CHAPTER 6

ajay

It was good to get out and see the town where Dane and his brother had grown up. Esperance was a small seaside village with a long high street packed full of people sitting at alfresco cafes, ice cream shops with queues a mile long and sweet looking homewares and surf shops.

We'd driven Dane's BMW in but it had been impossible to get a car park. We'd ended up having to park outside the town in an open paddock directed by parking rangers and walk in along with a thousand other people. These coastal towns sure got busy in tourist season.

Dane took us to a place aptly named the Espy Beach Club that had all these fancy blue and white stiped umbrellas on an open air deck overlooking the beach. The drinks were astronomical in price and I'd had to swallow my pride and accept Dane's offer to buy me one after perusing the drinks list.

My bank account was on the very low side of healthy. I'd taken a whole heap of extra shifts at The Local Brew these past few weeks but I had been expecting to spend the holiday at home where costs were few and I had a mum who would cook for me and cover most of my expenses. Here I was relying on Dane once again but he never seemed to mind. It was clear that he and Nick came from a well off family. Dane didn't flaunt his money but then again he didn't exactly hide it either.

Nick was a whole other equation. If I hadn't seen the beach side house he lived in or the brand new, bright red Jeep Wrangler in the driveway that I knew was his, I would never have pegged him as someone who came from money. He was as down to earth as they came. There was something about that which I liked.

Dane set our colourful cocktails on the table and I took a quick sip. It was a little on the sweet side for my tastes but Dane loved these types of drinks and I knew better than to mention anything. I would have been just as happy with the cheap and cheerful beer on tap but I knew Dane would be horrified if I had chosen the house pour from the artfully curated ten page drinks menu.

"So, you and Nick," I ventured, not sure why I couldn't keep him from the top of my thoughts. "Why don't you get along?"

Dane huffed out a quick laugh as he set his cocktail down on the table. "How long have you got?"

"I've got all afternoon," I returned with a smile, gesturing at the sun pouring down on the peaceful surrounds. "I don't know, man. Nick just seems kind of cool to me. I can't really see what the issue is with you two."

"Believe me, Ajay. You've known him for, like, five minutes. Try twenty years with him."

"Help me understand. I honestly don't get it."

Dane let out a long puff of air as he leaned back in his chair. What I'd said was only kind of true. Less than a minute with the two brothers was enough to tell me you couldn't have found two more opposite guys if you'd tried. Even just their looks – one dark and serious, the other bright and sunshiny. Dark eyes versus blue sparkles. Nearly black hair versus golden brown locks.

But all of that didn't automatically lead to this level of animosity.

"I don't think my parents realised this but growing up they always treated me and Nick differently," Dane finally admitted. "Like, my mum honestly believes the sun rises and falls on Nick. They have always been super close and Mum always had this way of completely overlooking his flaws."

"Such as," I prompted.

"Such as the fact he's basically a bum who lives to surf, smokes way too much weed and has absolutely no prospects and no ambition. And Mum's always just been like, have fun, darling, and don't smoke too much weed. Whereas if I ever did anything remotely out of line my dad would lay into me.

"I remember this one time Nick came home with a B on his English assignment and they were so over the moon it was like he'd just been accepted into NASA. But if I came home with a B, well, it would be all, what's gone wrong here, Dane? Just total double standards my whole life."

I contemplated Dane's words for a minute. I could see that this was a real issue for him and I knew it wasn't my place to prod at a still gaping wound. Didn't mean I wasn't going to have a shot though.

"Do you think maybe, and this is just a shot in the dark here, do you think that maybe your parents just played to both your strengths?" I hedged, not missing the dark scowl on my friend's face. "I just mean maybe they knew you could be pushed academically more so than Nick. They knew a B for you was probably you not trying your best. Maybe a B for Nick was a lot of hard work for him."

The scowl Dane shot me had me instantly raising my hands defensively. "Just an idea. Not saying it has any merit to it."

