10. Griffin
TEN
“You want me to what?”I stare at Eliana’s big green eyes as she looks up at me. She has her brown hair tied back in a loose ponytail and a new surfboard tucked under her arm. I notice a light flush creep across her cheeks as she stares at me with determination.
“Teach me how to surf,” she repeats.
“Why the hell would I do that?”
I’m already having a hard enough time keeping my distance from her, so teaching her how to surf would be absolute hell for my self-restraint. The thought of touching her body to reposition her on the board, and how much I want to do just that, is enough to convince me that this is a bad idea not worth entertaining.
“I want to learn, and Gabriel wants you to work on the basics. This would be knocking out two birds with one stone.”
I grind my teeth together. Gabriel wants you to work on the basics. It’s a slap in the face to be compared to a beginner, to be told that I need to work on things that I should have already mastered this far into my career. That’s the last thing I wanted to hear after being gone for all those months. Gabriel made it seem like I would be dragging the team down in competitions at this rate, not helping them the way I intend to.
It was painful to hear, but I know it’s true. If I can’t help the team, then I don’t deserve to take up this spot. Any other coach would have kicked me out by now, but not Gabriel. He knows how much I want this, and he’s been there through the endless hours of training. He’s not ready to give up on me just yet, so I need to prove to him that I’m worth fighting for, that I deserve this spot just as much as everyone else on the team, and the only way to do that is to remain focused on myself.
“No,” I say, deadpan, before walking around her to join the others for the evening surf practice.
The evening surf is usually more laid back, everyone can work on whatever they feel they need to improve on. I decide to practice riding waves, but every time I’m meant to stand on my board, an uncomfortable doubt settles in my chest, causing me to pull off, letting one of the others take the wave instead.
When I glance over to Gabriel, his face morphs into disappointment before returning his attention to Koa who is practicing aerials. I slap the water in frustration. I can’t believe after six months of obsessing about returning to the ocean, I’m scared to do the one thing I couldn’t wait to do.
Surf.
I glance towards Eliana to see if she’s recording this humiliation again, but she’s not on the beach, though the camera is still pointing at me on a tripod. I look around and spot that stupid white and pink flower board in the ocean, her small frame trying to paddle it out to the lineup.
She’s wearing a half wetsuit, her curvy ass on full display as she uses double the effort to reach us with her horrible form. I glance at the other guys and while Koa is still focused on surfing, Zale is watching Eliana with his tongue halfway to the ocean floor.
“Something on your mind, Evans?” I call over to him.
He shifts his attention to me and shoots me a half grin. “She paddles almost as bad as you, noodle arms at their finest,” he replies.
Kairi smacks the back of his head for the comment, and he frowns at her with a pouted lip while rubbing his head. His comments are meant as fun teasing, but the comparison to a new surfer bothers me more than it should. It’s too similar to what Gabriel said to me this morning.
I watch as Eliana’s board slowly glides towards me while she holds onto the edges, her breathing heavy and her body stiff. She’s exhausted. I sit up on my board and reach over, pulling her towards me.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Teaching myself how to surf.” She closes her eyes and turns her face away from me.
I take the opportunity to admire her round and dangerously distracting ass.
“You don’t know the first thing about surfing,” I mumble, returning my eyes to hers only to realize she’s been watching me stare at her ass.
Well, fuck. Nothing like getting caught checking out the girl you’re trying to get rid of, again.
She smirks as she begins to reposition herself on her board. Something about that smirk triggers me, almost as if she’s claiming an upper hand in our war, but I don’t let her get far as I use my foot to apply pressure to one side of her board and watch as she tumbles into the water.
I expect her to surface within seconds, sputtering and rageful, but after too much time passes by, my anxiety skyrockets.
She wouldn’t paddle out this far if she doesn’t know how to swim, would she?
I don’t wait to find out as I rip the ankle strap off and dive into the water. As I open my eyes, I see the silhouette of her body sinking to the bottom.
Shit. Shit. SHIT. What did I do?
