Summer Loving Read Online Free PDF Page A

sip.
    ‘Good. That’s better. Much better. Thank you. Obrigado .’
    ‘You are most welcome, Mr Franklin, sir.’
    Franklin smiles at me and places a hand over mine. ‘So what did you think of Tybalt and his good lady? He’s a very lively chap, I’ve always thought. Very good fun. Good company. What did you and Estelle talk about?’
    ‘Oh, this and that. Girl stuff. Nothing you’d be interested in.’
    ‘I think she may have overdone it with the breast implants this time. There’s a point where it becomes obvious, don’t you think? Still, they were very striking. A magnet for the eyes, as they say.’
    ‘I didn’t really notice that they were false until she mentioned it.’
    Well, that’s a big fib.
    ‘How long have you had yours for now, my dear?’
    ‘I can’t remember, to be honest. Possibly eighteen months?’
    ‘Yes. I think it was something like that. Maybe longer than that.’
    There’s a bit of a pause in the conversation. I know what’s going through his head. Men are so predictable.
    ‘Have you ever had any thought about, um, upgrading , as it were?’
    *
    When Lucille and I sat on the beach the next morning, I began to feel like a bit of an idiot. What were the chances of that guy surfing the same spot at the same time? And what were the chances of him walking past us again. And even if he did, what was I going to say to him? ‘Hello. You mentioned that you liked coffee icing on your doughnuts yesterday, so I went out of my way to buy some in the supermarket, on the off chance I’d see you again. Would you care for one? Please don’t view this as a massive come-on.’
    He’d probably think I was demented. Lucille grabs the doughnut bag, spilling some of her coffee over her jeans in the process.
    ‘Mm. These look nice. What are they? Coffee flavour? Can I have one?’
    ‘No you can’t.’
    ‘I won’t have a whole one. I’ll just take one bite. You can have what’s left.’
    ‘Shouldn’t you be taking poignant photographs of seagulls, or pieces of driftwood or something?’
    She grins evilly, ‘or maybe a shot of a heart with an arrow through it that some loving couple have scraped in the sand…’
    Just as she starts laughing, I can see a wet suited figure carrying an orange surfboard in the distance. My heart takes a leap. I mustn’t get my hopes up. He might go to wherever he’s going by a different route.
    But no. He’s heading straight towards us. Lucille jabs me in the side.
    ‘Doughnuts at the ready?’
    ‘I’ll kill you.’
    In a few minutes he’s a couple of feet away. My mouth is dry. I take a gulp of coffee so that I’ll be able to speak, if the opportunity arises.
    He smiles as he approaches us. ‘Still here from yesterday morning?’
    We both shrug and laugh. I feel sick. For a second, I actually think that I’m going to be sick. What a good impression that would make! Lucille speaks first.
    ‘Well, the view is so nice we couldn’t drag ourselves away.’
    ‘I’m Kirstan, by the way. I didn’t introduce myself yesterday. A terrible oversight. What must you think of me?’
    He and Lucille shake hands.
    ‘Hi. I’m Lucille. This is, er…’ She looks puzzled, ‘This is awful. I had it yesterday. Begins with an S.’
    I sigh, well used to Lucille’s sense of humour. ‘I’m Saskia. I’m her sister.’
    We shake hands. His grip is light. No macho hand-throttling, which is a nice change. Lucille clears her throat. I hand him the doughnut bag.
    ‘It’s your surprise breakfast. Doughnuts with coffee icing. From both of us.’
    ‘From her,’ says Lucille, pointedly.
    He laughs, ‘You remembered!’
    He rests his surfboard on the sand and sits down next to us. Next to me, to be more accurate. I feel like someone’s plugged me into the mains. Lucille looks the other way to hide the grin that’s certainly all over her face.
    *
    I try to disguise a yawn by placing a hand over my mouth, but Franklin notices anyway.
    ‘Tired today, my beauty?’
    ‘Mm.