Free Lucy in the Sky by Paige Toon

I wonder how else he might be comparing us.
    ‘Did she ask where you were the other night?’ I query.
    ‘Yeah.’ Pause. ‘I got a bit of stick for it.’
    ‘Really?’ I try to laugh, make light of it. ‘Did you tell her you were up until the early hours talking to me?’
    ‘Nah. She would have only got jealous.’ Aha! Excellent, I think. Then immediately feel mean. ‘She’s not my girlfriend, remember,’ he reminds me and holds my gaze. I tear my eyes away.
    ‘Right, shall I go?’
    He looks back at the waves. ‘Not this one; wait for the next.’
    The wave gathers momentum and I catch it just as it breaks and pushes me forward fast and furious towards the beach. I ride it all the way up onto the sand and suddenly find I can’t stop laughing. I’d forgotten how much fun boogie boarding was. I push my drenched fringe out of my eyes and look for him. He’s way out there, watching me. I wave and he waves back and then glances behind, ready to catch the next one.
    There are many more surfers at the other end of the beach now as the sun climbs higher in the sky. We stay out for a while, sometimes meeting in the middle, sometimes not. I hope I don’t look too horrendous with my wet, salty hair.
    My arms are getting tired so we agree to have just one more go. I wonder how deep the water is out here. I’m glad I’m a half-decent swimmer, although I’m sure as hell no David Walliams, swimming the English Channel. I turn around and face Nathan on the beach. He just caught the last wave in and is standing on the sand watching me. He’s stripped his wetsuit down to his waist and a towel drapes casually around his shoulders. There’s a big wave coming and I commit to it. At the same time I see a movement out of the corner of my eye. A black fin. Oh, my God! I start to kick and paddle, all the while imagining the dark creature behind me, snapping at my heels. Or my knees…Ormy thighs…Or my right arm…Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God! The wave picks me up and carries me hard and fast but the panic has well and truly set in and as soon as I reach shallow water and put my feet down I start to scream and run towards dry sand and Nathan. The blood has rushed out of my face. Nathan looks horrified and full of concern as he steadies me with his hands. ‘I saw…I saw…Shark! A shark!’ I’m pointing at the ocean and can barely get the words out as I start to hyperventilate. His body is tense as he looks in alarm down towards the other surfers and then out to the ocean. A few of them are peering up our way. It all happens very quickly because before he has time to warn them, I hear him laugh with relief. Tears streaming down my white cheeks, I look out to the ocean and see a pod of four dolphins dive up and out of the waves.
    ‘Dolphins,’ I stutter.
    ‘Yeah, dolphins, you nutter. Christ, you scared me.’
    I’m still breathing heavily and feeling really quite traumatised, thank you very much. Nathan must sense it because he pulls me down onto the sand in front of him and puts his hands on my arms. ‘You okay?’ he asks, his bluey-grey eyes looking steadily into mine.
    I feel humiliated. ‘I’ve always wanted to swim with dolphins,’ I reply, to which he starts falling about, beside himself with the hilarity of it all. ‘Stop it!’ I snap jokily, and slap him on his arm. ‘I’m embarrassed!’
    He’s still laughing. ‘Oh, Luce, you crack me up. Don’t be embarrassed. Look, this’ll cheer you up. Two sausages in a frying pan. One of them says, “Blimey, it’s hot in here!” And the other one says, “Shit! A talking sausage!’”
    My laugh turns into a snort–very attractive. ‘That’s really funny!’ I squeal. ‘Okay, okay, I’ve got one for you…What do you call a fly once you pull its wings off?’
    He shakes his head.
    ‘A walk,’ I answer.
    Now he’s snorting. Not unattractively, I might add.
    ‘Why is it no one seems to tell jokes anymore?’ I muse. ‘When I was a kid growing up we