Page 24 of Suddenly Beck

There are a million ways to surf, and as long as you’resmilingnot drowning, you’re doing it right….

I stare down at Nat who is laying on his stomach on the board, which is stretched out on the sand, as he pretends to paddle. After checking his positioning on the board, my eyes skim down over his small tight arse, and I find myself trying to figure out if he’s wearing the speedos or going commando, and I’m not sure which is sexier.

Shaking my head lightly, I force my eyes away from that gorgeous ass, which is lovingly sculpted by his brand-new wet suit. This just being friends is proving harder than I thought it would. I didn’t fully think this through, and he’s proving to be much more tempting that I bargained for.

‘You know what?’ Nat rolls onto his side as he fixes me with a quirk of his brow while he props himself up on one elbow. ‘Call me crazy, but when you said you’d teach me how to surf, I had expected to actually be in the water.’

‘And you will be,’ I chuckle as I watch him, and I’m beginning to realize that Nat is a little impatient when he’s out of his comfort zone. ‘But surfing is more than just grabbing a board and running into the waves yelling ‘yeehaw’.’

‘I’ve never yelled ‘yeehaw’ in my life,’ Nat replies primly.

I can believe it, especially with that private school accent. I’ve never really thought about it before, but the more Nat opens his mouth, the more I’m beginning to think I might have a thing for posh boys, with his eloquent speech and dry wit uniquely appealing to me.

‘Okay.’ I turn my attention back to the lesson. ‘We’ve marked the center of the board and slightly above it, that is your eye line. Your positioning on the board will never change regardless of what size the board is. We’re starting you off on a seven six but eventually you’ll want to go to a nine six. If you’re too far up or too far down the board you won’t get a good paddling glide.’

‘I got that.’ Nat nods.

‘The other thing is to keep your feet together and on the end of the board,’ I continue. ‘Once you start paddling, it’s temping to move your legs out, but you want as much weight on the back of the board as possible, otherwise the tail will come up and the nose will go under.’

‘Uh huh.’ Nat focuses on me intently.

‘Next is the slide up.’ I lay down on my board so he can watch my movements as I explain. ‘Don’t grab the rails, palms flat, your sternum in line with the middle. Keep your head up, knees and feet together, heel of the palm in the middle of the board, so you’ll have natural balance. Pushing off flat from the board will create space between your body and the board. Slide down the board, through the middle, and concentrate on bringing your front knee up to your chest, this will allow you to get your foot in the middle of the board.’ I look up to find him kneeling on his board, those pale blue eyes watching me avidly.

‘Lift, pull forward and slide through.’ I roll my body up the board sinuously, sliding easily to my feet, and glancing at him again to make sure he’s still paying attention. ‘Stance favouring over the front foot, shoulder width apart, staying on the instep of your back foot. This helps you to compress and extend, which will make the board move faster, but in the beginning it’s less about speed and all about balance.’

‘Okay.’ Nat nods.

‘Why don’t you try it.’ I watch critically as Nat tries the slide a few times. ‘Again.’ I check his feet for positioning. ‘Good. Sink a bit lower, front knee forward, remember instep of the back foot.’ I watch as he corrects his stance. ‘Okay, good. Again.’

I sit there on the sand, watching as he completes the manoeuvre several times until I’m satisfied.

‘You got it?’ I ask, and he nods. ‘Wanna try it on the water?’ I grin.

‘Uh.’ Nat looks at the waves hesitantly.

‘Come on.’ I smile. ‘You got this, besides we’re going to start out on the whitewash anyway.’

‘Whitewash?’ he replies questioningly.

‘We’re not going to go out past the break,’ I explain, ‘We’re going to walk out halfway, turn the board to face the beach and wait for the wave, then lie on the board and paddle, and as the wave crests, you ride the white foam toward the beach, that way you can practise your slide up.’

‘Alright then.’ Nat stands slowly picking up his board as I pick up mine, and we head out into the water.

I find myself watching him avidly. The first few times, he flounders and falls, landing on his arse in the shallow water, but each time, he just laughs and gets back up. There’s something so boyishly charming about him. Something that makes my stomach wobble in the worst possible way. It’s one thing being attracted to him and wanting to fuck him six ways from Sunday, but I’m a little startled to find I’m genuinely fascinated with him, and yet, I know next to nothing about him or where he came from, or more importantly what he’s running from.

I stare at him contemplatively as he skims the whitewash perfectly, washing into the shore with a wide smile. There’s a kind of child-like exuberance to him as he plays in the surf, practising his slide up with single minded determination and focus, yet it’s easy to see he’s really enjoying himself.

The first day I met him, I remember thinking to myself that he was a bit of an enigma, and the more time I spend with him, the more I realise how true that initial impression was. A trainee chef with no formal training that cooks incredible food, and I know because I tasted some of his grilled Bream with ranch dressing and fennel coleslaw last night at the restaurant. I haven’t had food like that since my dad died.

Nat’s clearly educated and well-spoken, yet he rolled into town with nothing but a backpack and is living quite contentedly out of a cute touristy little B&B owned by a rapacious man-eating OAP. He’s alternatively shy and funny, sometimes outspoken, and other times unsure of himself. He’s like a puzzle, and my fingers are itching to pick up the pieces and figure it out. Maybe that’s what’s bothering me. I’m never that interested in a guy outside the bedroom. I’m usually only looking for a wild night between the sheets with zero expectations.

Nat picks up his board and heads toward me, his wet hair now jet-black and framing his face in loose wavy curls, making his blue eyes pop even more, and as he levels me with that wide, careless smile once more, my stomach clenches.

He’d be something else between the sheets. I’m willing to bet money on it. I have a feeling once he let loose, the heat would incinerate me, perhaps it’s a deep-seated sense of self-preservation that has me taking a mental step back. As much fun as it is to flirt with him, I should probably dial it back to just friends seeing as that’s what we agreed to. Whatever it is he’s looking for, I know I’m not it.

‘Wow,’ he laughs a little breathlessly as he stops next to me. ‘I think I’ve got the hang of it now, and I’m ready to for something a bit harder.’

A flirty retort hovers on my lips, and I’m not usually one to pass up such a blatant innuendo, but I reign it in with some effort, remembering my shaky resolution of being just friends.