What kind of guy hit on someone when they were with their boyfriend? You wouldn’t find a woman doing… and then I thought of Brenda. Yes, she was definitely the kind of woman who would do exactly that.
I wondered if it was worth keeping the surf shack man’s number to pass on to her; he was quite attractive in that so-laidback-he-was-almost-horizontal sort of way. And I knew for a fact she liked surfers. I really wished he hadn’t written his cell number on a ten dollar note. Oh, well, I’d just have to use it for a tip somewhere. A large tip.
Sebastian carried the heavy board down to the beach and swam out with me. I didn’t know how he could stand the water without a wetsuit – it felt cold to me. He just laughed and said he was used to it.
I wobbled about and fell off more times than I could count, but I also managed to get several rides where I rode the board all along the green water in front of the breaking wave. Sebastian was wonderfully encouraging and I felt very proud of myself.
We’d been playing in the surf for nearly an hour when a familiar looking van parked up alongside my battered old Ford and Ches strolled down to the beach, his sleek, lightweight twin-tail thruster under one arm.
I nudged Sebastian and his happy expression vanished.
“Let’s go say hi,” I suggested.
He shrugged, but followed me as I caught a wave into the beach.
“Hi, Ches,” I said pleasantly, as I dragged my heavy board onto the sand.
“Hi, Mrs.… Caroline,” he said, looking warily at Sebastian. “I didn’t know you could surf.”
“Sebastian is teaching me.”
“Yeah, we don’t spend all our time fucking,” Sebastian said aggressively, folding his arms across his chest.
I cringed and felt my cheeks redden. Apart from anything else, he was such a hypocrite.
Ches winced and fiddled with the leash on his board.
“I still have trouble making the turns,” I said, desperately trying to lighten the tense atmosphere.
“Yeah, well… you were looking pretty good out there,” muttered Ches.
“Why don’t you guys go have some fun; I’m ready for a rest. Sebastian, take my board.”
I thrust it towards him, giving him very little choice in the matter. He gazed at me mulishly then snatched up the board and paddled out.
Ches stared helplessly for a second, murmured something inaudible, and followed him. I watched for a while, hoping that they’d work it out somehow, then peeled off the wetsuit and stretched out on my beach towel. The sun was deliciously warm on my chilly skin and I was soon dozing peacefully, full of happy non-thoughts. Besides, I hadn’t been getting a lot of sleep lately.
I was woken abruptly by something very cold dripping on me. I squinted into the sun to see Sebastian grinning down at me. My heart lurched suddenly: it was so much like the first day we’d met. So much had happened since then: I was barely the same person. Was he?
At least Sebastian looked happier now.
“Hey, baby, did I wake you up?”
“Sort of: not really. Did you have fun?”
He shrugged. “It was okay. Waves aren’t great today. Wind’s onshore, so it’s pretty mushy. It was more fun with you.”
I shivered as he lay down next to me.
“Ugh! You’re all cold and clammy!”
“I could warm you up,” he said suggestively, running his hand across my stomach and leaning over me.
I pushed him off.
“Not here!”
I glanced up to see an embarrassed Ches desperately trying to find something else to look at other than his best friend getting it on with a married woman.
“Behave!” I said severely, frowning at Sebastian.
He just grinned at me with the same irritating air of insouciance. God! He could be infuriating.
I sat up and flicked his wrist away as he tried to lay a possessive hand on my thigh. I reached into my bag and pulled on my T-shirt. I thought Ches might feel slightly more comfortable if I was wearing a few more clothes, and there was that damn hickey, too. In truth, Ches’s level of comfort mostly depended on whether or not his friend would stop behaving like an ass.
“Ches, would you like some sandwiches? I’ve made more than enough.”