by S. L. Scott
Looking over my shoulder, I spot a small set of waves coming toward me. These look good, doable. With all my strength and nerve, I start paddling as a wave approaches. I face forward and when my board rides high onto the waters ledge, I pop up. Life is perfect for that one fleeting second before I lose my balance and wipe out.
My body plunges into the turquoise waters and I’m dragged under and spun around like a ragdoll in a washing machine. I open my eyes for one brief moment, but can’t focus to find the top of the water. I’m flung to the surface long enough to take one last breath before I’m forced down again by another crashing wave, spinning wildly under the water. I swim and kick, fighting against death and Mother Nature’s attempts to keep me down. Vertigo sets in and I start to lose clarity. That’s when I hit my head on something hard, temporarily stunning my thoughts to fight for my life.
Everyone tells you that their life flashes before their eyes when death is near. I expected that. I welcome the happy memories, wanting them to wash over me as I’m relieved from this existence, but that doesn’t happen. The whole of my thoughts are of Evan. My short time with him replays rampantly through my mind. The pool, him worshiping my body in his bed, the devious, but sexy glint in his eyes, the sincerity that slips through when he looks deep into my soul, and the energy that binds us together. I’m consumed with thoughts of him touching me as I feel my last breath escape me.
My eyes open in the calm of my surroundings while my body becomes one with the ocean. I see him so clearly above, staring at me, staring into me, calling me to him though it sounds distant and detached. He yanks me by the shoulders from the watery confines and air hits my skin as he takes me in his arms one last time. I relinquish myself—body and soul. I give in because until I was dying, I didn’t know how much I was in love with him.
My throat burns, and I feel sick and heave, but I want Evan to stay with me. My dream teeters on the edge of disappearing and I want to stay asleep forever. One swift punch to my chest sends me flying, spitting out the salty water that had invaded my lungs. Immediately falling back down, I open my eyes. It’s real, the dream or death, but it’s real because Evan is with me.
I cough, and the last of the water is expelled although I still feel lifeless. Evan’s beauty is all I take in against the blue expanse of the sky above. Confusion takes hold of me when he says, “You’re going to be all right, Mallory. Focus on me.”
I can’t do anything else, but concentrate on him. I cough again as I try to speak, “Am I dead?”
His assaulting smirk appears, and I relax, knowing I’m in heaven.
“I think you almost drowned, but you’re not dead.” He leans down and kisses me on the forehead. I feel strange and wondrous at the same time.
“You’re here—”
“Do you think you’re in hell?”
His question is too bewildering right now. I know where I am, so I say it. “Heaven."
“Is that where you think you are, baby? You think you’re in heaven?”
I close my eyes, letting his words soak in. When I gulp, my throat hurts, my body hurts, and now my heart hurts. I’m alive. The aches I’m feeling tell me so, but now I’ve exposed my feelings to the one person who can damage them the most. Reality sets in, and I sit up with his assistance.
I grasp hold of my throat, hoping to ease some of the burn. “I know where I am now. Thank you for… did you save me? Why? How are you here?” I ask, strangely disappointed that I wasn’t actually dreaming or dying.
“I should ask you why you’re here, alone. You should never surf alone. You don’t even know how to surf. What were you thinking, Mallory? Where’d you get this board?” His voice gets more upset with each question.
Suddenly, I feel defensive, but not enough to lie to him. “Noah gave me the board.”
“He’s an idiot. It’s like giving a car to a child to drive.”
“Shut-up, Evan.” That’s all I can think to say right now which is very immature, but does the job.
He stands up and with an offered hand, calmly asks, “Do you think you need to go to the hospital?”
“No. I’m fine… or will be. How did you save me?”
I take his hand and stand up slowly, my eyes meeting his. He supports me by the elbow then grabs me into an embrace. While stroking my hair away from my face, he kisses me on the forehead. “Shhh.”
Leaning against his bare chest, I savor the warmth of his skin against my cheek. He pulls back and looks me in the eyes. “What were you thinking going out there like that?” His tone is reprimanding.
I turn away and start walking toward my shorts and shoes, but he grabs my arm. “Don’t walk away from me.”
“Evan, let go of me!”
“No, I want to know why you pulled that stunt—”
“Why are you so mad?”
“Because you fucking drowned out there. What if I wouldn’t have been here…” His head drops into his hands and he runs them upwards through his hair. “I can’t lose you,” he whispers.
“What?”
“Nothing.” He turns and walks over to the board tossing it into the sand a few feet away.
I storm after him, thinking I actually might have heard what he said, and demand, “No! You tell me what you mean by that.”
He picks up one end of the board, reads the words, and studies the personalized design before he lifts his foot and stomps down in the middle of the board breaking it in half. As I scream in protest, he does it again, breaking each half into quarters.
Tears fill my eyes, and I scream. “Are you crazy? Seriously, are you insane? Unbalanced? Why’d you do that?”
“This board is luckier than Noah will be when I find him.”
I point right at his face, and threaten, “You won’t touch him!”
