Breathless (153 page)

I nodded. “Okay, I’ll make sure to remember that.”

“Good. Once you’re paddling out, you’re going to come across small waves. It’s easier to dip yourself and your board under them instead of fighting against them. If you don’t, you’ll wear yourself out before you even make it out far enough to surf. Grip your board here, and push down. It will sink under the water, and you’ll follow it. Once you surface, just keep paddling. I’ll let you know when we’re out far enough. You need to keep your board facing out toward the ocean until you see a wave you want. Once you do, you need to turn your board and start paddling. Remember to keep yourself centered, so you don’t dip the nose or let the wave pass under you. When you feel it start to move you, you’ll need to stand up, which is what I’m going to teach you now.”

“Okay, just show me what to do.”

“When you start riding the wave, do a push-up and pull your knees toward your stomach. Make sure to keep your center of balance as you stand up. Put whichever foot feels comfortable in the front, and keep your center of gravity low, or you’ll fall flat on your ass. Honestly, you’re going to fall off of this board a lot today.”

“Great. I can’t wait,” I joked.

“Learning is half the fun. I promise to have you standing up and surfing by the end of the day.”

“I’m holding you to that.”

“Please do. I like a challenge.”

I looked up to see him a lot closer than I’d realized. His eyes were sparkling with mischief, and I felt my stomach tighten. He was beautiful but even more so up close. I had no idea how I was supposed to ignore that little fact when I was going to spend half the day with him.

“Okay, let’s try it a few times. Remember, push up, pull knees, pop up, one foot in front of you, and keep your center of gravity low.”

“Got it,” I said as I prepared to stand. I did it quickly, feeling proud of myself until he shook his head.

“You stood up too fast. Out there on a wave, you’ll lose your balance and fall off. Try it again.”

I nodded as I repeated the movements, only slower this time. Again, he shook his head.

“Too slow. The wave will reach the shore before you finish standing up. Try it again.”

“You’re a slave driver, you know that, right?”

“Shut up, and try it again.” He shot me a smug smile.

I did it again, trying not to go too slow or too fast. I nearly did a cartwheel when he nodded his approval.

“That was perfect. Now, do it a few more times.”

After several minutes of me popping up off the board, I felt like I had it down. “I think I’m good. Can we get in the water yet?”

“Do you think you’re ready?”

“No, but I don’t think I’ll ever be. Might as well get on with the embarrassing myself part of the day.”

“Sounds good to me. I could use a laugh.”

I rolled my eyes as we put our leg ropes on, and I stood up. I picked up my board, and it was a lot lighter than I’d expected, but it still felt bulky and awkward in my hands.

Jesse stood up and pulled his shirt over his head. My eyes widened as I took in his tight stomach and broad shoulders. He wasn’t ripped, but he was in excellent shape for a seventeen-year-old guy in high school. Living in California, I’d seen a lot of shirtless guys, and I was thoroughly impressed with him to say the least. He grabbed his board, which was a lot smaller might

I add, and he started walking to the water. I forced my eyes away from him as I followed.

“Wait!” I called out. “What about our wet suits?”

“We can put them on in a few. I want to make sure you’re going to stick with this before we suit up.”

“So, you think I’m going to get discouraged and quit?” I asked, offended by his lack of belief in me.

“I think this is a lot harder than you think it is. A lot of newbies give up after being tossed around by the waves a few times.”

At least he was being honest. I’d give him that. It still didn’t make me feel any better about the fact that he assumed I would just give up if I didn’t get it as soon as we started.

“I’ll show you. I don’t give up that easily,” I said stubbornly.

“I hope not. Come on, let’s go catch a wave.”

I held my head high as we walked down the beach and into the water. I did as he’d said, and I waited until I was waist deep in the water before climbing on. Just like he’d warned, it wasn’t as easy to get on the board as I’d expected. He climbed on to his easily, and he waited as I tried to climb on to mine. It took a few tries, but I finally managed to get on the stupid thing.

“Okay, I’m good,” I said as I looked up at him.

“You might want to scoot up a little bit. You’re too far back.”

