by Jordan Ford
“What do you want to do after you graduate, then?”
“Not sure.” I shrug. “Teaching you to surf has been fun. Maybe I should start up a surf school of my own or something.”
“That could be cool.” Aidan nods with a smile, but it starts to fade. “I don’t know what I’ll do either. My dad’s an investor and my uncle is in real estate. Knowing my luck, I’ll end up in sales of some kind. It seems to run in the family.”
I laugh when he rolls his eyes, but the sound is cut off by the clicking of an internal door.
With my breath on hold, I peek over my shoulder and spot a young teen, in soccer gear, and his mother walk through the door. I immediately see where Aidan gets his good looks from.
I don’t say anything as she briskly walks into the kitchen, dumping grocery bags and ordering her youngest son into a quick shower.
“Don’t you give me that look, Grayson De Beer. You stink. Now go!” Once she’s pointed him out of the kitchen, she turns a smile to Aidan and then her mouth pops open in surprise. “Oh, I’m sorry. I only caught a glimpse of you and thought it was Savannah.”
The woman walks to the table, extending her hand while throwing Aidan a quizzical frown.
“Mom, this is Harley. She’s my…”
I glance at him while shaking his mother’s hand. She isn’t letting go, and I don’t think she will until she’s found out exactly who I am.
I’d kind of like to know who I am too, so I stay quiet and only just manage a smile when he murmurs, “Surf instructor.”
“Your what?” she asks, still shaking my hand.
I clear my throat and repeat, “Surf instructor. I’m teaching him the basics.”
“Wow. Okay.” She blinks. “I didn’t even know Aidan was taking lessons. I’m Sasha.”
“Hi,” I squeak, and she finally lets go of my hand. I tuck it under the table and look between mother and son.
Aidan gives her a closed-mouth smile that quickly drops under her silent demand for an explanation. And I thought I had “pointed look” down pat. I’ve got some things to learn.
I sit uncomfortably between them while Aidan softly explains, “With summer coming, I thought it’d be cool to learn a new sport.”
“How are you fitting it in with everything else you have going on?”
He cringes and steals a quick look at me before admitting, “I haven’t been going to swim practice every morning. And on Sunday afternoon, I wasn’t hanging out with Savannah.” He looks to the tabletop while his mother obviously struggles to absorb his confession.
“Maybe I should go,” I murmur, rising from my chair just as the front door opens.
“Hey-o!” someone calls out.
I flinch and turn to see a man walking into the kitchen.
He’s tall like Aidan, with a confident sunshine smile. He stops when he sees me, lowering his briefcase onto the kitchen counter before walking towards me with an extended hand.
“Hello, there.”
“Hi.” I take his hand and hope this shake is a little quicker. “I’m Harley, a friend of Aidan’s.”
“You go to school together?”
“No, I go to Ryder Bay High.”
“Oh.” His dark eyebrows rise. “And how do you know Aidan?”
“She’s teaching him how to surf!” Aidan’s mother snaps before clipping into the kitchen. Her heels sound like gunshots on the shiny floor.
I give Aidan’s dad an awkward smile.
He grins at me and leans forward, whispering, “You can call me Luke, and I can’t wait to hear the rest of this one.”
He’s got a wink just like Aidan’s and I can’t help a little smile, but then I see Sasha watching me and decide it’s time for me to disappear.
“I better go.”
“You don’t have to.” Aidan stands from his chair.
I spin to face him and cringe. “I think I should.” His disappointed frown kind of hurts me, so I follow it up with “But I’ll see you later, okay? I left my phone at home, but just text or call whenever.”
“I can take you home,” he offers.
“Actually, he can’t.” His mother steps between us, giving me a polite smile. “I’m sorry about that, Harley, but you’ll have to catch up with Aidan after we’ve had a chat.”
“No problem.” I nod and swallow, already inching towards the door. “I’ll just grab my board and go.”
“The car’s unlocked.” Aidan gives me a pained smile. I try to make him feel better by mouthing, “Good luck!” and giving him a two-fingered salute.
He salutes back, and I slip out the door, leaving the poor guy to fend for himself…just like I did when his cousin showed up to ruin our dinner.
I sure hope this isn’t a sign of things to come.
Every time Aidan and I seem to be enjoying ourselves, something from one of our worlds shows up, like an unexpected grenade landing between us.
Skylar, Axel, now Aidan’s parents.
Will it be possible for Aidan and me to just hang out without our two worlds colliding? Causing mini explosions set on tearing us apart?
Grabbing my board from the back seat of his car, I walk up his steep driveway and glance one last time at his house. I wonder what’s going on inside those walls right now.
I wonder if, yet again, the thing I want most will become nothing more than an unattainable dream.
35
Liberation
AIDAN
As soon as the door clicks shut, Mom turns her heated glare on me. “What is going on? You’re lying to us now?”
“Lying?” Dad gets in on the action, pulling off his tie as he walks towards me.
Mom raises her arm in my direction. “He’s been taking surfing lessons with this girl when he’s supposed to be at swimming or hanging out with his girlfriend.” Mom squeezes her eyes shut, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Oh, Aidan, please tell me you’re not cheating on sweet Savannah. Is that why she’s not coming over anymore? You’ve just stopped inviting her?”
