Page 50 of How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother
She looks at me, her blue eyes open wide, and takes a slow breath. “So I’ll be hanging upside down in the water.”
I nod. “But I’ll be right here beside you the whole time.”
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
She makes it about fifteen seconds before her hand lifts out of the water and taps the boat. I flip her back up and she takes an enormous breath, but she’s smiling, and my shoulders relax the tiniest bit. A lot of students panic at this point. Itisa weird sensation to be suspended underwater upside down. When people can’t get the hang of it or relax enough to eventryto get the hang of it, I usually end up taking them downriver without a spray skirt so if they flip, they just fall out of their boat. It works fine for Class I, maybe even Class II rapids, which is all we ever do with beginners anyway.
But I’m glad Kate is doing so well. I imagine taking her with me to run more serious rapids, sharing this part of my life with her, and a pulse of longing fills my gut. I don’tneedher—or any woman I date—to love whitewater kayaking like I do. That doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be fun if she did.
“What’s next?” Kate asks, her eyes bright. “An actual wet exit?”
“Yep. This time, you’ll flip, and then go through the steps to get yourself out of the boat and swim.”
“Right. I can totally do it.”
“Walk me through the steps one more time.” I rest one hand on her kayak, holding her steady.
She scrunches her nose as she thinks. “First, I lean forward.”
“Right.”
“Then I grab the ‘oh crap’ strap and pull.” Her hands move to the strap that will release her spray skirt. “Then I relax my knees, pull them into the middle of the boat, and push myself out.”
“You got it.”
She rolls her eyes. “Saying it while sitting here perfectly comfortable and doing it while underwater are entirely different things.”
“You’re going to do great. Remember, you only need four seconds. And you just hung upside down for fifteen without freaking out. You have plenty of time. Just relax, think through the steps, and do what you’ve got to do.”
She takes another steadying breath. “You’re a good teacher, Brody.”
I smile. “You’re a good student. You ready?”
She manages the wet exit on her first try, popping up out of the water a few feet away from her kayak, a jubilant expression on her face. “I did it!”
“And on your first try.”
She swims forward and stands up beside me. “Can we go down the river now?”
“Easy, turbo. We’ve got to do a little paddle work first. Let’s make sure you can steer your way through currents.Thenwe’ll go down the river.”
Kate is a natural. Her previous kayaking experience and her natural athleticism make the next part of our lesson easy, and soon we’re heading downriver together. She could be pretending just for me, but it seems like she’s having a really good time. I don’t miss how much I want her to be having a good time.
She doesn’t swim until the final—and the largest—rapid. When her kayak flips at the top of the rapid, I hold my breath and wait for her to appear. When she doesn’t surface after five or six seconds, I start paddling toward her boat, panic rising in mychest. But then her helmet breaks the surface, followed by her toes. She’s doing exactly what she should be, nose up, toes up as she swims the rapid.
Once she reaches the bottom and I know she’s safe, I paddle over to retrieve her boat and hoist it up to drain the water it collected when she flipped. With most of the water drained, I maneuver the boat around to a shallower part of the river where it will be easier for her to get back in.
Kate watches, an expression on her face I can’t quite interpret. “You okay?” I say when I’m close enough for her to hear me.
“Did you seriously just lift a kayak full of water over your head? While sitting in your own kayak?”
“You can’t get back in a boat full of water.”
“But how did you even...do yourmuscleshave muscles? That was crazy.”
A pulse of pride fills my chest, but I’m too worried about her to dwell on it. “How are you? You had me a little nervous when you flipped.”
She lifts her arm and cranes her neck like she’s trying to see the back of it. “I’m okay. I scraped my shoulder when I pushed out of the boat, but I don’t think it did any real damage. There’s no blood anyway.”
