Page 85 of The Surfer

He deserves my love.

Love can force you to see beyond the shallow façade someone’s built up around themselves.

And I can see beyond Cove’s façade.

I can see into his soul.

He loves me.

And I love him.

I’ve just got to let love in.

I turn back to Cove. “Okay, I’ll help you,” I say. “But I just want you to promise me something. Something important.”

“What?”

“So, you’re not going to promise me?”

He cheekily smiles again. “I’m not promising anything until you tell me what it is, Ripley.”

I lean in closer so that our faces nearly touch. “Promise me you’ll lay off the drinks and the drugs and the girls. Can you do that?”

“What?” Cove asks with mock indignation. “Every girl?”

“Well,” I reply with my own smile. “Every girl except one.”

Cove faces Sandy. She nods at him. Affirmation. He faces back to me. “I promise,” he says. He’s telling the truth, I know. My heart begins to beat faster. His voice returns. He’s back to his usual self.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Trust me.”