“Just try. If you don’t like it, you can sit on the beach and take pictures.” Ryder tells me.
I shake my head adamantly. “No way. I am not getting in that water.”
Ryder’s grin spreads wider. He licks his lips, then steps forward until he’s only a few inches from me. I look up while he looks down. Being short really sucks at times like this. He seems like a damn giant, hovering over me with a glint in his eye that promises all sorts of wickedness. I fight the urge to squirm under his gaze.
He drops his mouth to my ear, and my entire body erupts into flames. Suddenly my seasonably appropriate hoodie is much,muchtoo warm, and sweat begins to bead at my neck. “You can come willingly, or I can make you. Either way I win. Which way do you win, pixie?”
It takes everything in me not to start panting. I’m not sure how he made that sound so dirty, sexy, and threatening all at once, but I am melting. I’m practically a puddle at his feet. I’m also wondering the answer to his question.
Finally, I reach for the wetsuit he’s holding up. “Anyone ever tell you that you are bossy?” I grumble. “I think I might like Maddox better.”
Maddox covers his mouth, clearly enjoying the banter. Ryder smirks at me. “If you think he’s not bossy,” he says looking over his shoulder at Maddox, “then you need to think again. He just tries to keep it in the bedroom.”
“Oh, fuck me,” I hiss, then slap a palm to mouth, realizing I said it out loud. Maddox no longer tries to contain his laughter.
“According to you, that’s against the rules, but if you beg, I might reconsider,” Ryder says as he traces a finger across my jaw.
I gulp loudly as I begin to back away until I make a mad dash for the bedroom, slamming the door and locking it behind me. I lean against the door, closing my eyes, wondering how I got myself into this mess.
It takes me a little bit to figure out the wetsuit. When Maddox and Ryder offer to come in and help, I scream at them to stay out. I hear them chortle on the other side of the door at my expense. I want to throw something at their heads, but I think they might like it.
When I walk out, they’re already on the back deck waiting for me. I follow them down to the beach where several other people are out in the freezing water like a bunch of idiots. And I am about to join them in the icy hell.
I stand on the beach, frozen in place. Fear trickles down my spine and settles low in my belly. Nerves take over, and I feel like I’m going to be sick.
Maddox turns around to see me unmoving. He calls out to Ryder who turns as well. Next thing I know, I’ve been grabbed by the feet and arms, and I’m being dragged to the water screaming like a banshee. They toss me into the abyss to fight for my life.
“Oh my God,” I scream at them. “I can’t believe you just did that. What if I didn’t know how to swim?”
“Then it would’ve been stupid not to tell us that, don’t you think?” Ryder tells me with a grin.
I shake my head, laughing despite the chills breaking through my body. At least these chills are actually from the cold.
After two hours of them trying, and failing, to teach me to surf, I give up. I won’t deny it’s been fun, but they didn’t come here to play in the shallows with me.So,I’m sitting on the beach with my camera taking photos.
They give me plenty to work with too. They are amazing out there. The strength of their bodies shows as they teeter perilously close to being consumed by the twenty-five-foot swell. It’s like watching live motion art. And I was trying to capture every moment on camera.
I switch out my filter, exchange my standard lens for a medium telephoto, and begin snapping. I capture every time they enter and exit a wave. I get them as they would paddle out when they spot the next one coming. I even get one where they finished their ride perfectlycoordinatedwith one another.
Honestly, it was beautiful, and took my breath away.
That night, we ordered pizza and I played video games with them like friends would do. It was nice. Not something I’d engaged in often in my life with my head in the clouds and all.
The next day they surfed some more. I tried again too but failed just like the day before. They told me it would take time, but I was pretty sure I was not meant to ride the waves.
Instead, I sat with my sketchbook, drawing the scenes around me. Maddox and Ryder weren’t the only ones in the water. Several others decided they needed to make what was possibly their last chance of the season count. I sketched and photographed until my eyes and fingers ached.
A little after, I went back to the cottage for a nap.
When I wake up, they are both in normal clothes – looking hot as hell, of course – rushing me to get ready. “Come on we’re going to be late,” Maddox orders, throwing me a bit off. He’s not usually the bossy one.
And that thought naturally sends my newly developed dirty mind to places that have me blushing instantly all the way to my hairline. I freaking hate my pasty skin at times like this. It gives everything away.
“What’s all that about?” Ryder asks, but the look on his face says he knows exactly where my mind went. Or the vicinity at the very least.
“Nothing,” I snap, because I hate being called out.
I turn in a huff to the room. I throw on a pair of jeans, my red Converse, and a Nike hoodie. I don’t even bother with makeup or hair because they’ve given me no time. That makes me cranky too.
