Page 70 of F*ck You

It was late afternoon and there were still people in the ocean, much fewer than before as many of them were now drying off before going to grab dinner. Then there were those like us who would rather ride the waves than find something to eat.

He caught sight of me as he turned to ride the wave, and he went under. A chill ran down my spine, and I was about to chastise myself for distracting him when his head bobbed to the surface and he climbed back on his board, straddling it.

Relief exhaled from me, and he gave me a short nod, then a quick gesture to my left before turning back to the vast expanse of water and paddling out.

Confused, I looked around and a smile lit my face when I saw a second board sticking up in the sand. I’d been so focused on him, I didn’t even realize he had brought out a second one. Taking it as a good sign, I rushed over, grabbed it, and ran into the water.

I fought against the waves until I reached deep enough water to where I could lay down flat on the board and use my arms to paddle out to sea. My fingers wrapped around the edges of the board when slightly bigger waves came by, and I arched my back as I guided the board up and over it to prevent it from toppling over.

The feeling of being back on smooth fiberglass and gliding across the water was more intoxicating than any amber liquid, and a laugh escaped as I rounded over another wave before paddling myself out again.

Chase was sitting up on his board, the late afternoon sun illuminating the glistening water trailing over his tanned body. Muscles rippled beneath his skin as he reached down to grip the board to turn it and ride over another wave without being carried away.

I splashed up near him, but stopped before getting too close, deciding to keep my distance first and see what happened.

His gaze was focused straight ahead as he watched the gentle rolling waves in the distance. Turning my board to match his, I took in the view with him in silence.

It was spectacular. I saw some things jumping out of the water off in the distance, they looked like dolphins. The salty scent drifted off the water and washed over me like something warm, like something that felt like home.

My breath was taken away. The sky was changing colors to match the moving sun. It was going to be a spectacular sunset tonight.

Fish nibbled at the soles of my feet, and water droplets dried on my skin. My legs relaxed on either side of the board as a calmness settled within my core, and my hands dropped into my lap.

“It’s beautiful.” My voice shattered the silence, but he didn’t flinch. At first, I wasn’t sure if he’d even heard me, or if he was too focused on our surroundings, but then his jaw moved as he spoke.

“Yes, it is. All of it is.” His words were soft, matching the gentle waves beneath us that weren’t even strong enough to lift us up.

We drifted on the current, his board drawing closer to mine each time we were moved. I was debating whether or not to scoot away some and give him some space, since we were now inches apart, but as soon as I started to turn my board slightly to the side, he reached out and grabbed my wrist.

My stomach flipped as he pulled me toward him, twisting my body at the waist until his lips landed on mine. I never thought I would be so happy to taste that coconut flavored lip balm again, and a smile pulled at my lips, making it increasingly more difficult to keep kissing him properly.

With my heart pounding in my chest, I clasped his sides and pulled my body closer to his, briefly wondering if I could hop onto his board to continue this at a more manageable angle.

Our hair flew wildly around our faces as the wind picked up, and I barely registered how it was affecting the water until it was too late and we were fully submerged by a large, unseen wave.

The tumble nearly broke us apart, but we held on tightly, our lips still sealed and torsos pressed together while we tumbled beneath the waves, breathing each other in.

Kicking against the current, our heads broke the surface and we parted long enough to catch our breaths.

“Well, that was exciting.” I grinned, looking at him, but the light didn’t shine on him like it did before. It was darker now, harder to make out his expression in the increasing shadows.

I looked at the sky to see what kind of clouds were appearing above us in such a short time and gasped. Waves rolled toward us, each one growing in size and strength.

“Grab your board, a storm’s coming in and it doesn’t look like one we want to be out here in.”

My board was already a good distance away, and it would take more time and work to retrieve it than to go straight to land. “Shit.”

“You didn’t tie yourself off?” he asked, pointing out the obvious in the form of a question.

“No, I was too eager to get out here. I forgot. Believe me, I’m tearing myself up over it right now.” I started to pull away and go after it, but he held on to me.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m getting it,” I answered as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Here, get on mine, we need to get to shore.” He helped me up onto his board before he climbed on behind me.

“What about your board?”

---