Riding the Surf (10 page)

11

Derek was stubborn, argumentative, and confrontational. If someone pissed him off, he was done with them. But he couldn’t do that with Paola. She was all he thought about. After he had time to cool off, he realized he couldn’t let her get away. She was the best thing that ever happened to him.

When h
e went to the beach the next morning, he wasn’t expecting to surf. He wanted to talk to Paola, work it out with her. But she never showed. Thatcher rode the waves while Derek sat on the beach. When the hour session was over, she still didn’t come to the beach. He realized she was trying to avoid him.

When he went to the cafeteria later that day, she wasn’t around.

“Congratulations,” Sydney said as she put the cupcakes in the middle of the table. There were toy surfboards on each one. Nancy and Thatcher joined them for lunch and now he understood why.

“Wow,” he said. “Thank you…” Even he could hear the insincerity in his voice.

“What’s wrong?” Sydney asked.

He sighed. “Paola…”

“What happened?” Nancy asked.

Derek told them the whole story. They were quiet for a long time.

“I guess I can understand her reaction,” Sydney said. “Coen and I were in the same situation. I knew he was playboy and I didn’t want to get burned again.”

“Well, what do I do?”
Derek asked

“Convince her otherwise,” Coen said. “If you really like her, it shouldn’t be hard.”

“I told her I loved her,” Derek said quietly.

They were all shocked.

“You just met her,” Ren said.

“I knew I loved Nancy the moment I saw her,” Thatcher said.

“But you guys are artists,” Ren said.

“We are soul mates,” Thatcher said. “There’s a big difference.”

Derek waved his hand. “I know it’s crazy but that’s how I feel. I don’t care what you think.”

“If she already fooled around and spen
t all this time with you, she must be really into you,” Sydney said.

“You think?” Derek asked.

“Yeah,” Nancy said. “Now she’s trying to push you away because she’s scared. Don’t let her.”

He nodded.
“I won’t.” He looked around the cafeteria. “If I can find her.”

“You can’t call?” Sydney asked.

“I can but I know she won’t answer,” Derek said.

“There
’s a small beach past Benson road,” Thatcher said. “Only a few locals know about it. I bet she’s surfing there.”

Derek’s eyes lit up. “Thank you so much.”

“No problem,” he said.

Coen stared at Derek. “It was really stupid to drop the L bomb on her like that.”

Derek rolled his eyes. “I can’t control how I feel.”

“But you can control what you say,” Coen said. “
I fell in love with Sydney after, like, a week. But I kept it to myself so I wouldn’t give her a heart attack.”

Sydney had her arm hooked around his and she smiled at him.

“It looks like sex helped,” Derek noted.

“What?” Nancy said. “Who caved?”

“Coen,” Sydney said triumphantly.

Nancy sighed. “There goes my lunch money…”

“I don’t feel bad for you,” Sydney said. “You should have picked me.”

“You only won because you tricked Coen,” Henry said.

Her eyes widened.

“What was that?” Coen said.

“Nothing…”

He looked Sydney, drilling holes in her skin.

“I may have faked a few tears…”

Coen shook his head. “That was low.”

“But the sex was really good.”

“I’ll give you that,” he said.

“I should have just had sex with Paola.”

They all looked at him.

“You did the right thing, Derek,” Nancy said. “She’ll realize that.”

“But I could have avoided all of this,” Derek said.

“She’ll understand why you did it,” Sydney said. “Don’t worry about it.”

After his classes were over, Derek grabbed his board
then went to the secluded beach. It was in a sharp cove and the waves were condensed. Trees and brush hid the sand from the road. It was a beautiful sight. He didn’t know if Paola would be here in the evening but he decided to take the chance. Since she was upset, she may come to the beach to clear her head. He sat on the sand and stared out at the ocean, waiting.

An hour later, a woman walked across the beach. She wore a pink bikini and
a threaded bracelet was on her wrist. He knew it was her. He approached her from behind.

“Hey.”

She turned around, surprise on her face. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you.”

