Mermaid Hair and I Don’t Care: A romantic comedy about shoes, surf and second chances

by CJ Morrow

  Ten minutes later and with only the enrolment forms completed Lily thought she might pass out in the heat. The combination of sunshine and sweaty rubber was just too much. She noticed that Davey only had the bottom half of his wetsuit on, the top half swung loosely around his waist, showing off his muscled torso, and allowing the sea breeze to cool his dark-bronzed skin.

  ‘Can we get in the water soon please?’ She flapped her hand in front of her face to create a breeze as Davey droned on through the safety instructions.

  ‘Not unless you want to nearly drown again,’ a voice said from behind her.

  Jackson.

  Oh God. How long had he’d been there?

  ‘Again?’ Gemma queried.

  Lily shook her head and scowled at Jackson who smiled and moved inside the surf shack and out of sight. Or, at least, Lily couldn’t see him; he could be watching her, she supposed.

  Davey droned on and on before finally it was time to get in the water. They attempted to pick up their boards, realised they were too heavy and were instructed by Davey to double up and carry each board down to the water’s edge between them. Davey smirked, watching as they moved back and forth; he didn’t offer to help.

  He showed them the correct way to get in and out of the water with the board, then how to catch the waves while lying down – he called it riding prone. Soon they were having a go. Although apprehensive Lily was starting to enjoy herself, she’d only swallowed the sea once and it was nothing compared to yesterday’s quantity. She hadn’t seen anymore of Jackson, so that was a blessing too.

  ‘Why are we getting out?’ Lily asked Tess as they hauled their boards back onto the beach, but Davey answered before Tess had a chance.

  ‘Okay. You all seem to have the hang of that. Now we’re going to try popping up.’

  ‘I feel as if I am already popping in this wetsuit,’ Lily quipped and even Gemma sniggered.

  Davey showed them how to stand up in one go on the surfboard from a prone position – that was why it was called a pop up – you just popped up. But only Gemma was able to do it in one go, Lily and Tess had to get onto their knees first and even that proved difficult for Lily in the thigh-busting wetsuit. After a few more attempts they were ready to try it out in the water.

  They waded out once more and lay on the surfboards, then attempted to pop up. Even Gemma couldn’t do it in the water. All three fell off. Tess and Gemma saw the funny side; Lily was a little guarded about laughing especially if it meant opening her mouth to the sea.

  Valiantly all three climbed back onto the surfboards and tried to pop up again. They all fell off. Again.

  On the next go Gemma managed to stand up, even if only for two seconds. Tess fell off immediately without ever popping up, and Lily was now struggling just to get on the board, never mind pop up. Then a wave took Lily’s board and flung it at her. Donk. Donk. The board on her head. It hurt. She did her best not to panic, reminding herself that it wasn’t deep, that she wouldn’t drown – probably. She heard a squeal in the waves as she came up. Tess’s head bobbed on the surface as she gasped for breath.

  ‘Sorry. Did my board hit you?’ Lily shouted above the waves.

  ‘No. Mine did.’ Was Tess crying?

  They retrieved their boards and clung onto them. Lily’s arms were aching with the effort of getting on and off the board while fighting the sea’s swell. Seconds later her board bucked and threw her off and donked her on the head again. And she was drinking seawater now, lots of it – it could have been worse, she could have been inhaling it.

  She gave it one more go, climbing onto the board and clinging on desperately. The board flipped and she fell off, but she kept her mouth shut, her eyes shut and exhaled through her nose to prevent the water getting in. She rose to the surface and gasped; her board was almost airborne but it soon came down again and this time donked Gemma on the head.

  Lily screamed before Gemma did.

  ‘I’m so sorry, so sorry,’ Lily yelled above the waves. ‘Are you all right?’

  Gemma stood up to her full height in the water and shook herself. ‘I’m fine,’ she called. ‘My hair and my Hermes saved me.’ The scarf was still resolutely in place.

  ‘Good job you had your helmet on,’ Davey shouted, laughing.

  Even amid the waves Gemma managed to silence Davey with a single, poisonous look.

  ‘I need a rest,’ Tess said, grappling with her board.

  ‘Me too,’ Lily said, grabbing her own board.

  They hauled them back through the water, dropped them on the beach then flopped down on the sand.

  ‘I hated that,’ Tess said, her voice a mixture of whispers and crying.

