Page 31 of Beyond The Break

She sighs. “And what would that be?”

“You don’t wear that wet suit during my surf practices anymore.” My eyes stay glued to hers and I see her blink twice before realization settles in her expression.

“Okay,” she smirks, “is my ass too distracting for you?”

I roll my eyes and lay down on my board to begin paddling back to shore while she grips the tail of my board so that I can drag her along with me.

For the restof our evening practice, I’m on the beach with Eliana, boards laying in the sand as I show her the basics of surfing while Gabriel periodically glances our way with that same curious expression.

He better count this as practicing the basics or else I’m going to lose my mind. Eliana hasn’t stopped asking questions since her feet hit the sand and I’m ready to call it a night.

“How long are we going to practice this part,” she asks, wobbling from side to side while trying to stay balanced on one foot.

“Having balance on the board is important.”

“You didn’t answer my question,” she says, bringing her other foot to the ground, but leaving her hands on her hips.

My eyes pause on her hips, wishing it were my hands there instead of hers. I almost punch myself for the thought as I bring my gaze back to hers and glare at her for being so God damn distracting.

“We’ll be practicing balance every lesson. You might as well come with me to the gym if you want to really work on balance.”

The thought of spotting her while she does squats has me hardening in my wet suit. I urgently reach back and pull the zipper down, undressing my top half so that the suit hangs over my front, shielding my hardening cock.

“Okay,” Eliana agrees, surprising me.

She studies my expression, so I quickly rearrange my face into calm nonchalance before clearing my throat. I was certain she would decline the offer, but now I’ll have to figure out how to work out with her wearing tight leggings whilealso attempting to keep my raging attraction to her under control.

Impossible.

“Let’s practice board positioning. Lay on your board.”

I regret telling her to do that as soon as she lays down in front of me. She lifts her head and looks up at me with her doe eyes, batting her lashes innocently, and the sight almost makes me groan out loud. I make my way over to my board next to her and lay down.

“So earlier in the water, your form was horrific?—"

“Hey!” She laughs, shoving my shoulder.

My lips curve into a smirk, satisfied that I made her laugh, as if the sound can somehow cure me. But any hint of contentedness is quickly ripped from my system when I remind myself of what I’m here to do.

“You should always keep your legs together when paddling out. Position yourself on the lower half of the board and rest your toes on the tail of the board.” I say, demonstrating for her.

She copies the movements, slowly shifting her body lower on the board. I try my absolute hardest not to look at her ass while she positions herself.

“Good,” I say, returning my focus straight ahead, “keep your chin up while you paddle, staring straight ahead. You want to make sure you aim the nose of the board towards the white water while also shifting your weight to the end of the board.”

Grabbing the edges of the board, I shift my weight to the lower half slowly. She does the same.

“Great,” I say, returning to the correct position.

“Thanks,” she says, sounding chipper. I peek over at her only to see her animated smile as she stares down at her board proudly.

How is it possible for someone to be this effortlessly beautiful? Her smile lights up her whole face, a light pink shade flushing along her cheeks and nose. My cock twitches inresponse, making me feel like a horny teenager, and I make a promise to myself to deal with it in the shower after practice. I’m positive a quick release will get her out of my system.

“Okay, last step; learning how to stand on your board.” I say as my eyes connect with Gabriel’s. This is the part I struggle with the most, and he knows it.

It’s not that I’m necessarily scared of falling, I’m mostly scared of feeling the pain again when I do fall. Although I’ve had my torn MCL surgically repaired and I’ve gone through the rehabilitation process to learn how to walk again and regain balance, I can’t say my leg feels the same.

I’m scared of feeling the pain when I stand, and potentially injuring it further, ending my surf career forever. I don’t trust that I can do it and that fact alone is what frustrates me the most. I’ve never been scared to jump on a board before. The feeling of cutting back into the crest of the wave while defying gravity has always been addictive to me but lately the urge to experience that again has been dwindling, leaving me feeling empty and inadequate.

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