Page 9 of Love Notes and Late Nights
Wolf was already wearing swim trunks, so Harris changed in record speed, then hauled the Jet Ski’s to the shore and into the water. These were new, upgraded from the models he’d previously owned, and they were powerful. He was about to tellWolf to take it easy until he got the feel of the throttle, when Wolf suddenly took off.
“Be careful! Slow down!” Harris yelled, trying to catch up to Wolf.
There were people in the water and a few surfers, and Wolf zipped through them, faster than he should be going. Harris took a clearer path to the open water and caught up to Wolf, who was doing giant donuts in the water at top speed. Harris paused for a moment to watch his friend and the smile and joy on Wolf’s face as he soared through the water, almost wiping out a few times. The guy was reckless and out of control sometimes, but he was having the time of his life.
With a smile on his face and lightness in his chest, Harris joined Wolf so the two of them were making a giant number eight in the water. With no one out this far, they had the entire ocean to themselves.
“This is awesome!” Wolf shouted as they passed one another.
“I know!” Harris yelled back. They sliced through the water, bouncing off the waves, and headed toward the horizon, side by side. Every once in a while, they looked at one another, laughter and a glint of mischief in their eyes.
The water got rough, and the waves started to feel like he was hitting a slab of cement. Even Wolf slowed down and looked a little nervous.
“We better head back,” Harris called, not realizing how much distance they covered. They were closer to large boats than to the shore, hence the rough waves.
Wolf nodded and they turned around to ride back to the beach. The water calmed a bit, but then the waves picked up again, and it was a fight to keep control of the Jet Skis. “You OK?” he shouted to Wolf over the pounding surf.
“Yeah,” Wolf shouted back. “We’re out pretty far.”
That was the fucking truth. But they made it back to a more reasonable distance from the shore without too much trouble, and they resumed their shenanigans of riding in circles and figure eights.
Wolf zipped past Harris like a rocket. The guy was fucking flying. Another Jet Ski appeared, and it was obvious that person wasn’t aware of Wolf’s high speed because he was crossing Wolf’s path. If one of them didn’t get out of the way, they were sure to collide.
“Look out!” Harris called, frantically waving his arms, but neither heard him over the noise of the waves and the Jet Skis. The two finally saw one another and veered off in opposite directions. The sharp turn and high speed caused Wolf’s Jet Ski to skid across the water and flip over. Luckily, it rolled and popped back up, but Wolf was no longer sitting on it, and Harris didn’t see him.
“Wolf!” Harris hollered and gunned the throttle. “Wolf!”
“I’m OK!” Wolf called back. He was in the water on the opposite side of the Jet Ski.
“You scared the fuck outta me! Are you sure you’re OK? You went down hard.”
“I think so. Where’d that guy go? Is he OK?”
“Yeah. He took off. I don’t think he knew you wiped out. Can you get back on?”
It took several attempts, but Wolf finally made it back on the Jet Ski, but now the damn thing didn’t start.
“What’s wrong?” Harris asked.
Wolf pointed in the water. “I’m not sure. But I think that piece might be important.”
There was a piece of . . . something . . . floating in the water next to the Jet Ski. “Shit.”
“Sorry, dude. I’ll pay to fix it. Can I hitch a ride back?”
“Wait. Let me get closer.” Harris maneuvered the Jet Ski so they were side by side, almost touching, and Wolf climbed on.
Wolf’s thighs were pressed against Harris’, his hands were on Harris’ waist, his breath on the back of Harris’ neck, and when they took off, Wolf’s chest hit Harris’ back every so often.
Oh. My. God.
It was too much contact. Too much body heat.
“I’m sorry,” Wolf said into Harris’ ear.
But Harris didn’t care about his Jet Ski. If it meant that Wolf would be practically straddling him like this, he would’ve broken the Jet Ski himself. When they got to the shore, the lifeguard was waiting and thankfully handed them each a towel because Harris was overstimulated.
“Do you need medical attention?” the lifeguard asked Wolf.
