Chapter Twelve
Julie waited at the end of the road with two paddleboards, nervous about sharing more of herself with Trevor. She didn’t like feeling vulnerable. Sure, they kept saying they were friends, but the more time they spent together, the more she was drawn to him. And if she wasn’t mistaken, or brainwashed by Wind, then he thought of her as more than a friend too. Yet, they both clung to that term. It was safe and allowed them to spend time together without the pressure of dating.
The afternoon sun was high in the sky, so she tugged her hat down a little to shield her face from the damaging rays. Her long-sleeved water shirt was hot but would protect her shoulders and arms, and she’d slathered on sunscreen to protect her legs.
Trevor strutted up dressed in swim trunks and a T-shirt along with his cap. She worried he’d burn the back of his neck or his chest and arms since she doubted his T-shirt provided any SPF protection. “Hey, you.”
“Hey. Glad you came.” She shifted between feet, the strap around her ankle that attached to the board scraping at her skin.
“Why wouldn’t I?” Trevor removed his flip flops and tossed them to the side, apparently not worried about anyone taking his stuff anymore. “I’ve got to see this mystery place.”
She decided not to mention the real reason she was worried he wouldn’t show. No need to be all serious. They were headed out for a fun outing. To a place she hadn’t been to in years. “Okay, first things first. Are you wearing sunscreen?”
He nodded. “Yep, face, arms, and legs. Oh, and tops of feet. This isn’t my first rodeo on the ocean. I learned the hard way not to ever go out in the Florida sun without protection. The great sun poisoning incident of 2018 taught me that.” He eyed her foot and then wrapped the strap from the other board around his ankle.
She picked up her board and led him down the rocky road, onto the beach, and out into the water until they reached the coral bottom and finally soft white sand and seaweed. “It’s not a great place to set off from since it’s kind of icky, and it won’t be an easy ride in the chop today, but we should be good. Trust me, the effort will be worth it.”
“I’m intrigued. Only one problem.”
“What’s that?”
“I’ve never been on one of these before.” He stood there with a broad smile, eyeing the board as if he was about to mount a bucking whale shark.
“Don’t worry. We can sit first. Trust me, anyone can do that. If not, then we’re in trouble. After that, we’ll try up on our knees, and then we can try standing.” She straddled the board and started paddling forward so he could have room to get on his.
He picked up his paddle and lifted one leg over the board. A strong gust of wind came through, sending his board sideways. A wave rushed in. He abandoned the paddle and grabbed on to the edges, attempting to stay upright, but it rolled, dunking him under another wave.
He popped up to the surface, swiped his face of water, and snagged his floating hat. “Not a good sign.”
She rowed to his side, retrieved the paddle, and held his board still.
“What did you say? If I can’t sit on the board I’m in trouble?” He coughed, put his hat inside out to release the water, and then plopped it back onto his head.
“Don’t listen to me. I say a lot of stupid things like you can’t have zip ties.” She wanted to suck the words back in, but obviously she needed to get them out or they were going to haunt her all day.
He rested his hand on her thigh. “Hey, no worries. We’ll both get past our issues. It takes time and practice, right?”
A new light shone inside her, forcing the dark clouds from where they had settled three years ago, and the tension in her shoulders let go. “Right.” She savored his touch instead of pulling away because it felt tender, friendly, and safe.
He grabbed both sides of the board, leaving her feeling the cold where his hand was sitting a moment earlier. On the first try, he managed to beat an incoming wave and slide his chest up so he lay flat. After the next wave, he sat up, straddling the board with a broad, I-conquered-it-and-so-can-you kind of smile.
She held out his paddle. “Good job. Almost as good as you did talking to all the people in town. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were starting to care more about the town and less about the big business.”
“Can’t I have both?”
“I guess. Within reason.” She paddled, leading him along the shoreline until they reached the shortest part of the river, where she waited for him to pull up beside her.
Their feet touched under the water, and neither of them moved away from each other this time. It was progress. And out here, in the freedom of the ocean, she didn’t feel the pull of her former life as much. “Okay, we cross here. It’ll be easier up on your knees, but you can manage sitting, no problem.”
He eyed the distance. “Ah, how about I go get my powerboat and we zip on over there?”
“Can’t. Too shallow on the other side. You can only swim or paddleboard, or go to the other side where you’d have to anchor and swim, but that side is rocky and dangerous with the current.”
He sighed. “Paddling it is.”
She popped up on her knees to show him how, and he followed suit and found his balance before they hit the waves in the river. Good thing it was off season so
