The Ice Cream Van – Part 2: The Last Cone of Summer

The ladder to the lifeguard tower was steep, narrow and slightly wobbly. Poppy climbed it one rung at a time, gripping the rails with both hands while Luke waited at the top with his hand stretched down to her.

"You're doing brilliantly," he called.

"I'm doing terribly. I'm going to die on your ladder."

"That's the most romantic thing anyone's ever said to me."

She reached the top, breathless and flushed, and he pulled her up onto the platform. The wind off the Channel was cool and salty, and the whole sea was turning from silver to gold beneath them. The pier lights were just beginning to glow.

They sat on the platform with their legs dangling over the edge, sharing a flake and a bottle of lemonade.

"You're not scared of heights?" asked Poppy.

"Only of you," said Luke. "You're very determined about the ladder."

She laughed, and leaned against his shoulder. The sun sank into the sea, painting the water in long pink ribbons.

"Can I ask you something?" said Poppy.

"Yes."

"Why do you really come to the van every day? Not for the ice cream. You never eat it. You just hold the cone and talk."

Luke turned the lemonade bottle in his hands.

"Because the tower is lonely," he said quietly. "I sit up here all day, watching people swim and drown and laugh. And then at lunchtime, you appear with a van full of colour and terrible music, and for ten minutes I'm not just a pair of binoculars. I'm a man who likes mint choc chip."

Poppy's chest tightened. She took his hand and held it.

"Then come down from the tower more often," she said softly. "The van needs someone to sell the last cone to on Fridays."

"Can I ask you something back?" said Luke.

"Yes."

"Would you let me take you out on a proper date, somewhere that isn't a seafront, and isn't a tower, and doesn't serve ice cream at all?"

Poppy laughed, bright and surprised. "Yes," she said. "But only if you promise to eat the cone next time."

"Deal," said Luke, grinning. "Can I kiss you? Up here, with the whole beach watching the sunset and nobody looking at us?"

"Yes," said Poppy. "And if I say stop, we'll climb down the ladder very carefully."

He leaned in, slowly, his hand coming up to cup her cheek, the warm wind lifting her hair. The kiss tasted of lemonade and salt, unhurried and sweet. Below them the waves rolled in, and the pier lights blinked on one by one, and the first stars began to show over the water.

When they parted, both of them were laughing softly.

"Green?" asked Luke.

"Green," said Poppy. "Very green. Now let's go down, and you can buy me the last cone of the summer."

"Only if you let me eat it," said Luke, and they climbed down the ladder together, one careful rung at a time, while the seafront lights glowed warm and gold below.