Chapter 36
Riptide
“Open your eyes,” I told Sloane with a grin.
Her eyes snapped open and the smile dropped off her face. We’d spent the first two days of our honeymoon in bed and I didn’t regret a single moment of that, but I’d woken her early this morning, telling her I had a surprise for her.
“This is my surprise?” she asked, trying not to make a face at the wetsuit I held out for her.
“Part of it,” I confirmed. Grabbing her, I grabbed her clothes and started stripping her down to the bikini she had on underneath.
“Rip! It’s freezing out here. And there are people,” she said, casting a quick glance at a pair of guys walking from the parking lot down to the beach.
I’d brought her to Long Beach. It was the perfect place for what I had in mind.
The waves were small and easy to navigate, and you couldn’t come to the Long Beach Peninsula without seeing the longest beach in the world.
Or so the arch over Bolstad Street proclaimed.
It wasn’t actually the longest beach in the world, but it was the longest on a peninsula. Either way, it was worth visiting.
I didn’t bother to answer her, just started helping her into the wetsuit.
“What is this for?”
“I’m going to teach you to surf.”
The way she froze had me looking up at her, a foot in my hand as I tugged the wetsuit up over her sexy thighs. “What’s wrong?”
“I-I don’t know how to swim,” she whispered, shame covering her face.
“That’s okay, Angel. I’ll teach you, we’ll start there.”
“How can I go into the ocean when I don’t know how to swim, Rip?” She put her hands on her hips. It was such a cute, aggravated stance, I straightened up and kissed her nose.
“Because I’ll be there with you,” I told her.
“What about the baby?” she asked, new worry masking her face.
“We have a friend over in Austin who’s a doctor. I asked her if this was dangerous. Ming said as long as you don’t hit a rock or drown, there’s no problem. Long Beach doesn’t have any rocks in this area,” I pointed in that direction, “and I’m not going to let you drown.”
She seemed nervous and hesitant but put her hand in mine and walked down to the water with me. I brought her out until the water was hitting our hips. She shivered as the cold water filled her suit, but she never complained. She was a real champ.
“Flip onto your back like this, take a deep breath, and just float,” I instructed, showing her how to do it.
She watched me as though she were studying every detail. I loved the way her mind worked. She soaked in everything around her so that she’d perform any task perfectly on the first try.
Sloane let her legs come out in front of her and floated on her back. Her bright blue eyes met mine and excitement shone there. “This is easy.”
“The wetsuit helps your buoyancy, and if you feel like you’re sinking you can take a deep breath. Your lungs can act like flotation devices. Another thing is, if you’re on your back, raise your stomach like there is a string on your belly button and you’ll float easier as well.
We spent some time floating around so she could get more comfortable with the water.
“You started without us?” a deep voice called from the shore.
I grinned and helped Sloane get her feet under her before I charged toward the sand and the man standing there. He met me halfway, water spraying everywhere as he moved toward me. We slapped each other’s backs hard in a bro hug.
Sloane came up behind me, keeping my body between her and the newcomer.
“Sloane, this is Trip. Trip, this is my wife, Sloane.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Trip said, his voice softening instinctually. Sloane seemed to bring this softness out of people without even trying. She wasn’t a wounded bird or anything, but they just knew they could let their guard down around her. “Sorry we couldn’t make the wedding.”
Sloane reached out and shook his hand. “That’s okay. It’s nice to meet you, Trip.” Her eyes darted to mine. “Is he a part of the MC?”
“He’s a part of our Austin Chapter,” I told her.
“Actually, Drew and I went Nomad,” Trip corrected me.
“No shit?”
“Yeah. We offered to go after Eric.”
My chapter had gone over to Austin to help their group with some trouble that had popped up and we’d taken the majority of the trash out.
Eric had been part of that trash, and had gotten away.
Before I could ask how that was going, Trip turned and motioned to a beautiful woman standing on the sand, waiting for us.
She came forward and gave us a soft smile. “Hi, I’m Marina.”
“Marina’s my old lady,” Trip said, a hint of pride in his voice.
“A lot has changed,” I replied, shaking Marina’s hand. “You look way too good for this dirtbag.”
She laughed and shook her head. “I’ll never get used to the way you guys insult each other.”
“It’s their way of bonding, I’ve come to learn,” Sloane said, introducing herself to Marina.
“Trip is here to surf with us,” I said, ignoring the women’s comments. There wasn’t anything weird about me and my brothers casting digs at each other. At least not from my point of view, but then again I’d grown up around an MC.
“I’m not sure I’m ready for that,” Sloane said with a shy smile. “I still don’t even know how to swim.”
“I can help you, if you’d like,” Marina offered. “I’m a dive instructor.”
“A…what?” Sloane asked.
“Scuba diving,” Marina clarified.
“She’s like a fish in the water,” Trip said in agreement.
“I’ll take any help I can get,” Sloane agreed.
We spent the next few hours horse playing and swimming around.
As long as we were moving, it wasn’t too cold.
I started off with my arms around Sloane, letting her doggy paddle around while I held her afloat.
It didn’t take her too long to start getting the hang of it.
I was reluctant to let her go. Having my arms around her felt too good.
But she’d insisted so she could start learning more swimming techniques.
Trip and I went back up to the parking lot to haul down the chairs and coolers and set up in front of the women as they kept practicing. I’d packed sandwiches and drinks in preparation for the day.
“I like your girl,” I told Trip, taking a huge bite from a sandwich and opening my beer.
“I like yours, too. She’s sweet.” He caught the beer I tossed him. “Lockout mentioned something about you going undercover?”
I quickly relayed the story while the girls emerged from the ocean and stripped out of their wetsuits as they walked toward us.
