Chapter 10

TEN

Claudia

No matter how hard I tried to keep a tight rein on my emotions, Anders is slowly but surely poking his own kind of holes in my defenses. Listening to him talk about his ex makes me feel better about my own past. It’s a different situation, but it’s as realistic as it is heartbreaking. I can hear the sadness in his voice as he tells the story, and I feel bad that our fun day is starting out on such a serious note.

“We don’t have to talk about that anymore,” I say. “But thank you for sharing it with me.”

“You’re welcome.” His fingers curl around mine, and it’s nice.

To be here with him.

Out on a date.

Holding hands.

Driving with the top down, wind in our faces.

I could get used to this.

I could get used to him .

I shouldn’t, but I could.

“I haven’t told anyone that story,” he says quietly. “I mean, people know there was a girlfriend and a break-up, but none of the details.”

“I won’t tell anyone,” I promise. “Not even Hana.”

“I appreciate that.” He pauses. “I really try to keep my private life private. I spend so much time in the sports news, just in general. Interviews and so on, I don’t want people to know everything about my personal life too.”

“That’s fair.”

“Okay, enough of that. Are you excited to learn to surf?”

I burst out laughing. “I’m good at many things. Probably more than most people. But sports isn’t one of them. I’m excited to be with you, to be on vacation, and that we’ll be at the beach with friends. Beyond that, I have zero expectations.”

“It’ll be fun,” he says. “And I’ll catch you if you fall.”

“It’s just water. I can swim.”

“Surfing isn’t much of a thing in Sweden, so I think it’ll be fun to try. And lessons from world champion surfers—who can say that?”

“Well, after today, I guess us.”

“And it’s cool, right?”

“If you say so.” I give him a playful look, and we laugh.

Why is it so easy with Anders when it’s literally never been easy with any other guy ever?

I don’t want to waste time worrying about it, and the drive up to Cocoa Beach is beautiful, so I focus on living in the moment.

“That’s Johan’s truck, so they’re already here,” he says as he parks. “And that’s Felix’s.”

“Who else will be here? From the team, I mean.”

“I know Jordan is coming, and I think Cam and Sutton. I’m not sure about anyone else. It’s an adults-only event—they did a kids’ event a few weeks ago—so that eliminates some of the group.”

“It’s nice to have adult events sometimes. I think the world is very child-centric sometimes. And I love kids. Believe me, I’m better with kids than adults. But there’s a time and a place for everything, and sometimes I want adult conversation, adult beverages, all the adult stuff.”

“Absolutely. My sister has two kids and they’re great. I spend half the summer with them. But then some days I go off with friends or by myself because you need a break.”

“Hey, you two!” Hana waves and comes hurrying over to us. “Are you ready to surf?”

“Why is everyone asking that?” I demand with a laugh. “You know I’m not athletic.”

“They promised it’ll be easy.”

“We’ll see.” I put my things down and look around. “What’s the plan?”

“I’ll go sign us in,” Anders says. “Be right back.”

He ambles off toward the store, which is just over the boardwalk from the beach, and I cock my head.

“So. What happened with Felix?”

She shrugs. “There’s not a girlfriend, but there’s someone.”

“We figured.”

“He says he likes her, they share the same language, culture, etc. But he wasn’t expecting to meet someone like me.”

“What does that mean? You’re prettier? More exciting? Readily available for the next week?”

“I don’t know.” She makes a face. “I told him I wasn’t interested in being the back-up girlfriend or some kind of homewrecker. They’re not exclusive, but it still gives me the ick.”

“Agreed.” I pause. “Do you really like him? He’s so not your type.”

“I know, but bad boys always break my heart. He’s different. And despite being a little dorky, he’s got a smokin’ hot body. He’s smart. Quirky. All things I never usually give a chance.”

“Maybe this is the universe telling you why.”

“Perhaps. Anyway, I told him we can be friends. I’m leaving in less than a week anyway.”

“I know.” I let my gaze travel across the boardwalk to where Anders is talking with Felix, Jordan, and Jace.