“Oh shit.” I slowly scooted up my board, not wanting to fall off after all my hard work of getting on it.

He’d been right. It felt completely different out here on the water, and I felt more than a little unsure of myself.

“You’re good. Let’s start paddling.”

I watched him closely as he started paddling, and I tried to mimic his moves. I was a lot slower than him, and I knew he was slowing down occasionally to let me catch up with him. I used the technique he’d shown me when we started meeting the smaller waves. I had to admit that the guy knew what he was doing on a surfboard. I was already impressed, and I hadn’t even seen him surf yet.

When we were out far enough, he stopped paddling, and he sat up on his board. “This is far enough. We’ll wait here until we see a wave we want.” “How do we know which wave is the right one?” I asked.

“You don’t want one that’s too small or too big. If it’s too small, you won’t be able to surf on it obviously, and if it’s too big, it’ll knock you down.”

“Why don’t you pick one out for me?” I asked as I looked out at the waves making their way closer to us.

“No way. You have to figure it out on your own.”

“Fine,” I huffed. “That one coming at us now—it’s too small, right?” “I don’t know. Is it?”

“You’re an ass. Help me!”

“No way. You figure it out.”

I sighed as I eyed the wave. “It’s too small.”

“If you’re sure…”

“Oh my god, Jesse! I’m going to kill you!” I growled.

“Fine, you’re right. It
is
too small. Good call.”

“Was that so hard? Gesh,” I grumbled, trying to act annoyed, but I wasn’t.

I was enjoying the easy banter between the two of us. Jesse wasn’t a big talker, but I could tell that he was more relaxed and open out here than he was at school.

“Are you getting used to our school now?” I asked.

“I guess. It’s just school.”

“Yeah, but I know it has to be hard to be the new kid.”

“Being the new kid isn’t a big deal. It’s dealing with spoiled brats all day that gets annoying.”

“Do you think I’m a spoiled brat?” I asked.

He hesitated for a second. “I think you could be if you wanted to. I
do
think you’re spoiled, but you’re not a brat. When we met, I assumed that you were, but I was wrong.”

That wasn’t the answer I’d expected. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what his answer would be. “Thanks, I think.”

He laughed as another wave approached us, and I gripped my board with my knees and hands. It pushed us back a bit as it slipped under our boards.

“It was a compliment, I promise. You’re different from the rest of them.” “How so?”

“I don’t know. You’re just…you. You aren’t stuck-up, and you’re easy to talk with. Everyone else gave up on talking to me when they figured out that I didn’t want anything to do with them, but not you. You kept talking until I had to talk back.”

“Well, I do talk a lot,” I joked.

“It’s endearing. Kind of.”

“Sure it is,” I said as I watched another wave approach us.

It was bigger than the last, but I wasn’t sure if it was big enough. I studied it closely, chewing on my lip as I debated. If it weren’t big enough, I’d fail before I even tried.

“What has you in such deep thought over there?” Jesse asked.

“I’m debating on whether or not that wave is the right one.”

“Well? Is it?”

“I don’t know. I think so, but I’m not sure.”

“There’s only one way to find out. Try to surf it.”

I knew right then that it was
the one.
If Jesse suggested I try it, I was going to try it.

“Let’s do it.”

He smiled. “Good. Now, turn your board around and start paddling.”

I did as he’d said, and I turned my board so that it was facing the shore. I started paddling as the wave closed the gap between us.

“You’re going to feel it start to push you. When it does, keep paddling for a minute, and then stand up. Okay?” “Okay,” I said nervously.

My stomach was in knots over the prospect of trying to stand up on this thing. I was normally pretty graceful, but I felt out of my element out here. The wave was on us before I even realized it was close, and I felt myself sailing forward with my board. It was an incredible feeling. I smiled as I paddled a few more times, and then I prepared myself to stand up. I pushed up and pulled my legs toward my chest, just like Jesse had told me to. I took one last deep breath before standing up, careful to keep my body crouched down low. I wobbled a bit as I put my right foot in front of me, but I didn’t fall.
So far, so good.

“You’ve got it! Just move with the wave!” Jesse yelled from beside me.

