Swell (Complete)

Chapter Six (Part Two)

"This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do
I don't know where to turn
If I can't turn to you."

...

Adora tried to stop feeling embarrassed as Tom spoke to her, but it was so strange sitting opposite such a handsome and outgoing man that she felt like any minute the world around them would turn into some surreal landscape and she would be pulled from a dream and wake up in her bed.
She hadn't missed his compliment, though a big part of her wished she had. Seriously, her name being turned into a compliment was embarrassing.
"What do you want to be when you grow up?" He asked her.
She frowned with thought and looked over to the water as it gently washed the sand, in and out, in and out; like her breath had to keep going.
"Um, that's a really good question. I sort of want to be some kind of Youth Worker I guess, like a psychologist. Or maybe a teacher like Dodge, though, I don't think he ever expected to be a principal, let alone so young. I just... I know it's a small town here, but because of that we haven't really got a lot of help for people with mental health issues." She looked down and started to knot her fingers in her lap. "We all suffer when someone here struggles, we're all so... connected and close, growing up here. It was really hard for us all when my Dad died, and because of the isolation and distance, we had to take trips closer to the city to get any kind of help." She swallowed a lump, unable to look at him as she spoke. "It's really hard to have secrets here." She forced herself to look up and found Tom was looking over at her solemnly.
"I'm sorry." He said quietly, he shifted closer and put his hands on hers. She stopped pulling at her fingers and took a deep breath. "I can keep secrets well, if you ever need to tell any."
She scoffed and looked down to the sand, her hands were drowned by the size of his. "I try not to have any anymore." She let go of another deep breath and shook her head.
"What about you, Tom? What do you want to be when you grow up?" She wanted to move on, change the subject.
"A sports hero." He grinned and held his arms up, flexing them underneath his jacket in some sort of heroic pose. He exaggerated the expression on his face, and Adora covered her mouth as she burst out laughing.
"Are you the Iain type of guy? Sports hero, over-confident and desperately attention seeking?" She raised an eyebrow and he put his arms back down and thought for a few moments.
"Yea, I guess I kind of am." He said his answer with an unconvinced smile and she could tell he was trying to figure out if it was a good or bad thing. "Have I mentioned my favourite colour is green?"
Adora shook her head and looked from Tom's goofy face to the water in the cove. "I like that bright teal colour, in that section there." She pointed to the middle of the water, the shore was a brighter version of the teal she meant as it lapped over the sand and out towards the exit between the cliff walls was dark blue.
"That's a very nice colour." Tom agreed. She could see him looking at her and she turned back to him with a nervous smile.
"So, you're Dad's a baker, Mum is a cake decorator, brother rides motorbikes, Marti... Is just sweet and you're a sports hero. That's a well rounded family." She surmised. Was this how he really got to know people? She had a feeling it wasn't and he was trying to make a good impression on her.
"That's about the size of my life, so far. No horrible tragedies, no broken heart, no awful exes. Just lots of love, support and encouragement." Tom smiled gently and Adora tried not to notice his perfect skin too much.
"Lucky."
"I think so."
Some moments passed between them in silence, Adora forced herself to look back to the cove, trying to keep her nerves steady. She still felt odd that someone as confident and handsome as Tom had asked her out so fast.
Tom turned and faced the cove beside her. "So, Miss Adora Anne She-Ra Dodgers who loves that teal right there and has both a cat and a dog, do you have any secrets for me to keep lately?"
She looked at him with a frown. Lately?
"You know, secret crushes, secret dreams and places to hide..."
She felt her shoulders sag in relief slightly. "Not really. I don't remember most of my dreams from sleep, places to hide... Well, none are really secret from anyone except tourists..." She bit her bottom lip and smiled slightly. "My last crush was over summer." She confessed.
"Ohhh... Do tell!" Tom turned to face her on his rock and she felt her face get warm again as she blushed at his enthusiasm.
"Um, well, his name was Gus..."
"GUS?! Seriously? Who names someone Gus?" Tom couldn't hide the shock and laughter.
"Actually, Brett's Aunty named him, and he was staying with Brett for the Christmas and New Years holidays before he flew interstate for uni." Adora could still feel her face burning and she put a cool hand to one cheek, hoping it wasn't as hot coloured as it felt.
Tom stopped and stared at her. "Brett from school? Aren't you and he best friends?"
Adora nodded. "I'd met Gus before, so it wasn't like he was a stranger or a fly in fly out tourist. We knew each other a little."
"How much more did you get to know him over summer?"
"We hung out with Brett a lot, and without him. He doesn't know, Gus didn't want him to feel like a third wheel when we all hung out, so we kept it secret."
Tom raised an eyebrow. "Really? How kind of Brett's cousin."
Adora sensed a tone of sarcasm in Tom's words. "Well, it's not like we thought it was anything more than a summer fling. He was going away to uni and I was staying here." She shrugged and looked down at the dark gold sand surrounding her shoes.
"A summer fling..." Tom let the thought drift off.
"Please don't tell Brett. I hated keeping it from him, and if he finds out, I'd rather it come from me, though there's no reason for him to find out. It's not like Brett and I are ever going to have a thing together. That'd be... gross." Adora frowned at the thought of kissing her best friend.
"Gross? Why? Brett's great." Tom said in surprise.
Adora laughed. "He is! He's also like a brother to me. So, it'd be like... kissing a brother or Iain and Dodge." She shook her head and Tom nodded.
"Right, OK, I get it. Did you kiss his cousin a lot though?" His expression was teasing and Adora wished he'd stop making her cheeks so warm.
"Well, yes, we were seeing each other." She admitted quietly. She could feel Tom's eyes on her as she drew shapes in the sand with her foot.
"How did you hide from a local in a small town?"
"Brett would occasionally help his parents out in the pub, and that would give us time to be alone."
"Did you bring Gus here?"
"I showed him all my favourite places, though, he'd been here before, so he knew a lot of them already."
"What's your next favourite place?" Tom stood up and held a hand out to help her up from her own rock. She looked up at his smile and took his hand.
"Well, we'll have to go back up the steps, and... You don't mind a lot of walking do you?" She pulled her hand from his and wiped the back of her pants.
"Love it. Any exercise is good to me." Tom happily followed the footprints they had left in the sand on the way to the rocks, and Adora followed him back to the steep steps of the cove.
"Onwards and upwards!" Tom called out into the cove as he began the ascent up the cliff wall.
Adora smiled as she followed behind him.