Page 8 of Make No Mistake

Three

I owedAubrey and Carter big time for this. I woke up dreading having to take Austin out, but now I could kiss them both. I decided to show him my favorite spot just south of Rose Street. It wasn’t widely known and it was perfect for riding short boards, which we both did. The marine layer hadn’t set in, so we had clear skies and plenty of sunshine, but most importantly the surf was decent and we had it almost to ourselves.

That wasn’t even the best part. Oh no. I’d thought Austin was cute the night before, but the dim lighting in the restaurant had not done him justice. His brown hair was disheveled like he had just rolled out of bed and shown up here, which he probably did. But instead of making him look sloppy, he looked adorable. I was busy fighting the urge to run my fingers through his hair but then he lifted off his shirt, bent over to grab his board, and smiled at me. Be still my heart.

This guy was perfection personified. Who needed vampires, movies stars, or Greek gods when you could have him? I looked at his wide chest, defined with chiseled muscles and washboard abs. Who looked like that in real life?

He was gorgeous, especially holding onto a surfboard. “You ready?”

I touched my face, making sure there was no drool on my chin as I nodded. He smiled and ran toward the water. I picked up my board and followed him while yelling at myself to pull it together.

When I caught up to him at the line-up, he had already turned and was waiting for the next set to come in.

“You want the first one?” he called over his shoulder.

I was too busy admiring the way his back muscles rippled as he twisted toward me to respond. “Huh?”

“Take it.”

I broke from my daze and turned my board to face the beach. I glanced over my shoulder and started paddling as the first wave got closer. The moment I felt it lifting me, I pushed harder before grabbing the sides of my board and jumping up. My mind cleared as the wind swept my hair back. This was what I needed. There was nothing more relaxing than this.

I cut out before hitting the sand and turned to paddle back to the line-up.

Austin slapped the water when I reached him. “That was great.”

I nodded and scooted to sit up. “Thanks. It felt good.”

“My turn.” His smile warmed me more than the sun kissing my skin. I smiled back feeling like a silly, little girl.

Everyone must have been in on the joke. They made it seem like Austin was terrible. Like I’d have to teach him the basics, but that was definitely not the case. He cut back and forth into the wave before turning the board toward me and laughing himself into the wave.

I couldn’t keep the grin off my face. As he got closer, I started clapping. “I feel like I got played.”

He smirked. “I said it had been a while, not that I was brand new to surfing.”

I rolled my eyes. “Still feels like a set up.”

“Maybe I just wanted a chance to get to know you without a crowd.”

I blushed, and I knew he could see it. No one had flirted with me in a while. It felt more exciting than I remembered. “All you had to do was ask.”

He winked before lining up for another wave. “This was more fun.”

We continued this back and forth, taking turns as the waves rolled in. At least two hours had passed when he finally called it. “I’m starving. Do want to head in?”

“Sure.” We each caught a wave in and walked back to our towels.

“You know. I wasn’t planning on going out last night.” The heat in his eyes caught me off guard. Did he feel what I did?

“Me either.” My voice came out in a breath.

“Guess it was fate.”

His smile faded as his eyes dropped to my lips. My stomach flipped and rolled like a crashing wave. He leaned forward, and my brain clicked, catching up with what was happening. Did I want him to kiss me? Ha. Of course I did.

I placed my hand on his broad chest and met his lips.

Huh.