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The beach is wide, and as I hit the water, I’m excited to see there are at least some decent waves coming in. Crashing over the next wave, I jump forward on my board and paddle out to sit and wait for the right ride.
It’s only a minute or so before I see a new set building and take a further minute to check I want to go for it. Checking my timing, I set up, dig my arms through the water and race the build of the wave. My heart starts to pound, and the adrenalin kicks in.
This is the best bit. The moment you’re about to pop up and let nature take you for the best ride. The wave rolls and I carve back and forth, keeping my balance and making sure I’m on the right side of the white crest.
The energy fades from the wave the closer to shore we get, and I let the board cruise the last few feet before I jump off into the shallows. The lapping waves knock me as I chase my board, and I look back towards the swells building out to sea.
Life is good.
After a few hours of surf, I decide to head back to the house and then maybe explore this tiny town some more. There are a handful of other surfers still out in the waves, and with the sun beaming down on the sand, more people have come down to catch some afternoon rays.
I step up onto the wooden deck of the café and clock the ‘Molly’s’ signage.
“You can’t go in all wet and sandy.”
I turn around to see a girl clearing the table on the far side. She’s wearing cut-off jean shorts that give me a perfect view of her legs, a worn t-shirt, and her dark hair is twisted up in a bun on top of her head. Her skin is darkly bronzed, and she looks beyond gorgeous. She looks up and walks towards me as if I’m blocking her way.
“Do you mind?” She gives me a huge fucking smile with that comment and squeezes past me and the empty table.
Her dark eyes follow mine before she pushes the door open and escapes inside.
I stay, a little dumbstruck, looking at the door until I snap out of it and walk up to the main road.
My grin remains plastered in place as I follow the main road through this supposed town and find the holiday house.
“About bloody time!” Mum yells as I open the door.
“It’s been no time, Mum. Chill. I need a shower.” I pull my board in after me and take it out towards the kitchen and the utility room.
“Jayce!” she screams at the trail of sand behind me.
“Mum, come on. What am I supposed to do?”
“Go around the back and hose everything off in the back garden.” She pushes me through the back gate and marches me to where she wants me.
“Next time. I thought I’d check out the town later.”
“Oh, did you now. And what if we have plans?” She crosses her arms and looks at me expectantly.
“Rain check?” I flash her the smile that lets me get away with murder, and she bats her hands at me in frustration before heading back inside.
I rinse my stuff, leave the wetsuit to drip, and grab a shower.
I’ve not bothered to unpack, but grab a clean t-shirt and some board shorts, shove my feet into my trainers, and keep my mop of hair back with a baseball cap.
“Dad, can I have some cash?”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t have any.”
“You’ve been working for eighteen months for your gap year travelling.”
“And I don’t want to spend any of my savings,” I counter. “Just a tenner.”
He hands me a scrunched up note from his pocket, and I walk out the door. I head back the same way, straight towards Molly’s.
I pull open the door and enter the store. Shop. Café. Inside it seems to have an identity crisis, but whatever. The coffee shop area looks cool, and there, behind the counter, is the girl who caught my eye earlier.
