Page 98 of Guys Can't Write Romance
She smiled. “We make a pretty scary team, don’t we?”
“We won’t be winning talent shows anytime soon. But I like to think of us as entertaining.”
“Me too.” She brushed a stray strand of hair from her face as she stared out over the water, taking in the warm sun and cooling breeze. “You’re safe, Chad,” she said after a moment. “I really like that about you.”
“Safe? Have you met me?” he grinned.
She smiled. “What I mean is, I can get silly and have fun and drink with you, and I know you won’t cross any boundaries until I’m ready. You’re protective of me.”
“That’s my gobs of toxic masculinity at work.”
She smiled. “You do have really nice arms.”
“When did you notice?”
“When you put them around me.”
“You mean when I was coaching you.”
She grinned. “You’re still sticking with that story?”
He nodded in acknowledgment. “I should probably work on my subtlety.”
She shook her head. “Don’t. It’s cute watching you blush.”
“That’s actually never happened before.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. I’m usually the one making everyone around me blush.”
She smiled. “My new mission is to make you blush every time we go out. Even if I have to tickle you to make it happen.”
“Can I just concede defeat at this point?”
“Smart boy.” She gave his leg a friendly pat.
They sat in comfortable silence for a while after that, sipping their coffees and watching the waves roll onto shore. Several surfers bobbed over the waves as they paddled back to the lineup.
“What’s that like?” She asked. “Surfing.”
He thought for a moment, his easy grin slipping into something more thoughtful. “It’s like flying, I guess,” he said finally. “When you catch a wave, it’s you and the water, andnothing else. You don’t have to think about anything. You just feel it. All your baggage and the stuff weighing you down, it just floats away for a little bit.”
Daisy pictured it in her mind as he described it. “It sounds nice,” she said. “I can’t believe I’ve lived in LA eleven years and never tried it.”
“I can teach you, if you want.”
“You wouldn’t mind?”
“No. It’d be fun. Chad and Daisy’s next big adventure. I have a spare board you can use.”
She smiled at this. “I like our big adventures. Count me in.”
“Hey lovebirds!” Rhino’s voice called out, breaking the moment. “Daisy’s pink-haired Uber driver’s here.”
Chad and Daisy turned to see Rhino heading toward them with Chloe in tow.
“Hey. If you two were about to kiss, I can circle the block a couple times and come back,” Chloe said, a mischievous grin on her face.
