one, and I want to let her know how much she means to me.”
Kirsty sat next to Saffron. “You two are lucky to have each other.”
“We are.” Saffron pulled her knees up onto the bench, holding herself, resting her chin on one leg. “This looks like a nice pub.”
“It’s the Poseidon Inn.” Kirsty grew serious. “I’m sorry about your parents.”
Saffron glanced up. Her eyes became misty, and she started to look away but forced herself not to tear her gaze from those supportive greys. “It was a long time ago.”
“It probably doesn’t make it any easier.”
“Yes and no.” Saffron’s bottom lip trembled, and she wanted to disappear into Kirsty’s embrace.