I push past the ache in my leg and use all my strength to swim towards her, my hand wrapping around her wrist when I finally get close enough.
In a normal circumstance, this is the part where I would toss her over my shoulder or cradle her in my arms as I swim us to the surface. Instead, the vixen wraps her free hand around the back of my neck and uses it to pull her body flush against mine, rolling us underwater so that she’s on top of me. I instinctively wrap my arms around her waist, holding her in place. That smirk still tugs at her lips as her eyes roam my face, landing on my lips.
Is she going to kiss me?
Do I want her to kiss me?
Do I kiss her?
Her eyes find mine again and she winks before unwrapping my arms from her waist and swimming up to the surface, giving me the perfect view of her curves in the process.
Did she just play me?
I snap out of my trance and begin swimming after her, surfacing next to our boards. She’s already managed to pull herself on top of hers, sitting with each leg hanging off the side of the board.
“I thought you drowned,” I growl, pulling myself onto my board as I glare at her, “put your ankle strap on.”
She crosses her arms over her chest and raises her chin confidently. “Well maybe before you toss someone in the water you should make sure they know how to swim.”
I run a hand through my soaking hair as I wait for her to put her ankle strap on but when I realize she doesn’t plan to, it aggravates me further.
“Noted.”
“So, you’ll teach me?”
I scoff. “Absolutely not. You don’t know how to listen to direction.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Then why is your strap still floating next to your board?”
She leans over to grab it from the water and as soon as she finishes putting it on, I kick her board again, watching her fall in with a satisfying splash. This time she surfaces within seconds, glaring at me as she pulls herself back onto her board.
“Teach me,” she says through gritted teeth.
Her persistence should annoy me, but instead I feel my wetsuit grow tighter around my groin area. This back and forth between us turns me on more than it should as I hold her gaze, but when my eyes start to travel down to her plump pink lips, I rip my attention away from her and look towards Gabriel instead, who I realize is watching us curiously.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” she asks, disbelief laced in her tone.
“Okay, I’ll teach you,” I say, sounding defeated as I return my eyes to hers.
Seeing that curiosity on Gabriel’s face directed towards me is enough to convince myself that this is something I need to do, if only to get back on his good side.
“You will?” Her voice rises a few octaves, excitedly.
“On one condition.”
She sighs. “And what would that be?”
“You don’t wear that wet suit during my surf practices anymore.” My eyes stay glued to hers and I see her blink twice before realization settles in her expression.
“Okay,” she smirks, “is my ass too distracting for you?”
I roll my eyes and lay down on my board to begin paddling back to shore while she grips the tail of my board so that I can drag her along with me.
For the restof our evening practice, I’m on the beach with Eliana, boards laying in the sand as I show her the basics of surfing while Gabriel periodically glances our way with that same curious expression.
He better count this as practicing the basics or else I’m going to lose my mind. Eliana hasn’t stopped asking questions since her feet hit the sand and I’m ready to call it a night.
“How long are we going to practice this part,” she asks, wobbling from side to side while trying to stay balanced on one foot.
“Having balance on the board is important.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” she says, bringing her other foot to the ground, but leaving her hands on her hips.
My eyes pause on her hips, wishing it were my hands there instead of hers. I almost punch myself for the thought as I bring my gaze back to hers and glare at her for being so God damn distracting.
“We’ll be practicing balance every lesson. You might as well come with me to the gym if you want to really work on balance.”
The thought of spotting her while she does squats has me hardening in my wet suit. I urgently reach back and pull the zipper down, undressing my top half so that the suit hangs over my front, shielding my hardening cock.
“Okay,” Eliana agrees, surprising me.
She studies my expression, so I quickly rearrange my face into calm nonchalance before clearing my throat. I was certain she would decline the offer, but now I’ll have to figure out how to work out with her wearing tight leggings while also attempting to keep my raging attraction to her under control.
Impossible.
“Let’s practice board positioning. Lay on your board.”
