Crashing Waves (23 page)

"You always do everything ass backwards."

"Yeah. Yeah. She's busy with her family. She graduated from Cal State yesterday."

~ ~ ~

Rory sat in the sand behind her house, nursing a glass of whiskey as she listened to the crashing waves. "
I hope you know what you're doing, Eden. This could seriously backfire in your face."
Rory reached up, running her fingers over the pendant that rested in the hollow of her neck.
I miss you, Dad. I know you're watching over me. I know you're the one who saved me. I'll never tell anyone, but I saw your face as you pulled me off the bottom. That's why they found me. They thought I'd started floating up after hitting my head, but you were pulling me to the surface for them to reach me.
Rory chased away the few tears they fell from her icy blue eyes and walked into the house.

Grabbing her phone from the kitchen counter, Rory scrolled through her contacts, rubbing her finger over the one she wanted to call.

"Austin?" Rory asked.

"No, this is Lori. She's in the shower—wait, here she comes."

"Hello?" Austin answered, shaking her wet hair out.

"Hey."

"Rory, hi, what's up?"

"Uh…do you…can you meet me for dinner at the pier?"

"Hmm…I….well…" Austin shrugged her shoulders to her friend. "Sure. I'll be there in thirty minutes."

"If your family is still here, we can meet another night."

"No, they left this morning. I'll see you in a bit." Austin said before ending the call.

"You jump pretty fucking high every time she says your name."  

"Damn it, Lori. This is good news. At least I hope it is."

"You're in love with her and she's going to break your heart," Lori replied, shaking her head. "I saw how hurt you looked when you came home from traveling halfway around the world with her. I wasn't the only one who saw how much you lit up when she appeared at your graduation. Your mom was staring at her like a pedophile."

"Oh good God, we're only nine years apart. I don’t need this from you right now. My mom knows I'm a lesbian. She knew when I was ten," Austin growled, storming out of the room.

~ ~ ~

Dinner came and went. Rory contemplated ordering a stiff drink, but decided she had better do this completely sober. "So how's school going?"

Austin laughed.

"What?" Rory raised an eyebrow.

"You were at my graduation a couple of days ago."

"Oh, right. I know that."
Great.
Rory wasn't sure how to talk to Austin. The atmosphere between them had shifted uncomfortably since their last night in Australia.

"Rory, what's wrong?" Austin asked.

"Nothing, I'm sorry. I meant how's work."

"Work is fine. The big question is, are we? I haven't heard from you since we got back."

Rory sipped her water, wishing it was stronger. "I've been busy. I know that's no excuse—"

"I overheard the conversation between you and your mother. I hadn't meant to. I was actually looking for you when I heard you both yelling."

"I guess you know why things are so bitter between us then," Rory exclaimed.

"Are you and Martie involved?" Austin questioned.

Rory met her eyes. "No. We were at one time though. We will always care for each other, but we realized a long time ago that we're better off as friends."

"Your mother seems to prefer her."

"What do you mean?"

"She grilled me while we were there. She wanted to know if I knew Martie and why was I there with you and not her. Then, after what I heard you two saying…the questioning made sense."

Rory shook her head. "She was under the impression that Martie and I were still together. I guess that's what happens when you don't talk for a number of years. There hasn't been anyone in my life for about five years…well, no one until you."

"Is that what you want? For me to be in your life?"

"I honestly don't know, Austin. I made you a promise to work with you and get you ready for the tour, but as far as anything else…I…I just don't know." Rory stared out the window at darkness. "I'm sorry if I led you to believe otherwise. What happened with us…that's…"

"If you apologize one more time for touching me, I'm going to toss this glass of water in your face. Rory, you didn't hurt me and you didn't do anything I didn't want you to do. We were caught up in a magical moment. I only regret not being able to touch you too."

Rory turned back towards her, meeting Austin's gray eyes. "If you could go anywhere in the world…where would you go?"

