Little Leaps

Chapter One

The humours glow from his brown eyes drops which makes my stomach churn. Here I go, putting my foot in it once again.

"Oh shoot." I gasp. "How's that, ur, going?"

As much as I'd like to support Charlotte, I stuck my head in the sand. I understand how she feel, but we weren't in the same boat which created conflicting feelings.

"It's tough," he admits, "but it would be better if you spoke to Charlotte. She needs someone who understands and I'm clearly not that person."

His words pull on my heart strings, of course, I'd do anything for my best friend. Hell, I'd put Kyle through a lot worse over the passing years. I owe him that much.

"Right." I nod. "I'll try, but I can't promise anything."

"Thank you." He softly smiles. "Anything helps."

Piercing screams paint the sky as London runs up the sand slope. When she gets closer, London throws her arms into the air and takes a small leap. Her body catapults through the air and lands on the middle of my stomach. I hiss with pain from the hit, but she doesn't notice.

London's bright eyes bore into mine and she erupts into a fit of laughter which is contagious.

"What are you doing my cheeky monkey?" I tickle her sides.

London's sandy, wet body wiggles in my lap. She fends off my hands and then stretches across my legs.

"I think you need a towel before you get cold," I comment.

"This towel?" Kyle dangles it just out of my reach.

"Yes, that one." I lean forwards and snatch the towel from his grip.

I help London to her feet so that I can wrap it around her. She pulls the unicorn hood onto her head and makes horse noises, but a bit of dribble trickles down her chin. Kyle laughs at her but I think it's cute.

Blake grabs his own towel and dries off while London attempts to run back to the ocean. Kyle grabs the tail on the towel and yanks her back. London topples to the floor but continues to laugh.

"Is she broken?" Kyle questions.

"No, I think that's what happiness sounds like." I giggle.

"If you're sure." He shrugs.

I tug on my blue sunflower dress before assisting Blake with packing our belongings. Kyle manages to pin London to the sand by creating tiny mountains of sand. London uses her fingers to pretend people are walking through the cluster of sand houses.

Blake grabs the bags while Kyle offloads London to me.

"Stranger and stranger," he comments.

"Just think, one day, you'll have your own strange child," I joke.

"No, thank you." He shakes his head.

Kyle wraps his arm around my waist and tugs my body towards him. I hook my arm around his waist to hug him back. Kyle kisses my cheek but pokes London's nose to say goodbye, which makes me laugh.

"Please don't be a stranger!" says Kyle.

"I'll try." I smile.

"That's good to hear."

Kyle waves as he hooks the towel over his shoulder. We walk to the car park before Kyle trails off in another direction. I strap a fidgeting London into her car seat so we can travel home. Thankfully, we live close to the beach.

When we get home, London runs down the hallway and disturbs Ben who is lounging on the couch. He shoots us a weird glance before settling back down. The light from the television flickers light across the dark room. I switch one of the lights on which doesn't impress him.