The Five-Year Plan by Carla Burgess

Author:Carla Burgess [Burgess, Carla]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2020-01-27T17:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

I awake early, blinking in the pale morning light as gulls circle and scream overhead. Aiden is still fast asleep, his arm thrown across me. Reaching for the water bottle, I prop myself up on my elbows and gulp it down. My head is throbbing and I’m so thirsty I feel as if I could drink a river dry. There’s no one else around, so I take the opportunity to put my clothes back on, just in case we get early morning visitors.

Aiden looks so peaceful. His hair is all ruffled and falling over his face, and his thick black lashes are resting on his cheek bone. I readjust the blanket so it’s covering his shoulder and lie back down next to him. To my relief, I have no regrets, though he might have been right about the truck. In the cold light of day, it looks a bit like a skip and I don’t dare look at the state of the mattress. Instead I keep my eyes on Aiden. At least the man was right. Always a silver lining.

I must fall asleep again, because the next thing I know Aiden is up and making coffee by the side of the road on his tiny gas stove. He’s surrounded by three of his friends, and they’re talking in low voices so as not to wake me.

‘Morning,’ I say, peering over the edge of the truck at them. ‘How are your heads?’

‘Oh, don’t ask,’ one groans, rubbing his forehead with a pained look on his face. ‘We slept by the fire and carried on until the early hours.’

Aiden looks up at me, and I can tell he’s wondering if I’m regretting last night. I smile at him. ‘Can I have a coffee?’

‘Sure.’ His eyes crinkle at the corners as he smiles back, and I feel myself blush. It’s embarrassing to feel this giggly and girly, especially with his three friends looking on. As if realising they’re intruding, they step away and turn to look out to sea, talking among themselves. Aiden makes the coffee and stands up to give it to me, kissing my nose as he does so. ‘How are you feeling this morning?’

‘Fine. I woke up earlier with a headache but I feel okay now. You?’

‘I’m good.’ He leans his forearms on the side of the truck and watches me take a sip from the coffee. ‘Still not as good as your sexy coffee man’s?’

I wrinkle my nose. ‘It’s better, because you made it.’

‘Now I know you’re lying.’ He nods to the back of the truck with the bare mattress on the floor. ‘How d’you like your chariot this morning?’

‘It felt a whole lot more romantic last night.’

‘Yeah, sorry about that. Maybe you should get out and sit in the cab before you realise just how horrible it is.’

‘It’s fine.’

A shout goes up from the men, and they’re pointing out to sea. ‘Dolphins!’

And there are. About three of them, joyfully leaping out of the water, the spray glinting silver in the morning sun.

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