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“Oh. Yeah, okay.” Andy stepped back, surprised at the flash of disappointment she felt that the lesson was ending. The heckling notwithstanding, she’d rather enjoyed herself.
Okay, even the heckling wasn’t so bad. Luke did have a way with words. Even if some of them occasionally incited her to violence. As the thought occurred, Andy reddened.
Oh, god, she’d totally assaulted the man. Twice. Maybe he’d prefer they end the surf instructions for good. Maybe he was done with their lessons altogether.
Wading after him, Andy suddenly felt really anxious. So much so that as he was retrieving the abandoned surfboard, she blurted, “I’m sorry.”
“What for?” Luke asked, setting the board on the pavement.
“I shouldn’t have jumped on you.”
“Don’t be sorry for that. I kinda like you flying at me like a crazed pterodactyl.” Luke glanced back at her, the corner of his mouth lifting. “See what I did there? Now you’re aprehistoric bird, Bird.”
Andy rolled her eyes as Luke climbed from the pool but took his hand when he offered it, enjoying the tug on her muscles as he hauled her up.
They dried off together, lapsing into silence until Luke cleared his throat. Andy’s gaze shifted from the backpack she was rifling through to her surf instructor. “You did good for your first lesson,” he offered.
“Thanks.” Biting back a relieved grin, she pulled her shorts from her bag. It certainly sounded as though Luke was down with doing this again.
“I mean it, Andy. You’re a helluva swimmer. I’m guessing by those flip turns you spent some time on a team.”
She nodded. “Rec leagues when I was a kid, then four years of comp in high school. Sports and fitness were always really big with my dad.” Andy frowned as she pulled on her cargos, distracted by the uncomfortable feeling of the dry fabric sliding over her damp suit. Zipping up, the sensation only grew worse.
Damn it. She should have brought underwear and changed in the bathroom.
“Your dad some kind of asshole?”
“What?” She looked up to find Luke narrow-eyed as he studied her. Realizing he must have misinterpreted the reason for whatever grimace was plastered to her face, she relaxed her expression. “No, of course not. My dad’s the best.”
Draping her towel around his shoulders, Luke shoved his feet into a pair of slides. “Awesome. Good to hear.”
Andy cocked her head at the odd note of tension underlying his words. Why would he have jumped to the conclusion that her father was an asshole? Unless…
“Wait, isyourdad some kind of asshole?” The question flew out of her mouth before she could stop it, and instantly, she wished she could reel it back in because Luke’s entire body tensed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”
Luke’s gaze jerked back to hers, dark, intense, cutting her off even before his words did. “He was theworstkind of asshole, Andy.”
“Oh… I’m s-sorry.”
As she stammered out yet another apology, Luke glanced at the sporty black watch strapped to his wrist. The nonverbal communication was clear. He was done with both the surf lesson and this particular topic of conversation.
Way to trigger the man, Andy! Really, great job!Inwardly berating herself, she tugged on a sock.
“What the ever-loving fuck is that?” Luke stared at her hairy footwear with confusion.
“It’s aHobbitsock,” she said defensively.
“I don’t care if it’s a Chewbacca sock, you can’t wear that.”
“Why not?”
“It’s fucking hideous.”
Okay, now he was just being mean. Screw his moody ass. Lifting her chin, she donned the other sock.
He shook his head. “Jesus Christ. We’re really going to need to address the wardrobe.”
Chapter twelve
