Never Forget (Memories) (2 page)

"Who is he?"

"My help," Grammy smiles.

"Your help?" I ask, incredulously.

"Well yes. I'm almost seventy and I can't do the things I used to. He keeps the garden sorted in the summer whenever I need him, so I expect you'll be seeing a lot of him this year." Her eyes twinkle with something akin to excitement.

"Nice try, Grammy." I laugh and grab the pasta spoon. I know exactly what the old bat is up to, and I'm not having any of it.

She smiles as the object of our discussion enters the room.

"I feed the boy if he's been working all day."

"I always tell her she doesn't need to," Alec takes the seat opposite me and smiles, showing his dimples. "She pays me enough but she insists on feeding me."

"Well I love to cook," Grammy responds, "and I have no one to do it for anymore. It gets a little lonely here by myself sometimes, so it's nice to have the company of a dashing young man a few times a week." She winks at him and I roll my eyes.

"Honestly, Grammy. You're incorrigible. What would Granddad think?" I mock scold her.

"He'd probably say 'good on ya for gettin' yourself a younger lad, Vi.'" Dad laughs.

I let out a small laugh and look down.

"You're right there, Si." Grammy pats Dad's hand. "Oh, Alec. Excuse my manners, I haven't introduced you to my family."

"It's okay, Vi. You've been looking forward to this for weeks. I'm happy to sit back and let you have your fun." Alec winks at her and she beams.

"Well anyway, this is my daughter, Emily, her husband Si, and my granddaughter Alexis. But she likes to be called Lexy," she adds in a conspiratorial whisper.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Alec says with his eyes fixed on mine.

Did I mention his eyes before? That lovely blue grey colour the sea goes before a storm hits. The kind of colour you could look in anticipation at forever...

"And you," I say politely, a sweet smile on my face. I draw my eyes from his and focus on my pasta.

"So, Alec," Mum begins, "I hope my mother isn't working you too hard. She used to have all of us out there each summer tending to her plants.''

"Oh no ma'am, I don't mind. There's nothing wrong with a bit of hard work..."

I tune out of the conversation and admire Grammy's back garden as I eat. I can see strawberries ready to ripen, blueberries nearly ready for picking, and a lavender plant blooming. The little pond at the end is home to several types of fish, and the wire mesh over the top keeps the cats out.

"Lexy," Dad says disapprovingly.

"I'm sorry." I turn my head back to the conversation.

"Your mother was trying to speak to you."

"Sorry, Mum. What were you saying?" I ask her.

She teases some of her dark hair behind her ear. "I was just wondering why you can't bring a nice boy like Alec home. That last one was dreadful."

I choke on my pasta and Grammy pats my back. I smile gratefully and notice her eyes are twinkling mischievously again. Damn woman!

"Okay, first, we've had this conversation a million times and you know I want my education before I worry about guys, unless the right one comes along. Second, the 'last one', Harry, wasn't my boyfriend. He's gay." I raise my eyebrows. "And third, you've known Alec ten minutes. No offence, I'm sure he's a lovely guy," yeah I bet, "but you don't know him, so can we please stop talking about my relationship status."

Alec laughs. "No offence taken."

Mum shakes her head. "I can't take you anywhere, Lexy."

I motion to Alec. "He already said he didn't take offence to my words."

"I actually respect that," Alec put in, "I don't mean to butt in, but I think it's great you're more worried about your education than having a boyfriend."

"Thank you." I smile at him across the table.

"Oh, dear, that reminds me." Grammy taps the table. "I ran into.. What's her name? The girl you used to play with."

My brow furrows as I think. "Do you mean Jen?"

"Yes!" Grammy claps her hands. "Well I ran into her yesterday at the post office and told her about you coming here for the summer and she said you should give her a call. She gave me her number and I put it somewhere.." Grammy gets up and wanders over to her bag on the counter. She rifles through it.

"You put it on the fridge so you wouldn't lose it, Vi," Alec tells her.

Grammy looks at the fridge and pulls it off. "Here it is. So I did, thank you, Alec."

"Any time," he says sincerely and stands. "Thank you for another lovely meal, Vi, but I better be going before mum wonders where I am." He looks at all of us. "It was lovely to meet you all."

