Page 52 of Love You Like This

“How’d you meet these guys?”

“Just out surfing. I met Jose first, and he grew up next door to Zach. Chase is Zach’s cousin. They all grew up in Newport Beach.”

We fall in step beside each other as we cross the sand. There are already about a half dozen surfers out on the water and people filling up the beach. It’s a perfect day to be out here. The sun is already warming up, even though it’s still early in the day.

Xander talks me through everything he’s taught me so far this summer as we paddle out into the line up. Once we’re out past the break, we sit up on our boards, legs dangling in the water. A few sets go past, the swells lifting and dropping us as if the ocean is breathing beneath us.

Chase bullies his way onto a wave, dropping in even though someone else had a better line. Jose paddles over to us with a shake of his head. He stops on my other side and sits up. The guy that Chase cut off yells something that the wind carries away before we can hear it.

“Have you caught any waves this size yet?” he asks me.

“No. This is the first time we’ve come down to this beach. We’ve been sticking to Santa Monica.”

Jose nods. “You’re in good hands with Xander.”

“She’s ready for bigger waves.” Xander looks over at me. “Do you want me to help you get in the line up, or should I catch a wave first?”

I roll my lips over my teeth. “You can go first. Then tell me what to expect.”

“Alright.” He looks over at Jose and then lays down to paddle over to a group of surfers.

Xander waits his turn as a few people catch waves. Then a larger swell comes through, and Xander starts paddling toward shore. As the wave builds he drops from view momentarily, but then we’re able to see his head as he rides the wave in. I love sitting out here, but part of me wishes I was able to see him better. One of my favorite things about our lessons is when I sit on the beach and watch him after I’m finished.

Xander pops out from beneath a wave after doing a turtle roll. He shakes water out of his hair when he reaches us. A huge smile crosses his face.

“That was great,” he says as he sits up on his board. “Bigger than what you’ve had so far, but I know you can handle it.”

“Really?”

He nods and looks out over the horizon. “I wouldn’t have brought you if I didn’t think so. Let’s get you in the line up, so you can try for the set after this one coming in.” He looks over at Jose. “You good paddling beside her, so we can get her set up?”

“Hell yeah, brother.”

The three of us paddle over with everyone else. I stay laying down on my board while Xander pops up to look behind us. All the things he’s taught me run through my mind as nervous anticipation builds.

“Okay, this one is yours.” Xander drops to his stomach and both he and Jose paddle beside me. “You’ve got this. Go, go, go,” he coaches as both he and Jose fall back.

As soon as I drop onto the wave, I pop up, a little unsteady for a few seconds, but then everything falls into place. The world around me fades as I feel the water moving beneath me. I put a bit more pressure on the back side of my board the way Xander taught me as I ride the wave toward shore. The peak of the wave drops and knocks me into the water.

Adrenaline surges through my body as I pop back up and take a deep breath. The chilly Pacific water seeps into my wetsuit, but I barely feel it as I paddle back out to the guys. Xander and Jose whoop when they see me. Both of them smile as I join them, but the pride in Xander’s eyes makes my stomach flip.

“How was it?” he asks.

“So much fun. I can’t wait to do it again.”

They whoop again, both encouraging me.

We spend a couple hours out on the water until the waves start to intensify and get a bit too scary for me. I paddle back in and walk over to where we left our stuff on the beach. It’s too warm to leave my wetsuit on, so I strip out of it and sit down with my hands braced behind me so I can watch the guys surf.

Zach is actually the best surfer of the guys, but I think Xander has the best finesse. Jose is good, too. Chase is just an aggressive asshole out on the water. Almost every time he gets a wave, he’s cutting other people off. From what Xander’s taught me about surf etiquette, Chase could definitely use a few lessons.

I watch with trepidation as he gets into an argument on the beach with another surfer who just watched him cut someone off again. The man laying into him looks quite a bit older than Chase. I look away quickly when Chase notices me. He blows the guy off and starts crossing the sand toward me.

My heart beats thickly in my chest. I glance nervously out to see where Xander is. Even from out on the water, I feel his attention lock on Chase approaching me. Jose looks over quickly too. Xander lays down and paddles hard for the wave coming up.

Chase drops his board next to me and plops down on the sand right beside me. He shakes his hair, sending water droplets all over me. “Can you believe that guy? Geriatric and trying to start a fight with me?” he scoffs.

I shift my weight, trying to put space between us subtly. “You did drop in on that guy out there,” I say because my body might be on high alert, but nothing pisses me off more than a mediocre man.