Heather went for a walk on Thursday evening after dinner. She sighed as she headed along the top of the cliff towards Stone Bay. Her thoughts strayed back to the night before. Because Stephanie was leaving, she and Kevin hadn't joined the group out for dinner. And, even though it had been fun, it hadn't been the same without him. It was almost as if the group hadn't been complete without him there.
She made her way down the stairs that led to Stone Bay and looked out at the beach. The tide was out and, where the beach was normally covered with water, there were now old rock sediments and weeds. Heather picked a path amongst them and sat on one as she looked out at the sea. Unconsciously she thought back to an afternoon where she'd done this with Kevin and they'd gotten so caught up in conversation and kissing that all of a sudden, they'd found the tide had come in. They'd had to scramble back to the beach before they got stuck. She chuckled to herself as she got up to continue walking.
"You might want to be careful out there, before the tide comes in," she heard from behind, almost causing her to lose her balance as she turned around. Kevin gave her an apologetic smile.
"I was thinking the same thing," Heather admitted as she picked a route back to the beach to join him. "Did Stephanie get home alright?" she asked.
"Yeah no problems. How was dinner last night?" he asked back.
"It was fun. Shame you missed out," she nodded. He shrugged, almost as if to say, 'what can you do?'
"You want to go for a walk?" Kevin said now as he intimated the rest of the beach towards Viking Bay.
"Sure," Heather said and followed his lead when he started walking.
"So… Jamie seems like a nice guy," he started, looking at her a little confused when she gave a small chuckle.
"Yeah, yeah he is," she answered without explaining her chuckle. Something that he'd said on Sunday night after the film had stuck by her and left her with an uneasy feeling. It wasn't even anything big, he'd just asked if she wanted to go see a comedian if there were still tickets, for November. And she hadn't known what to say. She wasn't even sure if she'd still want to be with him in three weeks, let alone go see a comedian with him in five months.
"But?" Kevin asked, reading her voice correctly.
"I don't know… I just… I'm not sure if it's gonna be a long-time thing though," Heather hesitantly explained, feeling a little weird talking to her ex about this.
"Oh okay… have you had many boyfriends since we…."
"Ehm, a few. Longest was only six months though, the others only a few months at most," she nodded slowly.
"Oh okay," he muttered. He looked at her, feeling a little weird. He wasn't sure if he should be hurt and insulted that she'd managed to move on faster than him or a little vindicated that none of her relationships had lasted beyond six months. "How was studying in Cambridge like?" he asked, deciding to leave it alone because he couldn't make up his mind about how to feel.
"It was great. The town, and the buildings, the people. It was great, I'm almost sorry that I didn't find a job there," Heather told him enthusiastically, making him laugh softly.
"Almost?" he picked up on the word.
"Yeah… Being back reminds me of how much I love living near the beach and near my friends," she nodded. "How about you? How was living in Cardiff?"
"Loved it, but I'm quite happy not to stay there now I'm done," Kevin answered.
"You reckon you'll stay here?"
"Maybe."
"Where does Stephanie live?" Heather asked, realising she hadn't asked yet.
"Brighton," he said with a slight sigh.
"Hm… two and a half hours… suppose it could be worse," she said, trying to stay positive for him. "I'm sure it'll work itself out," she promised. She suddenly realised they'd already made their way to the other end of Viking Bay. If she wanted to go home, now was the time to say so.
"Want to keep going round Dumpton?" Kevin asked, as if he knew what she was thinking. The thought had actually occurred to him as well. "Come on," he encouraged her and gently pulled her along. He let go of her once she'd started walking along out of her own volition. Heather noticed, and it only made it more obvious how careful they were not to touch. They had both been walking with their hands jammed into their jeans' pockets. She remembered the however many walks she'd taken with him along here, always arms hooked, holding hands or arms around each other, even before they'd started going out.
As they talked more they eventually fell back into a more comfortable routine. When they reached the end of the walk way by Dumpton and had to head up to the cliff, they turned left and kept walking away from Broadstairs towards Ramsgate instead of going home.
"Did you end up doing any sports while in Cardiff?" Heather asked curiously. They'd always played basketball together and gone for runs along the bays.
