I had pestered Dylan all day about what we were doing that evening, only to be rewarded with a grin and a rolling of the eyes.
When the doorbell rung, I practically tripped over my converse as I rushed to answer. Dad lifted his head from the laptop on his lap.
"Who's that?" He questioned.
"Just Dylan." I told him. He half smiled.
"It's good to see my little girl is spending time with someone responsible and well behaved." what a joke. I have never been his little girl. He was most likely just worried about his reputation at work. I opened the door to reveal Dylan, holding a picnic basket and a big bag slung over his shoulder
"Explain yourself, Dyl." I leaned against the door frame.
"I said you'd need beach stuff." I then realised he meant swimming stuff and not a pair of flipflops.
"It's September, I am not going swimming!" I exclaimed.
"The sea is warmer in September, Sky. Loads of people say that. Come on, you don't want to spoil my plans?" He smirked. Damn that pretty face. I mock slapped him and jogged up the stairs and changed in to a bikini before redressing and grabbing my wetsuit and rash vest. I placed my hand in his as he led the way.
"But I thought we weren't going to the beach?" I moaned.
"Shut up. You'll love it, Sky. Especially because I'm here, obviously." he replied. I rolled my eyes but was true, I would have gone anywhere with him. We got to the beach but we didn't stop there. We walked for half an hour, until we got to the black rocks at the end.
"What's this supposed to be? You've made me trek across the beach just to go to the part of the beach we don't usually go to?" I questioned. It sounded spoilt, but I knew there was more than that. He took me around to the front of the rocks, where the gentle lapping of the sea teased my feet. To my surprise there was a quite clear, but steep pathway up. I gripped his arm (which, might I add, is now very muscular) and we were soon standing above the rocks. I could see practically all of Sandfield when I looked behind me. To my right I could see where the rocks lead up on to grassy hills dotted with clover.
"Now look at the sea." Dylan instructed. I turned to face the way we had come up. A blue and pink sun set set the""
" scene, barely any clouds in the sky. All there was was the sun, the sea, and an empty horizon. It was like standing at the edge of the world. Dylan pointed to wear the rock stretched deeper into the sea.
"That's where we're going to jump from." He announced.
"Jump from? Are you sure this is safe?" I panicked. I was good with heights, but plunging to my death not so much.
"Of course! My Dad used to take me around this time as a kid. I promise Sky, you'll be safe." He lifted a hand to my cheek. I then placed my palm over it. I had actually never felt so secure. I trusted Dylan as much as it was humanly possible. We parted and I put my wetsuit on over my blue and white flowery bikini. I had owned to wetsuit for a while so I had to jump about a bit to fit in. Classy. I met Dylan at the very edge of the rock.
"Ah, Dylan. You look so sexy in a wetsuit." I teased. He chuckled and dragged a hand through his hair.
"Do you want to hold my hand when we jump?" He asked.
"Nice try, Romeo. You're going first." Dylan nodded and dove into the water below with a prompt splash. I peered cautiously over to check he had risen. He wasn't there. I started to panic and called his name a few times. There was a sudden break in the surface and he emerged.
"No need to get your panties in a wad, Sky. Just proving to you how deep it is." He mischievously smiled. his backed away a bit, allowing me plenty of space to jump. I stepped forward and my toes curled over the edge.
"Grow a pair!" Dylan shouted. Oh, that's how it was going to be? I straightened up and lifted my arms above my head before jumping. The wind rushed through my hair and straightened into a graceful dive in front of him.
"There." I huffed. Dylan swam forward and kissed lightly while we were treading water.
"Perfection." He whispered. We climbed back up the rocks and this time the tide was higher.
"Uh, Dyl, how are we supposed to get down when we leave?" I asked him.
"You can climb down this bit at the side. It's just quite hard to climb up while carrying everything. When we go back down you can go down and I'll chuck the stuff down to you." He explained.
We jumped a few more times and then laid out the picnic. It was pretty basic food, but I was really flattered he'd made the effort. I could never imagine Joe going to so much trouble. We stayed until it was pitch black, and an amber glow from all the houses along the sea front illuminated the night. As we walked home, I wondered why I ever thought that Joe was the right guy. Dylan was actually more attractive in a way. Probably because he was the first guy to pay attention to me properly. But now I can see that Dylan definitely would have been worth the wait.