The ocean waves became more aggressive the farther I waded out. By the time the water reached my waist, I felt like I was being pushed and shoved from different directions. After dipping down beneath the surface to wet my hair, I flipped over to float on my back, allowing the current to carry me along as the sun beat down on my face. With my ears in the water, the ocean provided a sense of tranquility by drowning out the sounds of the other beachgoers around me.
The serenity of the moment was ruined when a rogue wave crashed over my face and dragged me under the water. I sputtered to the surface in shock, trying not to swallow any water, when a second wave cascaded over me. Saltwater burned my throat and eyes as I broke through the surface for the second time. I struggled to keep my composure as my lungs instinctively caused me to cough to expel the disgusting saltwater I was swallowing.
Son of a bitch. The ocean was trying to drown me. Just as I began to upright myself, another wave woul
d take me under the water again. My body felt weightless and useless beneath the crushing force that worked to hold me down. I tumbled around like a load of laundry in a dryer. Finally, the current propelled me sideways to a spot where I was barely able to secure my footing in the sand below. With the water nearly up to my chin, I still had to use my arms and legs to keep myself afloat above the waves while trying to regain my bearings. The bright sun reflecting off the water made it difficult to see, but as I squinted toward the shore, I was surprised to find how far out I had drifted. Propelling myself forward, I began swimming while fighting the persistent choppy waves that tugged and pulled at my bikini, forcing me to adjust my top several times to avoid a truly embarrassing moment. I could just imagine Buttercup's amusement if I got busted for the same indecent exposure rap she had gotten arrested for back in Kansas. Wouldn't that be a perfect Gilmore Girls type of mother-and-daughter moment for us? Determined not to give the ocean the swimsuit it so desperately seemed to want, I defiantly fought the current that dragged me back two strokes for every forward attempt I made.
After a few minutes of making little headway, I received some advice from a chuckling elderly gentleman who had observed my struggles. "Young lady, you have to swim parallel to the shore, otherwise the rip current is gonna keep taking you right out even farther. See, like this," he said, swimming down the shore rather than toward it.
"Thanks," I said, slightly embarrassed. "It's my first time in the ocean."
"You don't say. Might be a good idea to swim close to the lifeguard stand just in case. You don't want to end up as fish food." He laughed at his own joke like it was the funniest thing he had ever heard.
Although my progress was slow and tedious, the old man's advice worked. By the time I reached the shore, my legs felt like wet noodles and I was heaving like I had just run the Cornstalk 10k back home. Sinking down on the wet sand, I worked to get my breathing under control as I took in how far down the beach I had landed from where my chair sat. There seemed to be fewer people on this end of the beach. Probably because the boardwalk with all the shops and restaurants was closer to the other end. Moving away from the water I had not yet forgiven, I stood up to make my way back to my chair when an area of sand that was staked off with orange netting snagged my attention. I had no idea what it could be, but I was intrigued.
"Hey, get back," a loud male voice called out behind me as I leaned down to peer around the netting.
Whirling around, I nearly lost my balance, only to be held upright by a strong set of masculine hands. "You scared the crap out of me," I said breathlessly. Of course, what I was thinking was hello, blue-eyed angel as I took in the most piercing blue eyes I had ever seen. His glare burned into me with an intensity that caused me to take a half-step backward even though his hands were still wrapped around my arm. Okay, maybe blue-eyed devil was more like it. He looked slightly older than me but had definite boyfriend potential.
He snatched me toward him and I raised my hands to his chest to shove him back, not liking the way I was being manhandled.
"Hey, creeper, you want to get your hands off me?" I jerked my arm away, but his grip only tightened.
"You're going to step on the eggs," he growled as he maneuvered me away from the netting before abruptly releasing my arm.
"Ow, manhandle much?" I rubbed my sore arm that was sure to bruise. "What eggs are you talking about?"
"The turtles," he answered, jerking his thumb toward the netting. "You just about stomped on hundreds of baby turtles getting ready to hatch soon."
"Well, I didn't know. Besides, it wasn't like I was gonna climb in there." Gorgeous eyes or not, Turtle Boy seemed to have serious authority issues. Judging by his attire, I understood why. He wore board shorts that stopped just above the knee and a red muscle shirt with Lifeguard printed across the chest in white letters. That still wasn't an excuse to jerk me around. I thought lifeguards were supposed to keep people from drowning. Where was he a few minutes ago when the ocean was trying to turn me into seaweed?
"Shouldn't you be sitting on a beach chair watching swimmers or something?" I asked defensively.
He kneeled down to inspect the sand around the netting. "You're not from around here, are you?" His tone was so straitlaced I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. It wasn't like I had a sign on my forehead that read new in town, but I guessed by his attitude that people from around here knew not to touch the turtle nests. Lesson learned.
I watched as he used his hand to smooth over the sand around the net. "Are you dusting for fingerprints?" My question was intended to be a joke to try and break the ice, but he didn't laugh.
"I'm making sure you didn't disturb the sand above the eggs. Carelessness like that can impact the future these hatchlings have on our environment."
I bit back a sudden urge to laugh. How ironic that the first guy I met in a new town was as zealous about the planet as my parents were. The fact he was lecturing me, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Eco-Planet, was downright hilarious. The words to correct him were on the tip of my tongue, but I held them back. He was actually kinda cute all fired up the way he was. Why rain on his parade?
"Hey, I'm really sorry. Can you ever forgive me?" I lightly teased when he ran out of steam.
I guess he was immune to my charm because his sky-blue eyes looked more resentful than amused. He turned away, mumbling something under his breath that sounded like he had called me an airhead. I snorted in response. Ordinarily I might have gotten upset over some guy putting me down, but something about Turtle Boy's attitude made me laugh.
"Did you just call me an airhead?" I questioned him, not even trying to hide the amusement in my voice.
"Let's just say I see your type around here every summer. You're too busy hanging out with your friends to care about anything else. You come to the beach to drink and party, and when you're done, you leave the mess behind for someone else to clean up. Not caring that most of your trash gets swept away to sea when the tide rolls in. Do you know what cans and bottles do to the fish and mammals in the ocean?" He shook his head in disgust without giving me a chance to respond.
"You don't even know me. How can you assume anything about me?" Cute or not, Turtle Boy was on the verge of receiving a kick in the nuts. My whole life was made up of people making false assumptions about me.
"Just call it a hunch based on previous experience."
His blue eyes clashed with mine. Even though they seemed to be filled with animosity, a pool of warmth filled my belly. Damn him. Too bad he was such a Boy Scout. He might have been fun to hang out with.
Chapter 3
"Look, dude. I get you have a job to do, and I guess watching out for turtles is part of it, but just because you seem to lack any social skills, and obviously have something against partying and having fun, doesn't mean the rest of us are doing anything wrong."