He smiled. “Good. Now, turn your board around and start paddling.”
I did as he’d said, and I turned my board so that it was facing the shore. I started paddling as the wave closed the gap between us.
“You’re going to feel it start to push you. When it does, keep paddling for a minute, and then stand up. Okay?” “Okay,” I said nervously.
My stomach was in knots over the prospect of trying to stand up on this thing. I was normally pretty graceful, but I felt out of my element out here. The wave was on us before I even realized it was close, and I felt myself sailing forward with my board. It was an incredible feeling. I smiled as I paddled a few more times, and then I prepared myself to stand up. I pushed up and pulled my legs toward my chest, just like Jesse had told me to. I took one last deep breath before standing up, careful to keep my body crouched down low. I wobbled a bit as I put my right foot in front of me, but I didn’t fall. So far, so good.
“You’ve got it! Just move with the wave!” Jesse yelled from beside me.
I glanced over to see him standing on his own board, looking completely at ease. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him as he maneuvered his board on the wave, causing the muscles in his stomach and arms to tighten. I was so caught up with watching him that I’d stopped paying attention to what I was doing, and before I knew what was happening, I was being thrown off my board.
I crashed into the water and slipped under the surface. Shocked and confused, I tried to kick my way to the surface, but I wasn’t sure which way was up. I hadn’t had time to grab a breath before going under, and my lungs were already starting to burn.
Suddenly, I felt myself being pulled up by my arm. My head broke the surface, and I took a deep breath just before a wave crashed over my head. I was pushed back under, but I felt someone holding on to my arm still. I was pulled back up again, but without any waves crashing into me this time. My board was a foot in front of me, and I grabbed it.
“Holy shit, are you okay?” Jesse asked from beside me.
I nodded, unable to speak. I’d spent most of my life out in the ocean, and I’d never once been afraid—until today. The terror I’d felt when I couldn’t find the surface was like nothing else I’d ever experienced.
“You scared the crap out of me, Emma.”
“Sorry,” I said as I held on to my board for dear life.
“What happened?” Jesse asked with concern.
“I don’t know. I guess I got distracted.”
“By what?”
Oh shit. “Uh, I was watching you and not paying attention.”
“Why were you watching me? You always have to pay attention when you’re on a board, or you’ll fall off.”
“You were distracting. Sorry.” The words slipped out before I could stop them. I wanted to hit myself over the head when a grin crept across his face.
“Why am I distracting?”
“Are you really going to make me spell it out? You were all wet and shirtless, and I was distracted. Okay? There, I said it.”
His grin widened as he listened to me embarrass myself. “So, I’m distracting when I’m shirtless?”
“You know you are, so stop trying to embarrass me more. I just had a near-death experience a minute ago.”
He grabbed my board, so he could use it to float as he leaned in closer to me. “And you think that you wearing that bikini isn’t distracting for me?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Stop acting innocent. You know what you look like, and you don’t try to hide it. I’ve been...distracted since you stripped down on the beach, but you don’t see me falling off my board because of it.”
“I...you...” I stuttered.
Jesse was always blunt, but this was taking it to a whole new level.
He laughed. “I guess we both know that we’re distracting each other now. Do you want to try again or take a break?”
“After falling off and you saying all of that, I think I need a break.”
“Fine by me. We can hang out on the beach for a few until you’re ready to go again.”
He helped me back onto my board, his hands lingering on me longer than necessary when he pushed my legs up. I shuddered as he ran his hand down my thigh to my knee. I wasn’t used to this game we were playing. Usually, if a guy was interested, he told me. With Jesse, I wasn’t sure how to handle the situation. He had just said that he found me attractive, but that didn’t mean that he was interested. I felt like I was walking on thin ice. One slip, and I’d come crashing down from the high his words had given me.
We paddled back to the beach, and once we were far enough away from the water, we stuck our boards in the sand. Jesse pulled two beach towels out of his duffel bag and handed me one.
“Is there anything that you don’t have stashed away in that thing?” I asked as I spread out my towel and settled down onto it.
“Nope. I carry all kinds of crap in it when I come to the beach.” He pulled two bottles of water out of it and gave me one. “Here, I brought us each one.”