"And you, love," Mum says with a smile. Dad stands and they shake hands. I wave half-heartedly, my attention on the bit of paper Grammy hands me.

"I'm gonna go call her now, okay?" I stand and disappear from the room.

Alec is just leaving as I reach the bottom of the stairs.

"Bye, Lexy." He smiles and shuts the door.

"Yeah, bye," I say after him and bounce up the stairs into my room.

I snatch my phone from my pillow and dial her number.

She picks up after three rings.

"Hello?"

"Hey, is this Jen?"

"Yeah, who's this? Oh, oh! Lexy, is that you?" she exclaims.

"The one and only!" I laugh.

"Oh it's so good to hear your voice. What's it been?"

"Five years," I say, almost regretfully.

"Wow, that's ages. How have you been?"

We get the pleasantries out the way and I find myself laughing and smiling as if we'd never lost contact.

"Anyway, what are you doing tomorrow?" Jen asks.

"Nothing, why?"

"I'm heading down to the bay with my boyfriend, Carl. Fancy coming with us? He'll be surfing and it's sooo boring on my own."

"Yeah, sure. What time?"

We make plans and I hang up. I lie back on my bed and sigh.

Maybe it won't be so bad to spend the summer here after all.

CHAPTER TWO

ALEXIS

I roll over in bed, stretching before I rub the sleep from my eyes. I reach under my pillow for my phone.

"Oh crap!" I exclaim and jump out of bed. My phone reads 10.10 and I'm supposed to meet Jen at 10.30 at the Bay.

I scramble through my half unpacked suitcase in search of a bikini, sun dress and sandals. I find some sunglasses and grip the arm of them between my teeth before triumphantly finding the objects of my search.

I change quickly and apply some mascara to my long lashes, rubbing some concealer under my eyes to hide the fact I've just got up. I release my hair from its messy bun, letting the crazy curls cascade down my back. I groan at the mess and run a brush through it, untangling it all. A little mousse smooths it out and I nod, satisfied at my appearance.

I slide my bag onto my arm, grab my phone and make a break for it downstairs. Grammy is pottering around in the kitchen doing whatever it is she does when I get downstairs.

"Good morning, Lexy girl." She turns to me with a smile and looks me over. "Off out?"

"Yeah, I'm meeting Jen in about five minutes on the Bay." I walk over to her and kiss her cheek.

"Will you be back for dinner?"

"I'm not sure. I'll text mum and let her know, okay?" I open the front door.

"Okay, love. Have fun!"

"Bye, Grammy!"

I walk outside and shut the door behind me. The sun glares at me and I push my glasses down onto my eyes. I can feel the heat on my arms as I walk down the street, and I smile to myself knowing I'll have the beginning of a tan by the end of the day.

The bay comes into view a few minutes later and the beach is deserted except for a few surfers in the sea and one lone figure sitting on the sand. The blonde hair lets me know it's Jen, and I feel excitement rising up at the prospect of seeing my childhood summer friend again.

Every summer since I was five, I'd play with Jen whenever we were here. The friendship started that year we were both five, and she stole my crab from my net when I was rock pooling. She gave me her fish in return, and we've been friends since.

"Lexy!" she cries and gets up when she sees me approaching.

She looks the same as she always has. Bouncy blonde hair - which now contains a pink shadow under her fringe - and big, blue eyes. She smiles and we hug excitedly.

"You look good!" she says as I set my towel down on the sand.

"So do you." I smile at her and sit down. "I can't believe how long it's been."

"I know, seems like yesterday we were climbing over the rocks," Jen muses. I laugh and shake my hair out, looking out at the sea.

"Tell me about it," I agree. "So, which one of the surfer kids is yours?"

Jen stretches her arm out and points to the guy furthest to the right. "That's Carl, he's got the red board. And next to him on the blue board is his best mate, Alec. Oh my god, Lexy, seriously, that guy is hot. He works for your grandma, have you met him yet?"

She's looking out to sea so doesn't realise I've frozen. Alec's here?

"Yeah, yeah, we met last night. At dinner," I manage to say.

Jen glances at me and smiles knowingly. "He's hot, hmm?"

