instead of replying, his eyes softened and he shook his head with an amused smirk on his face.
“School is okay. It’s more research than classes. I just have to check in with my professor occasionally. Not the direction I wanted to go, but Drew, my boss, wanted me to do it. It’ll be good for the project, I guess.”
“Tell me about it.”
“What? The project?”
“Yes. About what you do out there.”
“It’s a project in a small village outside Portoviejo. There was a bad flood a few years ago, and it ruined everything. Like, it wiped out whole towns. Towns that didn’t have much to begin with. The project I work with set up a permanent base there to help rebuild the town, educate the children, and provide medical assistance, that kind of thing. But it’s been a huge success, and we have similar projects set up all over Ecuador now.”
Talking about the work made me realize how much I missed it. It had only been a few weeks, but part of me was itching to get back out there.
As if he could read my mind, Kade said, “You miss it, don’t you?”
“Yes. Part of me will always be out there.”
The earlier ease between us seemed to disappear, replaced with something heavier. Kade didn’t say anything else, and I figured he probably didn’t get it. Just like Dad and my brothers. Even Livy. People rarely understood why I wanted to be miles away from home in a third world country with no luxuries. But I was free out there. Nothing mattered except the people and the work.
“Welcome to Flagler Beach,” Kade announced breaking through minutes of silence.
The choppy swell of the sea caught my eye. Perfect . Waves crashed onto the shore and I spotted a couple of surfers along the horizon.
Kade pulled up alongside a couple of other trucks. A white wooden sign stood proudly declaring Flagler Beach in washed-out white lettering. It was a surfer's paradise all right, just as the internet had said it was. A group of spectators sat huddled on the sand watching the surfboards ride the waves back toward the shore.
"So, which kind of guy are you?" I challenged.
Kade followed my line of sight and his eyes widened with realization. "Surfing? You made me drive eighty miles across the state to surf?"
"Too chicken?"
He watched the two figures in the distance bob in the ocean, anticipating their next ride. "I don't surf."
"Ah-ha, so you are one of those guys," I mocked, enjoying the irritated look on his face.
"Let's go," he demanded, climbing out of the truck.
"We surf?" I asked, adrenaline already coursing through me. I loved the water. Especially on days like this.
Kade met me at the front of the truck and glanced out at the ocean, again. With a decisive nod, he said, "We surf."
~
Kade didn't surf. He had no coordination and shitty timing. When he finally managed to get up on the board, he wiped out in seconds.
"That's it; laugh it up, Jameson," he shot at me across the icy water. Even in our wetsuits, the bite of the ocean was still there.
We'd been at it for over an hour, moving further out as Kade refused to admit defeat. Maybe I need to be deeper , he'd said after half an hour of barely making it up on the board. The water lapped around my legs as I straddled the board trying to guide Kade for the next wave.
"You want to extend from your knees and balance yourself with your arms. Quick and smooth. Like a cat."
"A fucking cat," he grumbled under his breath, focused only on the task at hand.
We bobbed up and down in the unbroken waves, my eyes searching the horizon for something suitable.
“Now, swim. Swim.” I threw myself forward on the board, kicking my legs out behind me. My arms tore through the water against the tide. Glancing back, I saw Kade was right on my tail.
“Okay, you want to wait until that third wave. That’s the one. Don’t overthink it; just do it. Cat, remember. Cat,” I yelled back, hoping he would hear me over the ripple of the water.
Using my whole body to help guide the
“School is okay. It’s more research than classes. I just have to check in with my professor occasionally. Not the direction I wanted to go, but Drew, my boss, wanted me to do it. It’ll be good for the project, I guess.”
“Tell me about it.”
“What? The project?”
“Yes. About what you do out there.”
“It’s a project in a small village outside Portoviejo. There was a bad flood a few years ago, and it ruined everything. Like, it wiped out whole towns. Towns that didn’t have much to begin with. The project I work with set up a permanent base there to help rebuild the town, educate the children, and provide medical assistance, that kind of thing. But it’s been a huge success, and we have similar projects set up all over Ecuador now.”
Talking about the work made me realize how much I missed it. It had only been a few weeks, but part of me was itching to get back out there.
As if he could read my mind, Kade said, “You miss it, don’t you?”
“Yes. Part of me will always be out there.”
The earlier ease between us seemed to disappear, replaced with something heavier. Kade didn’t say anything else, and I figured he probably didn’t get it. Just like Dad and my brothers. Even Livy. People rarely understood why I wanted to be miles away from home in a third world country with no luxuries. But I was free out there. Nothing mattered except the people and the work.
“Welcome to Flagler Beach,” Kade announced breaking through minutes of silence.
The choppy swell of the sea caught my eye. Perfect . Waves crashed onto the shore and I spotted a couple of surfers along the horizon.
Kade pulled up alongside a couple of other trucks. A white wooden sign stood proudly declaring Flagler Beach in washed-out white lettering. It was a surfer's paradise all right, just as the internet had said it was. A group of spectators sat huddled on the sand watching the surfboards ride the waves back toward the shore.
"So, which kind of guy are you?" I challenged.
Kade followed my line of sight and his eyes widened with realization. "Surfing? You made me drive eighty miles across the state to surf?"
"Too chicken?"
He watched the two figures in the distance bob in the ocean, anticipating their next ride. "I don't surf."
"Ah-ha, so you are one of those guys," I mocked, enjoying the irritated look on his face.
"Let's go," he demanded, climbing out of the truck.
"We surf?" I asked, adrenaline already coursing through me. I loved the water. Especially on days like this.
Kade met me at the front of the truck and glanced out at the ocean, again. With a decisive nod, he said, "We surf."
~
Kade didn't surf. He had no coordination and shitty timing. When he finally managed to get up on the board, he wiped out in seconds.
"That's it; laugh it up, Jameson," he shot at me across the icy water. Even in our wetsuits, the bite of the ocean was still there.
We'd been at it for over an hour, moving further out as Kade refused to admit defeat. Maybe I need to be deeper , he'd said after half an hour of barely making it up on the board. The water lapped around my legs as I straddled the board trying to guide Kade for the next wave.
"You want to extend from your knees and balance yourself with your arms. Quick and smooth. Like a cat."
"A fucking cat," he grumbled under his breath, focused only on the task at hand.
We bobbed up and down in the unbroken waves, my eyes searching the horizon for something suitable.
“Now, swim. Swim.” I threw myself forward on the board, kicking my legs out behind me. My arms tore through the water against the tide. Glancing back, I saw Kade was right on my tail.
“Okay, you want to wait until that third wave. That’s the one. Don’t overthink it; just do it. Cat, remember. Cat,” I yelled back, hoping he would hear me over the ripple of the water.
Using my whole body to help guide the
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