When Danny heard Cassidy close the door sharply behind her, she looked at her bare torso in the mirror. Danny flexed her abdomen so that she could see six indentations, tilted her body back, and placed her hands on her chest. If she pushed her breasts flat with her hands her torso resembled a male upper body which she couldn’t decide if she preferred to her female one.
In the shower, Cassidy turned on the news on her Ogham. She clipped it to a holder on the tiled wall. The most popular news snippet involving different countries MeSite privacy policies played while she scrubbed her hair.
***
“You’re right—the Canadian Prime Minister’s decision could be problematic.” Cassidy continued her conversation with Danny about the news segment she’d listened to in the shower. She pulled the car into the sandy parking lot of Martinique Beach. “You certainly don’t need any of your information leaked, since you’re probably going to have to live as privately as the Tolymies.”
“I know. I feel like I already have too much of a presence online,” Danny said. “I don’t know how the Tolymies do it.”
“Me neither.” Cassidy mused. “We practically live in the virtual world. Honestly, it was kind of pleasant to have dinner and talk to people face-to-face.”
“Yeah, I’ve barely spent any time on my tablet or Ogham the last couple of days. It’s weird.”
“We’d better put a message or post a photo, so no one thinks we died.” Cassidy stepped out of the car and started unclasping bungees from the rack on the van. As Cassidy donned her wetsuit, she noticed Danny still hadn’t gotten out of the car. “What do you think, Danny?”
Danny stared at the small grey crests breaking white on the shore, the Ocean seemed like it could swell up and devour her at any moment. “There are no lifeguards.”
“Yeah, according to the site they keep changing the amount of supervision at this beach.” Cassidy clipped on her helmet.
“Please be safe,” Danny muttered, making no motion to leave the car.
“It’s okay. I’m used to unsupervised beaches.”
“I’m going to stay on shore.”
“You want to hang onto this for me?” Cassidy undid the little gold key around her neck and refastened it around Danny’s. “Does that car look familiar?” Cassidy commented looking at a vehicle parked in the shade of an oak tree in the far corner of the parking lot.
“Yeah, it looks like Taban’s car, but that model’s pretty popular.”
I wish I could remember numbers better, so that I could check the license plate for reassurance, Cassidy thought, as she carried the flat kayak over the spiny grass leading down to the beach. I wonder why he recommended this beach?
“Be careful!” Danny called. She lay out a rainbow beach towel and took out her tablet, searching for any movies on the subject of linguistics.
Cassidy pushed her kayak into the water, fastened the ankle and waist straps, and paddled vigorously toward the open ocean. As she sliced through the surf, the boat lurched as waves broke over the bow, spreading foam over her neoprene-covered legs. Her shoulders ached, reminding her that she hadn’t kayaked since autumn, but she didn’t care. The surf was tall and rough, but she assessed that she could handle it. She struggled through the breaking waves to get to the calm, open ocean. A crest broke on the side of her kayak. She caught a breath of air before she capsized. Upside-down in the surf, strapped to her kayak, she heard pounding surf overhead. Her helmet scraped against a rock, but she barely noticed in the icy water. Using a technique that had taken her years to master, she pulled her paddle beside her, then around her body creating momentum to flip the boat right-side-up. She gasped as she broke the surface. Her core muscles ached as she hurried out of the breakers. I really don’t want to have to do that a lot.
One other kayaker paddled in the distance, farther out than Cassidy would have considered ideal for catching waves, but perhaps the person didn’t want to surf. However, his boat seemed flat small like hers, not long and slim like a kayak designed for regular paddling. She saw a swell that humped promisingly behind two smaller swells. She allowed the first swell to elevate her, when her kayak dipped after the first swell, she slipped her paddle deep into the ocean and pulled back sharply, rotating her kayak to face the shore. When the second swell passed underneath her, she took two strokes with her paddle to reach the point right before the second swell started to break. She waited. When the third wave touched the back of her boat she paddled as hard as she could. Her momentum carried her with the crest of the wave until she felt the water pull underneath her. She let out a cheer as the wave carried her toward the shore. Before the crest broke, Cassidy drove her paddle into the top of the wave as though she were slaying a wild animal; this motion rotated her boat. With one stroke, she freed herself from the wave and began to paddle back toward the open ocean.