But he sighed heavily and I thought I might have been onto something. "You may be right," he finally conceded.

"There you go," I smiled brightly. "Maybe there is hope for you two yet."

"I wouldn't go that far," Dane huffed and I deflated my false sense of hope.

Nick had stayed out with his friends all day yesterday and I hadn't heard him come home. Even though I might have kept half an ear out for him. It wasn't like I was tracking his movements or anything. I just wanted to know if he would be meeting me for a surf in the morning like we'd planned.

I made my way downstairs at the crack of dawn anyway and found Nick out on the lawn, waxing the board he had leant me. He stood at my approach and sent me that megawatt smile that I had come to associate with him. The smile that always hit somewhere near my gut.

"Morning," he said, bright as the day.

"Hey," I returned.

"You ready to head down?"

"Sure am." Nick passed me my board and we made our way down to the water's edge together. "So, you went out with your friends yesterday?"

"I did," he returned with a grin. "You know how it is. One drink turns into two, turns into six and before you know it, the day is gone."

I huffed a laugh at his description. "I wish I knew how that was. For me these days it's all work, guitar practice and uni."

"Well, we'll have to do something about that while you're down here," Nick returned. "Summer is for fun after all."

"Maybe," I laughed. "Although if the price of the drinks Dane and I had yesterday is any indication, I think I'll be living on water for a while."

"Ah. That's because my brother likely took you somewhere stupid. Next time come out with me and I'll show you where the real locals drink."

"Yeah?" I said, something in his gaze making that sound like the best invitation I'd ever had.

"Absolutely. Guaranteed no wanky drinks either."

I laughed again and was rewarded with one of Nick's smiles. "I'll take you up on that then."

"Good. Now, how about you come out to the break with me today and we'll get you riding some of those waves like a pro?"

I sucked in a deep breath. "I'll give it a go." Nick grinned at me as we paddled out to the deeper water and I batted a couple of nerves away. I felt safe with Nick and I knew he would only have encouraging words for me. As another bonus, the swell was nowhere as big as it had been yesterday and I took courage from that.

Nick paddled right alongside me before reaching out to hold onto my board as we bobbed on the waves.

"Okay, Tassie boy," he said, suddenly all business. "The most important part about surfing is finding the right spot to take off on the wave. That's the hardest part really. Everything else is all technique and balance but if you can get the drop on the wave at its highest point, you're half way there. Stay off the shoulder. You want the wave at its peak, otherwise you'll ride off the edge."

I listened to him attentively, watching as he pointed out a couple of surfers who looked like they knew what they were doing until he told me to give it a try. I messed up my fair share of attempts but Nick waited it out with me until he pushed me off on a wave and I was pretty sure I was close to nailing it.

I could hear Nick cheering for me in the distance until I tumbled off into the whitewash. But it was a solid start and better than I had ever done before. I paddled back out to Nick, that beaming smile back on his face.

"That was awesome," he enthused, holding his hand out for a fist bump.

"That felt really good."

"You looked great. You want to practice a few more? Just remember to keep low on the board when you stand. Then you want to make sure your put more weight on your front foot to get more speed."

Nick illustrated his points by touch, rotating my waist to get lower on the board and shifting my legs into better position. I don't know why his touch made me feel so antsy, like I simultaneously wanted him to stop while wanting him to keep doing it.

I honestly had no idea where my head was at these days. When it came to Nick I was all over the place. I wondered if I was a little awestruck by him, like he was the cool older guy I wanted to hang with. But it wasn't like he was that much older than me, nor was I a starstruck thirteen year old kid. Even if I sometimes felt like it around him.

Maybe it was the abs. Part of me just wanted to see what it would feel like to touch them, to run my fingers over those ridges and grooves. I'd never had muscles like that. I reckon Nick would have let me if I asked too, that was just the kind of guy he was.

I was pretty sure that might be verging on this side of creepy though, even for someone as cool and easy going as Nick.