wild child (A Tony Perry love story)

chapter 11

LOWRI

I wake up early the next day with Tony still holding me. I vaguely remember asking him to stay with me. I lie there, watching his gorgeous face as he sleeps. I lean over and gently kiss him. He smiles in his sleep, making me smile. I carefully wriggle out of his arms and go downstairs for a cigarette. When I'm done, I head back to the van. I haven't been in there in almost a week and I need to get dressed in my own clothes. I'm feeling almost 100% better now, but I'm still not up to surfing. I pull on a pair of jeans and a hoody and decide to walk to the shop. I need cigarettes and owe Mike some. I'm browsing through the surfing magazines when I see that in 3 weeks there's a competition locally. I know I need to enter. I buy the magazine and I'm walking back to the van when I hear a car pull up beside me. Mike.

"You're alive" he shouts dramatically.

"Looks like it" I say, laughing.

"Want a lift?"

"Go on then."

I invite him in and make us a coffee each.

"Where's Turtle?" he asks. I look at him, puzzled.

"Turtle?"

"Tony's nickname. He loves turtles" he says, grinning.

"Asleep when I left" I say. "Why are you awake so early anyway?"

"I haven't been to sleep yet" he grins.

"Oh." What can I say about that then?

"So, how are things with you and Tony then?" Mike asks.

I grin. "Good" I say shyly. I don't want to say anything more just yet. They might think I'm a bit crazy.

TONY

I wake up to find Lowri has gone. I vaguely remember her kissing me earlier though. I bet she's been to the shop for cigarettes and is in her van. I hope she hasn't gone surfing. I jump in the shower then get dressed. I grab my keys and walk over to her van. I see Mike's car parked up. I knock and she opens the door, holding her finger to her lips. She points at Mike fast asleep on the sofa-bed.

"He hasn't been to bed yet" she whispers, laughing quietly. I wrap my arms around her and reach down for a kiss. She kisses me back and smiles up at me. She takes me by the hand, grabs a kite and pulls me outside. Looks like we're going kite flying.

LOWRI

My dad bought me my first stunt kite for my 8th birthday. I've always had one since. I've had so much practice I can almost make them dance. I show Tony how to fly it by wrapping my arms around him and holding his hands. It's fun and a good excuse to hold him. We are out there a couple of hours before we decide to check on Mike. He's still out for the count. I make us some sandwiches and we sit outside to eat them. I tell Tony about the surfing competition that's coming up and how I want to enter. He smiles and asks if he can be my personal cheerleader. I blush and nod. He kisses me again. I'll have to start practicing soon. Like tomorrow hopefully.

TONY

I flick through the magazine Lowri bought and see a section near the back about former champions of surfing. I'm sure the guy in one of the photos is her dad. He looks like the man in the photo on her wall. I show her and she smiles sadly. He was ranked second in the world in his prime. That could explain her passion and ability.

"When I was little I had an obsession with the little mermaid. My mum used to call me Ariel as a nickname and because I spent so much time on the beach it became my nickname from most people" she tells me. She shows me a newspaper article she has about her as a child, with her dad. She's about 7 in the photo and dressed as Ariel. The headline reads

        Will the little mermaid follow in

                   her dad's footsteps?

It tells the story of her already being a future champion, even at that early age. I see she looks almost ready to cry. I pull her to me and hold her tightly to me.

"They'd both be so proud of how far you've come" I tell her. She pulls her t-shirt up at the back to show me something. A mermaid tattoo. Not Disney style but much more fantasy. I see a huge scar on her shoulder blade.

"What happened there?" I ask.

"I fell off my board when I was 11 and landed on a rock" she says. Ouch.

She pulls her t-shirt back down and leans back against me.

LOWRI

We hear a thud from inside and assume Mike has woken up. It's an amusing sight to see him sprawled on the floor like that. All arms and legs. Like a wobbly giraffe.

"Hey" he mumbles. Tony and I are in stitches. It's not that funny, it's just that it's Mike. He sits up and stretches before getting to his feet and going outside for a cigarette. Tony pulls me into his arms again and kisses me. I feel another pair of arms around my back and Mike has joined in the hug. I start giggling and it sets the guys off. Mike decides he's hungry so goes to his car to get something to eat. Tony and I go to his house to watch a film, his arm around me as we walk.

TONY

It's getting late, so I ask Lowri if she wants to stay again. She nods shyly. I cuddle up to her and we kiss. She's soon asleep in my arms.