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“Don’t let him fool you. I’m his best man,” Cody says.
Wes rolls his eyes. “The best man spot is still up for grabs.”
“And the spot of the bride?” I ask.
“That’s taken by Sloane Hart. You might have heard of her. She runs Kindness First, a nonprofit whose headquarters are located here on the island.”
I shake my head. “Never heard of her. But you sound like a lucky man.”
“I am,” Wes says, smiling like an idiot.
That’s when I realize what Sloane’s weakness is. Wes. Wes is her weakness. It’s clear he doesn’t have a lot of guy friends if he brought only his cousins, and he doesn’t clearly have a best man. That means, there is a spot open for me. I can become his friend. His best man even. That will ensure I get to spend plenty of time with Sloane. And Sloane won’t be able to turn me away because I’ll be Wes’s best friend. That’s my way in. Through Wes.
“So, have any of you surfed before?”
All three shake their heads.
I put on a fake smile. “Well, let’s see what you’ve got.”
“You aren’t going to teach us how to stand on the board on the ground first?” Elijah asks.
I raise an eyebrow. “Do you really want to spend all day jumping up on a surfboard on the sand, or do you want to learn how to surf?”
“Well…I-I…” Elijah stutters.
I roll my eyes. “If you were looking for a babysitter to teach you, then you came to the wrong place. I believe in learning from doing, not pretending. I’m the best surfer in the world, currently ranked number one. If you want to learn from the best, then you don’t get to question my methods. If you aren’t willing to take my terms, then stop wasting my time.”
Wes smiles. “Teach us your ways, oh great one.”
I nod. “Good. I’ll get my board and meet you out there. Lie on your board and swim as far out into the ocean as you can.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for you?” Cody asks.
“Don’t worry; I’ll catch up.”
I jog back to my truck to grab my board, happy that this has taken such a good turn. The only thing better would have been if Sloane herself were
asking for lessons, but something tells me that, even if Sloane didn’t know how to surf, she wouldn’t be the type to ask for lessons. She would be the type to learn how to surf and be great at it the first time out. She wouldn’t need an instructor.
I grab my board and then begin jogging back to the beach. I see the cameraman aiming his camera at me as I jog. I can’t imagine how they are going to turn this into a commercial, but if I can buddy up to Wes while getting paid to do it, then I’m not going to complain.
As I jog back down the beach with my board in hand, I glance out at them floundering in the ocean, seemingly barely moving at all, as wave after wave crashes down on them. I wouldn’t have brought first-time surfers to this beach, but I know why my sponsors chose this spot. It has the best waves and lighting. They’ll just be lucky to get a shot of any of them up on a surfboard. Although maybe they just want an ad of a bunch of hot guys hanging out and looking stupid while I surf.
Wes is the only one who is making any progress at all, though he isn’t that far ahead of the rest of them.
I run into the water with my surfboard and then dive under the first wave. I swim hard, kicking my feet to propel me forward, and then finally come up for air several feet in front of Wes.
“Dive under the next wave!” I shout to Wes.
I sit on top of the waves for the next one so that I can see how he does. He tries but ends up coming up, quickly coughing up the salty water.
I chuckle. “Try again. Blow out through your nose this time as you dive, so you don’t get a nose full of water.”
Wes tries again, and this time, he makes it to me before he comes back up.
“Not bad,” I say as he breathes heavily next to me.
“Yeah, I’m awesome. I can dive underwater and hold my breath for five seconds. I was born to surf,” Wes says sarcastically.
