Page 15

Sophie

‘It was the perfect wave!’ Lily grinned and paddled towards me on her board.

‘Tell me about it!’ I gasped, attempting to catch my breath.

We’d ridden a six-footer almost to the shore while everyone else fell off. Adrenaline pumped through my body as we caught it, but the feeling was already fading. I wanted another hit.

‘Let’s go again. It’s picking up over there.’ I pointed towards the off-limits zone by the rocks, where even bigger waves were swelling. ‘By the time the lifeguards warn us, we’ll have caught a bomb.’

Lily shook her head. ‘We should quit while we’re ahead. We can’t better that one and our boards could get smashed.’

‘Please! Let’s do it together . One last time. ’

Lily wiped a wet strand of hair from her face. ‘Sorry, I’m knackered. Anyway, the boys are waiting for us. We should go in.’

She nodded towards the shallows, where Adam and Tom were playing Frisbee. My gaze was drawn across Adam’s tight torso to the V-shaped muscle that ran deep into his low-slung shorts. My stomach swooped. He was as sexy as hell.

‘You’re perving!’ Lily said, splashing my face.

‘Sorry, not sorry.’

‘Me neither!’ She laughed as I returned the favour, spraying her back.

My calves and arms ached dully as we hauled our boards out of the sea. Adam and Tom ran to greet us, water flicking from their heels.

‘You were both dope!’ Tom cried.

‘100 per cent!’ Adam added. ‘I couldn’t stand up that long. Obviously. ’

‘That was established a long time ago,’ I said teasingly. ‘But you should come out with me. I promise I won’t charge you.’

The small dent on the side of his nose was a permanent reminder of that disastrous surfing lesson almost two years ago.

But it was also a happy memory since we started seeing each other soon afterwards.

The four of us became tight in the lower sixth, with Adam and Tom sharing maths and physics classes.

‘Stay on dry land, where you’re safe,’ Lily advised, giggling. ‘Sophie will drag you into trouble!’

Tom took the board from her and she elbowed me gently, running ahead.

‘As if!’ I called after her.

Back at the mats, we peeled off the wetsuits, revealing skimpy bikinis: Lily a classic black and me neon green.

It didn’t take long to dry off – it was almost 5 p.m. but the sun blazed fiercely.

Tom rubbed factor 30 cream into Lily’s back before she combed out her long blonde hair.

She lay next to him on the towel, popping gum into her mouth.

Within seconds, I smelled strawberries as well as coconut suntan lotion and Calvin Klein perfume.

This was the scent I always associated with summer.

Adam slung his arm around my bare shoulders and nuzzled my neck, making delicious shivers run up and down my spine.

‘I can stay close by if you want to surf,’ I said quietly. ‘I won’t let you get into difficulty.’

‘I’ll only hold you back. Anyway, I’d prefer to watch you .’

His lips found mine, and he kissed me deeply until a paperback bounced off his head.

‘Ouch!’ he cried as we sprang apart.

‘Get a room!’ Lily shrieked.

‘Talking of which,’ Tom said, sitting up, ‘I’ve had a great idea about how to properly celebrate prom night – we duck out of the beach.’

‘Really?’ Lily’s nose wrinkled. ‘I’m looking forward to a debauched party!’

It was traditional for sixth-formers to unofficially congregate on this stretch of sand after the school-organised prom in a fortnight.

‘Yeah, but we could have even more fun. How about we book a holiday cottage overnight for the four of us? We could go straight back there after the golf club.’

Lily clapped her hands. ‘Genius idea. I love it!’ She planted a kiss on his lips before arching a delicate eyebrow at us. ‘What do you think?’

Adam’s hand dropped from my back. ‘Hmmm. I’m not sure my parents will go for it... Dad in particular.’

‘Well, don’t tell them,’ Tom snorted. ‘Just say you’re staying over at my house, and Lily is sleeping at Sophie’s. I bet they won’t bother to check.’

‘I guess... What do you think?’ Adam asked in a low voice, turning towards me.

‘I’m in,’ I said emphatically.

I’d sneaked into Adam’s house a few times this week, returning in the early hours.

My mum didn’t care that we were sleeping together; she barely registered if I came home at night.

But his parents would be livid if they ever caught me.

It would be tricky for him to stay out all night – he virtually had to wear an electronic tag, even though our exams were over.

‘That’s settled then,’ Tom announced, before Adam could respond. ‘I’ll find somewhere close to the golf club that’s cheap and clean. All we need are the beds, right?’ He winked at us.

Adam gazed out to sea, and I reddened further. He was making us sound cheap, but nothing could be further from the truth. Neither of us had felt anything like this before.

Lily dug Tom in the ribs with her elbow.

‘Ow! What?’

She shook her head, sighing. ‘Boys.’

‘Tell me about it,’ I said, playing along.

‘It will make it a night to remember before everything, well, changes,’ Adam admitted.