"Uh…okay." Austin wasn't expecting the sudden subject change. She stared at Rory for a minute, trying to read the enigmatic woman. Finally, she answered. "If I could go anywhere it would have to be Pipeline. Isn't that every surfer's dream?" Austin smiled. She watched Rory's eyes slowly close as she hung her head slightly. Austin had forgotten that was where Rory's accident had been. "Rory, I'm sor—"

Rory interrupted her, ignoring the pain she felt at the mention of the one place she never wanted to see again."How would you like to go to the North Shore for a couple of weeks?"

"What?"

"I own a beach house in Pupukea, on the North Shore of Oahu. Backdoor and Pipeline are about a mile away. The break behind my house is actually referred to as Log Cabins or Logs to the locals. It's a little smaller and easier to ride and a hell of a lot less crowded."

"No way!"

"Yeah, I bought the house after my first year on the tour. I used to live and train there pretty much year round…until my…until I stopped surfing."

"Wow…"

"Would you like to go there with me and hone your skills on real waves?"

"Of course I want to go, but are you sure?"

"Yes. I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn't. When do you think you will be able to leave?"

"Tomorrow!" Austin nearly shouted.

Rory smiled. "I don't know if my secretary can get us a flight that quickly. It may be a few days. Make sure you clear it with your job. That needs to come first."

Rory paid the tab and they walked out of the restaurant together. As soon as she was in her truck, Austin scrolled through the contacts on her phone, highlighting the person she wanted to call.

"Lori you will never believe this, where are you?" she shrieked.  

Chapter Fourteen

The plane landed smoothly at the Honolulu International Airport after a nearly six hour non-stop flight. The temperature was warm, in the low eighties, the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Rory's chest tightened immediately when she smelled the air outside.
You can do this. Stay strong.
 

"It's so beautiful here," Austin said, taking in the sights as Rory drove their rented convertible across the island.

An hour later, they pulled into the slender driveway of a small white bungalow with a small carport. The place definitely looked like a beach house. Large sand dunes and overgrown sand weeds were visible behind it and the little bit of grass in the thin strip of front yard had been mowed recently.

They grabbed their bags and Rory opened the front door. She nodded for Austin to walk in first, setting her suitcase down on the light colored bamboo floor that ran throughout the house. Austin walked further inside. A crème colored couch with light yellow and baby blue throw pillows sat against one of the bright white walls. Various beach scene paintings in light pink and baby blue frames hung on the other walls. Every part of the house was decorated with beach décor and pastel colors. A large area rug was spread over the floor under the light colored wooden coffee table in front of the couch and the hallway had a runner down the center. The opposite wall from the couch had a small entertainment center with a TV in the middle.

"My room's at the end of the hall and the first door on the left is the spare bedroom. I know it's a little small and drastically different compared to my house in Long Beach. Hell, it would probably fit in the living room of the Zane Estate with room to walk around it."

Austin laughed. "It's adorable, Rory. Quiet and quaint, I love it." She smiled.

"Across the hall from your room is your bathroom and then there is also one in the master bedroom."

Austin nodded, placing her suitcase in her room and then she walked through the French doors, leading to the small patio off the back of the house. There was a small patch of grass with a stone walkway past the patio and then nothing but large tan colored sand dunes and the sound of the ocean beyond them.

"Hey, I need to go to the grocery store and stock up the fridge and the cabinets. Do you want to stay here and unpack or go with me?" Rory called through the doorway.

"I'll go with you, that way I can help you pay for everything."

"Austin, have I ever made you pay for anything when you're with me?"

"No and I don't understand why not."

"Because you're my guest and guests don't pay for anything. Come on."

~ ~ ~

They deposited the vast amount of grocery bags on the island in the kitchen.

"I think we bought enough to feed an army," Austin laughed.

"Well, I hate to go to the store. Besides, we don't have time to shop or go to restaurants. Here, help me get these put away so I can make dinner. I'm starving."

"What are you making, Martha Stewart?" Austin teased.

