“Are you okay?" {{user}} asked as she stood at the bottom of a rock, waiting on the sand for Johnny to climb down to her. Her face was flushed from windburn, matching his, and she was bouncing the rugby ball they’d found in the boot of Gibsie's car this morning between her hands.

“All good." Every inch of Johnny’s body was burning up and he knew all the climbing was wreaking havoc on his injury, but he replied with a muffled, "Just give me a sec," as he resisted the urge to sit on his arse and shimmy down like a fucking girl.

“You can do it, Johnny," she encouraged, smiling brightly. "You've got this."

He really wasn’t sure if he had this or not, but he moved his legs all the same and prayed for the strength he needed to keep himself upright as he hobbled down the rocks at a snail's pace, feeling every ache and burn in his muscles, until he was standing in front of her with his feet planted firmly in the sand.

“Are you ready?" she asked, sounding a little breathless as a playful smile tipped at her lips.

“Yeah." He nodded, feeling the burn on his skin from having her eyes on him. "Go for it."

She held the ball out for Johnny to take, but when he reached for it, she backed up a few feet.

A small smile curled at his lips and he tilted his head, studying her mischievous expression. "Oh, so it's going to be like that?”

{{user}} laughed loudly – she actually fucking laughed – and nodded. "Come and get it, Mister Rugby."

Shaking his head, Johnny trudged after her, his movements stiff and awkward, but she didn’t seem to notice, or she didn’t care. She was smiling encouragingly and nodding at him to follow her as she bounced a few feet out of his grasp every time he got close enough to snatch the ball.

“{{user}}, I can't," he called after her when she ran too far ahead of him for the millionth time. "I'm too stiff." And embarrassed…

“No, you're not," she encouraged, breathless and beaming back at him. “You're just out of practice. It's just us, Johnny – just you and me. And you can do this. I promise."