certainly didn’t sleep with as many women as everyone thought. It was easier to play along than try to convince them otherwise. She honestly didn’t know why women found her so attractive. She was too thin, her breasts too flat, and her wardrobe, as limited as it was, was for function, not fashion.
She envisioned Elizabeth sitting on the shore that night. At that moment Colby had drifted outside herself and watched from a distance as she walked over to Elizabeth, drew her into her arms, and kissed her. Somebody else had explored her lips and mouth, toyed with her tongue. A stranger had touched her hot flesh, caressed her heavy breasts, and sucked an erect nipple, then dipped into her pants. But it was Colby who had stepped away, ending the vision that later became clear as the fog of passion dissipated.
She had no right to this woman, wasn’t entitled to this joy, this excitement, this pleasure, but had done it anyway. She was ashamed of her actions and glad they had been interrupted. But she continued to be drawn to her. It made no sense, though it had driven her to practically stake out the resort for three days until Elizabeth finally emerged.
Elizabeth was a mystery. And it scared the hell out of her that she wanted to solve it.
“I thought we were meeting at the pool.” Colby hadn’t expected Elizabeth to be waiting for her. After walking and talking for several hours yesterday afternoon they had rescheduled Elizabeth’s surfing lesson for today.
“We were. I just thought I’d meet you halfway. It’s not a problem, is it?” Elizabeth hesitated just before she dropped her towel and beach bag onto a vacant chair.
“No, not at all,” she choked out. Her breath had stuck somewhere between an inhale and an exhale at the sight of Elizabeth walking toward her in her beachwear. “Just give me a minute and we’ll get started.”
She quickly secured the boards and life vests she used for her classes and jogged back to where Elizabeth was waiting. She had wanted to at least brush her teeth before seeing Elizabeth again, because they would be very close for the next hour.
“Ready?” she asked, wondering if she was.
Elizabeth gave a thumbs-up. “Let’s do it.”
Her mouth grew dry and her hands began to shake. She had never been jittery, even during the first lesson she ever gave. But this was different. This was Elizabeth, and she wanted not only to impress her but have her enjoy surfing as much as she did. Here we go.
Elizabeth was standing next to one of the boards she had stuck vertically in the sand.
“Okay, usually I begin with a little history lesson, but we can skip that and start with the basics—”
“No.”
“No?”
“No, I want it all. History, safety, equipment. Everything you’d give a paying customer.”
“Okay, but you’re nothing like any of my other students.”
“Well, I’ve never had a teacher as distractingly good-looking as you. So we’re even. Except I get the raw end here. If I don’t pay attention I’ll end up drinking more of the Pacific than I care to.”
Elizabeth’s smile was devastating, and Colby had to open her mouth several times before something coherent came out. “Surfing is one of the oldest activities on the islands. It was a form of transportation from one island to another, and fishermen used it to bring their catch back to shore. Over time, surfing evolved from a form of getting around to an enjoyable pastime.”
“Kind of like sex,” Elizabeth said calmly. She must have looked confused because Elizabeth clarified her comment. “It was needed to continue the human race, but now we do it for fun as well.”
Colby swallowed the vision of having fun with Elizabeth. “Spoken like a true scholar. Now, where was I? Yes, I remember. The beach movies of the fifties and sixties glamorized surfing while Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon romanticized it. Can’t beat either one. It’s a great chick magnet,” she said, ignoring the look of
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