His voice had a note of sadness that made panic course through my veins – we were going our separate ways shortly.

Lily was heading to Manchester Met to study psychology, Adam had a maths place at Trinity College, Cambridge, and Tom was Durham bound for economics, if they all got the grades next month.

I was the only one staying behind in Devon.

I’d applied for a hospitality apprenticeship at the local college and planned to teach surfing off-season.

Beyond that, I wanted to travel the world, working in hotels along the way – and see Adam as much as possible.

I’d saved for the train fares to Cambridge and was already planning our reunions alongside the River Cam.

‘The summer’s not over yet,’ I said, attempting to sound bright and breezy. ‘We have plenty of time.’

‘But do we?’

There was a strange edge in Tom’s voice, which made me look up.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Maybe time doesn’t exist as we know it, and it’s been swallowed by a black hole,’ he replied. ‘In another universe, we’ve already said goodbye and gone our separate ways.’

‘Damn, that’s deep,’ Lily said, not noticing his sharp tone. ‘It’s too philosophical for me.’

‘What do you think?’ Tom switched his attention to Adam.

‘Why does it matter?’ he snapped.

I looked from one to the other. The mood had shifted since they were playing Frisbee; there was a dark undercurrent.

‘No particular reason! But you’re a bit of a maths geek, Adam – well, a lot of one. I’m interested to hear your theory.’

‘Time doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things because it’s like a Mobius strip,’ he replied.

I shot him a look. Adam had claimed he’d seen that maths symbol in the waves when he was trying to conceal his panic attack during our first ever surfing lesson. He hadn’t mentioned it again, despite more anxiety episodes in the run-up to his A levels.

‘What’s a Moby-Dick or whatever it’s called?’ Lily asked.

Tom burst out laughing, cutting in. ‘The Mobius strip looks like an infinite loop – if an ant crawled on a single-sided surface, it would move along the top and bottom and only reach the end after two circuits. But I reckon it would probably fall off, dizzy, long before then.’

‘I still don’t get what it looks like,’ Lily said, sighing.

‘Me neither,’ I admitted.

Adam found a red Biro in his rucksack. ‘May I?’ He took my hand, making me shiver as he drew the shape on the inside of my wrist. ‘It’s basically a loop with a twist in it.’

‘So it’s like an infinity symbol!’ Lily cried. ‘You should both get a tattoo of one before we leave.’

‘Maybe.’

I wanted ink but was less keen to have a permanent reminder of being parted from Adam. He was my anchor and protector – all I had to hold on to, and completely reliable, unlike my mum.

‘My parents would kill me.’ Adam put the pen back and strapped on his watch. ‘Getting a tattoo is up there with... I don’t know... riding a motorbike or joining the army.’

And having me as your girlfriend , I thought ruefully.

‘What are you both waiting for?’ Tom snorted. ‘Live for the moment!’

His comment struck a nerve, and I couldn’t resist hitting back.

‘We’re worried it might look as crap as your tat,’ I said, nodding at his upper arm.

Tom glared back. He’d mistakenly thought his flower tattoo was a lily in honour of my best friend, but it was actually a white tulip.

‘No fighting, you two!’ Lily cried. ‘Let’s get a pic. Everyone move closer.’

We dutifully gathered round in front of her phone.

‘Smile!’ she ordered.

I squinted in the sun as dark specks swirled before my eyes, forming strange patterns. Adam’s watch ticked loudly close to my ear. We broke away, and Lily and Tom snuggled up together until he spotted Vinny waving in the distance.

‘Back in a sec.’

Tom pulled out a few twenties from his rucksack and jogged over to the most prolific weed dealer in our sixth form, our former school.

I had to keep reminding myself we’d officially left.

Panic prickled in my chest. Huge waves didn’t scare me, but the thought of saying goodbye to Lily and Adam, even temporarily, was terrifying.

Mum would be in Spain, so I’d have the house to myself for months.

Lily’s parents had stressed I was ‘family’ and could stay over whenever I wanted, but lonely weeks stretched ahead.

I stared at my wrist. Water from my hair had dripped on to Adam’s drawing, making the ink run in blood-like streaks across my skin.

‘What’s so important about the Mobius strip?’ I asked, running my finger over the shape.

‘Hmmm?’

He was miles away, probably worrying about his looming A-level results even though he had nothing to fear, unlike the rest of us.

‘You’ve never explained what this means.’ I held up my wrist. ‘And I’m not talking about the cute marching ants.’

Adam’s jaw tensed as he rubbed a tight spot above his shoulder. Something indefinable shifted behind his eyes – it almost resembled sorrow or regret – but passed quickly. He took my hand gently and kissed the pattern.

‘The Mobius strip proves that if you travel far enough, you’ll end up where you began without even realising it,’ he replied. ‘It means you can never really be parted from someone because you’ll always make your way back to them, however long it takes.’