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Hannah didn’t like feeling hopeless, but all of this was driving that feeling home. How was she going to get back?
But thankfully, someone paddled next to her, steadying her board. It was Michael, straddling his board.
“You okay?” Michael asked. “That was quite the wave.”
“Um, yes. I’m just…” Hannah sputtered again, her cheeks going hot. Of course he saw her wipe out. But then again, he came up to her like a knight in shining armor to help. That had to mean something. “I’m just pretty far from shore.”
“I’ll help you get back.”
As Michael guided her back to shore, Hannah’s heart pounded for reasons besides that accident. Was Michael worried about her because he saw her differently than before? She glanced up at him. His long, dark hair was wet and down around his broad shoulders, which she usually only saw when he came into The Crab directly after coming off the water. It looked good on him.
They finally made it back to shore, and Michael picked up her board for her, carrying both.
“I-I’ve got it,” Hannah said, stumbling on the sand. Her legs were much more wobbly from the incident than she expected. She coughed again, her mouth tasting salty.
“It’s okay. You’re shaken up.” Michael smiled. “Focus on getting your land legs back. Sit down for a second.”
Michael’s smile nearly sent Hannah off kilter again. Instead, she sat down in the sand so quickly that she felt woozy. To her surprise, Michael sat down too. He wasn’t overly close, but his proximity was enough for Hannah to feel too wound up to settle down. She savored his presence. Was being this close to him making it harder for her to get her head back on straight after the fall? She had no idea if she should say something.
“Thank you for your help,” she finally said.
“It’s seriously no problem. I’ve been there,” he replied. “Once when I was a teenager, I went too far out to catch a good wave and got swept out farther from shore. It took me ages to get back and when I got back on the beach I just laid there for a few moments. I wasn’t like you though—I was being a dumb, cocky teenager who thought he could do anything. You just got swept up with some tough waves.”
Hannah tried to imagine Michael as a teenaged boy, gangly and headstrong, but couldn’t. He had the lean, strong body of a surfer and always exuded confidence, not cockiness. But she remembered how the boys she went to high school with were versus how they were now, not even that long after they graduated. There was a world of difference.
“That makes me feel better,” Hannah said. “It’s hard to imagine you struggling out there.”
Michael shrugged. “The pros are often the ones who have fallen the most. We just get a little more graceful with it.”
The slight smile on Michael’s face made Hannah’s heart flip in her chest again. As much as she wanted to stay there and soak in his presence, she knew she had to go.
“I should go.” Hannah made her way to her feet and Michael did as well.
He walked alongside her toward the boardwalk, stabilizing her when she slipped on the sand.
Thankfully, they reached the boardwalk so she wouldn’t make yet another mistake.
“Where are you headed?” Michael asked.
“The Crab. I dropped most of my stuff off there.”
“Okay, let’s go.” He picked up the boards again and headed that way.
“You don’t have to walk me,” Hannah said, mentally kicking herself after. On one hand, she didn’t want to take him away from the waves for too long. But on the other, he was walking her home and he didn’t have to after sitting next to her to make sure she was okay. That was meaningful.
The walk to The Crab wasn’t long, and soon they were walking through the front door. Willis was at the front register, wiping down the counter. He looked up at them, alarm in his eyes.
“You okay?” Willis asked, putting his rag down and coming around the counter.
“I’m fine.” Hannah brushed her fingers through her damp hair, getting caught on a knot. “Michael helped me.”
“Yeah. I saw Hannah out on a wave that was unexpectedly difficult and saw her fall. I came over to see if she was okay and helped her back to shore.”
Willis ran a hand through his graying hair, worry creasing his forehead. “You’re completely okay, Hannah?”
“Yeah, just a little shaken up, but fine. The water was super cold.” Hannah tried to smile. She was still more shaken up than she anticipated, even after sitting down for a while.
“Thank you, Michael,” Willis said.