I glanced over to see him standing on his own board, looking completely at ease. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him as he maneuvered his board on the wave, causing the muscles in his stomach and arms to tighten. I was so caught up with watching him that I’d stopped paying attention to what I was doing, and before I knew what was happening, I was being thrown off my board.

I crashed into the water and slipped under the surface. Shocked and confused, I tried to kick my way to the surface, but I wasn’t sure which way was up. I hadn’t had time to grab a breath before going under, and my lungs were already starting to burn.

Suddenly, I felt myself being pulled up by my arm. My head broke the surface, and I took a deep breath just before a wave crashed over my head. I was pushed back under, but I felt someone holding on to my arm still. I was pulled back up again, but without any waves crashing into me this time. My board was a foot in front of me, and I grabbed it.

“Holy shit, are you okay?” Jesse asked from beside me.

I nodded, unable to speak. I’d spent most of my life out in the ocean, and I’d never once been afraid—until today. The terror I’d felt when I couldn’t find the surface was like nothing else I’d ever experienced.

“You scared the crap out of me, Emma.”

“Sorry,” I said as I held on to my board for dear life.

“What happened?” Jesse asked with concern.

“I don’t know. I guess I got distracted.”

“By what?”

Oh shit.
“Uh, I was watching you and not paying attention.”

“Why were you watching me? You always have to pay attention when you’re on a board, or you’ll fall off.”

“You were distracting. Sorry.” The words slipped out before I could stop them. I wanted to hit myself over the head when a grin crept across his face.

“Why am I distracting?”

“Are you really going to make me spell it out? You were all wet and shirtless, and I was distracted. Okay? There, I said it.”

His grin widened as he listened to me embarrass myself. “So, I’m distracting when I’m shirtless?”

“You know you are, so stop trying to embarrass me more. I just had a near-death experience a minute ago.”

He grabbed my board, so he could use it to float as he leaned in closer to me. “And you think that you wearing that bikini isn’t distracting for me?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Stop acting innocent. You know what you look like, and you don’t try to hide it. I’ve been…distracted since you stripped down on the beach, but you don’t see me falling off my board because of it.”

“I…you…” I stuttered.

Jesse was always blunt, but this was taking it to a whole new level.

He laughed. “I guess we both know that we’re distracting each other now. Do you want to try again or take a break?”

“After falling off and you saying all of that, I think I need a break.”

“Fine by me. We can hang out on the beach for a few until you’re ready to go again.”

He helped me back onto my board, his hands lingering on me longer than necessary when he pushed my legs up. I shuddered as he ran his hand down my thigh to my knee. I wasn’t used to this game we were playing. Usually, if a guy was interested, he told me. With Jesse, I wasn’t sure how to handle the situation. He had just said that he found me attractive, but that didn’t mean that he was interested. I felt like I was walking on thin ice. One slip, and I’d come crashing down from the high his words had given me.

We paddled back to the beach, and once we were far enough away from the water, we stuck our boards in the sand. Jesse pulled two beach towels out of his duffel bag and handed me one.

“Is there anything that you don’t have stashed away in that thing?” I asked as I spread out my towel and settled down onto it.

“Nope. I carry all kinds of crap in it when I come to the beach.” He pulled two bottles of water out of it and gave me one. “Here, I brought us each one.”

“Thanks,” I said gratefully as I took the bottle and opened it.

Jesse spread out his towel beside me and sat down on it, watching me as I sipped my water.

“What?” I asked.

“What did you think?”

“Of surfing?” He nodded. “It was fun…until I fell off, that is.”

“I thought you might like it. Just don’t let your slipup scare you. You’re going to fall off a lot, but you’ll get better with practice.”

“I’m not giving up, I swear. I just need a few minutes to chill out. It freaked me out when I couldn’t find the surface.”

“I know what you mean. I did that once when I was younger. Andy was with me though, and he helped me, like I did with you. Just remember to never go surfing by yourself, okay? It’s not safe, and I don’t want to have to worry about whether you’re out here by yourself or not.”

“You’d worry about me?” I asked, touched by his thoughtfulness. “Yeah, I guess I would.”