When she reached the place where the swells started to break, she looked for the other kayaker. Paddling a little farther out, she continued to scan the horizon for the person she’d seen. Finally, she spotted the kayaker farther down the shoreline where the swells broke more unevenly. He didn’t have a lifejacket, nor did he use his torso to paddle, instead he strained his arms against the water. The rain beat against Cassidy’s face. She used her Ogham to get a close-up picture of him. She cringed. He wasn’t wearing a helmet and had fastened himself into the wave ski. Cassidy watched the raven-haired man fumble to catch a wave. He missed the first, but timed his speed with the second swell. The wave carried him gently until it broke sharply forcing his boat into a nosedive. Cassidy saw the boat resurface after the wave had passed, but it was upside-down. Was he able to unclip himself? she thought. Sometimes ankle straps are hard to undo. What if he hit his head like I did? She started to paddle hurriedly in the direction of the boat, but the current inhibited her speed. “Sunset, emergency report: kayaker may be injured at Martinique Beach,” she yelled to her Ogham.
“Sunset accept: Emergency response: Please briefly explain the emergency.”
“There is an indication that a kayaker is stuck under his boat.”
“Emergency Response: May we locate you via your Ogham?”
“Affirmative,” Cassidy said.
“Emergency Response: A helicopter is on its way.”
“Message to Edana: I saw someone who might be injured. I’m going to check on them.”
“Message from Edana: Alright. I’ll direct any help your way. Be safe.”
Cassidy’s arms and core burned. Icy water flew off her paddle and stung her face like needles. Brine scorched her throat and wind-swept rain blurred her vision. She looked toward the shore to protect her eyes from another wave and saw someone running along the beach. Rubbing her eyes with the sleeve of her wetsuit, she continued to paddle, but watched the figure remove a teal shirt and kick off his shoes. Another wave arched over her, so she shut her eyes and used her paddle to navigate through it before it broke. She kept her eyes on the person who was now running into the surf. Once the water reached his torso he dove under a wave and did not resurface after the wave. Oh great, someone else to worry about. As she approached the boat, the body of the kayaker resurfaced, face down, farther out in the open ocean. Good, he managed to unstrap himself, but why is he so far out? she thought, until she noticed a table-sized clump of seaweed moving steadily out to sea. A rip current! If I get caught I might not have the strength to ride it out then paddle back to shore, but at least I can hold him above water until a helicopter arrives. With strength she didn’t know she had, she paddled into the rip current and reached the unconscious man. Concerned that he might have spinal injury, Cassidy carefully turned him over. A bleeding gash ran from his temple to his eyebrow. I think he’s alive, but I don’t know how to get him to breathe better. I can’t use CPR in the water.
A tap on the front of her kayak broke her concentration. She looked down into azure eyes. “Taban?” She identified the swimmer she’d seen in the distance.
“What’re you doing out here—
I mean—nice to see you, Cassidy,” Taban said, cheerfully treading water. His bleached hair, wet and tangled with seaweed, emphasized his brunette roots. “Give him to me and I’ll get him to shore.”
“You’re caught in a rip current. Hang on to my boat and stay calm.” Her hand started to numb in the cold as she held the young man’s head. “There’s a helicopter on the way.”
“I’m fine. I’ll just get out of it a little farther out where it calms down.” He casually swam over to the boy and relieved Cassidy from holding him. “Looks like Daisuke isn’t breathing. You’d better let me get him to shore.”
“You know him?” Cassidy asked. She couldn’t wrap her head around how he’d managed to reach her so quickly from shore even with the aid of the rip current. “Wait, I have an idea.” Cassidy unfastened the clips on the wave ski and jumped into the water.
“What the heck are you doing?” Taban shouted.
“Watch out.” She overturned the wave ski so that she had a flat surface, save for the three fins at the stern. “Help me get him onto my wave ski. If you take his hips and I take his shoulders we can keep his neck and back straight,” Cassidy instructed.
