took just one step further, I would be able to see behind them, which was exactly where that magical first kiss had happened.
I was just wondering if it might be safer to lay on my front and peep over the edge when I felt a heavy shove in the back of my legs which made my knees buckle and I toppled forward.
In a fraction of a second, which must have been split at least a hundred ways, I saw my entire life flash before me, and then I was pulled backwards and found myself in a heap on the grass with something extremely heavy bouncing all over me.
‘What the hell were you doing?’ I heard someone holler from above.
‘What the hell was I doing?’ I shouted back, scrambling further away from the edge and trying to push away what I now saw was an extremely eager black Labrador. ‘What the hell were you doing, letting your dog run into me like that? I nearly went over.’
‘From where I was standing, it looked as if that was exactly what you were trying to do!’
‘Of course, I wasn’t,’ I bawled back, ignoring the proffered hand and slipping about in the mud, much to the delight of the damned dog. ‘I was . . .’
‘What?’
Finally, on my feet, I took a moment to catch my breath. My entire body began to shake as I realized that time for me had very nearly ended, never mind just jumped back a decade or so.
‘What?’ came the indignant voice again.
‘Never mind,’ I said, pushing the hood further back on my head with a mud-encrusted hand which was far from steady.
‘You’re shaking,’ observed the man, now sounding slightly more concerned than cross, as he tried to attach his still prancing dog to its lead. ‘Look, my Land Rover’s just over there. Come and sit inside for a minute.’
He didn’t wait for me to answer but strode off. I followed on, feeling weak, washed out and exhausted. I had no intention of climbing into a stranger’s vehicle, but I did want to distance myself from the edge of the cliff.
‘Come on, you,’ the man shouted at the dog, who carried on skittering around his feet, its tail wagging furiously and its face wearing what looked like a soppy grin. ‘Get in, for god’s sake.’
Had I not just had the biggest fright of my life I would have been amused by the farcical scene, but I was still too wound-up to laugh about anything.
‘It’s well behaved, isn’t it?’ I pointedly observed.
‘It’s a he,’ the man said defensively. ‘And he’s only a baby. He belongs to my brother and his training has been a bit neglected recently.’
He wasn’t wrong. The loopy thing was completely out of control.
‘Oh, I give up,’ said the guy, scooping the reluctant hound awkwardly into his arms and bundling him in the back. ‘Now bloody stay there,’ he commanded, once he had unclipped the lead and slammed the door shut.
Feeling slightly steadier on my pins, I went to make my escape, but didn’t manage it.
‘Let’s get in,’ he said, before I had a chance to move. ‘I’ve got a flask of coffee, that’ll warm you up.’
He pushed back his hood once he’d finished bossing me about and I felt my mouth fall open.
‘Well . . .’ I breathed, but stopped when I realized he was staring at me too.
It was hard to be sure, with the rain blurring my vision, but he seemed just as taken aback as I was. For a second, his eyes mirrored the same surprise as mine, but by the time I had blinked again he looked perfectly composed.
‘Coffee,’ he suggested for the second time. His voice sounded completely different now and I was much more inclined to accept. ‘Yes?’
I nodded and slipped round to the passenger door self-consciously ruffling my hair. I was too numb to speak but not because of the resulting shock of my near-death experience. I could hardly believe my eyes. Not only had I finally got around to revisiting the site of my first kiss, I had also managed to conjure up the very person who had administered it. Thank goodness I had ignored Mother Nature’s cyclonic portent! This was my brain’s way of throwing me – quite literally – into fate’s path.
I licked my lips as I remembered the soft but firm pressure of his and the tip of his tongue which had sent shocking waves of exquisite pleasure darting about my hormonally charged teenage system.