Page 10 of Renegade

He graduated and began working for his dad, but we still hit the beach together every chance we got. I’d graduated a couple of months ago, so I knew my days of freeloading off my mom were coming to an end. I had to enjoy every last moment of it.

“Hey, Mike—you looked good out there,” Sadie tossed over her shoulder as she walked past with her board tucked under her arm and my heart immediately started pounding in response. She could’ve walked past and told me I couldn’t surf for shit and I still would’ve been following her like a damn puppy.

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from grinning. “Yeah? You almost kept up with me this time.”

Roy/Patrick made a noise of disgust and stormed off down the beach. Sadie watched him go before turning back around to face me. “You sure talk a good game, but could you ever back it up?”

David shook his own head in laughter before heading toward the seawall. “You’re on your own here, dude. I’ll meet you back at the truck.”

“There’s not much I’m afraid of, if that’s what you’re asking.” I snatched my towel up off the beach and casually tossed it over my shoulder.Smooth, Mike. Nice and smooth.

Sadie’s hair was starting to dry and the salt from the ocean left it with a slight wave. “Alright, tough guy. You got a longboard?”

Without missing a beat, I responded, “I can get one. Why? —you takin’ me on a date?”

She shook her head. “Let’s just see how you do with this before we get ahead of ourselves. Meet me here at six-thirty tomorrow morning?”

I agreed, still completely unaware of what I’d just signed up for.

“C’mon, you motherfucker.” I panted as I paddled in front of the perfect wave. I’d been getting my ass kicked by these all day—not at all what I needed when I was trying to impress Sadie.

Tanker surfing.

That had been her big challenge. We chartered a boat for over six hundred dollars to take us out a few miles, chasing after ships in the channel. I’d convinced David to come out with me, only to try to back out when we pulled up and saw Patrick/Roy waiting with Sadie.

It turned out that his first name was Patrick and his last name was Roy—I only discovered this when the driver of the boat introduced himself as Captain Roy…Patrick’s dad. He was actually an alright guy and had been running chartered tours like ours for decades. He spent a long time going over the safety instructions before we ever left the harbor and I lied, saying that I was an experienced surfer.

Ten hours later, I was cursing my big mouth. I’d been battered by wave after wave all fucking day. I think Captain Roy had caught on to my lies a few hours in. I’d gotten an earful from him on how I was putting everybody in jeopardy, including him, every time I went down early. I guess with all the ships crossing, there was a chance of his boat getting swamped or pulled into the ship’s current.

I’d sucked down a bottle of ice cold water while nodding at the appropriate times. Patrick, Sadie, and David had all managed to get a few hundred yards in each run, while I rode after them in the boat with Captain Roy.

This was my wave though—David had tried giving me a few pointers each time we got back in the boat together and I think I finally had it down. If I ever wanted to see Sadie naked, I needed this to go well.

When the wave reached me, I jumped up into a low squat, using my arms to steady myself. Once I realized I wasn’t going under, I stood up straighter, just keeping my knees slightly bent, with my right leg leading. I wanted to throw my fists toward the sky, while giving a war cry, but I needed to keep my arms still to avoid wiping out.

After a few minutes, I knew I had it and tentatively raised one arm in the air. I hoped Sadie was seeing this—she had to go out with me now. David let out a whoop from a few yards behind me and I grinned. I’d gone at least a few hundred yards, which was the longest I’d ever stayed on a board.

“You’re nothing but a kook, Sullivan, and Sadie ain’t going anywhere with you!” Patrick’s words caused my jaw to clench and the smile to leave my face.

I turned on my board to find him, only realizing my mistake when the wave forced me underwater. I’d lost my balance because of that asshole. Pain shot through my right calf and my vision blurred as I pushed my way back up to the surface.

Patrick was already a good twenty yards ahead of me by the time I broke through the water. It had pummeled me all day, but this wave had been like a brick wall. My leg throbbed and I tried stretching it out as I waited for Captain Roy to circle back around with the boat. Maybe I’d torqued a muscle when I fell. I pulled myself back up onto the board and that’s when I saw it—my lower leg was bleeding heavily—the wave had thrown me into an oyster reef. I just knew it. The bay was full of them. If that hadn’t been enough, Captain Roy had warned us about them damn near every chance he’d gotten.

I tried propping my leg up on the board, well aware that a bleeding leg in the ocean was an invitation to predators. My nerves kicked in just as Captain Roy drove up with the boat. I knew I was going to have to pull myself back in, but my right leg was quickly becoming useless.

I paddled over and somehow managed to get myself up and back into the boat. Captain Roy was over to me in a second. “Shit, kid. Looks like you got a leg full of oyster reef when you fell. You had it too—if you wouldn’t have turned your entire body, you would’ve stayed up.”

I bit my tongue, resisting the urge to tell him about what a prick his son was as he poured bottled water over my wound, cleansing it as best he could.

“You’re gonna need stitches. Let’s get the others and get you to the emergency room.”

I groaned and let my head fall back against a cushion. “Can’t you just superglue it? Or wrap it up?”

He shook his head grimly before tossing me a towel. “You’re losing a lot of blood. It’s best not to wait around hoping it’ll stop.” He sat back down and directed the boat toward the others.

Sadie’s smirk faded the minute she pulled herself up and saw my leg. “Oh, Mike. You poor thing!”

I kept my face stoic. “It’s just a scratch—Captain Roy wants me to get it checked out, but I’ll be fine.”

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