  ‘Me too. And look at her.’

  They both watched Gemma standing triumphant on the board as it glided into the shallows where she stepped off, jumped back on in the prone position and paddled back out to deeper water.

  ‘And I’ve got another headache,’ Lily whinged.

  ‘I feel sick from drinking so much salt water.’ Tess sniffed, then cuffed her nose with the back of her hand. ‘Sorry,’ she said, when she realised Lily had seen her. ‘I haven’t got a tissue, and anyway, I’m past caring.’

  ‘And me.’ Lily wiped her eyes with her knuckles.

  Neither went back into the sea.

  ‘Wasn’t that fun!’ Gemma declared as, lesson over, they carried the boards back up the beach. ‘Exhilarating.’

  ‘Exhausting.’ Tess put on a brave face. ‘But yes it was mostly fun.’

  ‘Not including the crying,’ Lily said quietly into Tess’s ear. ‘And my face is really stinging,’ she added.

  ‘While I remember,’ Davey said, waving squares of blue paper about. ‘There’s a beach party tonight. Make sure you bring your appetites. There’s a barbeque and drink is provided, though you can bring your own if preferred.’ He pushed an invitation at each of them.

  ‘Sounds fun.’ Gemma studied the wording before putting it into her bag.

  Davey inspected the boards and racked them, while Gemma, Tess and Lily began to extricate themselves from the wetsuits. Once she’d got her shoulders out Gemma’s came away quite easily. Once Tess unzipped hers it was easy to peel off. Lily couldn’t even reach to pull her zip down and had to wait for Gemma to help.

  As the zip went down she felt herself expand. She clawed at the neck and pulled the wetsuit down to her shoulders. She felt the grip of its suction on her skin as she struggled to pull it down. Minutes seemed to pass, both Gemma and Tess had already pulled on their sun dresses but Lily continued to struggle with her wetsuit.

  ‘Let me help you again,’ Gemma said, taking control of the situation.

  ‘Ouch, you’re taking my skin off,’ Lily screeched.

  ‘You’re worse than Pixie-Bella,’ Gemma muttered as she yanked the wetsuit down. It came away with a long gloopy slurp as it snaked its way down her thighs, the force of it making Lily bend over involuntarily.

  ‘Ooowee, ooowee,’ Davey yelled, ‘flesh alert.’

  Gemma marched towards him and as Lily watched from her bent position she thought Gemma was going to hit him. Gemma stopped in front of his face. ‘Better. Wet. Suits. Next time,’ she enunciated.

  ‘Whoa. Okay. Back off, lady.’

  Lily felt a towel wrap around her body. She straightened up and turned sharply. Jackson was face to face with her, his blue eyes staring directly into hers.

  ‘Protect your modesty,’ he said quietly.

  Only as Lily felt the softness of the towel rub against her bare buttocks did she realise what had happened.

  Seven

  ‘You’re looking glum.’ Tess sat down on the sofa next to Lily.

  ‘Mmm.’ Lily sighed.

  Gemma joined them, reeking of expensive perfume and fully made up. She wore a sequin boob-tube and her long, slender legs were clad in skin tight satin lycra. ‘Not still sulking about the beach incident?’

  ‘Ha. Ha.’ Lily didn’t even bother smiling.

  �
��I’m sure no one was watching you.’ Gemma flicked through her phone and smiled to herself.

  ‘Not when they could watch you and your Hermeese helmet,’ Lily said, knowing how snide that sounded.

  ‘Hermes, Hermes, rhymes with fez,’ Gemma corrected without a hint of irony. ‘Anyway, your own personal surf bum came to the rescue.’

  Gemma giggled and out of the corner of her eye Lily could see Tess fighting off a smile.

  ‘Glad everyone’s so amused.’ Lily got up and fished out her phone from her handbag. She slumped back down on the sofa and looked at her friends, both absorbed in their own phones. She watched a secret smile play over Tess’s face as the screen reflected in her eyes. ‘You’re getting messages then?’ Lily asked.

  ‘Yeah,’ Tess said, smiling and putting her phone down. ‘Not here, the signal is rubbish here, but they download when I get up the lane a bit. Aren’t you?’ She didn’t wait for an answer. ‘Must be your network. Which one are you on?’

  ‘Same as you,’ Lily said, flicking through her phone again.

  ‘Could be your settings,’ Gemma offered.

