Page 75 of Catch a Wave

Bodhi goes deeper, where the water is at his calves and he kicks a shot that sends enough spray my way to get my shorts partially wet.

I go in a little deeper and kick back, soaking his board shorts and the edge of his T-shirt.

We’re lost in the moment, in the competition, in one another.

Now it’s a full-on splash fight. “Bring it, Bo!”

His old nickname slips out and I barely notice because now he’s bending and using his hands as well as his legs to propel water in my direction. As in all things, we both bring our A-game when it comes to a contest, and I’m not going down until Bodhi is soaked through. His hair is still wet, falling in reckless waves around his face from his surf session. But I’m not going to let the water he voluntarily took on be the marker of my champion status. I will soak his face and hair.

We’re thigh deep now, using our forearms to send arcs of spray at one another. I have to jump the waves as they hit me, and I don’t care. My sole focus is on getting Bodhi drenched with my shots of ocean water.

A bigger wave rolls through and hits me waist-high. I jump and nearly fall because I’m scooping a big armful of water in Bodhi’s direction at the same time.

Bodhi reaches out and loops his arms around my waist, catching me and holding me up.

“You good?” he asks.

His face is right there, looking down at me with the sunset at its golden hour glow. Sparkles of light reflect off the water onto his skin. He hasn’t released me. And I don’t want him to. I lift my hand to … I don’t know what … but it lands on his cheek and I rub my thumb across the short whiskers on Bodhi’s jaw. The hair is wet with saltwater, and smooth under my fingertips. We’re staring at one another as if someone froze time. The water sloshes around us, making us sway. Still, he’s holding me.

Then it happens. He leans in almost imperceptibly. I tilt my head just the slightest. And before either of us can think or protest or change our minds, his mouth is crashing down on mine and he’s dragging me toward himself, holding me against him while we kiss. This isn’t the careful kiss on my neck from that night outside the bathroom. This is two years of hunger unleashed. This is waiting and wondering and grieving. Our kiss is a reunion, a reconciliation, a rebirth. We are coming home and moving on. I grip the back of Bodhi’s sopping wet T-shirt for dear life. Nothing terrifies me more than what we’re doing. Maybe not ever doing this again would frighten me at even greater levels. All I know is I need him. And I never want to lose him again.

He’s kissing me, and I’m returning his kiss with everything I am. What if this is only one kiss—our last kiss? I banish thatthought and throw myself into telling Bodhi all he means to me through the way my lips meet his, the way my hands hold him so he can’t get away this time, the way my heart beats nearly out of my chest at every brush of his mouth, every satisfied hum, every caress of his hands. I can’t say the words. But I can show him.

Shaka’s bark penetrates the moment between us and we pull back from one another, nearly panting from the kiss that came out of nowhere like a summer squall. Our faces hold mirrored stunned expressions.

“Bodhi.” My voice cracks as I say his name.

“Don’t tell me you regret that.” His eyes plead with me more than his words. He’s still got me wrapped in his embrace. “Even if you do regret it, don’t tell me. My heart won’t take it, Mavs. If you don’t want me to kiss you again, I won’t …”

“Kiss me, Bodhi.” I cut him off and stand on my tiptoes, using the phrase that drags up memories, but also invites us into whatever might come next.

Then I silence Bodhi by kissing him again.

21

BODHI

Because, with the right person,

sometimes kissing feels like healing.

~ Lisa McMann

“What happened to you two?” Kai’s question catches me off guard.

Was he watching us in the ocean just now? Nah. He would be fuming and pulling me aside.

“We … uh …” Mavs looks up at me.

“We got in the water and it ended in a splash fight,” I supply.

There’s residual fire in the confidential glance Mavs sends me. I want to haul her off somewhere private. But I’m not even sure where we stand, or if I should have kissed her. She’s still healing, even though her ankle is basically back to normal. The deepest injuries aren’t those we can see with our eyes. And those take the longest to heal. I promised myself I’d give her time—until the playing field was level. But I couldn’t help myself out there. Things got carried away.

When I look at her now, though, I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.

“Let me get you a towel.” I walk toward the supply closet at the back of the shop.

“You got in the ocean?” Kai’s voice has a note of awe in it.

---