Page 32 of Out in the Surf
But that was a long time ago.
I braced myself for a wave of melancholy that didn’t come. In fact, I didn’t feel anything at all…except a little antsy to get back to my chore so I could get to work on the board I’d been prepping to coat with resin.
“Thank you.” Hannah smiled. “I hear you’re still competing.”
“Not as often. I signed up for the Holiday Classic, though.”
“Good luck. That can be tough competition,” she commented.
“Nothing this guy can’t handle.” Jay scoffed, patting my back. “I’m gonna grab one of the new sweatshirts that just came in. Did you see them?”
I squinted thoughtfully. “The pink whales?”
“Dolphins,” Hannah corrected.
Jay beamed. “Yep. Hannah-banana designed those. Nice, aren’t they?”
I nodded automatically, but Jay was already gone.
Hannah crossed her arms and grumbled good-naturedly. “I can’t get him to stop calling me that.”
“Hannah-banana?”
“Yep. That’s the one.”
“That’s the beauty of a one-syllable name. No one can mess with it too much.”
Hannah arched her brow mischievously. “Cal the snail or send Cal to jail or Cal-man, the mailman.”
I snickered. “Those are so bad they don’t even sting.”
“They did when we were ten.”
“True. You were kind of a bully back in the day,” I teased.
She smacked my arm playfully. “I was not! I was an angel. Ask my dad.”
“Right. He’s very impartial.” I hooked my thumb toward the storage area. “So…you’re making whale stuff now.”
“Ha. Ha. Dolphins. And yes…I started a surf line. With my boyfriend. ” She wrinkled her forehead and continued in a rush, “Did I just make things weird?”
I shook my head vehemently. “Of course not. I’m glad you’re seeing someone. He better be a good guy.”
She chuckled at the note of warning in my voice. “He is. Um…and you know him. I didn’t just come by because of my apparel line. I didn’t want you to find out from someone else that I’m seeing Andy.”
“Andy?”
“Dugan.”
Andy-fucking-Dugan.Wow.
I wasn’t sure what to say. So I settled on, “Okay. Good. I mean…if you’re happy.”
“I am. What about you?”
“Me?” I pointed at my chest.
“Yeah, you.” The hint of caution faded, giving way to a carefree smile that reminded me of the girl I grew up with…well before we’d tried on titles like “boyfriend” or “girlfriend.”