follow after him. Once we’re waist deep in the warm Atlantic Ocean, we’re forced to continually duck dive under the relentless waves until we’re far enough past the breaks. We paddle out a bit further until we get to a place where we can turn around to face the beach. I can hardly breathe and my limbs ache. My arms tremble as I climb onto the board to straddle it the way Adam does.
“Are you okay?”
I nod because I don’t have enough air in my lungs to speak.
The rolling motion of the water is carrying our boards farther apart and making me a little queasy. He holds his hand out to me. I take his hand and he yanks me toward him.
“Okay, I’m going to tell you something I never tell anybody when they ask me for a surfing lesson.”
“What?”
“You look really sexy in that bikini.”
“And you’d better not tell anyone else that.”
“Ooh, you wear jealousy even better than you wear that bikini,” he says as he leans over and kisses my temple. “You should take it off.”
“Focus, Adam.”
“Right.” He gazes at the waves as they crash onto the shore before us for a while before he speaks again. What he says has nothing to do with surfing. “I want you to meet my parents.”
“That’s your idea of focusing?”
He tilts his head as he looks at me because he knows I’m trying to avoid the subject.
“You don’t have to, but I’m going there this weekend. They’re having their annual summer picnic on my uncle’s ranch and I want you to come with me because I don’t think I can handle being away from you all weekend.”
I recognize that jittery feeling in my belly, and it’s the feeling that scares me more than what Adam’s proposing. I can feel myself falling. Hard. If I meet his parents, it will be like completely giving into that feeling. This won’t be infatuation anymore. It will be serious.
Say something, Claire , my inner voice shouts at me.
“Okay.”
“You’ll go?”
I nod fiercely and he leans over to kiss me so fast we both flip our boards and slip into the water. A tangle of seaweed snags on my foot and I scream. He laughs as he gathers our boards.
“All right, no more fooling around. I’m about to give you a serious lesson.” We climb back onto our boards and hold hands as we watch the waves break against the shore. “Pay attention to the rhythm and movement of the water.”
He lets go of my hand and I draw in a deep breath. The water dips and surges beneath my board and I can feel my body relaxing as I grip the rails, paying close attention. There’s a definite rhythm to the rise and crash of each wave. Without knowing, I realize I’ve closed my eyes and I’m visualizing the waves based on the sound. It’s so peaceful out here.
“Are you ready?” he asks, and I nod as I open my eyes.
He points at the waves as he tells me what to do. I try to repeat all his instructions in my head as I lie down on the board. Push the nose down… lean into the direction of the wave…. Let the momentum of the water carry you.
He shoves my board forward and shouts, “Start paddling!”
My first lesson is a disaster so as soon as the sun starts to set behind us, I breathe a sigh of relief and make my way back to solid ground. My jelly legs give out beneath me and I fall to my knees next to my beach bag. I wipe the saltwater from my face with a towel, lay the towel out on the sand, and collapse facedown.
“Hey, you didn’t do too bad,” Adam says as he pulls a bottle of water out of my beach bag and hands it to me.
I take the water and turn onto my side so I can guzzle it down. “Yeah, not so bad. I never once stood up.”
“That’s okay for your first time out. In fact, it’s expected. Trust me, I’ll have you riding in the curl soon.”
“Are you going to take that weekend job on Shell Island?”
“Are you going to be my first student?”
“I can’t afford surf lessons.”
“I’m sure Jason won’t mind me donating some lessons to a few hopeless
“Are you okay?”
I nod because I don’t have enough air in my lungs to speak.
The rolling motion of the water is carrying our boards farther apart and making me a little queasy. He holds his hand out to me. I take his hand and he yanks me toward him.
“Okay, I’m going to tell you something I never tell anybody when they ask me for a surfing lesson.”
“What?”
“You look really sexy in that bikini.”
“And you’d better not tell anyone else that.”
“Ooh, you wear jealousy even better than you wear that bikini,” he says as he leans over and kisses my temple. “You should take it off.”
“Focus, Adam.”
“Right.” He gazes at the waves as they crash onto the shore before us for a while before he speaks again. What he says has nothing to do with surfing. “I want you to meet my parents.”
“That’s your idea of focusing?”
He tilts his head as he looks at me because he knows I’m trying to avoid the subject.
“You don’t have to, but I’m going there this weekend. They’re having their annual summer picnic on my uncle’s ranch and I want you to come with me because I don’t think I can handle being away from you all weekend.”
I recognize that jittery feeling in my belly, and it’s the feeling that scares me more than what Adam’s proposing. I can feel myself falling. Hard. If I meet his parents, it will be like completely giving into that feeling. This won’t be infatuation anymore. It will be serious.
Say something, Claire , my inner voice shouts at me.
“Okay.”
“You’ll go?”
I nod fiercely and he leans over to kiss me so fast we both flip our boards and slip into the water. A tangle of seaweed snags on my foot and I scream. He laughs as he gathers our boards.
“All right, no more fooling around. I’m about to give you a serious lesson.” We climb back onto our boards and hold hands as we watch the waves break against the shore. “Pay attention to the rhythm and movement of the water.”
He lets go of my hand and I draw in a deep breath. The water dips and surges beneath my board and I can feel my body relaxing as I grip the rails, paying close attention. There’s a definite rhythm to the rise and crash of each wave. Without knowing, I realize I’ve closed my eyes and I’m visualizing the waves based on the sound. It’s so peaceful out here.
“Are you ready?” he asks, and I nod as I open my eyes.
He points at the waves as he tells me what to do. I try to repeat all his instructions in my head as I lie down on the board. Push the nose down… lean into the direction of the wave…. Let the momentum of the water carry you.
He shoves my board forward and shouts, “Start paddling!”
My first lesson is a disaster so as soon as the sun starts to set behind us, I breathe a sigh of relief and make my way back to solid ground. My jelly legs give out beneath me and I fall to my knees next to my beach bag. I wipe the saltwater from my face with a towel, lay the towel out on the sand, and collapse facedown.
“Hey, you didn’t do too bad,” Adam says as he pulls a bottle of water out of my beach bag and hands it to me.
I take the water and turn onto my side so I can guzzle it down. “Yeah, not so bad. I never once stood up.”
“That’s okay for your first time out. In fact, it’s expected. Trust me, I’ll have you riding in the curl soon.”
“Are you going to take that weekend job on Shell Island?”
“Are you going to be my first student?”
“I can’t afford surf lessons.”
“I’m sure Jason won’t mind me donating some lessons to a few hopeless
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