Page 41 of The Surfer

I’m lying on the board, spread out, as Cove pulls it along the surface of the water. He’s in front of me, pushing through the waves.

Cove flicks his handsome head around to face me and I try to focus on his piercing blue eyes and blonde wavy hair and not on the roaring waves crashing around me.

The ocean’s a scary place, and I’m bobbling along in the middle of it on a piece of fiberglass no bigger than my body.

Oh, god.

But Cove is with me, and every time he turns his head to look at me, and I see myself in his beautiful eyes, I realize I’m safe with him.

Don’t fall off. Don’t fall off. Don’t fall off.

I cling on tight to the sides of the surfboard as Cove pulls it along. The water’s at his chest height and he’s having to start to paddle. It’s getting deep. I don’t want to think about how deep we are. I’ve never been in an ocean beyond my waist before, but I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of Cove.

Just don’t fall off, Ripley. Don’t make a fool of yourself.

“You’re doing fine,” Cove says to me, obviously seeing the terrified expression on my face.

“Fine’s not the most accurate word to describe me right now,” I reply. My hands are sore from how hard I’m gripping the sides of the surfboard.

“You are fine, Miss Ripley Sailor,” Cove says. He stops moving and leans his gorgeous and well-structured face towards me so that our mouths are mere inches away. “Just remember what I taught you on the beach, and you’ll be more than fine.”

The beach. A few minutes ago. Yeah, he tried to teach me how to stand on the board. He gave me a lesson on the sand on how to do it, and I tried to listen, but I was already so terrified of going into the water that his words filtered through my ears and out the other side without me taking any of it in.

“I don’t remember anything,” I say, and Cove chuckles.

Don’t fall off. Don’t fall off. Don’t fall off.

“There’s a chance you’ll fall off,” Cove tells me. I raise an eyebrow at him. “Okay, there’s a very high chance you’ll fall off. And if you do, then you’re going to get dumped by a wave. This is when you get caught in its spin underwater. It sounds, and feels, scarier than it actually is. You will tumble around in the water and won’t know which way is up, but don’t worry, the tumble will end, and your body will naturally find its feet. All you need to do is hold your breath, and if you don’t, you’ll end up with half the ocean in your nose.”

“Dumped by a wave? Now you tell me this?” I ask incredulously.

Cove smiles at me, flashing his white teeth, and I’m instantly calmed. His smile can do that to me. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Just stand up and you’ll be all set.”

He spins the board, and me, around so that I’m facing the shoreline. I glance behind to see Cove watching an incoming wave. The thing approaching us is massive, even taller than I’d thought it’d be.

A massive, terrifying wave.

I’m terrified.

Oh, god, he’s gonna push me ahead of the incoming blue wall. He’s gonna let the wave carry me to the shore.

This is it.

“Start paddling, Ripley,” Cove instructs as he pushes the surfboard along with the wave. He disappears behind me as the wave picks me up and shoots me forward. I feel the board surge as I’m lifted to the crest of the wave. My hands and feet flap away at the water as I attempt to paddle like the surfers I’ve seen in films.

I’m doing it. I’m on the wave speeding down towards the beach.

And now it’s my time to stand up.

Cove’s instructions echo in my ear as I shoot along the wave. Hands below my chest, palms flat on the board and push my body up on my feet in one quick movement, that’s what I need to do.

Okay, I can do this. Cove is watching.

I get my hands into position. The surfboard rocks precariously beneath me. I steady myself and push up just like Cove has told me to.

I feel the soles of my feet touch the fiberglass board.

Yes.