Tethered 02 - Conjure (20 page)

I unfolded my little beach chair and set it out on the sand. Situating myself, I grabbed the book I’d brought with me from my beach bag. Kace walked up and squatted down in front of me, blocking my view of the ocean and a portion of my sun. I pulled my sunglasses down to the tip of my nose and glared at him.

“You’re blocking my sun,” I said. “Go on, have fun surfing. I’m just gonna sit here and read.”

“I can teach you, you know,” he insisted. “Seriously.”

I pushed my glasses back up and opened my book. “Not gonna happen. I think everyone has had enough entertainment on my behalf today.”

He placed a hand on my thigh closest to him. “Addison, let me do this for you. Please?”

I glanced up at him and noticed the hurt puppy look he was giving me. Even with the icy shade of blue his eyes were, he still pulled it off extremely well…but not well enough.

“No,” I said.

His thumb moved in slow circles against my skin, causing tiny sparks of warmth to flutter there. “Come on, let me teach you. I can be gentle and smooth talking just like any other teacher. You can trust me with you in the water. I wouldn’t let you get hurt. I promise.”

“While all of those things may be true, it’s still not gonna happen.” I dropped my gaze back to the black and white pages of my book.

“At least let me teach you how to ride a board. You don’t have to know how to swim to ride a board to the shore.”

I looked up at him from over the rim of my glasses again. “Oh, I know how to ride a board already, or did you forget?”

He flashed me a coy smile, obviously surprised by my candor. “I didn’t forget.”

“Good, now go play so I can read.” I made a shooing motion at him.

He caught my hand. “Not gonna happen. You’re at least gonna come out and get on the board today. I’ll even keep it in the shallow end, that way if you fall off you’ll still be able to touch the bottom.”

My stomach twisted. An image of me falling off and not being able to sit up fast enough in the water to catch my breath flashed through my mind. God, why did water turn me into such a wuss?

“Come on, you know you want to…” he pressed.

I glanced at the ocean. Callie and Adam were already wading out in the water, splashing each other playfully as they went and laughing. I bit my bottom lip while I contemplated whether it was a good idea or not.

Kace lifted my chin with his knuckle so I could look him in the eyes again. “I won’t let you drown if that’s what you’re worried about. It won’t happen, not while I’m here.”

I rolled my eyes. “All right, fine. But I’m only doing this to get you to shut up and leave me alone so I can read. And, I’m only doing it
once
.”

“Once, got it.” He winked as he reached for my hand and helped me up. He scooped up his board without letting go of my hand and we started toward the water. “We’re only going out about waist deep.”

My stomach tightened at the thought of being submerged in the water. I glanced down and watched my feet disappear the farther out we went. “Are there jellyfish or anything in here?”

“Yeah, stingrays too. That’s why you have to shuffle your feet. You
are
shuffling your feet, right?” He smirked as he cast me a sideways glance.

“I am now.”

“Okay, right about here is good,” he said, his eyes skimming my upper half still visible.

“Thank God, because I wasn’t about to go out any farther,” I admitted, happily stopping where I stood.

Kace shifted the board along the water’s surface so it rested right in front of me. “Hop on.”

My eyes flicked to the board and then back to him. “You’ve got to be kidding. How the hell am I supposed to do that?”

His lips twisted into an amused smile. “Like this.”

He hoisted himself up and onto the board in front of me without a problem. In fact, he looked effortless and so smooth my stomach began to churn with new worries because I realized just how many times he must have practiced that motion in order to make it look fluid. I then wondered what I’d look like attempting to mimic him.

Kace slipped back off and looked at me with this
it’s easy
smile. “Nothing to it.”

“Right…” I dragged the word out.

Kace’s attention shifted from me to the ocean. The sunlight glinting off the rippling water around us reflected back and lit his face. His eyes were a crystal blue, bluer than the water we were standing in.

“Hop on. There are some good beginner waves coming this way,” he said.

I took in a deep breath and then released it slowly as I gripped the board. Here goes nothing, I thought as I attempted to hoist myself up. It was not as easy as Kace had made it look. Those good beginner waves he’d spotted had long passed us when I finally made it on. Another set came and went too, but I remained locked in the same spot, knees tucked beneath me, gripping the sides with a white-knuckled death grip, petrified to stand up.

“You can do this. Stand up,” Kace said in a low, comforting voice. His hand slid against my hunched back. The warmth I’d anticipated from his touch sparked to life beneath my skin.

“You’re right. I can do this,” I muttered as I forced myself to begin the process of standing.

My knees wobbled and I splayed my arms out at my sides to better balance myself. It didn’t matter what I did, I still couldn’t gather my balance enough to stand up tall and confident like I’d witnessed Callie doing in the distance.

“You’re doing great,” Kace exclaimed with infectious enthusiasm. “Now stand up just a bit more; here comes a good wave for you to catch.”

I attempted to stretch out my torso more, but it threw my balance off and I began flailing my arms around to regain it.

“Keep your knees slightly bent… Here it comes,” Kace said as he glanced over his shoulder at a baby wave making its way to me. “Hold on… Go!”

He pushed the board, sending me zooming away from him and forcing me to my tiptoes while I struggled to get my balance under control. The wave was small, but it carried me almost to the shore. I was so excited by the small distance I’d rode the board that I squealed with joy and wiggled triumphantly a little too much. Next thing I knew, I was splashing in water barely a foot deep, laughing.

Kace came bounding over to where I sat and extended a hand to help me up. I accepted his hand and stood.

“Well…?” he prompted.

“That was fun!” I said with more enthusiasm than I ever thought I’d have for something having to do with water. “Can I try it again?”

His face lit up. “Sure.”

I darted over to the board and scooped it up, ready to try again.

After spending the afternoon attempting to do something I’d never pictured myself doing before, we walked the length of the beach until we found a little seafood shack. My arms were limp at my sides and my legs were trembling beneath me by the time Gull’s came into view, but the amazing strawberry banana smoothie and waffle fries I ordered made up for it.

“So, how was surfing for the first time? I saw you out there. You were doing pretty well,” Callie said as she bit into her fish taco.

I swallowed a mouthful of smoothie before answering her. “It was great! Loads more fun than I thought it would be.”

“When you weren’t falling off.” Adam smirked. “You know, most people learn how to swim
before
they learn how to surf. There is a process.”

I flashed a snarky grin at Adam. “Well, you really don’t need to be a strong swimmer when you’re only in four feet of water.”

“True,” Adam said, licking a drop of ketchup off his finger. “If you’d have nearly drowned in that, then you’d have problems.”

“Seriously, Adam, don’t start being a dick again,” Kace scolded.

“I’m not.” Adam stuffed another bite of burger in his mouth.

“I think she did great,” Kace said, his hand finding my thigh beneath the picnic table we were sitting at. Warmth spread past my knee from his touch and I smiled at him.

“Thanks,” I said.

“Next time, we’ll work on swimming.” Kace winked and squeezed my thigh once before letting go.

I waved a waffle fry in the air. “I don’t know about that.”

This was nice. No magick talk. No initiation talk. Just a few friends hanging out at the beach for an afternoon. It was exactly what I needed.