"He's not bad." I shrug one shoulder.

"Not bad?" She raises her eyebrows. "What's up with your eyesight? I think you need to go to Specsavers, hun. Oh oh! I know! Boyfriend back in London?"

"No." I laugh slightly. "No boyfriend. I'm just not looking for that right now."

"If I didn't have Carl, I'd be all over Alec." Jen pulls her dress off revealing her bikini. I follow suit.

"Does Carl know that?" I ask playfully.

"Oh, yeah." She giggles. "I mean, c'mon, Carl has a good body but Alec looks like he should be in a magazine or something. Problem is, he knows he's hot, and he's a terrible flirt."

I think back to the night before. Yeah, he was polite, charming even. But the sneaky glances he gave me, the winks thrown in and those dimples when he smiled at me..

I feel a blush creeping up my cheeks. Oh, yeah.

Alec is most definitely the kind of guy I need to stay away from.

Him, and his dimples.

~

The sun beats down on us as we catch up. Jen tells me about being accepted to a London University, and we squeal when it turns out it's the same one I'm headed to. We're still laughing about it when Alec and her boyfriend, Carl approach us.

"Girls," Carl sighs. "So giggly. We could hear you squealing halfway down the beach."

Jen reaches over and swats his chest with her bare hand. "You're such an ass sometimes, Carl. This is Lexy, my childhood summer friend. Remember I told you she was here for the summer this year?"

"Of course I remember, Jen. I remember everything you tell me," he says innocently.

"Yeah, right. And I'm the Queen," Jen scoffs playfully in return.

Carl looks at me and shakes his head like it's such a hardship, but I can see his fondness for her in his eyes.

Jen wasn't lying when she said he had a good body. I can see the muscles, clearly defined against his lightly tanned skin. His dark hair and dark eyes are a perfect contrast against Jen's lighter colouring.

"Nice to meet you, Lexy. I've heard all your stories." He waggles his eyebrows and I laugh.

"I can well believe it, but has she told you about the time she got stuck rock climbing?" I motion to the rocks behind us. "We were twelve and she got stuck.."

"He really doesn't need to know that!" Jen shrieks and launches herself at me. I jump up and skirt around our little group.

"Carry on," Carl encourages me.

"Anyway, she was wearing this little string bikini thing, and the guy she happened to fancy was climbing with us."

"I think I know where this is going." Carl smirks.

"Lexy, Lexy don't you dare!" Jen warns as I carry on dancing around her.

"Her top got caught between the rocks as she tried to get down, the stringy bit, and bang. It came undone and her top fell down. She flashed to the whole beach."
Carl howls with laughter and Alec smirks at us as Jen slaps her hand over my mouth.

"Don't say another word!" she hisses at me. "Promise?"

I nod my head, my eyes wide and innocent. She releases me and we sit back down.

Carl eyes me. "There's more?"

I nod again. "Yep, but I promised not to tell you that the guy she fancied thought she was fourteen so she had chicken fillets down her bikini top."

Jen's face flames a bright red and I grin. She buries her face in her hands and Carl hugs her, swaying her side to side dramatically.

"Oh, baby. Poor baby," he teases. Jen shoves him and glares at me but I can see the small curve of her lips. I grin again and watch the banter play out between the two.

It's clear they love each other - they're playful but gentle. It's a beautiful thing to watch.

"Not saying hi then, Lexy?" Alec flicks my shoulder.

"Hi, Alec." I turn back and smile at him.

"Hi, Lexy." He winks at me and I roll my eyes. "What was the eye roll for?"

I raise my eyebrows at him. "Jen's already told me about your..
Reputation,
s
o that flirty, dimply smile flirty thing you got going on isn't gonna work on me."

"Who said I was flirting?" He asks innocently, but the gleam in his eye tells me he knows I've called him out.

And he likes it.

"Your eyes say it," I reply, "it's glaringly obvious."

He leans back on his elbows and I get a good view of his body.

I try not to look, but when faced with such beauty it's hard not to look, right?

I can see the contour of every muscle, every little shadow where one defined bit meets the next. I sweep my eyes over him involuntarily, from the broadness of his shoulders to his pecs, to his perfectly formed six pack and then the obvious 'v' that disappears under the bottom of his wetsuit. Add to the image little droplets of water pearling against his skin...

