Page 26 of Say It Slowly

A guy about our age turns around, and lights up when he sees Ash. He approaches the window, and the two fist bump. “Yo, Ash! What are you doing here, man?”

He gestures to me. “This is Lux. I thought I could give her a quick lesson. You got any longboards back there?”

A surfing lesson?Oh, shit.I shake my head. “Oh, no, I don’t have a bathing suit–”

Tommy waves off my concern. “We have a winter wetsuit you can use.”

“Oh, okay,” I say awkwardly. “Great.”

“I’m Thomas, by the way.” He gestures to Ash. “This asshole just calls me Tommy to fuck with me.”

I purse my lips and nod. “You’re the second person in a week to tell me he’s an asshole. I’m starting to see a pattern.”

We all laugh at my little joke before Thomas disappears into a back room, reemerging with two wetsuits. To my amazement, Ash starts stripping down right here on the beach. He tugs his shirt off, revealing miles of sun-tanned skin, and ropes andropesof muscle lining his torso. Does he have aneightpack? How doallthe guys in this town have so much time to work out?

Damn.

I can’t keep my eyes off him as he kicks his flip-flops off, then shucks his jeans. He’s wearing boxers, thankfully, but they don’t leave much to the imagination. I swear I can see a flash of something peek out of the crotch area.

Once he’s got his wetsuit on and zipped up, he straightens, and rakes a hand through his hair, smiling at me. “You’re staring,” he laughs.

I blink and glance away, heat flooding my cheeks. “It’s hard not to,” I say. “You’re stripping right out in the open.”

“We don’t stand on ceremony here, baby. The beach is our home. Most of us guys are here more than anywhere else.”

Thomas laughs. “That’s the fuckin’ truth.”

“It’s still weird,” I say, taking my wet suit. “Do you have somewhere I can change?” Because there’s no way I’m stripping down to my underwear in front of two guys. I’m wearing a dress today, so undressing will be easier, though, thankfully.

Thomas flicks his chin to the right. “Public restroom is right over there.”

Nodding, I head over to the gray cinder block structure. The floor is wet when I walk into the open-air restroom, and it’s as cold as a meat locker, but I manage to strip down and tug the wetsuit on. It’s not graceful, though, and I’m glad I didn’t attempt it in front of the guys.

A few minutes later, I emerge from the bathroom with my shoes and dress gathered in my arm. Thomas takes the bundlefrom me and stashes it in the back somewhere. Ash is already standing next to a longboard.

“Wow, it’s huge,” I say, looking up at the white surfboard.

“That’s what she said,” he laughs. “I’m kidding! But you walked right into that one.”

“Yeah, I guess I did,” I laugh. “Are you teaching me on that huge thing?” He’s at least six feet tall, and the surfboard towers above him. I point to one of the smaller boards that’s leaning against the surf shop wall. “Wouldn’t one of those be better?”

Ash shakes his head. “A longboard requires less control. Most surfers learn on a longboard first.”

“Oh.” I don’t quite see the logic, but I’m just going to have to trust him on this, I guess. “Okay.”

He secures a velcro strap to my ankle, the long cord attaching me to the surfboard. “This is so you don’t lose the board when a wave hits you. Just be careful it doesn’t drag you under the water.”

I swallow. “Yeah, duh.”

I’ve never been surfing—Fresno is two plus hours from the closest beach–but I know not to get pulled under the waves. That much is pretty clear.

He laughs at my cheekiness, carrying the board for me as we head out into the water—not too far, but about waist deep. The water is cold-as-fuck, even with the wetsuit on. Thank God only my hands, feet, and face are exposed to the water.

“Okay, hop onto the board,” he says, stabilizing it for me.

Yeah, easier said than done. It takes five attempts, and Ash’s hand on my ass, before I manage to successfully straddle the board.

We spend the next hour in the water as Ash patiently teaches me the basics. He sets me up and launches me into a wave several times, but every time I even attempt to stand up, I crash into the water.

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