Chapter 77 #2
“I’m glad” Elyna kissed his jaw, taking her sweet time to inhale him before she retreated. Her little nose, warm and soft, steered his blood south. Kazuki gave her a warning look that only caused her grin to widen.
You minx. Just you wait!
Elyna’s predictions were spot-on. When the tide came in, beast waves tried to devour the Cornish cliffs, formed by an eastern wind that carried warmth.
The swells crashed on sturdy rocks, sending the spray so high that Kazuki sometimes lost the coast from view.
But it did not seem to deter the Trewith siblings as they cut through the waves with enthusiasm.
Running on instinct and adrenalin, Kazuki wasn’t as confident as his lover. To think he’d had the gall to correct Elyna’s posture! And there he was, struggling against the ocean with every stroke. All he could do to keep afloat was duck, dive, resurface, and repeat.
“Watch the rip!” Aksel shouted over the roar.
Kazuki barely heard him, his focus narrowed on survival. Oliver’s wetsuit wasn’t the most comfortable, constricting his natural movements. Elyna’s teasing had made it clear that his rival had probably relinquished his oldest equipment out of spite. “Did you know the best neoprene is Japanese?”
He’d laughed then and kissed her. He certainly wasn’t laughing now. And given the water’s temperature, the wetsuit was more than necessary.
Saltwater lashed his face mercilessly as he managed to jump over a crest, offering his back to the ocean. Wiping his eyes, the teacher attempted to keep his breathing steady. But inhaling underwater wasn’t the best idea, and the ocean didn’t care much about his composure.
Each time he was dragged under, he swam like a mad man to escape the roll.
His rational mind knew panic was useless, but his reptilian brain disagreed.
Strongly. His muscles coiled, struggling against the current.
His heart hammered under the wetsuit, pumping blood in his limbs to support the effort.
Kazuki emerged from a particularly vicious wave, only to face a wall of water coming at him.
Cries arose on the other side, yelling at him to dive deep.
What felt like two storeys of concrete slammed in front of him, white foam engulfing him.
The roll caught his leg, dragging him under much further than intended.
If you get caught in the roll, relax, David had instructed. Hold your breath and wait it out. It will spit you out soon enough, and we’ll get you.
Not the lifeguards? Kazuki had asked. Elyna’s father had smiled.
My daughter is probably faster, and she won’t let the current carry you to New York.
As if summoned by desperate need, Elyna was right there by his side when he broke the surface.
“You OK?” She sounded worried, balancing on her board with easy grace to reach for him. He grabbed the side of her board and they bobbed together, taking advantage of a rare lull.
“Yeah.”
Elyna shook her head, sending droplets around her. Her eyes shone with excitement, reflecting the deep blue of the ocean that had attempted to take his life. “Those last waves were massive, even for us,” she admitted. Then “I’m glad you’re alright.”
“Perhaps I should take a break,” he almost shouted as another swell crashed around them.
Elyna gripped his shoulder to keep him grounded to her board, her touch possessive as she guided them ashore. “Don’t paddle, just hold on.”
They rode a few more waves together, jostled around like little boats in a storm.
Her presence was steadying as they waited for a respite.
“That’s our window,” she declared, paddling powerfully to bring him ashore.
“Use the push,” she instructed as another wave took them forward.
Then she planted her feet in the ground to avoid the sucking motion backwards, her grip firm on his arm. “Don’t fight the recess.”
Slowly, Kazuki started to understand the pattern.
Wait for the lull to go in or out. Read the rhythm.
Never fight the ocean. By the time they reached the shore, Kazuki was completely wrecked, muscles screaming bloody murder and lungs on fire.
As for his ego, it probably lay dead somewhere on the ocean floor. Feeding crabs, perhaps.
But Elyna’s smile was so brilliant that he could abandon it without shame. The kiss that followed engulfed his mouth.
“I’ll be back,” she told him, joining the ocean like a long-lost friend.
Kazuki watched her dive under a few incoming waves until she carved into the next one with her board.
She emerged on the other, wet and beautiful and happy.
Mesmerised, the teacher observed his siren play with power that could crush her in a heartbeat.
He suddenly understood why Elyna possessed such quiet confidence.
She’d been tested against forces far greater than any human opponent and emerged victorious.
Alive. While he, in comparison, had been reminded of his lowly place in the world, humbled by towering waves that threatened to snap his spine.
A moving wall of green water lifted her twenty feet into the air; Elyna dropped into the roll with an exhilarated whoop until it curled over her form like a cathedral of liquid glass. Then the foam took her as she tumbled upside down, still laughing.
My sea fairy, he thought, chest tight with love. One with the sea.