Page 44 of Washed Up

‘Because you’re jealous?’

He shook his head. ‘Because it would be weird.’

‘How is that the same as you… doing the thing we’re not going to mention anymore?’

‘I don’t know. It just is, all right? Go with it.’

Frankie returned his stare. ‘This is bizarre, Jake. One minute you say you’re not bothered about who I sleep with, and the next you’re saying it makes you feel icky to think of me with someone else.’

Jake shifted his feet. ‘We’ve known each other for so long, Frankie, it’s like…’

She watched a muscle feather in his jaw and her stomach dropped. ‘Please don’t say I’m like a sister to you.’

He shook his head. ‘Not a sister… no.’

‘What, then?’

He never had a chance to reply. Before either of them could say anything else, Frankie was bowled over by a gigantic blonde labradoodle.

‘Blondie!’ She giggled, lying on her back on the floor while the dog licked her all over. ‘Where the hell did you come from?’

Blondie replied by wagging her tail even faster and licking Frankie’s face again.

‘You would have loved my ice cream,’ she said to Blondie, giving the dog an extra hug for saving her from that excruciatingly tense conversation.

‘You never offered me any,’ came a deep voice. Jake was watching them both, his eyes soft. Not for the first time she wished he’d take his cap off so she could see his face properly.

‘You never asked,’ said Frankie, clambering to her feet.

‘You okay?’ said Jake, scratching Blondie’s ears as the dog turned her attention to him in a slightly less crazy manner.

Frankie laughed, brushing herself down. ‘I’m fine. She does that at least once a day.’

‘She’s the best dog,’ said Jake.

‘She is.’

‘I’d better–’

‘We’d better–’

They both began speaking at the same moment, then started to laugh.

‘I’d best be off,’ said Jake, almost shyly, throwing a thumb over his shoulder.

‘Yeah, me too,’ said Frankie, her heart beating a samba in her chest. It was the dog. It was to do with the dog, she told herself.

‘See ya,’ said Jake, giving her a little salute, then he spun on his heels and practically jogged down the hill towards the village.

Frankie watched him go for a few minutes, trying to slow her breathing. What just happened? She turned, phone back in hand, towards her house. Time to check those messages, she told herself, tutting at Jake’s words, though they had stung a little. A girl in every town, indeed.

If he hasn’t hurt you already…

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

By 11pm that night, Dylan still hadn’t replied.

Frankie lay on her bed, staring out of the window into the darkness beyond. No need for curtains around here. No one was ever around to see in, after all, and it meant she could see the sea at all hours of the day, right from the comfort of her bed. Waking up to a dawn on Herm, watching the sun rise from the ocean, even day after day, was still extraordinary.