I’m too pumped on adrenaline and excitement to care, though, and I pop back up, thrusting my arms into the air. Kye is cheering, and I can see him grinning at me from here.
I walk up onto the shore as he catches his own wave and rides in. He hops off his board, sprinting through the water toward me, and then I’m in his arms.
“That was awesome! You’re a natural!” He cheers, and I laugh as he spins me around. “Whoops!”
He sets me down, and we have to untangle our ankle straps. He takes mine off and then his own, and then he pulls me in for another hug.
“That was really good. I’m impressed.”
“Thanks,” I say, feeling the blush spreading across my cheeks and down my neck.
“Alright, tacos, and then we need to return the boards to the stand and get on the road.”
I nod, grabbing my own board and following him across the sand. There’s a line starting to form at the food truck, and I let Kye take my board as I peruse the menu.
“I’ll go drop these off. Be right back.”
I nod, watching him jog across the sand and over to the little rental shack. He makes small talk with the attendant, and they both laugh.
Envy unfurls inside of me.What would it be like to be able to talk to anyone?Kye is so confident and charming. He can make anyone feel at ease.I wish that I could be more like that.
“Know what you want yet?” He asks me as he jogs back over to my side.
“Yeah,” I say, nodding distractedly.
I want to be his.
It’s been two and a half days with Kye, and I feel like he’s already made me a better person. I’ve tried so many new things. I’ve laughed more than I can ever remember doing. I wake up each day with a smile on my face, excited to see what he has in store for me, excited just to see him.
Someone like him would never go for someone like me, though. We’re complete opposites. Besides, he could get any girl that he wanted. Why would he choose to be with someone like me?
“Can I get the breakfast burrito with extra bacon?” I order, and Kye moans.
“That sounds so good. Make it two.”
My jaw drops at hearing him make that sound, and I’m pretty sure that I drift off into fantasies of him making that noise when we’re doing something else because the next thing I know, he’s nudging me out of the way and paying.
“Hey! I wanted to pay for breakfast,” I object.
“You can get the next one,” he says easily, and I sigh.
“I’d stuff money into your pocket right now if you had any pockets.”
“Noted,” he says with a laugh.
Our food is up soon, and then Kye is leading me over to his car and opening my door.
“We can just stay in the wetsuits. The dock isn’t far, and we’d just have to put them back on.”
I nod, sliding into the passenger seat and unwrapping my burrito.
“Oh my god! This is so good,” I groan.
“I know, right? Anson told me about this place, and I come by for a burrito at least once a week now.”
“We need to come back every day,” I say, taking another big bite.
“Deal.”