Page 31 of The Roadie
Her head snapped in his direction while her belly did a backflip.
“I also said a shark would probably eat someone further out in the ocean than us. Look.” He pointed to three surfers who were a significant distance away. “They’ll act as a buffer.”
She rolled her eyes. “Great.”
He reached out and touched her leg tenderly. “Hey. There’s nothing to worry about. I wouldn’t put you in danger. I’m an excellent swimmer. I grew up at the beach. I’ve been surfing since I was eight. Do you trust me?”
She nodded, feeling significantly reassured.
“Get ready to take this wave coming in.” He spun his board around quickly and got into position.
Nerves made her heart race, but there was no time to think about it. Plus, she just wanted to get this over with. She turned her board around to face the beach and looked over her shoulder at the giant wave. Actually, it was only about a three-foot swell, but she had little confidence that she was going to be able to stand up on the board for more than a few seconds, at most. She was probably going to nosedive right into the water. The surfboard would hit her on the head, and she’d die out here.
Whatever tiny bit of confidence she had disappeared, and fear took over. She clutched the sides of the surfboard as the wave, and her eyes, grew larger with each second. Her gaze shot to Brett, who quickly realized that she wasn’t going to follow along. He nodded with understanding and paddled over to her.
Just as he took her hand and squeezed it with reassurance, the swell traveled underneath their surfboards and lifted them high into the air. For a brief second, fear gripped her by the throat, but then the wave passed, and she was floating on the water’s surface again. It made her tummy flip-flop, but in a good way, and she was reminded of some of the water rides she’d been on as a kid. A smile spawned on her lips and she laughed a little. “That was fun!”
“We can go back. I can see you’re not comfortable out here.” He shrugged. “We tried.”
Thank God.She paddled all of two feet toward the beach before she stopped. Failure wasn’t in her genes. She wasn’t a quitter. She was an Abelman. She was on the Board of Directors of Falcon Records and stood up to business executives three times her age. She took on the male-dominated music industry and made a name for herself as one of the youngest executives in the country. Surely, she could take on a little wave.
“What’s wrong?” Brett asked.
“I didn’t try. I got scared. I can’t give up. That’s something my father instilled in me since I was a kid. Look, there’s another wave!” She pointed behind Brett to the swell coming toward them.
“Wait,” he warned. “It’s coming too fast. We’ll catch the next one.”
She was about to argue but trusted his judgment and let the swell glide by.
The next wave came, and he nodded. “When I say ‘go’, paddle like crazy.”
Her heart hammered in her throat as she waited, poised on the board, eyes darting from the wave to Brett and back again.
“Get ready. Now! Paddle! Paddle! Paddle!”
She paddled toward the shore as fast as her arms could move, then she popped up just the way she’d done on the sand. She did it! She was standing on the board!Oh . . . no!She wobbled and fell sideways off the board into the ocean. The roar of the wave thundered above as saltwater filled her ears and covered her head. She tumbled while the rough tide tossed her back and forth under the water like a washing machine. Her foot dusted the sandy floor. The leash tugged on her ankle as if someone were pulling her deeper below the surface. Through the sound of rushing water, she heard her heart beating like a bass drum is if it were outside of her chest. Everything probably happened in under three seconds, but it felt as if she’d been holding her breath for an hour while she was thrashing around in a million different directions. Panicked, and sure she was about to drown, she flailed her arms and legs wildly and propelled herself upwards until air filled her lungs with a deep inhale.
“You OK?” Brett was off his surfboard and in the water in front of her, alarm and concern in his voice as he studied her face.
Before she could answer, he scooped her up and cradled her in his arms.
“I gotcha. Relax and take a few deep breaths.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him, safe and protected, while her nerves settled.
“You went down hard. Did you get hurt?”
“No.” Now that she knew she was OK, and her heart wasn’t hammering as hard, she felt a little silly for thinking she was going to drown. “Just a little embarrassed.”
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. You gave it a good first try.”
It sounded as if he thought she was done. “I’ll get it.” Although she hated leaving his embrace, she swam to her surfboard and straddled it.
“That’s my girl,” he said, smiling. “Never give in or give up.”
Three more waves came in and three more times she fell off the board, but the fear was no longer there. She fell, dove under the water, and rose to the top ready to try it all over again. “This is one hell of a workout.” She wiped the water from her eyes and pushed her wet hair from her face. Her biceps and shoulders were stretched tightly as the muscles contracted from exertion.
Brett held up one arm, curled his fist and flexed his bicep. “Pretty soon you’ll look like me.”