Sloane nearly had me choking on my ham on rye in her bright red bikini.
I’d taken her shopping in town for swimwear and had insisted she buy this one.
It covered more than most people at the beach wore, but it accented her gorgeous body.
She was becoming much less self-conscious about her scars, though she was seriously considering getting some tattoos to cover them.
She said she wanted to cover some of the bad with something pretty and new.
Her hair streamed down her back, sleek and wet. I had to shift in my camp chair or anyone passing by was going to see my hard-on under my swim shorts. My woman was a menace, in all the best ways.
Her eyes met mine, then dipped down to my lap.
She gave me a sultry look and I considered ditching our friends early, carrying her all the way home, and cashing in on the promise in those blue eyes.
I watched in disappointment as she dried off as much as she could with her towel, then tugged on one of my sweatshirts.
It covered her all the way down to her thighs.
“You ready for some lunch?” I asked, trying to curb my wayward thoughts. If we got too cold, we’d head up to the vehicles and eat there. Living in Tucson for so long, I wasn’t used to the cold anymore, and neither were the others, but for now it was a gorgeous, but cold, day.
“I’m starving,” both women said at the same time.
“The water and fresh air will do that to you,” Trip said with a nod.
“After lunch, we’re going to try some surfing,” I told Sloane, judging her reaction. There were still some nerves, but now they were mixed with excitement.
“I can’t wait.”
We sat and chatted while we ate and let the food digest. Once enough time had passed, I stood and held my hand out. Hauling Sloane to her feet, I pulled her against my body. “You ready?” I asked quietly, so the others wouldn’t overhear. “If you’re not we can always do this a different day.”
“No. I think I’m ready.”
“There’s the brave woman I love so much,” I told her, kissing her nose.
“Aw, aren’t you sweet,” Trip said, dramatically batting his lashes.
“Fuck off, asshat,” I told him flipping him off. Then I dipped Sloane back and kissed her.
A heavy sigh had us looking over and Marina was watching us with hearts practically floating over her head.
“Uh oh,” I said with a laugh. “Looks like you better step your game up.”
Trip gave an uncomfortable laugh, then sighed. “You’re going to end up forcing me to propose early,” he muttered at me. “Knock it the fuck off. I have a whole thing planned for when we get home.”
I laughed and elbowed him in the side before we all stripped off our extra layers and managed to wrestle our wetsuits back on.
Taking Sloane’s hand, I dragged her off toward our boards.
Picking one up, I brought it to the water’s edge and ran her through how to lay on it and paddle.
It was a good thing it was still early stages of her pregnancy and she wasn’t showing yet, or she wouldn’t be able to do this.
Poor Seek would probably roll right off the board at this point and she was only a few months ahead of Sloane.
“You ready?” I asked twenty minutes later.
“It’s now or never!” she said and ran into the water.
“You forgot the board,” I yelled at her. Shaking my head, I grabbed it and hauled it into the water.
“I’m going to go with you the first time, okay?”
She nodded and laid on the board. I hopped on behind her, my chin right above her ass. “Maybe I need to do this more than the first time.”
She gave me an unamused look over her shoulder. “I’m ready. Let’s go!”
I couldn’t help but laugh at her impatience. We paddled a little ways out and turned around. “Okay, here comes a small wave. Stay laying down and I’ll steer us in. Give you a chance to feel what it’s like on top of the wave, alright?”
“Okay!”
Her laughter filled the air as I caught the wave and we sped toward the shore. “This is so fun,” she shouted to me, a smile splitting her face.
I was glad she was enjoying herself. There were a lot of people who would have been complaining about the cold the whole time. She never uttered a single complaint, just went with the flow. Her beautiful smile was worth every minute.
Once we slowed down, I hopped off and steadied the board. “You ready to try alone?”
“Yes.” She gave me a determined look.
“Okay. Remember to snap upright and lean forward on the board.”
She nodded, then turned the board and headed out.
Trip and Marina came over; we were all standing in waist deep water watching as Sloane made her way out.
Marina didn’t seem to be worried about the cold water, but Trip was shifting back and forth to keep himself warm.
We watched as Sloane picked her spot and sat, waiting, on her board.
“Here comes a good one,” Trip said.
I nodded, leaning forward a little as I watched her lay back down. “Paddle, paddle, paddle,” I muttered. My breath caught in my lungs as she hit just the right spot and popped up on the board. “Fuck yeah!” I yelled as she dropped in on the wave. “That’s my girl!”
“Yes!” Both Marina and Trip were cheering for her as Sloane steered the board toward the shore.
The waves weren’t massive and the one she caught was the perfect beginner wave, but to come from a place where she hadn’t been allowed to do shit, to conquering fears and dreams, it was huge for her. I was so fucking proud of everything she’d accomplished so far and would continue to do.
She cared so much for people and I knew she was going to make the perfect confidant for those who were struggling. She’d start with her own people, but I knew she’d branch out from there. The world was hers for the taking and I’d make damn sure I was there to back her up every step of the way.
I stormed forward as she dropped down on the board in front of us and grabbed her up in a hug. Spinning her around, I crowed with pride and laughter. “Great job, Angel!”
“Thank you,” she gasped out, holding onto me for dear life until I stopped spinning. Then her arms tightened around me. “I want to do this forever, with you.”
“Surf?” I asked, a brow arching.
“Try new things,” she corrected. “Have fun. Live life to the fullest. I want it all. At the same time, I just want you.”
“I know exactly what you mean, Angel. I’m going to give you everything, and you’ll always have me.”
We headed back out, just the two of us, with Trip and Marina watching, to catch the next wave. Our lives were going to be full of waves and we’d tackle the highs and lows together.
* * *
Thanks for reading!