The night air smells of meadowsweet and wood-smoke as we walk across the barley field towards the little stretch of river. Ben is holding my hand. The evening is peachy ripe, succulent and warm, and my skin tingles with excitement.

When we get to the river, Ben takes his jacket off and lays it on the ground between two alder trees. I sit down while he stands and rolls a joint. I watch as he lights it then takes a hit. The weed smells foul but I nod my head all the same when Ben passes it to me. I don’t want him to think that I’m a stupid little girl. When we finish smoking I lie back on the ground, my head fuzzy. Then Ben comes and lies beside me. He strokes my hair and kisses me gently on my nose.

‘God, you’re beautiful,’ he says. And I feel it. I truly feel it.

We start to kiss, soft at first and then harder. Ben shifts position and I feel something sharp digging into my stomach.

‘Ow,’ I cry out.

Ben stops then fiddles with his trousers.

‘Shit, sorry about that,’ he says, holding up a square black camera. ‘It was still in my pocket from the party.’

We look at each other and start to laugh.

‘Talk about ruining the mood,’ he says, rolling his eyes. ‘Nice one, Ben.’

And then I don’t know whether it’s the weed or whether Ben’s flattery has emboldened me but I begin to take my clothes off. Ben’s eyes widen then he smiles mischievously and undresses too.

He lies down next to me and we kiss.

‘Ben,’ I whisper. ‘May I ask you something?’

He stops and looks at me.

‘I haven’t got anything with me,’ he says. ‘But I’ll be really careful, I promise.’

I laugh then, stoned and oblivious to any kind of risk.

‘Not that,’ I giggle. ‘Something else.’

‘What?’ says Ben. He is giggling too now. It’s contagious.

‘Would you take a picture of us?’ I slur. ‘For austerity.’

‘It’s posterity, you noodle,’ he laughs. ‘But sure, why not?’

I smile and watch as he gets up to retrieve the camera that is lying on the ground by our clothes.

‘You need flowers,’ he says, stumbling around by the river’s edge. ‘Look, these are pretty. These pink ones.’

He comes over to me with a handful of pink clover and starts threading it through my hair. When he’s finished he looks at me and smiles.

‘That’s perfect,’ he whispers. Then he kisses me, long and sensuously, on the mouth.

‘Come on,’ I say, pushing him away playfully. ‘Go set up the camera.’

‘God, you’re such a tease,’ he groans as he gets to his feet.

I watch as he places the camera on a stone just in front of us.

‘Right, we’ve got ten seconds,’ he shouts as he runs towards me.