Page 7

I spent the day surfing with Riddick.

Well, WITH Riddick was a stretch. He barely acknowledged I was there. But I was with him, whether he wanted me to be or not.

He was better than me.

He was better than anyone I had ever met, if I was being honest. I could understand why he was so pissed at me for dropping in on his wave after watching him for only an hour.

Riddick didn’t wipe out.

Like, ever.

And it’s not like he was just carving up the pipe; he was casually doing super sick, advanced shit with his eyes basically closed.

Riddick doing a layback was one of my new favorite things. I wanted to be able to do the things he could do.

I wanted to look how he looked while he was doing it.

He was amazing.

Watching Riddick surf felt like I was witnessing something sacred. The complete look of serenity that took over his expression each time he caught a wave was mesmerizing to me.

Then he would lock eyes with me, and that look would disappear and immediately be replaced with a hard, grouchy scowl.

I didn’t think he liked me very much, which was unusual for me. Most people loved me, so it bothered me that Riddick didn’t.

He ignored me every time I tried to chat him up and rolled his eyes whenever I tried to ask him a question about himself.

And I had a lot of questions.

How long have you been surfing?

Have you surfed in Hawaii?

Who taught you to hang ten?

Can you teach me to hang ten?

Have you been in any surfing competitions?

You’re good enough to be in surfing competitions. Do you think I’m good enough to be in surfing competitions? There’s one I’ve always wanted to go to in Australia.

Ever been to Australia?

I’ve heard surfing is sick there. Do you think that’s true? They have a lot of sharks, though.

Ever seen a shark?

What would you do if you saw a shark?

Are you scared of sharks? I don’t really know what it feels like to be scared of stuff, but sometimes I wonder what would happen if a shark tried to chomp on me, but then I forget about them once I’m riding… Does that happen to you, too? Do you ever think about sharks chomping on you?

“ENOUGH!” he finally snarled at me as he rode his last wave onto the beach.

We got out of the water, and I trotted after him, slinging my board under my arm. He was quite a bit taller than me, so I had to take two steps for every step he took to keep up.

“Where are you going? Do you have a ride home? How did you get here? Where do you live? I can call my friend Turtle, and he can give you a lift if you need one…” I babbled happily as he ripped off his ankle strap and shook his head roughly as if trying to get water out of his ears.

“Do you ever shut up?” he snapped, whirling on me, and I grinned.

“Nuh-uh,” I replied honestly.

He stared at me for a long moment, and I just stood there, grinning at him.

C’mon big guy. Admit I’m adorable. No one can resist these dimples.

That’s what my mom used to always say.

She said my dimples would be my key to taking over the world one day, and so far, they haven’t let me down.

Riddick was stubborn, sure, but he couldn’t resist me forever. I was loveable as fuck, and I knew it.

“No, I don’t need a ride,” he finally said, his blue eyes flashing with something I didn’t understand.

“I’ll be back here in the morning. Five AM. Be ready.”

“Five AM?! Dude, I have a shift tonight at Sharkies. It’s a close; I won’t be done till two.”

Riddick shrugged. “Not my problem.”

Fuck.

I was going to have to ask to switch off closing if he was going to insist on starting so early every day.

He was staring at me, his face an impassive wall, and I knew he was challenging me to argue with him.

I nodded and saluted him, not wanting to give him an excuse to accuse me of not being committed.

“Yessir. Five AM. I’ll be ready.”

He narrowed his eyes.

“A few other things.”

I grinned, perking up. “Yeah? I’m all ears!” I wished I had a notebook to write down whatever sage wisdom I was sure he was about to impart upon me .

His frown deepened, but he continued as if I hadn’t said anything.

“If we’re going to do this, there will be rules.”

“Yeah, you already said.” I nodded, pretending to zip my mouth shut.

His expression remained blank and serious. I had the distinct feeling he was watching me closely, and my reaction to his next words was important.

“From now on, you’re not to drink, smoke, or party.”

Was that all? I shrugged.

“No problem. I don’t drink anyway.”

Riddick’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You don’t?”

I shook my head. “Nuh-uh. My mom was killed by a drunk driver. I haven’t been interested in alcohol at all since then. I don’t smoke either. The sober life is the life for me.”

For a split second, I thought his ice-blue eyes softened, but I must have been imagining it because I blinked, and the next second, his expression was hard as stone again.

It made my stomach feel all twisty.

I wanted him to be impressed that I didn’t drink. I had the feeling he was, but I needed him to validate my suspicion.

I wasn’t sure if it was from watching him surf all day or the fact that he was probably the first person I had ever met who didn’t immediately warm up to me, but I needed his approval like I needed my next breath.

“Fine. One more thing.”

“Yeah?”

“No fucking.”

I felt like he’d physically struck me.

“W-what?”

“I don’t repeat myself,” he said, turning on his heel and taking his board toward my lean-to.

“Wait! No fucking? Why not?”

“Fucking leads to relationships. Relationships are distractions. You don’t have time for distractions if you want to survive Leviathans.

I need you to be focused one hundred percent on your training.

You’re not focusing on your goals if you’re out chasing tail or worrying about some chick breaking your heart. ”

That made sense, actually.

I nodded as I followed him into the lean-to, where he slapped his board into the rack next to my boards.

Oookayyy. Guess he was keeping his boards here now.

“Alright. I can do that.”

I think…

Fuck. That was the one rule that was going to be the hardest.

I thought of Blake and how likely it was that Turtle was going to be on a mission to get in her pants.

Usually, we acted as each other’s wingmen.

It was going to be hard to explain to Turtle why I couldn’t join him in the great chase for pussy…

especially without being able to tell him about Riddick.

Riddick shot me a skeptical look and raised an eyebrow as if he doubted I could do it.

I scowled.

“Don’t look at me like that. I can do it! I can still jerk off, right?”

He cocked his head to the side.

“I’ll let you make that decision on your own.”

“What does that mean?” I asked, my mouth hanging open.

“It means exactly what you think it means,” he said, turning away from me and walking back out onto the beach.

“I don’t know what I think it means! Why’d you say it like that? Are you trying to tell me I can’t fuck or jack off?” I was scrambling to chase after him as he headed for my property line. He was already disappearing into the brush in nothing but his swim trunks by the time I caught up to him.

“ Riddick! I’m twenty-one! If I can’t fuck or beat off, I’m pretty sure my balls will explode!” I was calling after him as I chased him into the brush.

“Ow, fuck!” I cried out as I stepped on a sharp rock. Grabbing my foot, I hopped up and down on one leg, scanning the overgrown ferns and palms for Riddick.

I couldn’t see him anymore. The only indication that he’d been there at all was the now distant rustle of branches as he wandered farther into the untamed land that surrounded my property.

Damn, he was fast.

He wasn’t even wearing shoes!

I glanced down at my foot, relieved to see that the rock hadn’t broken skin, though I might get a bruise.

That hurt like a bitch!

Did he seriously not want me to jack off?

My mind was spinning, and I didn’t know what to think.

Surely having the bluest balls on the planet would be just as bad of a distraction as a relationship?

I was probably totally misunderstanding him.

I shook my head and turned back, resolving to get ready for my shift instead of worrying about what Riddick meant by ‘I’ll let you make that decision on your own.’

Why did he make it sound like a test?

Like, if I chose wrong, he wouldn’t train me?

Fuck!

I ran my hand down my face and let out an exasperated sigh.

Whatever. It’s not like he would know if I beat off anyway. And I didn’t need to right now, so there was no point worrying about it until it became an issue.

For now, all I needed to do was make it through my second shift and get as much sleep as possible before the enigma that was Riddick showed back up to confuse me even more.