“Savannah dumped me,” I shut Mom up with the truth.
Both my parents look at each other in shock, then turn their gazes back on me. I shove my hands in my pockets, wishing the floor would open up and take me away from this moment.
But it’s not.
The bastard’s holding me steady.
Forcing me to face this.
“Well, when?” Dad asks.
I sigh, freeing my hands so I can grip the back of the dining room chair. “In April.”
“April?” Mom’s voice pitches. “That was weeks ago! Were you ever going to tell us?”
“I didn’t know how.” I spread my arms wide. “I know how much you love her.”
Mom’s now impersonating a goldfish. It’s kind of weird seeing her at a loss for words. She blinks and starts staring out the window, while Dad runs a hand through his hair, making it fluff up at funny angles.
“Did she give you a reason?” Dad can’t hide his disappointment, and it hurts to have to tell him.
“She wasn’t feeling it anymore,” I mumble.
“Not feeling it?” Mom rests her hand on her hip. “What does that even mean?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug. “She said we weren’t going anywhere, so what was the point of staying together.” I leave out the part about her regrets and recent attempts to amend things. Instead, I go for the raw, ugly truth—the angst that’s been gnawing at me for months. “I’ve… I’ve lost it this year, you know? The swimming, my grades—I mean they’re not falling, but I feel like I’m only just keeping my head above water. Everything’s turned to crap, and I didn’t want to give you any more reasons to be disappointed in me.”
“Disappointed in you?” Dad’s head jerks back like I’ve just slapped him. “You think we’re disappointed in you?”
“Of course you are!” My voice breaks. “I saw your face at that swim meet, Dad. I’m sorry I couldn’t come first, okay? I’m just not good enough anymore. Si, Craig, they’re
all better than me now. I’m not the winning son, all right? I don’t know what’s happened!”
“That’s not…” Dad shakes his head, then looks to the floor as he runs his tie through his hands, finally resting it over the back of the chair. “Bud.” He rests his hand on my shoulder, obviously struggling for the right words. His fingers give a little squeeze, and then he looks me right in the face. “I was so incredibly proud of you that day. So you didn’t make the podium in that one race. You were still amazing. The Warriors cleaned up, and you were part of that.”
I give him a confused frown. “But your face… you looked…”
“I wasn’t disappointed in your placing, I was sad because you looked so gutted. You didn’t seem happy with your team medal. You didn’t seem happy with anything. As a kid, I couldn’t get you out of the water, but now…” He sighs, his expression wrinkling with sadness. “I don’t know how to help you or inspire you. You just… you’ve just kind of shut down and lost all your joy. Your motivation.”
I blink, emotion overwhelming me as I soak in what he’s saying. Glancing at Mom, I see her eyes are glassy, but she’s smiling at me, obviously agreeing with everything Dad just said.
“I thought you guys were…disappointed in me.”
“We’ve never said that,” my mom whispers.
“You’ve never said otherwise,” I quietly retort. “And when Savannah dumped me, I just… I’ve been trying to do everything I can to be enough for people, but I just never am.”
Mom lets out a little whimpering kind of sound and touches her chest. “You don’t have to be anything for anyone. Aidan, honey, stop putting so much pressure on yourself.”
“How do I not?” I look my mom in the eye. “The pressure is everywhere. The expectations are so damn high! Both of you are so successful and smart. You’re good at everything and I’m just… I’m not.”
“Aidan.” Mom stops me, walking around Dad so she can nestle against my side. “Honey, you are amazing. We couldn’t ask for a better son. We just want you to be happy.”
“She’s right.” Dad nods, squeezing my shoulder again. “You just need to figure out what makes you happy and we’ll support that.”
“Is it surfing?” Mom looks up at me. “Because I’m not mad about that, I’m just disappointed that you lied. It totally threw me off-guard seeing that girl in here, not knowing anything about her.” Mom’s expression crinkles. “But…you know…as long as you’re being safe in the water, then…”
The water.
That girl.
Mom’s voice turns to mush in my head as I think about the waves, the rides, the thrill.
A slow smile crests my lips as I relive every moment with Harley.
It’s not just the waves and the water.
That’s a big a part of it, but…that girl.
I let out a soft laugh, giving Mom a quick kiss on the cheek before walking for the door.
“Where are you going?” Dad calls to me.
I spin at the steps and grin at them. “I gotta go. Don’t save me dinner, I’ll look after myself.”
“Wait! Aidan! We need to work on our communication!” Mom calls as I rush through the door.
Just before I close it behind me, I shout into the house, “I’ll tell you everything when I get home. I promise!”
Racing down the steps, I jump into my car and reverse out the driveway, wondering which way Harley has decided to skate home.
I hope I can catch her in time, because all I want to do right now is be with her. I don’t even care what we get up to, I just know it’ll make me happy…because she’ll be there.
36
Illumination
HARLEY
“Harley!”
I flinch at the sound of my name, nearly coming off my board when I glance over my shoulder and see Aidan driving up beside me.
“What are you doing?” I laugh. He looks kind of adorable with his head popping above the windshield, his usually styled hair tousled and out of place.
