Page 44 of Diving In
“Factor fifty, baby.” Claire flicks her sunglasses off to look me up and down. “All right, golden boy. How’s it going?”
“Good.” I sit on the picnic blanket, as much in the shade as I can be, Josh joining us. “How was France?”
“Same old, same old,” she says. “It’s beautiful there. You should go sometime.”
“Maybe when I retire.” I lean down and press a kiss onto Kath’s shoulder, just on top of the freckles I was looking at earlier. Then I freeze, realising what I’ve just done. I start trying to pass it off as pushing the strap of her dress back into place, but I’m not fooling anyone.
“Sorry, what was that?” Claire sits up, pushing off her sunglasses and looking far less relaxed than she did a few moments ago.
“What?” I say, but I know my neck is betraying me. I can literally feel it beginning to get red.
“Did you see that, Josh?” she whisper-shouts. “Did he just kiss Kath?”
“Uh, no,” I try to deflect.
Kath stays silent beside me.
“You definitely did,” Josh chimes in. He’s giving me a look I can’t decipher as he frowns between the pair of us. I considershuffling away from Kath on the grass, but eventually decide against it; I’m too comfortable where I am.
“We’re talking about this later.” Claire gives Kath a warning look as the others come over to join us. “You’re not escaping with that sorry excuse for an answer, but I’m also not going to bring it up in front of everyone.”
I’m saved from interrogation by a surprisingly competitive game of rounders. Though I spend most of it wondering if Claire is going to tackle me mid-field for information—or just continue to swing the bat in a menacing way.
Chapter 19
Eighteen years old
Kath
“Iordered your usual,” Josh says as I slide into the booth opposite him in our regular lunch spot.
In the summers we were sixteen and seventeen we both volunteered at the same nursing home, and somewhere between pretending we weren’t completely shattered after shifts, and developing a strangely intense addiction to chocolate digestives, we fell into a routine. Every Sunday: volunteering, pizza and hot chocolate. A weird combo, but somehow the salty-sweet chaos really works. Josh’s been off travelling for a few weeks, and I haven’t had a chance to see him since the picnic a few days ago.
“Thanks.” I grab the mug like it’s a lifeline. “How was the trip? What embarrassing stuff did Ben get up to?”
We fall into easy conversation as we eat, him telling me stories about missed trains and questionable hostels, before he goes quiet and gives me a long look over the rim of his mug.
“So. What’s happening with you and Sam?”
“Nothing,” I reply instantly. I’ve successfully dodged Claire on the subject for two whole days, which feels like a personal record. “What dessertdo you want?”
“Kath.”
“I’m just saying, they’ve got a new dessert on the menu. It’s called acrumble explosion. That feels important.”
“Please take this seriously.”
I blink. His tone’s shifted, and it makes me sit up a bit straighter.
“What’s going on?” he asks again.
“We’re just having fun before we go to university,” I explain. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Of course it’s a big deal,” he says, exasperated. “It’s you and Sam. The two of you have been dancing around each other for years. I can’t believe you never got together before, to be honest. I’ve been calling this since we were thirteen. Why now though?”
“Because we wanted to, we have a time limit, and it won’t mess with our friendship.” I shrug. “We’re not together. It’s casual.Verycasual.”
Josh leans back in the booth, the plasticky fabric squeaking. He frowns at me and runs a hand through his hair.
