chapter 9

I felt a warm sense of excitement rise in my stomach as I looked up at the old store front. The book shop looked worn; pastel pink paint peeled from the walls, and the gold lettering displaying the shop name- Charleston Antique Books- was dull and tired.

A bell chimed softly somewhere in the back of the store as I opened the door. Stepping into the shop, I was instantly greeted by the distinctive smell of old books. Looking around at the shelves of books, I let a small smile float across my face. The smell and sight brought me back to my childhood, when I would read for hours and hours on end.

"Hi, sweetie," a voice came from the back of the shop. The old woman I'd met in the pub walked out from between the shelves. The wrinkles in her face signified her age, but when she smiled the glint in her eye sparkled as if she was still a teenager. She extended a hand. "I'm Margaret."

"Hi, I'm Lois," I said, taking her hand and giving it a shake. "This place is amazing," I breathed, looking around.

"Thank you!" She said, smiling. "Have a look around, I'll go and pop the kettle on,"

As she disappeared to the back of the shop, I let myself wander around the shelves, running my fingers along the leather spines. I discovered that although the old copies took up the majority of the shelves, there were also a decent number of selves near the back reserved for more modern books.

I turned around as I heard steps coming back towards me. Margaret walked in with two cups of tea in her hands. "Here you go," she said, handing me a mug, which I gratefully accepted.

"Sit down, if you want" Margaret offered kindly, gesturing to the large sofa in the corner of the shop.

"Thanks," I said, perching on the edge of the sofa, and taking a sip of the warm tea.

"So, you must be Julie's niece," Margaret said, joining me on the sofa.

I looked at her in shock. "How did you know?"

Margaret shrugged, a small smile crossing her face. "I knew Elizabeth's daughter was in town, and with your eyes and dimples, there was no mistaking you."

I ignored the sharp pinch in my chest at the mention of my mum, instead sending Margaret a smile and taking a long sip of my tea.

"What are your plans after the summer, then?" Margaret asked, thankfully sensing that my mother was a touchy subject.

"I'm going to university in the Autumn," I said. I always avoided name-dropping Oxford for as long as possible.

"What are you studying, English literature?" Margaret asked.

"No, Medicine," I corrected.

"Oh! I just assumed, with your interest in books..."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Both my parents did Medicine. It's always been what I've wanted to do."

"Very well then," Margarent smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Feel free to take as many books as you want."

***

I left Margaret's shop and walked home feeling a lot lighter, despite the large load of books she insisted I borrowed. I put my earphones into my ears and played some music for the remainder of the short walk back to the pub.

The sight of Noah sitting on the landing on top of the stairs stopped me in my tracks.

I shouldn't even be surprised anymore. I thought, considering the number of times the boy had appeared in my room uninvited.

"I agreed to not go into your room without permission," he said, in response to my questioning look. "The corridor was never mentioned."

"And why are you here?" I asked. I crossed my arms, but truth be told I was happy to see him acting like his usual self again. His low mood yesterday had really worried me as it had contrasted so starkly with his normal personality.

"We have a day off," he said. I caught myself staring at his arms as they moved, pushing himself up off the floor. "I'm bored."

"I'm not your babysitter-"

"Get a bikini on," he cut me off, a glint in his eye. "Meet me outside in five."

After he left the room, I chucked on the first bikini I came across along with some denim shorts and a loose t-shirt. Catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror before heading out, I noticed my cheeks were slightly flushed with excitement. I willed myself to pull it together, before running outside to the pub's car park.

An old, red pick up truck honked and pulled up beside me. Squinting behind my large aviators, I saw Noah in the driver's seat behind the rolled-down window.

"Oi, dimples!" He shouted, waving me towards him, "get in!"

Not needing to be asked twice, I bounded to the passenger's side door, yanking it open and then embarking on the steep step up to the leather seat.

"Seatbelt on, please," Noah said, turning his head quickly to check that the belt was indeed clicked in, before accelerating quickly out of the car park. "Put some music on," he said, handing me the AUX cord.

"Wow! The power!" I said, eagerly taking the wire from his hand. "How about some One Direction? A bit of Taylor Swift maybe?" I pondered aloud, chuckling to myself as Noah took his left hand off the wheel and flipped his middle finger at me, all without taking his eyes off the road.

"Play any of those and I'm taking you straight back home."

Scrolling through my phone, I eventually hit shuffle on one of my favorite playlists. 'Australia Street' by Sticky Fingers started to play out of the speakers.

He shrugged his shoulders, "not bad, Wilson.".

Feeling relatively pleased with myself, I relaxed back into my seat. "So where exactly are you taking me?"

"Trust is a two-way thing," Noah said, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the music. "I trust you to play decent music, and you trust me when I say you'll like where we're going."

Noah slammed on the brakes as the traffic light in front of us turned red, causing me to grip the sides of my seat in panic. "Could you drive a bit slower," I grumbled, "at this point I don't even trust you to get us there alive!"

"I'm going slowly!" he grumbled, but I noticed that for the rest of the journey our speed remained slightly closer to the speed limit.

After about a ten minute drive, Noah stopped the car in an empty looking car park. As I stepped out of the car, the salty breeze and sound of crashing waves alerted me that we were by the sea.

"Why have you taken me here?" I asked, stepping out of the car to follow Noah's actions. "There's a beach a five minute walk from the pub!"

Noah walked around the car to where I was standing. "You'll see," he said mysteriously, pulling his top off and shoving it into the large beach bag he was carrying. I averted my eyes, but evidently not quickly enough. Noah sent me a wink; he had clearly caught me staring.

"Like what you see, Wilson?" he asked, motioning down to his impressive six pack.

