Page 10 of A Little Bit Wild

We sway together, occasionally spinning or dipping her back, and she laughs as we slowly make our way over to our cars.

If I had any doubts, that moment solidified it. This strangely cautious girl who is coming out of her shell with me; she’s the one for me.

Now I just need to make her realize that too.

FOUR

Aria

I’m normally sogood at thinking things through, but I guess when Kye is involved, my brain takes some time off. That’s the only explanation I can think of for why I would agree to wear a freaking wetsuit in front of this Greek god.

The dang thing took me almost twenty minutes to get on, and then when I saw my reflection, I wanted to scream. I tried to convince myself that I only looked like a dying beached whale because I was so sweaty from wrestling this thing on. I don’t know why I thought I would look better once I was wet. Oh, and trying my hardest to balance on a surfboard.

“That’s it! You almost had that one,” Kye says.

He looks like he’s modeling for a surfing magazine as he sits on his surfboard, and I try not to ogle him as I paddle back toward him.

“You’re a terrible liar,” I wheeze, and he laughs.

“I’m serious. You almost stood up on that wave.”

“Uh-huh,” I pant. “You go ahead and take the next one.”

“Are you sure?” He asks, looking like an excited puppy dog.

“Oh yeah.”

I try to nod, but I have a feeling that I look more like a deranged bobblehead.

How is even my neck sore and tired?

Kye paddles toward the next wave, and I try to catch my breath. We’ve been out in the water since six am, and it has to be close to ten now. He had spent half an hour showing me how to pop up on my board, and then we had gone out to try it.

It has not been going well for me.

I’ve managed to stand up on my board twice, and both times I immediately fell off. The other dozen times, I either managed to kneel or somehow fall off my board without even getting that far.

Still, it’s kind of been fun. Kye is so happy to be out here, and he’s been so supportive. He even told me he likes my wetsuit, though he was probably just being polite.

I cheer as Kye stands up, and I find myself beaming as I watch him. He’s surprisingly good at surfing for only having done it a few times. He told me he had learned when he was on a training assignment in Hawaii a few years ago but hasn’t had a chance to do much of it. That kind of made me hate him, but he’s so dang nice that it’s hard to stay mad at him.

“Show off,” I call when he heads back my way, and he laughs.

“Want to try one more? Then we have to get ready for our scuba diving excursion.”

I groan, and he grins.

“When are you feeding me?” I ask him.

“We’ll hit up the taco truck on the way to the docks.”

He points over to the food truck pulling into the lot, and my stomach growls. I’m too hungry to be embarrassed, and get ready to start paddling back to shore.

“You can do this one!” Kye says, and I take a deep breath, waiting for the wave.

I pop up, and to my and the passing seagull’s surprise, I actually manage to stay up. I’m wobbly as hell, but I laugh as the wave crests behind me.

“I did it!” I yell, spinning around to look at Kye, and that’s when I lose my balance and crash into the waist-high water.

---