Paola crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t want to talk to you, Derek. I don’t want to see you anymore.”

“That’s too bad.”

“Excuse me?”

“We’re working through this.”

“There’s nothing to work through.”

“I’m nothing like the man I used to be. I promise I won’t cheat on you, lie to you, or mistreat you. I will give you the respect, love, and trust you deserve, Paola. Please.”

“No,” she whispered.

“Just ask Nancy how she feels. She’ll be the first person to tell you that I’m a good guy and I’m different.”

She turned away.

“Look at me when I talk to you.”

“I’m done with this conversation.”

“Well, I’m not. You wouldn’t have kissed me or been so close to me all weekend if you didn’
t feel something for me. You knew what I did to Nancy before that trip even began, so what changed? Don’t give me any bullshit.”

She looked at the ground below her feet.

“Is it because I told you I loved you?”

Paola tucked her hair behind her ear.

“If that’s why, I take it back.”

“Did you mean it?”

“I’m hurt that you even asked me that,” he said. “Please remember that I didn’t sleep with you when I easily could have. I don’t want sex from you. I just want a date. Please. If I were anything like the guy I used to be, I wouldn’t even bother.”

She kicked the sand below her feet.

“And I’m sorry about what I said about your modeling. I was just angry and it came out. I just wanted to prove a point.”

“That was low.”

“Yeah, it was. And I’m sorry.”

“Did you look up my pictures?”

“What? No. That didn’t even cross my mind.”

“You swear?”

Derek shook his head. “I would never do that, Paola. When I see your body, I want you to show it to me. I want the real thing.”

“Did you tell your friends?”

“I’m not that stupid.”

“Derek, I don’t know if I’m ready for a relationship.”

“Why?” he asked.

“I—I don’t know. It’s hard for me to trust people.”

“You don’t have to trust me right away. And we don’t have to be in a relationship. We can date for a while until you are ready, exclusively, of course. I’ll do whatever you want to make this work. I don’t mind taking it slow. If I didn’t, I would have taken advantage of you already.”

She finally looked at him. “Okay. We can go on a date.”

He smiled. “You have no idea how long I’ve been working toward this.”

“What?”

“I’ve wanted to ask you out the day I saw you. I finally got my wish.” He wrapped his arms around her. “Can I cook you dinner at my place?”

“You’ll cook for me?”

“Yeah. I’ve never done it for a girl before. Don’t judge me if it’s bad.”

“I’ll love it no matter what.”

“Phew,” he said with a smile. “The pressure is off.” He took out his phone and texted her his address. “I can pick you up. It’s a date, after all.”

“No, don’t worry about it. I’ll be there in a few hours.”

“I look forward to it.”

12

Derek didn’t know how to cook many things so he prepared pasta, the easy choice. He bought raviolis from the store with fresh bread and started cooking in his kitchen. He looked up the directions on his phone and stuck to the regiment. When everything was almost done, he pulled the wine out of the freezer and set the table.

A small knock on the door announced her presence.

Derek felt his heart accelerate. She made him feel so nervous. He wasn’t sure why. In the small amount of time he’d known her, he felt like he understood her in a unique way, but that didn’t diminish the anxiety he felt.

When he opened the door, he felt his heart stop.

She was wearing a dark blue dress, tight around her waist and shoulders and loose around her legs. The lines of defined muscles were outlined around her shoulders and her arms. Her legs were swollen with aerobicized muscles.

“You look…yeah.”

She smiled. “I hope that’s a complement.”

He nodded vigorously. “It definitely is.” He pulled her waist to his, his hips in line with hers, and then pressed his face close to hers. Derek didn’t kiss her. Instead, he enjoyed the clo
seness he felt with her. Just in that moment, he felt more intimate with someone than he ever did with any other partner. He hadn’t even had sex with Paola, but he felt like that they had already gone farther than that. Their souls had already touched. He wasn’t sure when it happened. When they were kissing, staring at each other, or just holding each other. It crept up behind him and bit him quickly.