"I did, yeah, I joined the korfball team. We actually used to play against the University of Kent and Cambridge at tournaments," Kevin said.
"Oh okay, cool. Wait, what's korfball?" she asked confused. She'd never heard of that sport before.
"Oh, you'd love it! It's like netball and basketball, but for boys and girls," he explained. "The posts are higher though, with big yellow plastic baskets. And there's no backboard or dribbling with the ball," he added.
"Then what makes you think I'd like it?" she asked with a laugh; her favourite part of basketball was going on the move with the ball.
"Because you have to work for the ball and it's much more diverse. Plus, it's a lot of fun playing in a mixed sex team," he told her.
"I bet it is!" she teased.
"Not like that, not for me anyways," Kevin gave her a shove. "The others do though. Anyways, there are a couple of teams based near Maidstone and Aylesford, so I thought I'd maybe check one of them out. Would you like to join me?" he asked. Heather hesitated for a second. "Is it easy to pick up?" she asked, getting a nod in response. "And I won't make a fool out of myself?"
"Well that I can't guarantee," he teased, now getting a shove from her, but he grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her with him. She smiled slightly; it almost felt like old times again. "Come on, it'll be fun," he implored her now.
"Okay, I'll come try it out," she gave in.
"Yeey," he chuckled, making her laugh as well.
"It's a little sad though that you still need me around to look good though," Heather teased him, running away because she knew he'd chase her to give her the tickle death for that. He always used to, and he didn't let her down now.
"Do you know if Bianca's got anything planned for tomorrow or the rest of the weekend?" Kevin asked with a slight nudge and a laugh from their previous conversation as they'd finally started heading back towards home.
"As far as I know, it'll be a good old-fashioned night out in Ramsgate tomorrow, not sure about Saturday," she answered, getting a hesitant look back.
"Old-fashioned as in…" he started with a questioning look.
"Getting drunk and dancing like there's no tomorrow," they said at the same time, making them both laugh.
"It does actually almost sound good though," Kevin said after about a minute, looking out over the cliffs and sea. He had to admit he did miss those kinds of nights out with his friends and as he wasn't seeing Stephanie this weekend anyway, he figured it would be a good way to spend a Friday night.
"I think I know what you mean," Heather laughed. She'd been feeling the same since she got back to Broadstairs and her friends; it had made her realise how much she'd missed hanging out with her friends when she'd been in Cambridge. And, she was starting to realise, how much she had missed him. She stole a glance in his direction and gave an embarrassed smile when he caught her looking. He gave her a small smile and cleared his throat.
"Great, so I'll see you tomorrow and I'll let you know about korfball training on Tuesday," Kevin said slowly as they reached Victoria bay, where they would be heading their own way. She noticed he was putting up his barriers again, which meant she'd somehow crossed some line he'd drawn up in his mind that she was not aware of. Though if she thought about it, she could guess it was about self-preservation and keeping things platonic between them – it kept him safe from accusations about what they might be up to. He could not be accused of showing lingering feelings for his ex.
"Yeah, sounds good," she nodded slowly now, feeling a little sad about this realisation. She had hoped that they could move beyond that, especially after the afternoon they'd just shared. But maybe that was too much to ask, especially for his new girlfriend. This afternoon had at least made up her mind about one thing – she and Jamie were not meant to last, at least not for much longer. Which meant she'd probably need to talk to him soon. "Got much planned for the rest of today?" Heather asked, not quite ready for this afternoon to end. She saw him shrug.
"Not much. Spend some time with my folks, look for job vacancies," he sighed.
"That doesn't sound very exciting," she caught his mood, knowing she would need to start doing the same soon.
"That's because it's not but it gets my mum off my back and I can't stay living at home forever," Kevin managed a small chuckle. "Anyway, I'd better head in. I'll see you tomorrow anyways," he drew their afternoon to a close. She gave a slow nod.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow," she said with a smile. He smiled back before he could help himself.
"Bye… Heather," he nodded, giving her a look she couldn't read before heading into his street and up to his house. She gave him a small wave when he looked back at her before walking the remaining 3 streets to her own home.