One Moment In Time- Joanne Oneshots

1976

Wiltshire 

Joe wiped the sweat off his brow as he continued to work. It was one of the hottest summers ever recorded in the UK and Joe was definitely feeling the heat. He sat on the top of the roof and gazed out into rural Wiltshire. It stared lazily back at him as the sun's rays grazed the tops of the little, picturesque houses. After taking a swig from his water bottle, Joe proceeded to attempt to finish thatching the roof. He liked his job, and could see himself taking over his uncle's business when the time came. 

"Joseph!" called his uncle Gary a few hours later. Joe looked away from the dying sun and down to his uncle on the ground. He expertly climbed down from the roof and went inside the house with Gary. 

"You're doing a good job," his uncle commented from the kitchen table. Joe was stood by the kettle and smiled to himself. 

"I do enjoy it," he admitted, adding milk to his tea. 

"And I enjoy having you around," said his uncle. "But you do need to go have some fun. Take tomorrow off and go somewhere nice. Maybe the beach since its so hot?"

Joe considered his uncle's words and nodded. "I like working here but I could do with a day to myself. Thanks Uncle Gary,"

"Right, get back up on that roof before we lose the rest of the sunlight," said his uncle chuckling to himself. 

//

"Now this is what I like," said Dianne to herself as she laid her towel down on the sand. It was burning her toes slightly but she knew that summers like these did not come very often. So she was hellbent on living her best life. She lathered herself in sun cream before lying down on her towel, determined to get a nice tan. 

Dianne liked her own company. Hence why she was by herself today. Dance was her passion, her love. But ballroom dancing required at the very least, a partner. Not to mention, dance instructors, choreographers, other people in class. And when she wasn't dancing, she was stretching or at her hairdressing job which helped to fund her dancing. She didn't get a lot of time to just sit and be. No networking, no training, no working. 

 "Excuse me?"

Dianne looked up and was confronted with the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. Far bluer than the ocean that stretched for miles in front of her. Her breath hitched in her throat as she tried to speak. 

"Hello?" she said, with what she hoped was a warm smile. 

"I'm sorry to bother you and this is very cheeky but I'm here on my own and I forgot to bring suncream," said the boy, smiling bashfully. 

"Of course!" said Dianne, reaching in her bag for it. 

"Thank you, I'm Joe by the way," he said. 

"I'm Dianne," she said, fluttering her eyelashes slightly. Instead of walking away with her sun cream in tow, he sat down beside her with his towel and began to apply it to his body. They continued chatting before Dianne realised that he couldn't get to his back. 

She tried to stifle her giggles. "Are you okay there?" she said. 

"I don't think so no," he laughed. 

"Turn around," she commanded. Joe looked deep into her eyes before turning away from her and allowing her access to his back. Normally, he would have felt very self conscious, but something about her made this feel so natural. He didn't mind her rubbing sun cream onto his body. 

"There you go," she whispered when she'd finished. 

"Thanks Dianne," he smiled. "Why are you here on your own?" he asked lying back down onto his towel. 

She mirrored his position before replying. "I've had such a busy few months with dancing and my job that I just needed to get away from it all for a bit. I love a beach and thought I'd make the most of the lovely weather we've been having,"

"That's sort of why I came as well," said Joe and Dianne listened intently to his stories about his job and intense working hours. She realised that she wasn't completely on her own in terms of her feelings. Joe felt exactly the same as she did, just about a different career. 

"So hold on, what's the name of your job again?" she said, trying to hide a smile. 

"I'm a roof thatcher, we call it thatching," he said.

"That sounds so cute," said Dianne laughing. 

"I'll have to show you sometime," he said with a twinkle in his eye. 

//

As Joe once again looked out at the blazing, orange glare of the dying sun, he realised that he felt so much more refreshed and better about himself than he did yesterday. He wasn't unhappy yesterday, but he felt unfulfilled. He looked at the girl opposite him, gathering up her things and putting them in her bag. Her eyes were like rich chocolate cake, tempting and exciting. They were curtained by long, thick eyelashes and were the most beautiful pair of eyes he'd ever seen. 

Joe wanted to take her hand as they walked off together, feel her soft skin again. Dianne was wearing a light blue denim sundress and looked phenomenal. 

"I've had a lovely day today," he said to her as his hand knocked against hers. Inwardly, he cursed his own stupidity. Why couldn't he just grab it?

"I thought it was great, we should do it again sometime," said Dianne sincerely. Then, without any qualms or fears of embarrassment, she gently took his hand in hers. 

"I'd, I'd love that," stuttered Joe, stunned at her confidence. They walked like that for about ten minutes before they reached the bus stop. They were the only ones in the vicinity. 

"Why don't we go for a drink sometime next week?" said Joe suddenly. He didn't know where this burst of energy had come from and he was already regretting the words that came out of his mouth. Until he saw her nod eagerly and smile from ear to ear. 

He could see his bus in the distance. Joe couldn't stand it any longer, he closed the gap between them and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. He felt her smile into the kiss. It didn't last long but Joe felt fireworks in his stomach and a desperation to see her again. 

"I'll call you," he promised. She stared deep into his eyes and nodded, slightly breathless from their perfect kiss. 

On the bus, Joe felt like he was in a dreamland. He decided he didn't want to venture all the way to Notting Hill for the carnivals next week. He'd rather spend the day getting to know Dianne and spending as much time with her as he could. 

And what a decision that was. 

Author's Note- Sorry for the slow update, I've been quite busy with uni work. I'll be so sad when this story has ended though, I'm enjoying it a lot. But, I have posted a little teaser of my new story which is called 'The Last Year's Love' which I am very excited to start working on, so please have a look at that if you have the time. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!