"Hi again." The voice matched the one that Dianne heard yesterday. The one she hoped she wouldn't hear again.
Quickly composing herself, she was able to respond. "Oh, hi. I'm surprised to see you here this early!" Instantly, she cursed herself. This was a man she barely knew yet she had started to tease him.
She breathed a sigh of relief as she heard him chuckle, a sound she could never tire of hearing.
"I could lie and say that I'm an early riser, but that's not true. Jet lag has majorly screwed up my sleep schedule." He laughed again. He opened his mouth to say something else but was interrupted when the barista handed over his drink. "Thank you." Turning back to Dianne, he took a sip of his drink before taking a deep breath. "Hey, do you want to go for a walk along the beach? I don't need to be back for a little while and I wanted to take a few photos."
Dianne internally battled with herself. Did she lie and say she was busy? She really didn't need Joe as a distraction right now. But something about him intrigued her. He seemed different.
Seeming to find herself agreeing, she nodded her head. "Okay, let me just order a drink. And I need to be home in an hour, I have a class to teach."
She saw Joe take in her words, but before she could let him respond, she had turned to the barista, one of her friends she had made whilst working at the café. "The usual, please." Ivanna nodded and winked, before preparing a black coffee.
"I'll go wait outside then. I can take your dog, if you want?" Joe offered nervously.
Juno wagged his tail. "Sure. Here you go." She said as she handed over the lead."
She watched him walk out the door, letting her eyes linger a little too long. It was obvious to anyone that he was attractive, with a long neck, defined cheek bones and a swept back look. And those eyes...
A cough interrupted her thoughts. "Your coffee, Miss Buswell." Ivanna said, with a smirk. "He's cute, Di. I'm surprised I haven't heard about him."
Blushing furiously that she had been caught checking him out, she slid some money across the counter before taking the coffee. "I only met him yesterday. I bumped into him on my way back from the beach." Ivanna's smirk got even bigger. "Oh shush, I barely know him."
"Well, it's quite clear that he wants to get to know you better. Look, you're blushing again!" Ivanna pointed out.
"I'll see you later." She mumbled before quickly walking to the door, desperate to get out of her friend's gaze.
She smiled at Joe, who had been able to settle Juno down by his feet. "It's quicker if we go left. That will take us to the West side of the beach, you can get good photos there."
Joe nodded at her words, scratching the back of his neck. Dianne had seen him do that a couple of times, assuming it was a nervous thing.
"So, where are you staying?" She asked, genuinely wanting to know.
"I'm staying with a friend, it's about a half an hour walk from the supermarket. If I could remember the road name, I'd tell you."
"Going to blame the jet lag again for your memory loss?" Dianne teased, surprising herself.
Joe let out a hearty laugh, shaking his head. "So, you like teasing me, huh?"
It took a moment for Dianne to realise that he was joking. She had never met a man who was so willing to accept her jokey personality. "Well, you're easy to tease, why wouldn't I?" She said cheekily.
Both of them had started laughing now, and a little tear escaped from Joe's eye. To Dianne, this felt so natural, so easy going. It felt right.
As they continued to walk along the shoreline, the laughing had eased and they were now into a more civilised conversation.
"So, you're a teacher." Joe asked, intrigued. Dianne gave him a confused look. "You said that you had a class to teach soon."
As soon as realisation hit Dianne, she responded. "Oh, yes. I'm a dance teacher. I teach a couple of classes a week at the dance school, voluntarily."
"I think I walked past that school earlier. A dance school sounds like my worst nightmare!"
Dianne couldn't help herself with her reply. "Have two left feet, do you?"
Joe feigned shock, before laughing. "Yeah yeah, I'm not blessed with dancing talent. So, did you used to dance?"
Dianne winced. After her injury, dance had always been a sore subject, but she felt ready to talk about it again now. "Yes, it was always my dream to become a professional dancer. I left school when I was 15 and started training 6 times a week. It was hard, but I loved it." Dianne felt a sense of pride when she saw the impressed look on Joe's face. "But when I was 19, I broke my leg and after the years of rehab, I knew I couldn't risk dancing that much again. It took a huge toll physically and mentally, so I decided to just get a job at the café we were in."
Dianne realised then that she had been staring down at the ground, feeling ashamed at how easily she had given up her dreams. But then she felt his hand tilt her head upwards, so her eyes could meet his.
"I'm sorry that happened to you. It must have been hard, I couldn't imagine having my dreams taken away from me like that. Give yourself some credit."
Joe's sincere words shocked her, and she felt panic flash through her eyes. She said she wouldn't let anyone else in, not after him. She needed to get out of there.
"Uh, thanks Joe. Look, I really should be going now. I hope you enjoy the rest of your visit." The last of her words were barely audible as she ran away, Juno following behind. She could hear Joe's faint voice in the distance, but she daren't turn around.
Opening the front gate, she fell to the ground gasping for breath. She felt tears swell in her eyes. She wasn't prepared for this.
She wasn't ready for Joe to come and turn her life upside down.
An: hi everyone! i hope you're enjoying the story so far. this was due to go up tomorrow but i managed to finish it off today. i'm not sure when the next chapter will be up but hopefully it won't be too long! also would love to know any theories you have as to why Dianne is so reluctant to be with Joe!
