Leon, Leon (BoyxNB romance)

Chapter 35

“I know it might not be the most comfortable walk down,” I said, the dogs trying to bound ahead despite being kept on leads, “But it’s worth it once we get there. Watch out, by the way, there’s some brambles down by the fence, and they’re stingy, so try not to touch them, if you can.”
“Ok, Callum, I understand. Why do you know this way?”
“Oh, it’s always been the one we’ve gone down to get to the sea. You can tell we’re close now by the salt in the air.” I looked up, and could see the blues of the sky and the sea joining at the horizon. “This is still technically a walking path, like, an official one by the council, but they haven’t cleaned it up in years, as you can tell. I used to go down here with my sister and brother, and she always used to get so worked up over the cans and bottles people used to leave about, she was worried that they’d hurt the birds, so she would make us pick up all of them we could find. Most people have forgotten about this place, now, so it isn’t a huge problem anymore, but I still feel the need to clean this place up when I come down here.”
“And you come often?”
“Yeah, I like the seaside a lot,” I said. “Oh, here’s the fence. Well, it’s not really a fence, more of a stile.” I looked back at him. “Do you know how to cross them?” He shook his head.

I untangled the lead from my hand, and Cocoa bounded ahead. “Just put your feet on the plank this side, sit on the ledge in the middle, and swing yourself over. That’s the easiest way to do it. And also, you can let Caramel go. She’s been down here enough times now, so she’ll just follow Cocoa to the sea.”

He nodded, hesitantly letting go of the lead, and sat on the middle of the stile, his feet facing away from me. “I just... put my legs over?”
“Yep, it’s as simple as that. Just like I did it.” He looked over at me. “Come on, don’t be shy. I’m here to catch you if you fall.”

That seemed to convince him enough, albeit only just, as he gingerly placed one foot over, then the other, then scooted his butt around so that his knees were almost in my face. Then, not really that gracefully (but still beautifully of course) He plonked himself down onto the ground. “There we go. Not that hard, right?” He brushed off the dirt on his butt and smiled. “If I didn’t already know you were from a city, it’s super obvious now.”
“Yes, yes,” he said, rolling his eyes. “There were not many wood fences in the cities. I do not have a lot of experience.”
“Then maybe we’ll just have to come down here more often so you can practice.”
“I think that it is a good idea.”

As the path widened to meet the top of the beach, we walked side by side, the dogs chasing each other and tripping over the leads that were still attached to them. “We should hold them?”
“Nah, don’t worry about it. They’re pretty good down here, they find the sea more interesting than wandering off anywhere, and it’s probably a good idea to wear them out a bit so they’re not too loopy tonight. If you can get the leads off one of them, though, that’d be great.”
“Okay,” he smiled, taking his shoes off. “I can leave them here?”
“Yeah, sure. Take your socks off, as well,” I blushed. “If... you want.”
He looked at me, for a second, then turned over, rolling down his socks. To stop me from staring, I turned my attention to catching the dogs. Caramel was easy enough, as she rolled around in the sand, sunbathing and playing with the little rocks that lined the back of the beach. I clapped my hands together, a couple of times, and she stood up, her fur covered in little specks of sand and shingle. I unclipped the lead from her collar, and rubbed her eyes with my thumbs, just to make sure she was safe in case she decided to bury herself head first into the sand. “Good girl. Cocoa! Come here, boy!”

But, alas, he was not listening, as he took to his duty of chasing the seagulls around the beach, leaving a trail of small pawprints and ripples in the water as he ran through it, his ears pinned to the back of his head by the wind. “Cocoa!” I sighed. “I guess he’s decided that I need some exercise today, huh.”
“Are you okay?” Leon asked, walking up to me. Don’t look don’t look don’t look.
“Yeah, I just think we’re just going to have to go run after Cocoa. You ready to get your feet wet?”
He smiled. “We will race?”
I chuckled. “Sounds good.”