3. A day at the beach
Amber followed Ben down the narrow, overgrown path, enjoying the cooler shade of the trees overhead and being careful to avoid the brambles and nettles brushing against her bare legs. In the midday heat, the hedgerows were alive with the rustle of birds and the hum of insects.
"Not far now," Ben said, glancing back over his shoulder as the path dipped and Amber watched him nimbly skip across some stones in a muddy gulley. She guessed it would normally be a stream but had been reduced to a slow trickle of stagnant water in the continuing heat wave.
"Thanks for this," she said, taking his hand to steady herself as she joined him on the other bank, and thinking how kind it was for Ben to show her the way down to the beach. She'd have hated to come all this way to Cornwall and never get to dip her toes in the sea. Besides, she didn't have anything better to do on this sunny Sunday morning.
"No problem, besides I get to see you in a bikini," he said, grinning cheekily as he set off down the well-trodden path.
Soon, the path cut upwards, following the gentle curve of the coastline and Ben led her off the main path towards the cliff edge and Amber found herself standing on a cliff overlooking small, secluded, crescent-shaped beach, the waves sparkling silvery blue in the sunlight as they broke against the golden sand.
"Nice, huh? There isn't a car park nearby so not many people make it here," Ben said as they looked across the mostly empty stretch of sand.
"Beautiful," Amber agreed, shielding her eyes from the sun.
"Yeah, shame I've got to go on that hike else we could come back tomorrow. Listen, I could always postpone..."
"No, that's sweet but you should go. You've got your campsites already booked right? I mean, thanks, it's a nice gesture, but you shouldn't let your friends down."
"Well, I guess, it's just a shame I'm going to miss three days with you. I guess you'll have my brother to keep you company though."
"Yeah, I'll still be here when you get back. We'll still have a few days together," she said, standing on tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek.
"So what do you think of my brother?" he asked.
Amber paused, taking a swig from her bottle of water while she thought about the most diplomatic way to answer. Callum, Ben's older brother, had arrived yesterday evening and she'd briefly met him over dinner. He was physically quite different to Ben, slim and wiry with dark hair, his chin dotted with designer stubble rather than being clean-shaven like his younger brother. And different in his personality too: confident and perhaps a little arrogant, where Ben was more open and modest.
"Oh, you know, he seems nice enough. Hey, let's take a selfie!" she said, sliding her mobile from the pocket of her denim cut-offs.
She leaned into Ben, enjoying the solid feel of his warm body, feeling his arm snake around her slim waist drawing her tight against him as she held her 'phone at arm's length and grinned.
"There, that'll make my friend Fiona jealous!" she said.
"Yeah, lovely view," he said as he skipped back down towards the main path.
"It's not the view she'll be jealous of," Amber muttered, grinning to herself as she watched him go, his damp t-shirt clinging to his broad, rounded shoulders.
She'd already sent a picture of him to Fiona, along with the message: "How do you like my new toyboy ;-)". Her friend had replied that he was far too young and cute for her and suggested setting her up on a date with him instead.
The path dipped steeply now, becoming rocky as they descended and soon Amber found her faded leather sandals sinking into the soft sand. The beach was sparsely populated: a man walked his over-excited dog along the shoreline, a couple of young women sun-bathed nearby and further down, a family had set up home, the two children splashing in the gently lapping waves.
They unpacked the large sunshine-yellow beach bag, and unrolled their towels onto the sand.
"Come on, let's go for a swim to cool off," Ben said, eagerly tugging off his t-shirt, and squirting suntan lotion on his bare torso.
Amber couldn't help smiling at his boyish enthusiasm as she slipped off her denim shorts and bright pink t-shirt to reveal a retro-style, navy blue bikini with white polka dots clinging to her athletic figure.
"Nice bikini," he said, getting to his feet as he ran his eyes over her slim curves as Amber rubbed some lotion into her lightly tanned skin.
The hot sand burned her bare feet as she hopped and skipped down to the shore, watching as Ben ran into the sea, throwing himself headlong into the waves.
"Come on, it's lovely and warm!" he shouted as he surfaced and ran his hands through his limp, wet hair, briefly straightening the dark curls.
"Liar!" Amber shouted back as she waded in up to her knees, and standing on tiptoe as she found it colder than she'd anticipated. She hesitated, then shrieked as she threw herself in and paddled towards him.
"You're such a liar," she shouted, slapping his pleasingly solid chest.
"Yeah, I can see you're finding it a bit cold," he said, glancing down at her bikini top to where her nipples poked through the clinging Lycra.