“Your head is bleeding again—”
“I don’t care what you think has happened, but you won’t lay a finger on Noah. I swear if you do, I’ll never speak to you again—”
He grabs me by the shoulders, and steadies me. “Calm down. Your head is bleeding. You need stitches.”
“Huh?” I raise my hand to my head and look at it. My hand is covered and dripping downward. “Oh my god, I’m bleeding!” I sway and instantly fall forward to my knees.
“Mallory, stay with me. Stay with me,” he repeats, scooping my failing body into his arms and running to his car. His chant lies just on the surface of my consciousness.
When he sets me down on the passenger seat, I mumble the only coherent words I can form. “The blood, your car… expensive.”
Chapter 15
Mallory
I wake up on a tiny, uncomfortable bed. Looking around, I see Evan slumped against the wall looking down.
“Ev,” I stop and clear my throat. It’s sore.
He dashes to my side and strokes my cheek. “Don’t talk, baby.” He leans over and pours me a cup of water. After he helps me sit up, I sip from the straw.
My hand races to my head and I gently pat the bandage covering the side of my temple. “My head?”
“You blacked out. Fortunately, you only needed three stitches. You hit the reef when you were under water, so the doc said he wants to see you when you wake up.”
I chuckle. “I remember the beach and the blood.”
He sits on the edge of the bed still stroking my face. “You were super cute before you passed out if that makes a difference.”
“Super cute, huh?” Why do I like that he thought I was super cute?
“Yeah, you were worried about getting blood in my car.”
“I didn’t, did I?” I ask, worrying again that I might have ruined the beautiful leather interior.
He drops his hand to his lap, then stands and backs away, suddenly unsure of himself. “Uh, no, there’s no damage to the car. I’ll get the nurse.”
Evan leaves the room so fast that it makes the pain in my head throb to watch. After a few tests, silly questions about fingers being held up, my birth name, and presiden
ts—I could name all of them in order—the doctor said he was not only impressed, but releasing me.
I walk into the hallway, and Evan stands up from a nearby chair, and says, “I hear you’re free to go.”
“So they say,” I reply, a little snark seeping into my tone.
Thirty minutes later, we drive back to the beach in relative silence. When he parks, I say, “Thank you again for paying my bill. I guess my insurance isn’t as good as I thought.”
“Its fine, Mallory.” His tone has changed, just like the ocean tides in front of us.
We both get out, and I walk over to my shorts and slip them on. I grab my shoes, dusting the sand off of them then put them on. Evan walks to the broken board and carries the pieces to his trunk. He returns to the driver’s seat at the same time I get back into the car. “I still don’t understand why you broke my surfboard.”
“I’ll buy you a new board… when you’re ready and you’re not ready.” He shifts the car in gear and peels out. The short drive back to the apartment feels long and tension filled. He lets me get out without protest.
I lean back in, and say, “Pop the trunk and I’ll throw the pieces away.”
“No, I’m keeping them for now then I’ll dispose of them.”
Irritated, I slam the door harder than I should. I’m pissed that once again I’m being wound up and cut loose. I need a cigarette like nobody’s business.
He slides out his open window and sits on his door frame. “C’mon, Mallory, don’t leave mad. It’s a board, that’s all.” I have flashbacks of him saying something eerily similar to me that first morning after he dropped me off.
I turn around furious by his lack of respect and out of frustration. “Noah gave me that board. He put a lot of thought into it and spent money that you know as well as I do that he doesn’t have a lot of. So, it’s more than just a board, it was a gift from a friend that’s become close to me.”
“He’s using you to get to me—” His arrogance is revealed once again.
“No, he’s not! He likes me. We’ve spent time together.” I walk back, angry and irritated, and poke him on the chest. “Don’t talk to me about him using me. You used me, you asshole.” I know I’m also to blame, but he flipped this around on us. We were supposed to be easy, no strings then he said things like ‘make love’ and a string slowly attached itself to my heart.
I turn around and rush to the door. This conversation is pointless and doesn’t matter. I’m done with Evan Ashford! I stop to dust my hands together to emphasize my ending with him when I’m brazenly pinned against the door from behind. His breath hits my ear, and he whispers, “Don’t be mad, sweetheart. Although, I do think you’re sexy as all get-out when you are.”
I squirm, aggravated by the shameless entrapment of my body. His hands whisk around to my stomach and then separate—one goes north and the other one heads south. I threaten, “Let me go or you’re going to be feeling some major pain in two seconds.”
“Your feistiness is such a turn on,” he says, pressing his bulge against my ass. Wet kisses follow his remark, landing on my neck, and for some reason, I don’t fight him. My body caves, allowing him fuller access for his lips, hands, and cock, which is currently hard.
With my sensibilities still intact, I whisper, “I’m not yours for the taking. I… I can’t play this game with you anymore.” This is my only attempt at saving myself, and for some reason, I hope he doesn’t believe me.
His body leaves mine cold and alone, and he walks away. He stops and looks back at me. “That’s too bad, Mallory, because we are so good together.”
I want to stop him. I want to shout that he can take me whenever he wants, but I also know my heart can’t handle his hot and cold temperaments anymore.
