Page 29 of Guys Can’t Write Romance

Chapter nineteen

Love and Low Tides

The sun was peeking over the city in streamers of orange and pink as Chad and Rhino trudged across the sand in their wetsuits, surfboards tucked under their arms and a slight cooling breeze ruffling through their hair.

The beach was calm and quiet in the early morning hour, the only sounds coming from the squawks of seagulls circling overhead and the faint crash of waves on the shore. Ahead of them, the ocean stretched to the horizon, a deep blue sky bleeding into pink, yellow, and orange as it met the water.

“Figures it’d be flat,” Rhino muttered, staring at the mostly ripple-free ocean.

Despite the hangover, Chad let out a small chuckle. “That’s karma for dragging me out last night.”

“Are you gonna keep whining about that?” Rhino said.

“That’s the plan,” Chad said, glancing toward the gently rolling waves as they neared the shore.

“Then I’m bringing earplugs next time. So how’s the book coming?”

“It would be coming a lot better if some idiots didn’t drag me out on an intervention.”

“Damn. I walked right into that one, didn’t I?”

“Yup.”

They reached the shoreline and waded into the water.

Climbing onto their boards, they paddled smoothly across the water.

Chad settled into the rhythm, the pull, the glide, the pressure of his hands cutting through the ocean, and let his mind drift somewhere between the blue sky and the sparkle of waves.

Out here, it was easy to think about nothing at all. Or at least, it should have been.

But when they finally reached the lineup and sat on their boards, legs dangling into the water and waves lapping gently beneath them, nothing at all quickly became something very specific.

Rhino leaned back slightly, his bare feet bobbing near the surface of the water. “So. This writing contest. You think you’ve got a shot? And don’t tell me you would, if some idiots hadn’t dragged you out last night. I get it already.”

Chad snickered. “I don’t know. Maybe.” He looked back and squinted at the horizon. “I guess it depends.”

“On what?” Rhino said. “On how Daisy’s date with the banker went?”

Chad rolled his eyes. “I thought you gave up meddling after your epic fail at intervention last night.”

Rhino smirked. “Bro, last night proved that meddling is my art form.” He turned to look at Chad, his expression softening slightly as he said, “But seriously, though. You guys don’t see it, or maybe you do and you’re pretending not to, but you balance each other out.”

Chad glanced at Rhino, surprised by his rare moment of insight. “You’re saying that because I’m a mess, I need a neat freak to balance me out.”

Rhino nodded. “And because she’s so annoyingly organized and chaos-free, she needs your spontaneity and expertise at disorganization to balance herself out.”

“Did you read that in a fortune cookie?”

Rhino shook his head. “Carly said it at the bar last night. Which you would’ve heard, if you hadn’t been glued to your phone waiting for her to text.”

“Waiting for who to text?”

“Don’t give me that.”

“Dude. She was out with her boyfriend.”

“That didn’t stop you from checking your texts every thirty seconds. Did she text?”

“No.”

“Did you text her?”

“Why would I?”

“Because maybe she was hoping you would.”

“She was on a date.”

“And you were at a bar filled with hot chicks. But you still kept your face buried in your phone all night.”

“What would I even say?”

Rhino shrugged. “I don’t know. How about ‘hi’? Or, just checking to see if you fell asleep yet? Or, wanna have my babies?”

Chad nearly fell off his board. “You’re not only annoying, you’re seriously deranged.

” As he steadied his board, for a brief, fleeting moment, his memory flashed to the parking lot after practice when he and Daisy had discussed kids.

He could picture that, and something unexpected ached in his chest at the thought; something he couldn’t recall ever feeling before.

Rhino watched as Chad’s thoughts briefly played across his face. “You okay, bro?”

Chad snapped from his thoughts and nodded. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

Rhino snorted. “You don’t look it.”

“I look like a guy sitting on a surfboard hoping for a wave.”

“Nope,” Rhino said, shaking his head. “You look like a guy sitting on a surfboard thinking of names for the kids he wants to have with a certain first-grade teacher.”

“I’m gonna drown you, and everyone’s gonna thank me,” Chad said.

“Or, they’ll thank me for getting Chad McKenzie to stop pining and finally admit he has feelings for a girl. Like, real feelings and not just hormones.”

“You’re delusional.”

“Am I delusional about your stash of Hallmark movies?”

“Research.”

“What about the dumb look you get on your face every time you talk about her?”

“That’s just my face,” Chad muttered.

“Naw. It actually gets dumber than usual,” Rhino said, though he didn’t push as hard this time. The sound of the waves filled the gentle pause between them. “Look, bro. Daisy’s a cool chick. There’s not many chicks I would let get away with labeling my protein shakes while I was out.”

“She did that to my protein bars too,” Chad said with a light chuckle.

“See. That right there. That’s the dumb look I’m talking about.”

“I assume you’re getting to the point.”

Rhino eased up as he turned to Chad. “Yeah. The point is, there’s worse things that could happen than being in love with Daisy Fields.”