Finding Forever

Chapter 5

It's been a long morning. The four of us meet at the beach around quarter to ten just as the first wave crashes against the sand. Alodie gives me a pleasant enough greeting but appears uninterested and scrolls mindlessly through her phone. Liam welcomed me with a kiss on my cheek and told me how nice I looked, which I thought was sweet. Ryan, on the other hand, greets me with a smug smile and a few squirts from a water bottle. I want to rip the water bottle from his hand and dump it over his head as payback, but instead, I play it cool in front of Liam. I think Ryan is a little shocked I don't react, but there is no way I will let Liam see my short temper this early on in the game.

By the time ten thirty rolls around, we are inside a water sports rental shop browsing for surfboards. I decided Ryan and Alodie were abnormally affectionate: they constantly touched, and she laughed at everything he said. I can't remember the last time they seemed so smitten with each other. Maybe distance does make the heart grow fonder?

Alodie's arm is hooked around Ryan's bicep as they walk around the shop. And when she playfully pinches his butt, Ryan laughs and kisses her cheek. She's all over him, and he's playing along with her giggly affections. Nothing is more irritating on a Saturday morning than her giggles rising above the reggae music in the shop.

I decided Liam must be a morning person. He's extra chatty, very smiley, and loves to ramble on the proper way to choose a surfboard. Unfortunately, it's hard to focus on what he's saying when Alodie and Ryan give the performance of a lifetime. And when her head is thrown back from another giggle, Ryan's eyes meet mine across the crowded shop while Liam places his hand on the small of my back. Ryan's dark brows pull together as he watches us. When he realizes I've caught him staring, his mischievous brown eyes purposely roll as Liam's hand moves up my back and slowly drapes around my shoulders. And when Liam tucks a stray strand of hair behind my ear, I see Ryan pretending to gag in my peripheral vision. He's really starting to get under my skin, and it isn't even close to noon.

When Liam busies himself with some surf gear on the wall, I glare over my shoulder to let Ryan know I'm not impressed. He doesn't even look mildly sorry; if anything, his smile gets bigger.

At the check-out, Liam insists he pays for my surfboard rental. I don't expect him to pay, and I assure him he doesn't have to, but when he gives me a soft, promising smile, I can't argue. I don't want to be that girl who relies on a guy to pay for her – but Liam is convincing, and I think chivalry isn't dead.

The four of us head outside into the breezy ocean air and over to the waves crashing against the sand. Without a second thought, Alodie pulls off her skimpy cover-up and playfully tosses it in Ryan's face. He laughs, watching her as she prances into the water, her fantastic boobs bouncing with every step until she is ankle-deep in the ocean. Ryan throws her cover-up aside and jogs over to meet her. When he is close enough, she bends down and splashes him, giggling. Liam looks at me with a smile, like he is telepathically trying to get me ankle-deep in the ocean, too. Striping down into a bikini is way out of my comfort zone, so instead, I pretend to busy myself with attaching the leash of my surfboard to my ankle. There is no way I am about to take off a layer of clothing if it isn't necessary.

Thirty minutes later, Liam has given us a full run-down on the basics of surfing from the comfort of the sand. We practice getting up or popping off, as Liam calls it. We practiced how to stand on a board correctly, and when I struggled, Liam took the initiative to hold my hips and press up against me from behind to show me a proper stance. In no time, we are ocean-bound, paddling on our bellies as our boards plane across the water.

Even though the ocean is relatively calm and the waves are pretty mild, I can't seem ever entirely to stand up on my board. I lose count of how many times my board tips, and I swallow a mouth full of salt water. Of course, this amuses Ryan to no end. Unlike my pitiful attempts, he can get the hang of surfing and even rides a few solid waves. Beginners luck, I suppose.