Jesse stood up and pulled his shirt over his head. My eyes widened as I took in his tight stomach and broad shoulders. He wasn’t ripped, but he was in excellent shape for a seventeen-year-old guy in high school. Living in California, I’d seen a lot of shirtless guys, and I was thoroughly impressed with him to say the least. He grabbed his board, which was a lot smaller might
I add, and he started walking to the water. I forced my eyes away from him as I followed.
“Wait!” I called out. “What about our wet suits?”
“We can put them on in a few. I want to make sure you’re going to stick with this before we suit up.”
“So, you think I’m going to get discouraged and quit?” I asked, offended by his lack of belief in me.
“I think this is a lot harder than you think it is. A lot of newbies give up after being tossed around by the waves a few times.”
At least he was being honest. I’d give him that. It still didn’t make me feel any better about the fact that he assumed I would just give up if I didn’t get it as soon as we started.
“I’ll show you. I don’t give up that easily,” I said stubbornly.
“I hope not. Come on, let’s go catch a wave.”
I held my head high as we walked down the beach and into the water. I did as he’d said, and I waited until I was waist deep in the water before climbing on. Just like he’d warned, it wasn’t as easy to get on the board as I’d expected. He climbed on to his easily, and he waited as I tried to climb on to mine. It took a few tries, but I finally managed to get on the stupid thing.
“Okay, I’m good,” I said as I looked up at him.
“You might want to scoot up a little bit. You’re too far back.”
“Oh shit.” I slowly scooted up my board, not wanting to fall off after all my hard work of getting on it.
He’d been right. It felt completely different out here on the water, and I felt more than a little unsure of myself.
“You’re good. Let’s start paddling.”
I watched him closely as he started paddling, and I tried to mimic his moves. I was a lot slower than him, and I knew he was slowing down occasionally to let me catch up with him. I used the technique he’d shown me when we started meeting the smaller waves. I had to admit that the guy knew what he was doing on a surfboard. I was already impressed, and I hadn’t even seen him surf yet.
When we were out far enough, he stopped paddling, and he sat up on his board. “This is far enough. We’ll wait here until we see a wave we want.” “How do we know which wave is the right one?” I asked.
“You don’t want one that’s too small or too big. If it’s too small, you won’t be able to surf on it obviously, and if it’s too big, it’ll knock you down.”
“Why don’t you pick one out for me?” I asked as I looked out at the waves making their way closer to us.
“No way. You have to figure it out on your own.”
“Fine,” I huffed. “That one coming at us now—it’s too small, right?” “I don’t know. Is it?”
“You’re an ass. Help me!”
“No way. You figure it out.”
I sighed as I eyed the wave. “It’s too small.”
“If you’re sure...”
“Oh my god, Jesse! I’m going to kill you!” I growled.
“Fine, you’re right. It is too small. Good call.”
“Was that so hard? Gesh,” I grumbled, trying to act annoyed, but I wasn’t.
I was enjoying the easy banter between the two of us. Jesse wasn’t a big talker, but I could tell that he was more relaxed and open out here than he was at school.
“Are you getting used to our school now?” I asked.
“I guess. It’s just school.”
“Yeah, but I know it has to be hard to be the new kid.”
“Being the new kid isn’t a big deal. It’s dealing with spoiled brats all day that gets annoying.”
“Do you think I’m a spoiled brat?” I asked.
He hesitated for a second. “I think you could be if you wanted to. I do think you’re spoiled, but you’re not a brat. When we met, I assumed that you were, but I was wrong.”
That wasn’t the answer I’d expected. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what his answer would be. “Thanks, I think.”
He laughed as another wave approached us, and I gripped my board with my knees and hands. It pushed us back a bit as it slipped under our boards.
“It was a compliment, I promise. You’re different from the rest of them.” “How so?”
“I don’t know. You’re just...you. You aren’t stuck-up, and you’re easy to talk with. Everyone else gave up on talking to me when they figured out that I didn’t want anything to do with them, but not you. You kept talking until I had to talk back.”
“Well, I do talk a lot,” I joked.
“It’s endearing. Kind of.”
“Sure it is,” I said as I watched another wave approach us.
It was bigger than the last, but I wasn’t sure if it was big enough. I studied it closely, chewing on my lip as I debated. If it weren’t big enough, I’d fail before I even tried.
“What has you in such deep thought over there?” Jesse asked.
“I’m debating on whether or not that wave is the right one.”
“Well? Is it?”
“I don’t know. I think so, but I’m not sure.”
“There’s only one way to find out. Try to surf it.”
I knew right then that it was the one. If Jesse suggested I try it, I was going to try it.
“Let’s do it.”