Sunshine Kisses

Erik’s hand squeezed her once before she turned to face him, eyes flicking down to his trousers. He’d looked delicious in joggers, but didn’t everyone? The strain against the stiff, fitted fabric of his suit was even more impressive.

‘But you might need to do it again before we go downstairs, since you won’t let me take care of it for you.’

In the end, Erik simply insisted on walking down to breakfast in front of her (‘So I don’t have to watch your body move in this unbelievable dress,’ he had breathed into her neck), his jacket draped casually over one arm in a way that obscured his thighs.

He tucked his chair deep under the breakfast table, which hid his body sufficiently but also hid Abby’s hand when she rested it on his leg each time she spoke to him.

‘Mercy. Please,’ he whispered in her ear after the fourth time.

Abby smiled smugly, but relented.

After breakfast, Erik begged her to drive to the church with her parents. ‘I need twenty minutes away from you to get my body under control.’

It clearly didn’t work, as Abby noted the open hymn book on Erik’s lap when she slid into the pew next to him.

‘It’s not the first time you’ve tortured me,’ he muttered. ‘I had to learn to take evasive measures.’

‘Shall we head back to the hotel for a game of tennis before lunch then?’ Nora said cheerily as they exited the church.

Erik cleared his throat softly. ‘Actually, Abby and I were thinking of going down to the pub for lunch. We haven’t had a chance to properly catch up yet.’

The gang of parents surrounding them exchanged knowing looks that they clearly thought were terribly inconspicuous, and it was decided that they would all drive back in one car, leaving Erik and Abby with his parents’ car. This was accompanied by a lengthy lecture from Peter about looking after the old girl, which Erik endured for a full two minutes before gently reminding him that he had, in fact, driven the very same car plenty when he was much younger and less responsible. For trips around their small town, Peter had allowed him to drive it for a full year before he’d even passed his test.

‘It’s weird,’ Abby said as they navigated the twisty roads down to the pub. Erik steered effortlessly with one hand, the other stroking her knee between gear changes. ‘Seeing you with them now. You’re like a real person.’

He gave her a wry sideways glance. ‘As opposed to…a stuffed olive?’

‘You know what I mean,’ she said, swatting his arm lightly. ‘You were this really good kid who always listened to everything his parents told him. Now you stand your ground, tell them what you think. It’s just nice seeing you be assertive and standing up for yourself.

Unspoken words hung in the air between them. How she wished she could do the same with her parents. It wasn’t that she hadn’t tried, but she’d learned to pick her battles. They would never listen to her. No point exhausting and upsetting herself trying to make it happen.

Erik squeezed her leg as they approached the pub, a sympathetic look in his eyes. He by-passed the small parking lot, stopping instead in the space reserved for takeaways.

It was as close as this tiny seaside town would ever get to a drive-through, Abby mused as a skinny teenager appeared at their window to take their order.

Fifteen minutes later, she held a large brown bag filled with greasy cheese toasties and a mound of chips, and they were driving to a quiet spot further along the coast, where they could watch waves crash against rocks while they ate. She assumed Erik had chosen it for privacy as much as nostalgia: in the years their families had picnicked here on holidays, they had never seen another soul.

They ate mostly in comfortable silence. Abby had kicked her shoes off and curled her legs up onto the bench seat, nuzzling into Erik’s side as she did so. It exposed even more thigh, and his hand dropped to claim an expanse of skin, his thumb stroking while he alternated bites of his sandwich and feeding her chips.

It shouldn’t have surprised her, how quickly the tone of their absent-minded touching had turned romantic. Sarah was right: it had never been entirely platonic to start. Erik’s large hand curled around her leg just felt…right. As if it was something they’d always done.

Heavy rain was falling by the time they finished eating, and the temperature inside the car had plummeted. Erik rummaged in the backseat for a moment before unearthing a ridiculously fluffy blanket. He tucked it around them, pulling Abby even closer as he did.

‘I told you about New Year’s last night,’ he said into her hair. ‘Now I think it’s your turn to tell me a story, Sunshine.’

She thought for a moment, racking her brain for a secret she had never told him. There was an obvious option. She hadn’t planned to tell him until it was done, but she hadn’t exactly planned on everything that had happened between them the previous night either.

‘Promise not to laugh?’

Erik crossed his heart, all solemnity.

‘All those romance novels aren’t research for my thesis.’

He opened his mouth, and she cut him off with a wave of her fingers before he could comment.

‘They are research. And I am using them for my thesis, at least in part. But they’re also for a more personal project.’

Erik’s lips curved against her hairline and again she continued before he could say anything.