“Anything?”
Before he could answer there was a cough. A cough, followed by a splutter followed by a spew. They rolled him onto his side and just in time for him to purge all the saltwater he’d swallowed.
With one of the guys patting his back, I slumped down on the sand, relieved. He was going to be fine. He might not be joining the pro surfing tour any time soon, but he was going to live. Thank Christ.
Even while he was spluttering and squinting as he looked around, confused, I admired his body. He was lean and tanned and had abs I wanted to lick the water off. He was everything I’d never wanted in a guy, but damn…shame I had to meet him while he was unconscious. Did that even count? Was it even a meeting if he wasn’t able to say hi?
With a shake of my head, I turned and headed back to where I’d left my stuff. The excitement was over. I needed to get moving or I was going to be in a whole load of trouble I wasn’t in the mood to deal with.
Stuffing my feet in my wet shoes, I ignored the squelching. Wearing wet clothes wasn’t my idea of fun, especially when I still had two-thirds of a beach to run before I made it back to my car, but it is what it is. It wasn’t like I could change it. I wouldn’t.
“Wait up!” A raspy, strained voice called out to me as I turned and headed home.
Spinning around, I saw Surfer Boy coming towards me. Seeing him up and walking made my heart soar. If he was up and chasing after me, not that I understood why, it meant he wasn’t too badly damaged. Judging by the red in his cheeks, probably more embarrassed than anything.
“You’re okay.” I smiled as he came to a halt in front of me.
“I am. Thanks to you.”
“I didn’t do anything,” I replied. Now I was the one feeling embarrassed.
“Yeah, nice try. Those guys…”
“They’re the ones who carried you out and did CPR.”
“And you’re the one who saw me and got me to the shore. The lady over there told me.”
“Oh.”
“Look, I don’t want to harass you, I just wanted to say thanks. You saved my life.”
“You’re welcome.” I wasn’t used to accepting praise. I rarely got compliments, so they made me uncomfortable, but by the determined look in his jade green eyes, he wasn’t going to let it go.
For a moment he stood there looking awkward and instead of making him look like a tool, it just made him even more adorable. Like a puppy I wanted to take home.
“I’m really glad you’re okay, but I have to go. I’ve gotta get to work, and I probably need a shower first,” I blabbed. Why couldn’t I be normal and just say thanks and see you later? Oh wait, that was what normal people did. People who actually understood how human interactions worked.
“Yeah, no worries. Will I see you here tomorrow?” he asked, sounding hopeful.
“Possibly,” I answered evasively when the truth was, if you’re here then I’m more than happy to keep running along the beach staring at your abs all day.
“Well, hopefully I’ll see you then.”
“Maybe.”
Needing to get out of there before I made an even bigger fool of myself, I turned in the sand and headed towards my car. Breakfast wasn’t an option anymore, but I needed a shower and a change of clothes as soon as possible. The last thing I wanted to do was walk around in soggy underwear all day.
“Hey!” he called again.
“Yeah?”
“I’m Seth, by the way.”
“Claire,” I replied, unable to stop myself from smiling.
“Nice to meet you, Claire. Catch you tomorrow.” With a wink he turned and walked away, leaving me with my heart racing and my brain whirling. Suddenly, I couldn’t wait for tomorrow to arrive.
