Creek was picking me up after, and he sounded excited in spite of the fact that driving that far always drove him nuts. But he was spending the night at my place, and as silly as it sounded, I was looking forward to a quiet night in with him as much as I was looking forward to getting my ass handed to me by the Pacific.
“You wanna grab a drink after this?” Mark asked, clearly trying to make amends.
I shook my head and grabbed my bag from the side of my desk. “Got plans with Poseidon.”
Mark groaned but said nothing as the clock ticked over to three and I was out the door. Kaleo was already waiting for me when I got to the staff parking lot, my board on the rack of his Jeep. He was leaning back with his feet propped up in the window, and he waved a shaka at me with his right hand as I approached.
“Howzit? You ready?” he asked as I threw my stuff into the back.
I nodded. I was. And I wasn’t. This was the first step in proving I could have my life back in some capacity. The second would be the ride I took with Kent, but we were a long way off from that. It wasn’t just the state of my bike, which still needed massive work, but also the state of my fears.
Physically, nothing was stopping me, but the nightmares still came in waves. I could still feel the accident sometimes—the numbness through my whole body, the heavy thud when I hit the ground, and the moment just before I blacked out when I wasn’t sure I would wake up again.
The phrase “lightning never strikes twice” was a total lie, and I was scared that doing the ride with Kent was tempting the universe. Kent was being patient with me as I pushed the date back farther and farther, and I was hoping that reclaiming these other pieces of myself would eventually give me the courage to go.
“How was work?” Kaleo asked as we hit the freeway.
I shrugged, leaning back and closing my eyes behind my shades. “Got out of prom duty this year, which is amazing.”
“Aw,” Kaleo cooed. “You could’ve taken Creek with you. I bet he looks amazing in a suit.”
Heat pooled in my belly. I’d seen him dressed more formally when he gave a talk to the students, and he’d looked so damn good in a uniform. I could only imagine how he’d look in a tie. Or a tux. Maybe standing in front of friends and family, and?—
No.Nope. No, that was going too damn far. Even if it felt strangely thrilling to picture a future in which Creek loved me enough to put a ring on his finger and whisper vows promising forever.
I stayed silent most of the drive, but when we began the slow trek to the beach, my nerves kicked off again. There was a small crowd of watchers, but not enough to tempt me to give up this quest. I stood with Kaleo at the edge of the shoreline, leaning on my board with one hand and my cane with the other, and I stared out at the waves.
“We doing this?”
I looked at my friend, then took a deep breath and nodded. “I’m probably going to fall over more than I stand up.”
“Crawling, walking, running, brah.” Kaleo reached over and gripped me by the back of the neck, giving me a small shake. “We all do it. Sometimes more than once. And now you’ve got someone to kiss your wounds when you fall.”
That was true. I did. And that feeling followed me all the way down to the water.
I had a decent-sized scrape on my left cheekbone, and every muscle in my body ached, but by the time I hopped off my board to find Creek waiting for me, I felt better than I had in a long, long time. I’d probably need to be off my leg for the next few days, but it was a price worth paying.
And the smile on Creek’s face told me he’d seen plenty.
He was on his crutches, but I could tell he was using them less and less with the way he walked toward me without digging the tips too far into the sand. He dropped one as I approached and hauled me in for a kiss.
There were a few wolf whistles and catcalls behind us, but I ignored them for the taste of coffee on his tongue.
“You taste like ocean water.”
“You taste like latte,” I fired back.
He laughed and shrugged, looking a bit guilty. “I told Nash I was craving one, and he convinced me to stop on my way over to treat myself.”
My brows dipped as I dropped my board to the side and wrung out my hair. “Rough day?”
“Just a long one. I got my appointment with my job counselor set. So pretty soon, I’m going to find out what civilian life has in store for me.”
“Whatever happens, babe, you’re going to be amazing.”
Creek flushed and hunched his shoulders, looking away. A smile played at his mouth, and when he looked back, his eyes were shining. “You were amazing out there.” He lifted a hand,and I winced when he touched the abrasion on my cheek. “Rough fall?”
“Several. I loved it.”
