He nods, still holding my hand and leading me over to a parking lot where there’s several cars parked. I don’t see any of his normal shiny expensive cars, but he stops at a royal-blue Land Rover, a tire attached to the back along with some kind of board and paddles on the roof.
He leans his board against the side of his car, his hand reaching up as his fingers skim along my arm over the suit and up to my shoulder, gently pulling the bag off and placing it inside the car.
“Ready?”
I push my shoulders back as he picks his board back up, readjusting my grip on my own board as my palms become clammy. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
The twinkle of anticipation in her eyes has me lost in them for a second before I lead the way onto the beach. She starts to walk toward the water and I stop, digging my board in the sand and laughing.
“Where are you going?”
“The sea,” she deadpans. “To surf.”
I continue laughing as she walks back toward me. “All the gear, no idea.” I shake my head as she tries to dig her board into the sand beside mine, failing as it teeters and nearly falls on her. “Whoa!” I jump beside her. “Here, let me help.”
“No!” she shouts, gaining the attention of several passersby. “I’ve got it.” She huffs and puffs, trying her hardest to dig it into the ground. “Stupid sand,” she mutters under her breath.
“Alrighty then.” I put my hands up in surrender before placing them on my hips as I tilt my head to the side and watch her. “Can I just—”
“I said,” she growls, finally getting the board to stand in the sand on its own. “I’ve got it.” She flashes me a knowing grin before widening her stance as she waves her hand. “Continue forth, oh wise one.”
“First things first, you can’t go into the cold water without warming up. Tris would kill me if you went back injured.”
Her eyes widen at the sound of Tris’s name, the chocolate brown taking on a darker hue as she reaches forward, her hand not making contact as she says, “Can we erm…” She makes a noise in the back of her throat. “Do you think we could keep this between us?”
Between us? “It’s okay, I taught Tris how to surf, too. He knows I’m perfectly capable.”
“No, that’s not—I meant.” She sighs. “I mean this.” Waving her hands between the two of us, she continues, “Us being here… together. I told him I was going to the record store but if he knew I was here with you he might think it was planned.” She takes a much-needed breath. “And I don’t want him
to think I’m—”
“Lying?”
She gives me a slight nod of her head and although I get what she’s saying, I don’t understand why. Why does she want to keep it a secret? It’s not like Tris doesn’t know we talk, that we’re kind of friends. He didn’t bat an eyelash when I told him I took her to the sports bar, so I’m almost certain he won’t care about this.
Her teeth sinking into her bottom lip as she worries it has me placating her as I say, “I get it.” She nods quickly, relieved. “I can be your dirty little secret.” I wink to lighten the mood and her face flushes. “Are you ready to warm up?” I ask, switching the conversation and distracting her fully.
Her chest lifts on a deep breath. “I guess so.”
I lead her in some easy stretches to get the blood flowing around our bodies and after my muscles feel ready, I place our boards opposite each other on the sand and point to hers. “Lie down on top of it.” I watch her as she lies down on it—back to the board. I try not to laugh but I can’t help it as it booms out around us.
“What?” Her tone is impatient as she looks up at me, her eyes narrowing.
“You… I...” I can’t get my words out and she rolls her eyes, sitting up. I get myself under control and drop down onto my board to show her how to do it—chest facing down. She watches me as I prop my hands under my chin and stare her down, trying not to laugh again.
“You think you’re so funny, don’t you?” I can see the playfulness in her eyes as she stands up and places her hands on her hips. “How would you feel if I was trying to teach you how to… to...” She looks away, obviously trying to think of something.
“Shall I give you some thinking space? Because there’s nothing you could teach me I don’t already know.” I give her my cockiest grin.
The side of her lip quirks up. “I’ll find your weakness, Cole.”
She matches my cocky grin with one of her own and I find myself thinking it’s her: she’s my kryptonite and it’s taken me nearly six years to realize it. “Keep trying, babe.”
“You did not just ‘babe’ me,” she practically growls, fire shooting out of her eyes in my direction.
“Oh, but I did. Now lie down for me.” Her eyes bulge out and she purses her lips, looking like she’s thinking about saying something sarcastic back but instead she stays silent and drops down onto her stomach. “Great. Now we’re going to go over how to paddle when you’re on your board.”
I show her the correct body position so the board doesn’t fire out from underneath her and after she’s grasped that, I show her how to pop up.