She nodded. 揙kay. Bye, Beck.?
He waved. 揃ye.?
I watched him walk down the street. Beck was tall like me, with a good head of dark hair, nice teeth, and always in a good mood. He was a regular at the gym. He was pleasant to everyone, well-liked around town, and single.
Hannah hummed to herself, glancing up and down the street and rocking on the heels of her sneakers. 揙ne left.?
A weird feeling hit my stomach. I couldn抰 explain it, but my mood had soured.
揧ou抳e done enough. Good job today, bookworm.?
揙h. Okay.?She shrugged. 揟hat wasn抰 so bad, I guess.?She remembered the can of beans in her hand and winced. 揂ctually, yes, it was.?She tilted her head, passing the can back and forth between her hands. 揑 do want to see that exhibit at the gallery, though. And Beck is cute.?Her gaze followed him down the street. 揝uper cute.?
I stepped in the way of her line of sight. 揥e have another surf lesson tomorrow. Dawn.?
She groaned. 揝o early.?
I pictured her with messy hair, rolling out of bed and turning off her alarm. 揥e have to catch those clean waves, bookworm. They抮e the easiest to learn on.?
揑抦 going to fall off my board again.?Her mouth twisted to the side.
揢ndoubtedly.?
揑t抯 going to suck.?
揌ey.?I nudged her. 揧ou got rejected by half the town today, and you抮e still standing.?
Despite the embarrassed flush on her face, she laughed. 揢gh. Please let me forget.?She glanced at the store. 揑 should go back in. Oh.?She paused. 揑抳e been reading about social media marketing. What抯 your brand??
One eyebrow lifted. 揗y brand??
揕ike, your vibe.?
I shrugged. 揑 don抰 know. That everything is temporary??
揢h, no, that抯 depressing.?She shook her head. 揑t抯 fine, I抣l come up with something. Can I take a few videos of you tomorrow morning after we surf? Do you have time??
Oh, right. That social media thing. Knowing someone was thinking about it and that I wouldn抰 have to do anything was a relief. 揝ure. Whatever you want.?
She flashed me a smile, a real one like she showed Avery, and my chest squeezed. I smiled back at her.
揝ee you tomorrow, Wyatt.?
揝ee you tomorrow, bookworm.?
When I returned home from surfing that evening, I had a missed call from Avery.
揥hy do you want my copy of Pride and Prejudice??she answered as soon as I called her back.
揑 want to borrow it.?
She snorted. 揥hy??
揑抦 curious about it.?I pictured Hannah抯 eyes lighting up, talking about it. There must have been something good in that book.
揑 left it on your front porch.?
I opened the front door and saw it sitting there on the welcome mat. 揌ere it is. Thanks, Av.?
揥hat抯 this I hear about Hannah asking out half the guys in town??
Even though Avery was Hannah抯 best friend, I held back from elaborating. 揝he was doing her homework.?
We said our goodbyes and I settled onto the couch before cracking the book open. There was a stamp inside the front cover.
Sold with love by Pemberley Books
6
Hannah
Another wave rolled in and he caught it, shooting forward on his board, riding it toward the shore. He was so at ease, like he was more comfortable on water than on land. Above us, blue skies stretched over the mountains, trees, and ocean. A few other early bird surfers dotted the ocean around us, but Wyatt had the big waves to himself.
I took another video of him on Liya抯 nice camera I had borrowed.
He paddled his board back out before the break and waited for the next one. I unzipped the top half of my wetsuit and let it hang off my waist. My muscles ached from my disastrous surf lesson the other day. The day was warm already and my hair was almost dry from me falling off my board again this morning. I saw why Wyatt preferred to surf first thing in the morning, even if the water was ice cold.
On the shore, I recorded more video as he caught another wave. He carved the water so gracefully, gliding over the surface like it was made of ice. Through the zoom lens, I watched the muscles on his torso ripple as he balanced. He made it look so easy, when I had inhaled face-full after face-full of water this morning. My nasal cavity still burned and my hair hung around my shoulders in frizzy tendrils. I knew better than to wear mascara this morning, though. I didn抰 care if I looked tired and my eyes disappeared behind my pale eyelashes, it was better than wiping the smears off around my eyes afterward.
Wyatt rode a wave closer to shore and paddled in, grinning from ear to ear. I took a sneaky picture of him as he shook the water off his hair, carrying his board in, and I laughed to myself. We抣l make a social media star of you yet, Wyatt.
Up close, he was gorgeous like this, all muscle and dripping water and bright eyes. A smile from ear to ear. I blinked, taken aback. My pulse picked up.