"It's funny," I said smiling, reaching out to touch his abs, "I can almost see where the muscles are meant to go."

Noah scowled and swatted my hand away. I laughed, quickly pulling my clothes off to reveal my black bikini, and shoved them with Noah's in the beach bag.

"Once you are finished being stroppy," I said, glancing at Noah's wounded expression, "can we please go."

"You're not invited anymore," he grumbled, but nevertheless started leading me away from the car.

Following Noah towards the edge of the car park, my eyes took in the dramatic scenery. The car park was perched on a high cliff, with some stairs paved into the rock leading to the small beach underneath. The beach itself was rocky, with some larger formations projecting out to sea. Noah headed towards the steps.

"I didn't realise I signed up for a workout," I complained, staring down at the seemingly thousands of steps I had to descend.

"You look like you need one," Noah said, giving me a wink.

"Oi!" I said, giving him a light shove. He laughed and started the descent down the steps.

Despite my complaining, I followed quickly, curious about where we were going and why he had brought me here. When we reached the bottom, Noah led me across the beach and to a very tall rock. He guided me forwards, gesturing at the rock. "Up you go!"

"You go first." I said, biting my lip. The rock was steep and green with slippery seaweed.

"No way," said Noah. "Think about it this way; would you rather fall and have me behind you to break your landing, or have me fall on top of you?"

"It's not like you've never fallen on me before," I said, remembering the pool incident.

Noah rolled his eyes and motioned up the rock. "Get climbing, dimples,"

I swallowed hard, and then started to scale the rock. It was less slippery than I thought it would be; my bare toes curled around indents in the rock and I managed to get up it relatively easily.

"Wow," I said, moving to the edge of the rock to take in the stunning view. I dangled my legs over the edge, letting spray from the crashing sea below wet my toes.

Noah, who had just made it up, took my hand, pulling me to my feet. The wind was strong, and I stood close to Noah as he sheltered me from the cool air.

He leant down to speak into my ear, making sure his words were not carried away by the wind. "Now, we jump."

"What!" I shouted, pulling my hand from his. I looked back down at the sea. We had to be about twenty meters high, and the waves were large with swirling currents. Suddenly, I felt unsafe so close to the edge and backed away towards the centre of the rock.

"It's safe, I promise, I've been doing it for years."

"No way-"

"Lois, look at me." Noah turned my head so I was facing him. His blue eyes appeared large and compassionate. "Do you trust me?"

I didn't answer him, instead turning back to the water. He took my silence as a positive response.

"Well then here's what you have to do," he said, placing a hand on my back and pointing to an area of calm water below. "Aim for that section there. When you jump, make sure your legs are nice and straight. Hold your breath before you hit the water." He looked into my frightened eyes. "Relax."

And before I knew it, he had jumped off the rock. A large splash occurred as he hit the water, and my heart skipped a beat as he took longer than a second to resurface. When he finally broke the surface with a grin, I released a breath I didn't know I'd been holding.

"Come on, Lois!" he shouted from below, treading water.

I set my jaw and launched myself from the rock.

And all of a sudden I was falling. I squeezed my thighs tightly together, trying to avoid a hard landing. I could feel my heart pounding.

Suddenly, I made contact with the water. I was reminded of the experience at Miles' party, apart from this time I was unconstrained by heels or a fancy dress. I swam up through the water, taking in a large gulp of air as I broke the surface.

Noah's strong arms snaked around me, pulling me into his body.

"Are you okay?" he asked, breathing heavily. I looked up at his face, which was so close to mine that I could see the droplets of water on his thick, dark eyelashes. Time seemed to freeze as my eyes subconsciously dropped to his pink lips.

My brain suddenly registered the situation and I pushed myself away from him. I ignored the unreadable expression on his face, instead beginning to swim away.

"Last one to the shore is a loser!" I shouted.

What the hell just happened.

***

After scrambling up the rocks and jumping off another five or so times, we had decided to stay at the top of the rock. Noah had rolled out a couple of towels, and I was lying stretched out on my back, allowing the warm sun to dry my skin.

"I wonder how much longer this weather will last," I sighed, my eyes closed in bliss behind my sunglasses. It had been boiling hot ever since I had arrived and I couldn't believe that my luck could last for much longer.

"Hopefully at least until tomorrow," Noah replied from his towel beside me. "We'll never hear the end of it if Julie's birthday party is rained off."

My eyes bolted wide open.

"Shit!" I said, with a gasp. "Is that tomorrow?"

Julie had mentioned something about her 50th birthday party last week, but I hadn't realised it was so soon! In true Julie style, she had planned a large summer barbeque extravaganza; with the whole pub open for friends and family to attend.

"Yep," Noah said, a lazy smirk playing on his lips at my shock. "We're both down to work it. Did you really forget?"

"I've been busy," I said, groaning. It was true; between working almost every day and seeing Kate and Beverly so frequently, I'd had very little free time. A silence enveloped us once again as I thought about my father, and how I had hardly spoken to him aside from a few short text messages.

"So, why did you bring me here?" I asked, sitting up a little bit and squinting at Noah through the harsh sunlight.

"It's not a date, if that's what you are wondering," He replied. His eyes were closed, and I took the opportunity to allow myself to appreciate his tanned, muscular torso. His eyes snapped open, and I quickly diverted my eyes, extremely grateful for my large sunglasses.

"If it's not a date then what is it?".

Noah shrugged. "Let's call it a team building activity. We are co-workers after all."

"Well thanks," I said, slightly awkwardly. I was actually very grateful that Noah had brought me- it was just the distraction I needed from the events of the previous day.

"Don't get all mushy on me, Wilson," he said, pushing himself up. He offered me a hand. "One last jump?"