  ‘Haven’t changed them and I got a message a few days ago.’

  ‘So nothing from Will?’ Tess offered a sympathetic smile. ‘Not even a Facebook post?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Take it out with you tonight. Maybe some will download. Or trot up the lane now. We’ve got time before we go.’

  ‘He’s obviously not posting. Probably him who can’t get the signal.’ Anyway, Lily told herself, she didn’t care what Will was up to.

  ‘I took myself off Facebook last year,’ Gemma said. ‘It became so tiresome. People were constantly posting pictures of themselves out drinking, or with hangovers. Urgh.’

  ‘What’s wrong? Weren’t your selfies getting enough likes?’ Lily said, sounding as catty as she felt. ‘Or maybe you’ve just grown out of it.’ Deep down she blamed Gemma for the wetsuit arse exposure.

  ‘I’m not that old.’ Gemma’s neck grew longer as her head raised itself. ‘Probably only a year or two older than you.’

  ‘Don’t think so,’ Lily said, knowing she’d hit a nerve. She could see Tess squirming.

  ‘Are you going up the lane to check for messages?’ Tess tried to divert the conversation, relieve the pressure.

  ‘No. Not much point.’ Lily sighed and noticed how flushed Gemma’s face was. Was that anger or embarrassment? ‘What time do we have to go to this thing?’

  ‘Starts at seven.’ Tess smiled.

  ‘I don’t know if I fancy it.’ Lily oscillated between wanting to see Jackson again and not. Would he even be there?

  ‘Aren’t you going to dress up a bit?’ Gemma ran her hands down her trouser legs, smoothing imaginary creases.

  ‘No, Gemma. It’s a beach bonfire, we’re not going clubbing.’ Lily paused. ‘Or are we? Is that what you’ve planned?’

  ‘Not at all. I just like to look my best.’

  ‘How did your hair get on in the sea?’ Lily was curious about Gemma’s hair, it was always perfect. No one had perfect hair on a beach holiday.

  ‘It was fine.’ Gemma got up to fetch a jumper from the bedroom. ‘My Hermes kept the salt off,’ she called, over her shoulder.

  ‘Not on its own it didn’t,’ Lily sniggered to Tess. ‘What did she have on underneath that scarf?’

  ‘Shower cap,’ Tess mouthed, careful to keep her voice low.

  ‘Why bother? Look at my hair. Mermaid hair,’ she said, recalling Jackson’s words. ‘I’m on holiday. I don’t care. And my face has calmed down; I’m not even wearing makeup.’

  ‘I have standards,’ Gemma said, coming back into the room.

  Behind Gemma’s back Tess grimaced at Lily and put her finger up to her lips indicating that Lily should be quiet.

  Lily complied. For now.

  The sun was low in the sky as they approached the beach and a cool offshore breeze made Lily glad she had worn a jumper. She glanced over at the boob-tubed Gemma and waited for her to pull hers out of her bag; but Gemma seemed determined to get the full value out of her sequined top.

  ‘Lot of people here,’ Tess said as Lily scanned the faces looking for Jackson. Davey spotted them and gave them the benefit of a leering grin.

  ‘There’s a hog roast. Well, I hope they’ve cooked it properly.’ Gemma strode towards it, whether to inspect it or soak up the heat it cast off, Lily wasn’t sure.

  ‘I’ve just got a load of messages,’ Tess said, thumbing through her phone. ‘You should check yours, Lily. Oh look, I’ve got one from my mum; it’s a picture of Pixie-Bella and Rafe. I’ll see if Gemma’s got it too. I know she’s missing the children.’

  Lily wondered if that was true; Gemma had hardly mentioned them, or at least not to her. Once alone she got her own phone out, if there was nothing from Will she didn’t want an audience.

  Four messages. Lily’s heart suddenly beat heavily in her chest. She felt nervous and excited. Were they from Will? Two were. She breathed a sigh of relief.

  One, a bad selfie, showed him sitting on his bike posing beside a road sign. It was out of focus and she couldn’t read the sign. Underneath he had written Road trip, USA. He was wearing the bin-retrieved leathers, the sun was shining and he looked hot. Sweaty hot. She sighed before thumbing through to the next message. It simply said: Really missing you babe. Hope you’re okay. xx

  She wondered what the time was where he was. Wondered exactly where he was. Her fingers hovered over the screen. Should she reply straight away? She flicked back up to the photo – the message was fifteen minutes old. She hit reply, typed: Looks like you’re having fun. I’m on holiday in Devon. Learning to surf. Her finger hovered over send.