I regret telling her to do that as soon as she lays down in front of me. She lifts her head and looks up at me with her doe eyes, batting her lashes innocently, and the sight almost makes me groan out loud. I make my way over to my board next to her and lay down.
“So earlier in the water, your form was horrific?—”
“Hey!” She laughs, shoving my shoulder.
My lips curve into a smirk, satisfied that I made her laugh, as if the sound can somehow cure me. But any hint of contentedness is quickly ripped from my system when I remind myself of what I’m here to do.
“You should always keep your legs together when paddling out. Position yourself on the lower half of the board and rest your toes on the tail of the board.” I say, demonstrating for her.
She copies the movements, slowly shifting her body lower on the board. I try my absolute hardest not to look at her ass while she positions herself.
“Good,” I say, returning my focus straight ahead, “keep your chin up while you paddle, staring straight ahead. You want to make sure you aim the nose of the board towards the white water while also shifting your weight to the end of the board.”
Grabbing the edges of the board, I shift my weight to the lower half slowly. She does the same.
“Great,” I say, returning to the correct position.
“Thanks,” she says, sounding chipper. I peek over at her only to see her animated smile as she stares down at her board proudly.
How is it possible for someone to be this effortlessly beautiful? Her smile lights up her whole face, a light pink shade flushing along her cheeks and nose. My cock twitches in response, making me feel like a horny teenager, and I make a promise to myself to deal with it in the shower after practice. I’m positive a quick release will get her out of my system.
“Okay, last step; learning how to stand on your board.” I say as my eyes connect with Gabriel’s. This is the part I struggle with the most, and he knows it.
It’s not that I’m necessarily scared of falling, I’m mostly scared of feeling the pain again when I do fall. Although I’ve had my torn MCL surgically repaired and I’ve gone through the rehabilitation process to learn how to walk again and regain balance, I can’t say my leg feels the same.
I’m scared of feeling the pain when I stand, and potentially injuring it further, ending my surf career forever. I don’t trust that I can do it and that fact alone is what frustrates me the most. I’ve never been scared to jump on a board before. The feeling of cutting back into the crest of the wave while defying gravity has always been addictive to me but lately the urge to experience that again has been dwindling, leaving me feeling empty and inadequate.
They say when you reach a point where the sport causes fear, then it’s time to quit. This isn’t a sport that you can be successful in if you fear the what-if’s. That fear can quickly become dangerous out in the water, and I can’t afford another injury. I have to get my head in the game.
“Griffin?” Her voice pulls me out of my head, and I look over at her, clearing my throat.
“The leg you usually kick with is your back foot, the one that’s attached to the ankle leash. The other foot is your front foot.” I move my arms to the side of the board.
“Using your arms to help you pop up on the board, slide your front foot forwards and into a solid standing stance.” I perform the action very slowly and I have her do that a few times until I feel like she’s got it aced.
“Let’s go try it in the water a few times before practice is over,” I say.
She hops off the top of her board and picks it up before we walk out into the water. I wait for her to position herself properly in the water before I hop on my board.
“When paddling, make sure you use smooth and powerful strokes. The faster you paddle the smoother your journey to the front line is. Otherwise, you risk noodle arms.”
“What are noodle arms?”
“Tired arms, and they won’t do you any good if you’re competing with other surfers to catch a wave.”
She nods in understanding, and we paddle out. I help her catch her first wave after a few attempts and the sound of her excited squeals is enough to convince me to try to stand on the next one.
I feel a sting of pain as I execute the movement, my leg beginning to shake involuntarily, but once I’m standing the pain fades away and I ride out the rest of the wave. The exhilaration causes my heart to race, but in a good way. I jump off my board at the end and when I come back up for air I find Gabriel clapping with a grin that stretches across his face as he stares at me and nods.
Although it’s a rookie achievement, seeing him impressed lights a fire under my ass and I paddle back to Eliana. Teaching her how it’s done is my key to getting back into Gabriel’s good graces, and it just might help me get her out of my system.