Page 12 of Wild Hearts

Jordan manoeuvres his board into position as he pops up on a nug, taking a couple of wide cutbacks before the wave peters out and he drops down, paddling back out to the inside.

“Smartarse,” I call out, getting a grin in return.

A third wave rolls in. My arms burn as I paddle, waiting for the telling rise of the back of my board and the gliding sensation letting me know I’ve caught the wave. I arch my back, popping up and sliding my left foot forward first, my knee dragging slightly as my right foot follows up the board. I bend my knees, securing my balance. My hand trails through the crisp cool water. I get a little caught up with the backhand snap coming up high on the lip, but I manage re-entry by whipping my board around to stop me falling off the back of the wave. I manage a couple more turns before the bottom drops and I fade off the back.

Jordan and I catch a few more sets before riding our boards back into shore, careful of the straggling swimmers. Carrying my board up to the surf club, I rest it carefully against the wall before pulling my spring suit down to my waist and stepping under the cold spray of the outdoor shower. Eyes closed, I scrub my hands through my hair, and down over my face.

I can’t get over the fear in Wren’s eyes when she came out of the bathroom at Patty’s and spotted me. Apart from some harsh words at Ivy’s birthday – ones I regretted the moment they came out of my mouth – I haven’t done anything to hurt her. I wouldn’t do that to any girl, let alone Wren.

She has no idea, but I’ve had a crush on her ever since the summer she turned fifteen. When she went from being the awkward dorky teenager to the confident curvaceous bombshell she is now. And while it was her looks that caught my attention at first –cut me some slack, I was a red-blooded seventeen-year-old boy with sex on the brain –what kept my attention was how smart, kind and funny she is. That girl could give as good as she got, and I loved finding any excuse to initiate playful banter with her. Then last year, she found me in the kitchen after my concussion at the TropSets Surf Fest, and she listened to me break down over what I’d learned about my father. That was when I realised I was falling madly in love with my sister’s best friend.

I told myself I wasn’t going to do anything until she moved here for uni, but I couldn’t help myself. When she leaned in, I kissed her. I convinced her to give me a chance and we spent the last two weeks of summer sneaking around. I don’t regret it, not one bit. Her lips tasted like cherry lip-balm, and her smooth skin begged to be marked.Fuck. Wren had my heart in the palm of her delicate little hand.

Two months after our first kiss, her parents were away and she invited me to come visit, and that was the most magical fucking night of my whole existence. It wasn’t my first time, but I’ve totally blocked out the few sexual encounters I had before that night because the complete trust Wren had in me that night made my heart fucking implode. I’ve been hers ever since. Even despite my absolute fuck-up at my sister’s birthday a month later. No other girl could ever compare to her. She’s the fucking sun.

Jordan claps me on the back, interrupting my thoughts. “I gotta go do a bottle shop run before everyone comes over, man. I’ll see you back at mine?”

I’m too distracted to answer, so I just give him a nod. In less than an hour I’m going to be face to face with Wren, and I need to figure out how I’m going to get her to forgive me.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Wren

“I’M SURE IT WASN’Tas bad as you think,” Airlie says when I tell her what transpired between me and Brady at Patty’s. Airlie Calder is my best friend from Newcastle – I called her the moment my apartment door clicked shut.

I groan, throwing myself back against my pillows. “I was a complete mess. I could barely string a sentence together, and then I freaked out and ran away. It was a train wreck.”

There’s a long pause, and I pull my phone away from my ear to check that we haven’t been disconnected.

“Wren, what were you expecting?” Airlie sighs. “I don’t mean to be insensitive, but you knew seeing him was going to be hard. Especially after... well you know.”

My chest tightens, and I pinch the underside of my arm to stop myself from reliving the memories. I wiggle my toes, my fingers; reassuring myself that I have full control over my body.

“Have you thought about telling Brady what happened to you?”

I shake my head, even though she can’t see me. “I can’t.”

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