“Your toes should always touch the back of the board,” Luke said, paddling beside Callie as they bobbed over a wave together. She’d only realized that Luke had brought her the board with the gaillardia when he’d unfastened it from the top of the SUV. He smiled fondly at her, slowing down, as she paddled with everything she had to keep up with him.
“Put your hands by your chest and push up when the wave comes,” he said as a small one headed their way. He brought one foot forward and stood up on the board, the wave rippling under him and dissipating. “Like that.” He turned around as the water thundered behind him. “Here’s one.” He got back down onto his belly and pushed toward it and Callie followed, the rush of it filling her.
Luke put his hands on his board so Callie did too. Then he got on his knees. She followed. With a quick movement, he planted his feet and was standing just as the wave swept her off her board, toppling her onto the sand beneath. The water felt like a million icy bubbles on her skin, chilling her sun-warmed face immediately. The rush of the tide as it pulled on her body was a welcome exercise for her stiff muscles, sore from working so much over the past few days. She came up for air and felt a hand grab hers. With her free hand, she wiped the salty water from her eyes before opening them.
“You okay?” Luke asked. His chest was wet, showing off his physique and Callie had to make herself focus on his face. She was keenly aware that he was still holding her hand.
“Yes,” she said with a smile as she pulled out of his grip and bobbed over a wave before it broke on the shore.
“I’ll put my board up and come out with you on yours.” Before she could say anything he paddled to shore, took the surfboard under his arm, and jogged onto the beach while she bobbed around in the water.
When he got back out to her, she turned around to face him, but he redirected her toward the waves. “Keep your head on a swivel or a wave will wipe us both out.” He leaned down onto her board, and she scooted forward. “Stay where you are. I’ll paddle us out.”
When a wave came in, she watched its white bubbling cap while it built speed, her heart racing as they moved closer to it. Luke shifted behind her but she kept her eye on it like he’d said to do. “On your knees,” he said calmly, the wave getting bigger.
The board was turning at Luke’s command. “Stand up!” he said with excitement. “Bend your knees.” She did, and they were both riding it in!
“Oh!” Callie said, the thrill of it overwhelming her. His hands were on her waist, their bodies close. She turned to look at him, causing both of them to lose their balance and tumble into the surf. She came up through the water and pushed her hair away from her face. “I was up for a second!” she said with a laugh.
“You were awesome! Great job!”
“Thank you,” she said. She was still catching her breath. “I think it was you who did all the work though.” She climbed back up onto the surfboard and he sat behind her, the water sliding across its surface as the waves moved in and out.
“I turned us around but you balanced all by yourself.”
As they sat together, an airplane with a banner advertising a seafood buffet caused a moment’s shadow as it flew between them and the sun. She felt Luke’s arms around her and she leaned back, letting the moment happen between them.
“That was fun,” he said into her ear. She turned toward him and he touched his lips to hers, taking her breath away. “Stole one,” he said with a grin.
She twisted completely around and swung her legs on either side of the board as it bobbed.
“What?” he said innocently, as if he had no idea why she’d turned to look at him. “You said you wouldn’t kiss me on command, so that put me in a weird spot since I wanted to kiss you just then. I figured I’d have to steal one.”
Her lips tingled with the words that were about to come out of her mouth. Callie had never let herself be this emotionally exposed before. She debated saying it, but she knew she would anyway because it was a hundred percent true. “You didn’t have to steal a kiss. I would’ve given it to you,” she said.
His eyebrows rose at that news. He scooted closer to her, his hands moving to her hips as he steadied them on the board, his blue eyes shimmering in the sunlight.
“I didn’t do this right the first time,” he said. “Or just now.” He leaned in slowly as if asking permission. Her stillness gave him his answer and he put his lips right near hers, his breath making her lightheaded. Then, he wrapped his arms completely around her, swallowing her in his embrace, his salty lips suddenly on hers. She closed her eyes and put her arms around his neck as he steadied them both, the water under them moving in time to their own movements.
She took in his scent—the earthy, warm smell of his skin and the lingering spice from his morning aftershave. The softness of his lips, and the way they fit together perfectly with hers—it all made Callie realize that something had been missing for her. She wanted to know everything about Luke all at once, and she didn’t want a single minute to go by when she didn’t have this feeling. She’d dated plenty of people before, but nothing she’d ever experienced compared to this moment and she knew that she’d never forget it as long as she lived.
Luke was the first to pull back. He smiled at her, that look that she loved so much returning. It wasn’t smug at all—just like when he’d brought her coffee, she’d read it wrong when they’d met; it was his complete satisfaction and happiness with that moment. Looking at him now, she couldn’t believe she’d ever read it as anything else.
“Hungry?” he asked, his gaze still devouring her.
“Yes,” she said, giving in to the moment. She couldn’t tell if she was hungry or not. She could hardly think about anything other than him.
They paddled to shore and he tossed the board gently into the sand next to his. “I have shrimp cocktail, herb and butter crackers made by our chef, and any fruit or veggie you can think of in the back of the truck.”
When they got to the chairs, Luke asked her to sit. She watched him going back and forth between the cooler and the vehicle, beads of water on his bare skin, until he finally asked her to come around. When Callie saw what he’d done, she smiled. The entire back of the truck had a spread of food like some sort of beachy buffet, their plates and utensils ready. He’d unfolded a small camping table and two chairs just beside it, and he’d even turned on a portable radio, the music playing above the sound of the wind and sea. “You’ve thought of everything,” she said. “It’s a good thing I came today.”
“It is a good thing,” he said, locking eyes with her, and she knew what he meant.