"Watch it, ankle-biter!" Rory chided, turning to put away the pasta and sauce that she'd been holding, into the cabinet.

"Who are you calling ankle-biter? You ratbag!"

"Hey!" Rory spun around, facing her with a raise eyebrow at the mild insult.

"You know I'm only having a lend of you, you old bastard!" Austin grinned.

Rory raised an eyebrow, shaking her head in disbelief. "You spent too much time with Uncle Mick. You're starting to sound like that silly old codger."

Austin laughed. "Yeah, he was definitely interesting. I still don't understand half the shit he said to me."

"I don't either and I lived with the man for eleven years!" Rory laughed. "He says hello by the way and I've been told not to come back to Oz, unless I have you with me."

~ ~ ~

The Italian dinner that Rory made had been eaten in a quarter of the time that it had taken to make. The bottle of Pinot sitting on the table was still half full. Rory and Austin sat on the small couch watching reruns on the TV.

"I'm tired, so if you don't mind, I'm going to head off to bed. You can stay up if you want, but you need to be up with me at five."

"Five! Are you kidding?!"

"No. I'm going to train you the way I trained myself. We start tomorrow…at five." Rory said, spinning on her heels before walking down the hall.

"Great, some vacation this is going to be," Austin muttered to herself as she turned the TV off.

~ ~ ~

At a quarter after five, Rory was standing in the sand next to the large dunes. She was barefooted and wearing only a sports bra and shorts. Austin stood next to her, still half asleep and trying not to stare at the vast amount of tan skin that Rory was showing.

"Have you ever heard of Tai Chi?" Rory asked.

"Who?"

"Tai Chi. It's a meditation art form. I'm going to show it to you. I have been doing this everyday for about eight or nine years now."

"Okay, what do we do?"

"First we stretch."

Both women began slowly stretching their frames, careful not to pull too hard in any one direction.

"You simply follow these basic steps…" She counted them off as she showed Austin the movements. "Then you add more to it as you get more advanced. Think you got it?"

"Maybe."

Rory began slowly moving through the steps, stretching her arms and legs and fluidly moving into different stances with Austin mimicking her every move until she had it down. Then, Rory began showing her more advanced movements. Two hours later, they were glistening with sweat and completely focused.

"That's really incredible. I've never done anything like that." Austin gulped her bottled water.

"We will wake up and do this every morning. It'll help you maintain stability and endurance, on top of keeping your mind focused. I sometimes do it at night too when I don't feel like running three or four miles, but I don't want you to get tired. You need to build up your energy. Go change and meet me back here. Make sure you're wearing a rash guard. The water's warm, so swimsuit bottoms or board shorts will be fine."

Austin disappeared into the house and Rory walked out to the shed. She had four short boards hanging on the wall.
Hmm…
She examined the boards until she was satisfied with one. Rory grabbed a block of wax, and a wash comb, before closing the door and walking back towards the beach. She frantically dropped the board that was under her arm when she realized she had been carrying it, along with the rest of the contents in her other hand.

She suddenly felt clammy as sweat began beading up on her skin. The salt air burned her nostrils as she inhaled and her vision swam. She forced her eyes closed, willing the vomit to stay down.
No! No, please, no. Not now!
Her body convulsed and she doubled over in the grass next to the shed. Bile rose in her throat and she vomited. Tears streamed down her face when her body finally stopped dry heaving.

She quickly wiped her faced with the back of her hands as she stood up. "Yuck!" The taste in her mouth was disgusting. She spit a few times and kicked some sand over the spot in the grass.
Come on, Rory. You can do this. It's not like you're the one getting in the water. Be strong! She needs you.
 

Before Rory could pick the board back up, Austin appeared.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, here, go wax this up and I'll meet you in the sand. I need to run inside for a second."

Austin picked everything up and Rory disappeared.

She brushed her teeth and tossed a t-shirt on over her sports bra and walked back outside. Austin was already waxing the board.

"This is one of your personal sticks isn't it?" Austin grinned.