Page 20 of Catch a Wave
“Who did you ask?” She reaches up and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. The movement does her no good. Her hair is wild and loose and thick and wavy. The curl breaks free as soon as her hand moves away.
“I asked your brother.”
“And my brother told you my name?” She sounds as shocked as she should be.
“No. He told me your name wasstay away from her.”
Her laughter this time is hearty and full. It’s not feminine or soft, and I love it.
“That sounds like Kai. So how’d you end up finding out my name if Kai was being difficult?”
“Big Joe was the one who finally told me.”
“Ah.”
“Who told you my name?” I ask her, even though I think it was her friend.
“My best friend, Leilani. She surfs, but not the big waves. She’s around here somewhere.”
“I know who she is. She was the one talking to you last year at Mavs.”
“Yeah. We’re pretty inseparable. You know, unless something comes up where we have to separate …” She blushes.
Her awkward moment makes me feel bolder. At least I’m not the only one struggling here. Maybe she wants to get to know me as much as I want to know her.
“What was it like?” Her eyes widen and her brows raise.
“Mavericks?”
“Yeah.”
“Like nothing I’ve ever surfed. Unpredictable. Breaking closer to shore than a lot of the bigger wave breaks I’ve surfedin other places. That spot at Mavericks has an energy I can’t describe. It was … life altering. Does that sound corny?”
She shakes her head, quietly waiting for more from me. Plenty of women follow me around or show interest in me. Kalaine’s different. She’s not as interested in me as she is in Mavericks. And something about that gets my blood pumping. For once, I think I’ve met my match.
“That day was massive. Mountains of water, like giant slopes, chaotic, and full of life. You could feel the sheer power of nature all wound tight beneath the water’s surface. It was terrifying and exhilarating. When I took off behind the ski, I knew that might be my last wave ever—and I didn’t care. That might sound reckless, but …”
“You had to ride it.” Her voice is soft, nearly a whisper. She gets it.
“Yeah. I had to. And there has never been another like it. I’ve had some killer rides since then. Big waves, long waves, tropical waves. Tubed out in the greenroom, landing perfect tricks, doing aerials off the lip, all of it has been gnarly. I’m blessed to get to travel the world and surf. But that day at Mavericks? I’ve never felt so alive and so fully in the moment as I did when I took off down the face of that first wave of the day and rode it all the way until I met my partner on his jet ski at the bottom.”
She just nods. And then in a voice so quiet I almost don’t hear her, she says, “I’m going to ride Mavericks some day.”
I nod back at her. I am sure she will. There’s a fire in her honey-gold eyes. Determination. I recognize her hunger. If you’ve got it, you can spot it.
“I bet you will,” I say.
The smile she gives me might just tide me over until we cross paths again.
8
KALAINE
Other things may change us,
but we start and end with the family.
~ Anthony Brandt