His hand felt the smooth material of her dress then moved up to her bare back. The skin was warm and soft. He touched her muscles gently, caressing them with a lover’s touch. When his fingers reached the back of her neck, he felt the strands of hair in his hands. He close
d his eyes and wanted to kiss her but he held it back. They would never get to dinner if he did. He wasn’t sure what was stronger; his physical desire for her or his emotional desire. Both of them were powerful and unstoppable. He’d fucked a lot of hot chicks, but even then he hadn’t been as sexually awake as he was now. The feeling was different, indescribable. Knowing she was his made the emotions heightened.

Paola wrapped her arms around his waist then kissed him gently.

The touch made him take a deep breath, feeling the sudden sting. His lips were so hot they were cold. The touch of her soft lips made him grip her tighter, feeling the vulnerable part of him emerge. Every time he kissed her, he felt like he’d die from happiness.

He pulled away. “I made Italian, your favorite.”

“How’d you know that?”

Derek shrugged. “I pay attention.”

“I’m hungry.”

“Go
od. That way you’ll still eat if it’s horrible.”

“You underestimate your abilities.”

“We’ll see,” he said as he led her into his apartment.

“You live alone?” she asked.

“Yes, all alone.”

“Do you get lonely?”

“No, I like the silence. Do you live alone?”

She nodded.

“Do you get lonely?”

“Sometimes.”

“Well, you can come over whenever you want. I’ll keep you company.”

She looked
at his living room, seeing the couch and the TV. “I like your place.”

“Thanks. I know it isn’t an image of Pottery Barn, but it’s my man cave.”

“And it’s a beautiful man cave,” she said with a smile. “You’ve probably had a lot of girls over here.” She didn’t look at him when she said that.

“Just my sister,” he said, hiding his offended emotions. “I moved in here a few months ago.”

“Oh.”

He pulled her to the table. “Take a seat.”

She sat down then pulled her hair from her shoulder.

Before he could stop himself, he leaned down and kissed the exposed skin gently, feeling his lips ignite once more.

She released a heavy breath as she felt him.

His tongue escaped his mouth slightly and licked her, tasting her. It was a mixture of salt, lotion, and her natural taste. Against his will, his lips moved to her neck and kissed her. When the erection formed in his pants, he pulled away, knowing he was losing all control. “Would you like some wine?”

“Uh-huh,” she said, her breaths heavy.

He poured the glasses then sat across from her. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“Don’t apologize. I liked it—really liked it.”

He felt his dick twitch at her words. Derek cleared his throat. “It’s cheese ravioli,” he said.

She scooped it onto her plate then grabbed a few pieces of bread. “I love carbs.”

He smiled. “I’ve never heard a girl say that.”

“Well, I do.”

“And you need them. Not having carbs is like trying to ride a tricycle with two wheels. It can’t be done. You can’t survive on just protein and good fats.”

“Someone knows their nutrition,” she said.

“I’m a science major, after all. I guess I learned something.”

She drank her wine while she stared at him. When she put it down, she focused her eyes on her plate. “Can I ask you something?”

“You can ask me anything, baby.”

“Why do you call me that?”

He held his fork steady. “It just came out. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“You didn’t.”

“Then I’ll keep calling you that,” he said. “What do you want to know?”

“When was the last time you slept with someone?”

Derek averted his gaze and cut into a ravioli. “The night I cheated on Nancy.”

“So it’s been awhile?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I’m not going to sleep with anyone until I’m in a committed relationship. I used to sleep around a lot, but after what I did to Nancy, I realized I didn’t want that life anymore. I was hollow and empty. After seeing my friends with their significant others, it makes me envious. I want that with someone, that trust and love.”

She nodded then kept eating.

“Can I ask you the same question?”

Paola fidgeted with the fork for a moment before she spoke. “A few years ago.”

“Wow.”

She took a bite of her bread then returned it to the plate.

“And that was Vince?”

She nodded. “I haven’t been with anyone since.”