Only a little smaller than Donovan, Daisuke could have been a college football linebacker. They struggled, but Taban’s inexplicable ease in the water accelerated the task of moving Daisuke onto her wave ski. It’s almost as if Taban can time his pushing precisely with the shifts in the ocean, she wondered as she leveled Daisuke’s head onto her boat.
“Hold my kayak as steadily as you can.” Cassidy straddled Daisuke. The boat pitched and she fell forward.
“You okay, Cassidy?” Taban asked. “I have it now.”
“Keep holding it.” It had been years since her mothers had signed her up for a basic water safety and first aid course. She opened Daisuke’s mouth and scooped out some seaweed blocking his throat. Starting the chest compressions, she briefly considered asking Taban if he knew how to preform CPR, but realized she wouldn’t be able to hold the boat as steadily as he could. “Help me count compressions.”
“Aren’t you going to give him mouth-to-mouth?” Taban asked.
“That. Doesn’t. Help. Unless. Well. Trained. I’m. Not. Better. To do. This.” Cassidy said, each word punctuating a pump to his chest. Daisuke started to cough, and then he made a gagging sound. Cassidy tilted his head so his vomit wouldn’t clog his airway. The contents of Daisuke’s stomach spilled out onto her kayak. When Daisuke opened his dazed eyes, Cassidy experienced the most gratifying sensation she’d ever felt. He continued to choke, and she guessed he’d received a concussion, but it looked like he’d live.
“Message from Edana: Are you ok? I hear a helicopter.”
“Message to Edana: We’re fine. I see it,” Cassidy shouted over the sound of the surf, salt water splashing into her mouth. Soon she also heard the whirring of a helicopter. She waved at it and smiled at Taban. He returned with an expression that made her heart melt.
The helicopter hovered overhead, causing the ocean to froth and the rain to swirl. A securing line dropped down followed by a stretcher with three EMTs aboard. While two EMTs transferred Daisuke onto the stretcher, the other attended to Taban and Cassidy.
“May I take your contact information?” she asked. Cassidy and Taban slid their Oghams across the EMT’s Ogham.
“What hospital are you taking him to?” Taban asked.
“We’re taking him to the Queen Elizabeth Health Sciences Centre,” she replied. “What you both did was very heroic. Do you need assistance getting back to shore?”
Cassidy noticed that she could easily paddle out of the rip current now that they were far enough out to sea. “Nope,” she said.
“Should be fine, thanks,” Taban added.
As the helicopter ascended, the ocean churned, forcing Cassidy flat on her wave ski. Taban ducked under the water and reappeared only when the whirring had faded far in the distance.
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Cassidy asked Taban, who was noticeably shivering.
“Yup. See you on shore.” He dove under the water.
Cassidy used a function on her Ogham to monitor the rip current, so she could maintain a safe distance. As she started to paddle to shore, she saw Taban bob up for a breath over twenty meters ahead of her. Geez, he’s fast, she thought. He looks like a happy, little blond seal from here.
Despite her fear of the water, Danny ran into the shallow foam to assist Cassidy. When she stepped out of her kayak, Cassidy felt overwhelming exhaustion in every muscle of her body. She embraced Danny, resting against her.
“I’m so glad you’re safe.” Danny stood on her tip toes, so that she could whisper in Cassidy’s ear. “I heard everything. That was so heroic.”
“I am. Everything is okay. Would you be willing to carry my kayak and paddle? I don’t think my arms will work anymore.”
“No problem.”
Danny carried the wave ski onto the higher beach, while Cassidy flopped onto Danny’s towel. To her delight, the wind had died down and the rain poured down in large drops. Cassidy retrieved a dry towel, from a plastic bin, in which she had stored the wet suit. Danny returned to help peel Cassidy out of her wet suit. As she threw her halter top over her swim suit, Cassidy checked the ocean for Taban. He was ahead of me before. She spotted him doing backstroke. Did he just decide to swim a few laps? Guess he’s fine.
“Here.” Danny handed her a chocolate bar. “I helped Mom pack snacks.”
“Seventy percent cacao with lavender,” Cassidy read. “My favorite!”
“How’re you doing?”
