Morina
He wouldn’t be able to get on the board if his life depended on it, I was sure of it. I asked if he’d been paddleboarding or anything. He said he would be just fine.
I tried to hide my surprise when he emerged from his room wearing a gray t-shirt and board shorts. Of course he still looked much more put together than I did in my “excuse me while I kiss the sky” oversized t-shirt. It might have technically belonged to one of my guy friends rather than me. Either way, it hit just below mid thigh and was perfect for a quick car ride to the beach.
When we got there, I hurried from the car, desperate to get on the water. It’d been too long. “You know as a child, my father almost had to save me a few times out there. He used to say to be cautious. She’s beautiful but if you’re not careful, she’ll eat you alive.”
Bastian smirked. “Maybe he would have said the same to me about you.”
“What?” I squinted at him as we approached my food truck.
“Morina Bailey, you’re like the ocean. Pretty without trying, alluring without knowing. But I think you might be just as devastating. You could probably eat me alive.”
I laughed at his assessment, not sure I could take it as a compliment. Still, Bastian’s words warmed me even when I tried to ignore them.
I pulled my board from my abandoned truck, then rounded to the other side. “You can use Bradley’s spare board.”
I think part of him was a little irritated. “You store a board here for him?”
“I’m close to the water. I’ve stored for other people too.”
“Except, his is here routinely.”
I shrugged and slid the board from the hooks. “Sure. He usually surfs with me in the morning if I’m out.”
I hadn’t been though and it was just like Bradley not to reach out with questions. We had that lazy sort of friendship. He might not show for a week or I might not. This time, at least he’d had warning I’d be gone after making me the sign.
“Mo, you back?” My old friend, Jonah, ambled up, his worn body on display in his swim trunks. For a 70-year-old, he rocked his surf bod better than any of us could.
“Not to make smoothies, Jonah. Sorry. It’s going to be a few more weeks.”
He glared at Bastian. “You stole her from us?”
I chuckled. “Someone trashed the inside of my food truck actually.”
Bastian placed his hand on my back. When I glanced at him, he winked, his eyes full of determination suddenly.
A display was in order, I guess. “We’re also sort of dating,” I mumbled.
Jonah nodded. “Word gets around.” He shook out his shaggy gray hair. “Hope this man is good to you. And remember, I need to make sure I get more smoothies soon.” He patted my shoulder and walked on, undoubtedly chasing bigger waves down the beach.
“We’re going this way.” I pointed toward a smaller surf area. “I’ve never encountered rip tides here but don’t fight the water if you go under.”
His brow lifted. “Don’t fight the water?”
“Yes, the water can feel overwhelming when you fall. Never panic. I always say if you go with the flow under there, it’s a fun, safe sport.”
“And if I don’t do that?”
“Well, you can’t dominate the ocean, Bastian. And you can’t reason with it either. The ocean is the boss. Treat her that way.”
“Her?”
“Sure. Only a woman could handle all these men riding her and come out on top every single time, right?”
He laughed at my joke, but I believed it. The ocean would have been a beautiful woman if she was anything: one with power and depth and darkness that held secrets no one in the world could imagine. She took all the waste of the world and still came out looking stunning.
I pointed out at the sparkling horizon. “Did you know the Gulf of Mexico has 4,000 offshore oil and gas platforms and pipelines everywhere? So much drilling and pollution in that water. I think we’d all be better off without it. I want that. I mean, the whole town had to help clean up a spill a few years ago. It was hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil. How do you recover from something like that? The animals…it was just so bad.”