her balance. She wobbled and then tumbled off the board into the water. Brody waited for her to come up and when she didn’t, he paddled over to her board, cutting through the water in strong, even strokes.
By the time he reached her, she was up and coughing water, clinging to the edge of the board. “Are you all right?”
She nodded. “Water up my nose.” She coughed again. “That was bad.”
“You shouldn’t have put your hands up,” he said. “You were doing so well.” He held her board as she climbed back on. When they reached the shore, he helped her tuck her board under her arm before walking onto the beach.
“It’s getting late,” he said. “We should get some lunch.” He jammed the surfboards into the sand, then peeled his wet suit down around his waist.
Payton took a deep breath and turned her face up to the sun. “I love it here. It’s just like California. Only no earthquakes.”
“I wish it was spring,” he said. “We could go bush-walking and see the wildflowers. Western Australia is known for that. Miles and miles of flowers.”
“Maybe we can,” she said.
Brody knew it was just an offhand reply, that her words contained no promises. They hadn’t made any plans or given any pledges to each other, beyond the promise of unbridled passion in the bedroom. He didn’t want to think about that now. Instead, he was determined to show her exactly how much fun life was with him here in Oz.
“What do you want to do with the rest of the day?”
“I want to enjoy the good weather.” She glanced over at him. “I noticed there’s a football game this weekend. Could we go?”
“Why would you want to do that?”
“I’m just curious to see what you used to do for a living.”
“I don’t know,” he said, shaking his head. “I haven’t been to a game since I got dropped from the club.”
“It’s all right,” she said. “If you don’t want to, we don’t have to.”
He thought about her request for a few seconds. Denying her anything was impossible. And what did he have to lose? It might be fun to explain the game to her. There was nothing quite like Aussie football. “All right. I’m going to call and see if I can get us some decent seats.”
She grinned. “Good.”
“Any other requests?”
“I heard there was a nude beach around here.”
“Yes,” he said. “Swanbourne Beach.”
“I’ve never been to a nude beach. I think I should try it at least once. I was really good at skinny-dipping, so I think I’d do well at the nude beach.”
“You do realize you’d have to take off your clothes and go naked in front of strangers, don’t you?”
“Yes. That’s the point. I’ve never done that. I’m trying new things. Trusting my instincts. And it might feel good, liberating, don’t you think?” She reached out and ran a finger down his chest. “It’ll be fun.”
“No,” Brody said emphatically. “I’m not taking you to Swanbourne. You can go on your own if you like, but I’m not going.”
“Prude,” she teased. “You have a very nice body. And you’re well endowed. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“That’s not it. You know exactly what happens to me when you get naked. And I’m not going to walk around the beach with a throb in my knob.”
“I’d find that visual very entertaining,” she said. She glanced down and fixed her gaze on his crotch.
“Stop,” he said.
“What? I’m not doing anything.”
“Stop it. You’re going to get me all worked up.”
“I’m not doing anything,” she repeated in a voice filled with mock innocence.
“There’s no extra room in this wet suit,” he said. “So just knock it off.”
She looked up at him and gave him a devilish smile. “I have such amazing powers,” she said. “I surprise even myself.”
He pulled her against him, wrapping his arm around her neck in a playful headlock. “Why don’t we go home and you can give me a demonstration of your powers.”
“I’d be happy to,” she said. “I think it’s important that I share my powers with as many people as I can.”
“Now you’ve gone too far,” he said, kissing the top of her head. “There will be no sharing.”
They gathered their things and walked back to the car, Payton’s hand tucked in his. It had been another perfect day, he mused as they strapped their boards on the BMW’s roof rack. Brody couldn’t imagine life getting any better than this.
PAYTON CLUTCHED the program in her hands as they walked through the crowds of fans to their seats. Brody’s appearance seemed to cause quite a stir among those in attendance and he was stopped again and again with requests for autographs and photos. Payton waited patiently, watching as he handled each request with surprising grace and enthusiasm, giving special attention to the younger fans.
She hadn’t realized how famous he was and she found herself regretting her request to come. It couldn’t be easy to answer all the questions about his injury, about the chances of him playing again, about the plays that everyone remembered him making.
When he finally pulled himself away from the fans, she held on to his arm and gave it a squeeze. “I’m sorry,” she said.
“For what?”
“For asking you to come here. I didn’t realize how difficult it might be for you. It was selfish of me.”
“No,” he said. “Actually, I’m doing all right. I thought it would be a bit dodgy, but it’s not that bad.”
They found their seats and settled in. Payton took a good look around, then turned to him. “All right, give me the scoop.”
“You want ice cream?” he asked.
“No, the scoop. The skinny. The 4-1-1. Tell me what I need to know.”
“Oh, all right. Well, this is the Subiaco Oval. And that’s the team, my former team, out there warming up.”
“The field is round,” Payton said.
“Oval.”
“I like the outfits,” she added, observing the players on the field. “Not as hot as chaps, but pretty sexy. Nice short shorts. And sleeveless jerseys to show off the muscles.” In truth, she could imagine Brody running around in that uniform. “Maybe you could take out your old outfit when we get home and we could play footballer and the surfer girl.”
Brody laughed, glancing around to see if anyone had heard. “Better yet, I’ll buy you a guernsey, you wear it and nothing else, and I’ll show you some of my moves.”
“A guernsey. Is that like a jumper or a cardie?”
“Jumper,” he said. “Cardie has buttons down the front.”
“And what is the team called?” she asked.
“Their official name is the Fremantle Football Club, but everyone calls them the Dockers. See, they have an anchor on their jumpers.”
She nodded. “So, what’s the deal? How do they get points?”
She listened as he explained the rules. Eighteen players on a side. The aim was to kick the ball through the poles on each end of the field. They could throw, kick and pass the ball to move it downfield, but they weren’t supposed to hold on to it. When they kicked the ball through the center pair of four posts the team scored six points. But Payton became hopelessly confused when Brody tried to explain something called a “behind.”
The game began and the crowd immediately grew noisy. She’d never been to an American football game, but she couldn’t imagine more of a party atmosphere than she was experiencing now. There was music and cheering and dancing in the stands, along with a lot of beer. And incredibly dangerous activity on the field.
The players wore no padding or helmets, yet they seemed to slam into each other on a regular basis. Men were thrown to the ground and bloodied by flying elbows and knees. Payton was grateful that Brody was sitting safely next to her. She couldn’t imagine watching him and not worrying herself sick.
