“I’ll keep my eyes open.” Caden rose to leave.
“Grant, sorry to pull you in on your day off. Your dedication is duly noted.” He nodded a dismissal.
“Thanks, Chief.” Even though he knew Evan wasn’t involved, he was glad he was spending the day with Bella. The less time he had to get roped into something like this, the better.
BELLA SAT ON a beach chair at the edge of the surf and, with Evan’s safety in her hands, she finally understood why her parents were so overprotective of her when she was growing up. Every time Evan disappeared under the waves, the pit of Bella’s stomach sank and she held her breath until he reappeared on the other side. Riding waves and smiling when he broke through the surface, Evan looked so different from the brooding teenager she knew him to be at times. It was funny how a dark hoodie and a cell phone could change the image of a person.
He came out of the surf shivering; his hair fell long and streaky across his face. He crossed his skinny arms over his chest and squinted against the sun.
“Wanna boogie board with me?” he asked.
“I haven’t been boogie boarding for a while, but heck yeah.” She wrapped the Velcro strap of her board around her wrist and stepped into the icy water.
“My dad loves to boogie board.” Evan carried his board over his head while Bella clung to hers for warmth.
Her teeth were already chattering.
“Come on!” Evan waved her out deeper. He eased his rangy body onto the board and paddled over the next wave.
Bella turned to the side, clutching her board as the wave crashed against her. Evan paddled toward her and reached for her hand, then pulled her through the next wave.
“Climb up on your board,” he directed. “We’ll ride the bigger waves in.”
She did as he instructed. Somehow boogie boarding seemed easier when she was eighteen. They paddled out side by side with the sun warming her back.
“You’ve done this before, right?” he asked.
“Of course. It’s just been a few years.”
“Such a girl,” Evan teased.
Bella spied a big wave rolling toward them. “I’ll show you what a girl can do.” She spun her board around and rode the wave all the way up to shore. The icy spray of water on her face and the rough sand on her thighs as she climbed the bank brought memories of her childhood rushing back. Her heart thundered in her chest as she paddled out to do it again.
“Awesome!” Evan hollered.
She rode the next few waves and wondered why she’d ever stopped boogie boarding. Oh yeah. Boys. She’d given up boogie boarding for lying in the sun in a bikini and flirting with lifeguards and hot boys in surf suits. She had turned into a girl, and now that she was back on a boogie board, she decided that maybe she’d given it up too soon. She smiled at the thought. In one sense she’d become a girl, and in another she’d cast away being too girly in lieu of taking care of herself—and with Caden, she realized, she had the best of both worlds.
“Come on, daydreamer.” Evan splashed her as he waded back out into the deeper water.
Bella was definitely not too girly to give it right back to him. She paddled out and splashed him, then dunked him under the water. They splashed and laughed so hard, neither noticed the next wave mounting until it crashed over the top of them. Bella tumbled against the hard, scratchy sand, and when she broke the surface her first thought was for Evan’s safety. She spun around and scanned the water.
“Evan?” she hollered. She pushed through the waves, frantically looking in both directions.
“Hey!” Evan was about twenty feet down the beach from where she was. He waved his arms over his head and—thank goodness—he was smiling.
She ran through the surf. “I thought I lost you.”
“Whatever.” He splashed her again. “Guys don’t get lost.”
“Oh, I am so going to get you.” She dunked him under again, then jumped on her board and paddled out into the deep water. They boogie boarded until Bella’s body was numb from the cold; then they made their way up the beach, shivering and covered in goose bumps. Bella lay on the blanket, soaking in the warmth of the sun.
“Hey, Bella, thanks for bringing me here.” Evan sat in the beach chair, piling sand up beside his feet, his eyes tracking an attractive young brunette walking along the shore.
“Anytime. I love the beach, and I’ve had a lot of fun. I forgot how much I loved boogie boarding.” She shaded her eyes with her hand and caught his gaze. “I should thank you.”
“Hardly.” He rested his head back and closed his eyes.
“Let me know when you’re hungry and we’ll head up to the snack bar.” Bella closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the surf and the din of the people on the beach. Evan was as easy to be with as Caden was. Without his phone, he seemed to breathe easier, and Bella realized, she thought that held true for most people.
A few minutes later Bella felt a shadow steal her warm sun; then the blanket shifted. She opened her eyes and found Evan sitting beside her. His arms rested casually on his knees as he gazed out over the ocean.
“I’m sorry about last night. I didn’t mean for you to leave early.”
Bella opened her eyes, and he kept his trained on the water.
“Don’t worry about it. I don’t ever want to come between you and your dad.” She closed her eyes again, proud of him for apologizing. It was a difficult thing to do at that age, and she appreciated the confidence it took for him to do it. The silence that followed was surprisingly comfortable.
“When you were growing up, what did you do here during the summers?”
Bella sat up beside him, leaning back on her palms. “Oh, I guess the same stuff kids do now. We had the cottage, so I was always with Amy, Jenna, Leanna, and pretty much the same friends for most of the summer. We rode our bikes to the beach when we were your age, or to the flea market, and just hung out together. And at night we gathered around the fire pit roasting marshmallows, or if we wanted to escape the parents, we’d hole up in one of our cottages and just, I don’t know, talk or play games at night. Not much has changed, actually.”
His solemn expression remained. “You were lucky that the other kids in the development were like you and not jerks.” He glanced at her. “Sorry. I mean—”
“I know what you mean, and it’s okay. I say it too sometimes.” She smiled to ease his discomfort, but his eyes remained dark and serious. “I guess if they were annoying, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much, and I probably wouldn’t spend any time with them now.” She’d counted her lucky stars for her Seaside friends more often than there were stars in the sky.
“You must really miss your friends from Boston.”
He shrugged.
“What kinds of things do you do with your friends here?”