He slows to a stop beside me and I jump off my board, catching it with my toe before it runs away from me. “How mad was your mom?” I wince.
“Not too bad.” He shrugs. “She wasn’t angry about the surfing, just annoyed that I’d been lying about it. We had a chat, and it’s all good now.”
I tip my head, surprised by how easy that was. Not that I ever have to bother lying to my mom, since she doesn’t care what I get up to anyway, but when I piss her off, things are not resolved after a quick chat.
I snicker, once again struck by how different our lives are. Resting my hand against the edge of the window frame, I lean against his car and ask, “What are you doing here?”
“Well…”
Oh man, is he blushing right now?
“I was wondering if you wanted to watch the sunset with me. Or maybe have Mexican food. Or we could walk along the beach, maybe?”
My insides go all warm and fuzzy, the excitement of hanging out with him overriding any of my earlier doubts. “Or maybe we could do all three of those things.”
His smile is wide and beautiful as he pops the passenger door open. “Hop in.”
Dinner was delicious and uninterrupted by a certain De Beer cousin.
Aidan apologized for that and tried to explain how Skylar can be, but even as he was doing it, he ended up confusing himself.
“To be honest, I don’t know why she acts the way she does. Maybe it’s the fact that she’s a spoiled brat. Only child. Gets whatever she wants.”
“Who knows.” I shrugged and changed the subject, not really wanting Skylar to spoil the evening.
Before long, Aidan got caught up telling me stories from his childhood. He’s traveled to some sweet places, and I lap up every story.
“I want to travel one day,” I murmur as we walk along the beach.
The sun set while we were eating our food, and we’re now wandering along in the darkness. The moon is a thick thumbnail in the sky, not bright enough to illuminate much, but we can see our way okay.
We’re heading for the pier, ambling along at a snail’s pace, as if both of us are worried if we walk too fast the evening will be over too soon.
Aidan’s walking close enough that our hands keep brushing. I kind of love it so make no move to step away.
“You will.” Aidan’s knuckle scrapes the back of my hand. “You could travel this whole globe if you wanted to.”
With a soft scoff, I shake my head. HRB just doesn’t get it. He has the world at his fingertips.
“You don’t think you can?” He gently nudges me with his elbow.
I smile, liking our connection. “I don’t see how I could ever afford it.”
“Stick with me. I’ll get you there.” He sounds so confident…and I’m not sure how to reply.
The comment is so loaded and could be read a dozen different ways.
Was it casual? Like a joke?
Or did he mean it? And if he meant it, what is that actually implying? That he wants to hang out more, be my travel buddy and my surf buddy? Or something else?
Something deeper, potentially better?
My head is going to start hurting if I don’t shut these questions up, so I distract myself from the big feels the only way I know how.
Surging to my right, I catch Aidan off-guard, shouldering him right into the water.
He lets out a wail as he loses his balance and crashes into the shallow surf.
Clapping my hands together, I tip back my head and laugh into the sky.
“You little…” He struggles to get out of the water, falling once as he rolls onto his knees.
But as soon as he finds his feet, he’s after me.
I yelp and start running, but don’t even make it to the pier before his arms are around my waist and he’s lifting me off the sand.
I’m laughing too hard to protest and don’t even fight him as he wades into the shallows and drops me with a splash. My butt hits the sandy bottom and I’m soaked throug
h.
Saturated and alive.
Bursting to my feet, I chase after him, cupping my hands in the water and splashing his face. He kicks back at me, his laughter rich and deep as we conduct our epic water fight.
Our playful shouts fill the night air, salty water splashing around our ankles as we run back and forth in the surf.
Laughing and out of breath, I lurch to a stop, resting my hands on my knees and then raising my finger for a quick time-out. Aidan stops beside me, his chest heaving, water dripping off his hair, his chin, his clothing. He bends over, mirroring my stance. His warm breath tickles the side of my face, and I glance at him, our eyes connecting in the dim light.
I can’t see the details of his green orbs, but I sense that he’s studying me, feeling my breath mingling with his as we slowly stand together. His hand runs down my arm, featherlight but strong enough to inch me closer. His wet shorts hit my thighs, my fingers shaking as I rest them on his arms. His salty skin is cool as I trace my hands gently up to his shoulders and brush my thumb along his neck.
A breath catches in his throat and I still.
Does he want this?
My question is answered in a heartbeat as he leans towards me. But then he stops. He’s so close, and so far away. Why’d he stop?
I swallow, nerves attacking me as I struggle to breathe, try to figure out how I’ll step away from him when all my body wants to do is push that much closer. The power of that thought should be freaking me out, but all I can do is stand there and try to read his expression.
“I really want to kiss you right now,” Aidan whispers, brushing the tip of my nose with his.
The relief is like a tidal wave surging through me. It nearly makes me laugh, but my palpitating heart stops me. Instead, I let out a shaky breath and rasp, “What are you waiting for?”
His thumb glides up my jaw, brushing across my earlobe and sending tendrils of pleasure curling down my spine. And then any doubts, any fears that may have been lurking beneath the surface, are shot to hell by two simple words.