7. Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Katherine
I hear the loud chatter of children before I see them. That may be my favourite part of this job.
I’ve never been a big kid person. I never had any siblings so I guess maybe it’s an only child thing. I didn’t have to deal with any babies or little kids at home so I was never great with them as I got older.
This is different, though; the way their faces light up before a lesson with excitement and anticipation or after a class the smiles they have are bigger than anything I’ve ever seen. I sadly have to say James is great with them and seeing him with the kids only makes him hotter.
Why does the world work like that?
I round the corner and see them all standing next to the stand that holds all the lesson surfboards for the day. A gaggle of eight year olds hand James their boards and then run to parents waiting in parked cars.
As the last girl hands hers to him, I watch him struggle with about six boards at once. Now, I don’t want to inflate his ego any more, but he’s strong. He looks like he could carry me around all day and never be out of breath.
Why are you picturing that?
But he loses his balance a little as he slips on the puddle of water on the floor from where his wetsuit has been dripping and he loses grip on a couple .
I run forward to catch the couple sliding from his grip. My fingers brush his and he looks up at me.
“I’ve got this Katherine,” he snaps at me and I step back more than happy to watch him struggle to get them all in the stand without dropping them.
“I was just trying to help,” I tell him, my voice tight with annoyance now.
“I don’t need your help,” he says, regaining his balance and he manages to get one board in the stand but as he does, the ones already stacked slip forward and he catches them with one foot.
“Do you want a hand now?” I guess again, crossing my arms over my chest as even more boards start to fall. He wraps a finger around the edge of another to stop them from falling completely on the floor; he officially looks like he might fall over now.
I wait and tap my fingers on my arm and keep looking at him, I’ve got my I hate you smile down to a T now thanks to him and he hates it. He lets out a loud huff and then almost whispers, “Yes.”
“I’m sorry, James, what was that? I couldn’t hear you,” I mock as he has to move his feet quickly to catch another.
“Yes, Katherine I’d love your help,” he says so reluctantly.
“Why didn’t you just say so,” I say, reaching forward and grabbing half of the ones he's holding, letting him put both feet on the floor again.
He puts his half away, and then takes the ones I’m holding and puts them away too.
Once I’m sure he’s not going to say thank you, I walk into the shop ready to start my shift with Gregg. I don’t get to work with him very often, Ella does the schedule and it would seem that she mostly works with him.
I see what you’re doing, Miss Ella .
“I’m covering Gregg tonight,” James mutters into my ear as he comes up behind me. His breath is far too close to me, and far too warm. My cheeks start to heat from his proximity. I’m lucky he doesn’t stick around for too long to see it.
It’s faded by the time Ella approaches me as I begin folding t-shirts at the front of the store.
“James will close with you tonight,” she says with an airy voice as if the information didn’t just make my day terrible, I was hoping James was joking or lying to mess with me.
“Yeah, he mentioned.” I don’t even look up at her, I don’t think she needs to see the sour face I’ve got to know I’m not too happy about it. Morning shifts with him aren’t too bad, he’s out on the water most of the time. But during the afternoon ones, he’s in the store more.
She laughs.
Laughs!
As if any of this is actually funny.
“I think you just need to get to know each other more,” she says in a soft tone, the way you do when you’re talking to a child who’s about to cry. My aunt has yet to grasp the fact that it was not me who started this, it was her precious James. He hated me first, and it only felt right to follow suit.
“Please, just stop putting us together, he’s the worst, he’s cocky and treats me like I’m an idiot,” I tell her again, it feels like I’m always repeating myself. It is completely beyond me why she keeps putting us together on shifts and then complains when she comes in and sees that we’re arguing. It’s inevitable. It’s like the sun coming up in the morning or the moon appearing at night, unstoppable.
“I heard that!” he shouts from his spot behind the counter, arms crossed and brows pinched.
I put my hand over my heart and plaster a sad frown on my face as I turn towards him. “Oh, thank goodness, I was worried I was talking too quietly.” He turns and walks off, hopefully leaving me with some peace.
“You are both literal children,” Ella says, bringing my attention back to her.
“I can’t help that he’s a five year old in a twenty-five year old’s body.” I smile at her as sweetly as I can.
She rolls her eyes, and then reaches into her pocket, pulling out a set of car keys. “Jeremy dropped these off for me today.” She drops them in my hand. “It’s parked around the back, think you’ll be okay driving home after your shift?”
“Jesus you’re letting Katherine out on the open road? I’ll start wearing a crash helmet,” James says as he passes us, not even looking at me.
“See! I never start it, he does,” I tell her, throwing my hands in his direction.
“Literal children,” she says, shaking her head as she heads for the front door.