The chocolate bar having sufficiently rejuvenated her, Cassidy decided to prove to Danny that she felt completely fine. After she made sure there weren’t any rocks under the towel, Cassidy stood. “So, you were practicing your Tae Kwon Do?”
“Yeah,” Danny said standing beside her.
“Good.” Gently twisting Danny’s hand Cassidy flipped her onto the towel. Danny landed skillfully guarding her head. “See, I’m doing better already,” Cassidy laughed.
“Yeah?” Danny jumped to her feet, placed her hand on Cassidy’s chin, and put one foot behind her knee. “Take that!” She pushed Cassidy over.
Shifting to her knees, Cassidy held out her hands. Danny knelt facing her and placed her palms against Cassidy’s. They started to practice a basic Aikido technique, in which both participants attempt to make the other lose her balance. Eventually, Cassidy pinned Danny on her back. “Ha! I have you now,” Cassidy snarled playfully.
“Not yet!” Danny wrapped her legs around Cassidy’s waist and rolled over. They looked at each other and burst into giggles. Through their laughter, Danny heard irregular splashing. “What was that?” She and Cassidy turned toward the ocean to see Taban wading through the sea foam. He carried Daisuke’s wave ski under one arm.
“Oh, don’t stop on my account,” Taban chuckled. “Please.”
“We’re sparring!” Danny and Cassidy clarified in unison.
“Spawning?” Taban scrunched his hair in noticeable confusion. He walked up the beach to set the kayak down on the shore near Cassidy’s.
“How long was he standing there?” Cassidy whispered through her teeth to Danny.
“Not long. I just heard him.”
“We need to think of a good comeback for that sort of comment,” Cassidy said.
“Agreed.”
“I just thought I’d go back out and get his kayak thing,” Taban commented, rejoining them.
“You swam out there again?” Danny asked in disbelief, waving in the direction of the rip current.
Taban nodded genially.
“I saw you do it the first time,” Danny said. “How did you get there so fast?”
“I’m a good swimmer.”
“But you looked like an Olympian!”
“I’m a very good swimmer,” Taban said sweetly, but Cassidy thought she caught a smirk flash across his lips, as though he knew something they didn’t. She
equated it to the time he’d invited them to the lecture. “Aren’t you cold?” He shivered. “This weather is miserable, but you two inspired me to come to the beach today.”
Danny wrapped him in another towel from the bin and he nodded appreciatively. “Cassidy’s from the Pacific Northwest, she can handle it.”
Cassidy had started to get chilled, but the skeptical look on Taban’s face afforded an opportunity she couldn’t pass up. “Yeah. It feels fantastic doesn’t it?”
“And I’m from even farther North.” Danny leered as the rain washed over her face.
Shaking his head, Taban collected the shirt he’d discarded on the beach. He pulled a duffle bag out from behind a log and changed out of his wet clothes under the towel. When he rejoined them, Cassidy saw a piece of green kelp hanging from behind his ear.
“Uh, Taban, you got a little something.” Cassidy combed the seaweed out of his hair. She showed it to him to prove she hadn’t made up an excuse to touch him.
“Thanks.” He stroked her cheek. “Will you and Danny be coming over this evening? I’d love it if you did.”
“Uh … I … yeah I’m pretty sure …”
Burning with jealousy, Danny looked away to pretend she didn’t see the way Taban touched Cassidy. Then she noticed something different about the two wave skis. “Hey people!” She pointed to Daisuke’s boat. “Two of the fins on this kayak are broken and one’s missing.”
“Hm. Must’ve hit a rock or he didn’t put them on correctly,” Taban mused. He returned his borrowed towel to the bin.
Cassidy joined Danny. “That’s odd; these two fins have a very clean break.” She ran her finger over the fin. “Maybe it was a flaw in the manufacturing, but it has striated marks like someone used a—”
“I’m going to take this to the hospital so he can get it back, but I have to hurry to my internship.” Taban yanked the boat out from under their scrutinizing and headed up the beach. When he reached the parking lot he shouted, “See you tonight!”
Taken aback by his hasty departure, Cassidy and Danny waved.
Seducer Fey Page 12