He’s strikingly handsome.

What on earth does he see in me?

“They’re nice to look at, right?” Hana says, following my gaze.

“Yeah. But I’m leaving in a week too.”

“At least you live in the same country. I’m going all the way to Slovakia.” She sounds wistful as she says it.

“What’s wrong?” I ask. “Don’t you want to go?”

She sighs. “I know how this is going to sound, and I don’t mean to be ungrateful, but I’ve been lucky enough to see the world. Travel. Study abroad. The issue is that after all of that, Bratislava seems small. Boring. I want to be… here . Where there’s life and energy and options.”

“Let’s find you a job,” I say after a moment. “Let me talk to the owners of my new job. It’s a startup so they probably need more people. I don’t know how the visa situation will work, but maybe we can make it happen.”

“You’ll talk to them?” she asks softly.

I smack her arm. “Of course! I’d do anything for you.”

“I don’t have a master’s degree like you do.”

“No, but you went to MIT just like me. That counts for a lot.”

“Don’t say anything to Johan, okay? If he finds out, he’ll just want to hire a lawyer and pay to get me a visa. But I need to do this on my own. If I do it, it has to be on my terms. I can’t have my big brother taking care of me for the rest of my life.”

“How about your bestie? Can she give you a hand?”

She grins. “Yes. I can accept help and support from my bestie.”

“Good.” I look up as the guys join us.

“Who’s going first?” Jordan asks.

“You,” Hana tells him, laughing.

He nods. “Cool. I like it.”

A crowd has gathered on the beach. and Tawny and Scarlett come out, setting us up in a semi-circle.

“All right, everyone, welcome to Shine On Cocoa Beach.” Tawny takes the lead. “Thank you for coming today. I’m Tawny Hayes and this is my business partner and best friend, Scarlett Bodilsen. This is our shop, and we love the beach, so welcome!”

“We’re sold out for lessons,” Scarlett continues, “so please don’t ask if your boyfriend/girlfriend/driver/mom can get a turn. There’s only three of us, and each lesson is about thirty minutes.”

“We’d also like to introduce former surfing champion Jones Howard, who’ll be helping out today,” Tawny says, motioning to a middle-aged man standing next to her.

“So, we’re going to show everyone the basics together, and then we’ll take the first three names on the list.” Scarlett looks down at a clipboard. “Jordan, Aiden, and Hana.”

“Woot!” Hana holds up her hand and Aiden high fives her.

“Let’s do this!” Jordan nods.

They walk forward, and Tawny and Scarlett demonstrate how to put on the ankle strap that keeps the surfboard from floating away when you fall, and the basics of how to get up.

Yeah, that’s never going to happen.

I walk, do yoga, occasionally do some sit ups, but anything that requires speed, strength, or agility isn’t my forte.

“Don’t look like that,” Anders says. “You can’t give up before you even try.”

“Oh, I’m going to try, but I’m realistic. I don’t think there’s any chance I’m actually going to stand up on that board.”

“Shall we make a friendly bet?”

“What kind of bet?” I ask warily.

“The fun kind” He wiggles his eyebrows.

“You know I can just fall off on purpose,” I say.

“Nah, that’s too easy. So… here’s the deal. I have to execute every move they teach, perfectly.”

“Okay.”

“All you have to do is stand up. Not even fully. Even if you fall over as soon as you get up—if you stand up on the board, you win.”

“What happens if I don’t?”

“You have to do something out of your comfort zone, but something very minor. This is about having fun.” He looks around, as if making sure we’re not within earshot of the others. “I’m happy with something as simple as letting me see your boobs. I don’t even get to touch them, if that’s a hard limit for you.”

I frown, trying to quell the out of control beating of my heart. “Well, that seems like a shame. I show you my boobs and you don’t touch them?”

He laughs. “Then you come up with parameters.”

I’m hesitant but I know what I want.

It’s crazy.

He’ll probably run screaming.

No, he won’t.

I already know that.

And I smile mischievously.

“If I stand up on the board, you teach me how to give a blow job.”