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Just going to school at the Academy was a pressure all its own. All the teachers reminded you from the first day of school that your life was building toward graduation, toward the moment you could go into the world and change it for the better.
Admitting I just liked surfing and hanging out on the beach seemed like a failure until I had my meeting with Birdie and she encouraged me to follow my desires. She was the first person who’d done that for me.
“I’m actually meeting with a mentor next week to talk about how I can turn teaching surf lessons into a business.”
April’s face brightened. “You’d be good at that.”
I trailed my fingers through the water and tried not to let the compliment make my chest puff up. “We’ll see how the meeting goes.”
“You don’t sound too hopeful.”
“I’m afraid of how hopeful I am,” I admitted. “I don’t really have a backup plan, and I don’t see myself in a college classroom for hours a day. It takes about all I have to sit through these classes now.”
She laughed. “You do fidget a lot.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but then I grinned. “You’ve been watching me in class.”
Her cheeks heated. “No.”
“Liar.” I grinned way too big. “You’ve been watching me.”
Her eyes slid over me, and I became very aware that I was shirtless. That she could see the body I’d built from hours in the water or on the football field. My pride swelled slightly when she didn’t look away.
“You’re hard to miss,” she finally said.
“I’ll take it,” I replied.
She dipped her hand in the water and splashed me. “You’re so cocky.”
I splashed her back. “Confident.”
She dug her hand in the water, soaking me even more. “Over-confident.”
“Self-assured.” I splashed back.
“Arrogant.” She went to splash me again, but lost her balance, tumbling out of the tube.
Laughing, I hopped off mine to grab the tube for her and tossed both of ours to the grassy banks of the slow-moving river.
She came up sputtering, pieces of hair free from her braid plastered to her face.
I laughed even harder.
Which she didnotlike.
With an evil gleam in her eyes, she tackled me under the water, and I was so caught off guard, I went down with her, far too aware of her curves pressed against my body.
When we came up, she said, “Ha!”
I wasn’t laughing.
I was too busy noticing her face, inches from mine.
The dip of her swimsuit.
Her hips, barely clearing the water.
Her lips, parting in surprise.
