Page 127 of Should Our Hearts Catch Fire

“Have you tried it?”

“I’ve tried surfing.”

Gabe laughs. “This is different. Better. More fun! You can just do whatever.”

“I think I’ll pass.”

Gabe tries not to sulk. “What will you do?”

Ellis waves towards the beach. “Lie back and relax. Get a bit of color. Dip in if I get too hot.”

“Hmm.” Gabe lowers the board to the ground to free his hands and lock them behind Ellis’ neck. “You might need to stay in the water forever, then.”

It takes a minute for Ellis to get it, his cheeks turning pink. “You’re impossible.”

“Thank you.”

Ellis huffs. “Don’t you have waves to ride?”

Gabe presses himself closer to Ellis, letting their hips slot together. “I’d rather ride something else.”

The pretty pink blush turns tomato red. Ellis scowls, pushing Gabe away. “Nope. Nuh-uh. Your horny ass already got us in trouble once. I’m scarred for life.”

“I thought you liked my horny ass.”

“Gabe!”

“Waves. Right. Going.” He picks up the board and takes off, laughing at the image of Ellis glaring after him. Today’s going to be fun!

Todayisfun. Just not for Ellis.

After a lot of convincing, which turns to blackmailing when Ellis remains a stubborn mule, Gabe gets his way and watches Ellis ride his first wave, looking like he’d like to do literally anything else. He rides a second one, then a third. By the time he’s on his tenth wave, he seems to be enjoying himself, even laughing when a particularly powerful wave makes him roll over and dive under.

Gabe secretly takes pictures and sends them to Dawson. What Ellis doesn’t know can’t hurt him, and can’t make him mad at Gabe.

Ellis catches another wave, letting out a sudden cry of pain.

Gabe drops the phone, running towards him.

“Are you okay? What happened.”

Ellis drags himself to the sand, standing up with a hiss. He cranes his neck to get a look at his left calf. “I think I got stung.”

“Oh, shit.” Gabe kneels to thoroughly inspect the sting. Relief floods him when he finds the affected area to be about half an inch in diameter. “Okay, it’s not too bad. How much does it hurt?”

Ellis makes a face. “Just stings a little. It hurt like a bitch at first.”

Gabe presses an apologetic kiss to Ellis’ knee, earning a scandalized “Gabriel!”

He laughs. “Come on. The lifeguards will have something to soothe the sting.”

“It’s fine. I’ll survive.”

“The lifeguards, or I’ll pee on it.”

By now, Gabe is starting to worry Ellis’ face is going to stay permanently red. Without a word, he heads to the lifeguards, Gabe following behind with a victorious grin.

When they come back to their towels, Ellis smelling faintly of vinegar, Gabe’s mum is already waiting for them.