* * *
The next morning, I wake up with a pounding headache. I take ibuprofen and lie back down on the couch. It’s early and the bright day hurts my eyes. I roll over covering my head with my blanket and fall back asleep.
“UH!” I hear Sunny gasp above me. “Mallory, what happened?”
My eyes flash open causing me to wince from the light flooding the room. “Sunny,” I grumble, “you scared me. What is it?”
She drops to her knees besides the couch and gently rubs over my bandage. “What happened to your head?”
“Oh, that.” I roll over being careful not to put pressure on it. “I drowned, went to the ER, and got three stitches. It looks worse than it is.”
“Holy shit, Mal. Are you all right?” Hearing Sunny curse means she’s concerned.
“I’m fine—”
“What do you mean you drowned? You’re here.”
“Noah gave me a surfboard—”
“Wow! That’s nice.”
“Yeah, but I took it out surfing and wiped out. I was trapped under water, but Evan saved me—”
“You were with Evan?”
“No, I was surfing alone.” She looks confused and I’m starting to feel a little confused myself. He never actually told me how he just happened to be there. “I hit my head on a reef and guess I drowned. He pulled me out and saved me. I started to bleed and he took me to the hospital where I got bandaged up. They told me I was fine, so don’t worry.”
“Let me get this straight. You and Evan spent time together?”
“Really? That’s all you got from my harrowing adventure. I drowned, Sunny!”
A huge grin covers her face, and she says, “But, Evan saved you. That’s so romantic.”
“Can you stop swooning for one minute and stick with me here?”
“Okay, I’m sorry. I’m focused again. You’ll be okay, right?”
“Yes, but my head hurts.”
“What can I get you?”
I look at the cable box clock and see that I’m due into work in an hour. “Nothing. I just need a shower and to eat something before I go to work.”
“You go take your shower and I’ll make you a sandwich. Sound good?”
“Sounds better than good. Thanks,” I say, getting up and walking to the bathroom.
Later, Sunny drops me off at work and I dive right into the busy afternoon. I prefer busy because it lets me put my attention on work instead of other things or certain other people. I have so many questions for Evan and don’t know when I’ll get answers since I told him to leave me alone, so it’s best to not think of him at all.
By eight, Noah shows up, smiling and handsome, as always. I still wish my heart could love him the way I don’t want to admit that I might be in love with Ev… No, I won’t even think about him.
I greet him with a hug.
Worry colors his expression, and he asks, “What happened to your head?”
My hand covers my wound. “Oh, this, yeah, it’s nothing.”
“It’s definitely something, Mallory. Tell me.”
I look down knowing my story will hurt his feelings, but he deserves honesty from me. I tell him all the gory details, but leave out the part about Evan breaking the board. He looks troubled and guilty. “I knew I shouldn’t have given you the board. I knew better, more than you’ll ever understand, but I wanted to be the one to teach you. I wanted us to have that to share so we could spend more time together. I’m sorry. It was a stupid gift.”
“Please don’t blame yourself. It was a wonderful gift. Really, the best gift I’ve ever gotten. It was very thoughtful. I’m just sorry it got broken.”
“Boards break. They’re just fiber-glass. I’m glad you’re all right. I might owe Ashford a thank you. That’s not going to be easy to do.”
“You don’t owe him anything. Please don’t feel bad, okay?”
Looking at his watch, he says, “You’ve been off work for a half-hour. You ready to go to the bonfire?”
I’m relieved he’s not upset about the board being broken. “Let’s go have a good time. I think we both can use one.”
When Noah and I approach the bonfire at the beach, he takes my hand and smiles. I can see the innocence in his eyes, s
o I don’t mind the gesture. There’s already a large crowd of people, and I don’t know any of them. Noah introduces me to a couple of his friends and then I hear Sunny. I turn and see her running toward me. Grabbing me into a hug, she whispers, “This is gonna be a great night.” She then hugs Noah, thanking him again for the paint job. Taking my hand, she turns to Noah and laughs. “I’m stealing Mallory for a little while.”
As soon as we walk away, she says, “Zach built a bonfire and there’s a small group over here.”
“You’re dragging me from one bonfire to another? Why?” I ask her at the same time I see him—Evan.
Zach greets us with a drink for both of us. I can smell rum and know I’m going to need it.
“Mallory,” Evan says, acknowledging me.
“Evan,” I say and take a large gulp from the plastic cup.
I maintain a safe distance from him and continue sipping my drink as Sunny chats about work, a new outfit, and the bonfire. She whispers Evan’s name several times, but I can’t say I’m really listening. I’m too caught up in him. Our eyes are locked, bonding us across the small fire.
That is until a girl bounces over to him, wrapping her arms around him like she owns him. She’s tan, pretty, blonde, and desperate for his attention. From what I can gather, his standard brand of girl. I, on the other hand, am not, which is why his interest in me is confounding.
He shifts, looking uncomfortable while keeping her at a distance. He seems surprised by her presence, yet anyone here can plainly see that she’s obviously with him. We remain wordless as our gaze remains locked until the blonde kisses him. Turning away, I see Sunny who looks like how I feel—upset. “I’m sorry, Mal.”