  She wiped the message off.

  Then retyped it and pressed send.

  She waited for him to reply, imagined him sitting astride the motorbike reading her response. She stared at her phone willing him to reply. What would he say? At least he hadn’t used the friends word again.

  ‘Hey there, Lily.’ The voice came from behind her. She didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.

  ‘Hey Jackson,’ she said, affecting nonchalance over her shoulder. Her heart fluttered – still recovering from Will’s messages? She pushed her phone back into her bag.

  ‘Have you got a drink?’

  ‘Gemma brought some wine.’

  ‘No, I mean have you got a drink? To drink? I can recommend the local cider.’

  ‘And its accompanying hangover,’ Lily heard herself laugh. She heard Jackson join in.

  ‘There’s truth in that,’ he said. His voice was low and seductive. ‘Are you okay?’

  Lily turned and stared at him. ‘Fine,’ she said, frowning.

  ‘Good. I wouldn’t want you not to be.’

  ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’ She stopped. ‘Oh. You mean… yeah, that was embarrassing.’

  ‘No one saw.’

  ‘You saw.’ She blushed. ‘I’ll have that drink if it’s still on offer.’

  He smiled over his shoulder at her as he walked away. He was wearing soft, sun-bleached jeans, a white shirt. His body moved with fluidity, his legs were long, but not as long as Will’s. She shook her head and looked away.

  ‘There you go,’ he said, handing her a bottle on his return. ‘Have you eaten yet?’

  She shook her head. ‘Have you?’

  ‘No. We could go now. It’s a hog roast.’

  ‘Yes, I saw. That’s a bit fancy. I’d expected a barbeque.’

  ‘No one wants burnt burgers with raw insides. Or food poisoning. It’s better to get the professionals in.’

  ‘But who pays for it? Do we need to pay someone?’

  ‘No, all the local businesses club together. It’s good PR,’ he said, smiling and looking out to sea. Lily followed his gaze; there was nothing, just murky water under a dark grey sky. ‘Rain’s on its way,’ he mused.

  ‘Ah, don’t say that.’ She had visions of being trapped indoors with Gemma
; or worse still, hauled around every indoor shopping mall Gemma could locate – no matter what the distance – cramped in the back of Tess’s car.

  ‘It’ll be fine tomorrow. Come on.’ He grabbed her hand and a little tingle ran up her spine.

  Gemma and Tess had obviously been on the local cider too, they were sitting on a rock giggling to each other. Tess gave Lily an exaggerated wave and Gemma let out a hoot – most unGemma-like.

  ‘Your friends seem to be enjoying themselves,’ Jackson said. ‘Are you going on somewhere later?’

  Lily wondered if it was an invitation. ‘No,’ she said. ‘I don’t think so. But we’re open to offers.’ She laughed then cringed as she saw the look on his face. She wasn’t sure if it was disgust or shock.

  ‘I only ask because your friend is so dressed up.’ He turned his face out to sea again.

  ‘Oh. Yeah, Gem does like to dress up.’

  ‘And you don’t?’ he said, turning back towards her, his eyes sweeping up and down her body. Was he mocking her? She shuddered under his gaze then realised they were still holding hands. She let her hand go limp until he got the message and let go.

  They queued for hog roast and salad. Jackson hadn’t exaggerated when he’d said they’d brought in professionals, the meat was carved and served to them; everything kept under cover until it was on their china plates.

  ‘Don’t have the chilli dip,’ he said as her hand hovered over a dish of deep red relish. ‘It’s misleadingly cool but has a lethal after-kick.’ Lily moved away from the dip.

  He found them a vacant rock and they sat down, staring out to sea and eating their food.

  ‘This is very civilised.’

  ‘Yes. Even at the beach.’

  ‘I didn’t mean…’

  He laughed. ‘I know you didn’t. I’m teasing you. Eat up and enjoy it.’

  They ate in silence, enjoying the food and each engrossed in their own thoughts. Lily wondered where Will was, wondered what he was doing. Was he alone? Or was he, like her, sitting with an attractive stranger on some distance shore? No, she reminded herself, he was inland, coast-to-coast, not on the coast. Jackson, when he wasn’t concentrating on his food, stared out to sea.