"Like what you see?" He winks again.

"About as much as I like vomiting after too many drinks on a Saturday night," I quip.

"It's okay, Lexy, I don't mind you looking. You can touch if you want." The challenge is in his eyes and I look upwards as if anyone up there could help me.

Which is silly, because clouds can't help.

"I'm not a touchy person, but thanks for offering."

"See that's a shame," he says in a lower, more sensual voice. "Because I am."

He runs his finger down my spine and I shiver, then curse myself.

"Like that, huh?"

"I'm ticklish?" I answer, but it comes out as more of a question.

He roams his eyes over my body shamelessly. "I bet you're ticklish in all sorts of places."

A faint blush creeps onto my cheeks and I look away.

"You're a pig," I say to him.

"Me?"

"I'm not talking to anyone else, am I? Unless, of course, you have an imaginary friend there. Although, that would make sense considering the apparent size of your ego."

Alec surprises me - he laughs. I look at him out the corner of my eye and raise an eyebrow.

Was it really that funny?

"Oh, Lexy." He sighs, wrapping a casual arm over my shoulders. "I can see we're going to be great friends."

"We will be." I shrug his arm off. "If you're lucky."

ALEC

This girl is feisty as hell and it's doing crazy things to my brain... And my body.

Not to mention the way she looks in a bikini, all that toned muscle, sexy curves and flawless skin.

Fuck. I hook my arms round my knees. I feel like a damn thirteen year old with his first hard-on over Megan Fox.

My foot taps as I try to focus on anything but her. She's Vi's granddaughter. She's off limits. Besides, I can tell she's not the kind of girl who goes for just one night. No, she wants the real thing.

It's a pain in the ass when all I wanna do is chuck her over my shoulder, take her behind the rocks and show her what she's missing out on.

~

ALEXIS

Jen calls me later that evening after I finish helping Grammy with the dishes. Apparently, there's a bonfire on the Bay tonight and Carl and Alec are dragging her along so would I please go and keep her company?

I agree, of course. Dad lectures me about under-age drinking, using protection and coming home at a reasonable time. Mum is delighted I'm not moping anymore – not much, anyway – and Grammy is excited that Alec will be there.

Meaning I will have spent practically the whole day with him.

I gently remind her that I'm not looking for a boyfriend, much less a summer romance, and grab my bag.

Dad reminds me again about under-age drinking. I remind him I'm eighteen in two weeks, therefore I'm aware about alcohol.

"Be careful, love." Mum says as a black 4x4 pulls up outside.

"Mum, we live in London. I'm sure I can handle a few hours on the beach in a sleepy, out of the way village." I roll my eyes.

Her eyes darken slightly and she touches my shoulder. "Just because you're in a sleepy village, doesn't mean it's any less dangerous than a big city."

I know there's a story behind her words, and of course I'm curious, but I know now isn't the time to talk about it. Instead I nod, smile and kiss her cheek.

I walk down the path and turn back to wave as Jen opens the back door of the car for me, and Mum is gazing after me with her hand on the cheek I just kissed. I raise a hand in goodbye and get in.

As we pull away, she waves goodbye and shuts the door.

"So, that took a while." Jen raises her eyebrows questioningly.

"Reminding me about under-age drinking," I grumble.

"You aren't eighteen yet?" Carl turns from the front seat.

"Nope. Two weeks." I sigh. "I'm an August baby."

"No alcohol for the little under-age girl then!" He fist bumps Alec.

"This 'little under-age girl' is a city girl who could probably drink your sorry ass under the table," I retort. Jen giggles next to me.

"I'm not challenging a girl to a drinking contest," Carl scoffs.

"What's the matter, scared?" I lean forward slightly.

"Not at all. But you're the newbie round here, and I wouldn't want you showing yourself up."

"Alec?" Jen asks. "Up for it?"

"Na, same as Carl. Gotta give her a chance to get used to this little village," he replies.

"Fine." She sits back and we share a glance.

"Plus she's under-age, and I don't wanna get in trouble if she ruins her Jimmy Choos or something."