The next day we went back to the house and began cleaning up. Not much was salvageable and the majority of the things that were destroyed weren’t even mine, they were my lieutenant’s.
Thankfully, I had renter’s insurance. I’d spent forty-five minutes on the phone with them before I was finally able to hang up. Then I went in search of Cassidy and found her outside talking to my neighbor Reef.
“’Sup, bro?” Reef said in a slow drawl. He was a pothead surfer who lived next door. “Just chatting it up with your girl here. She’s hella fine yo. How’d a straight dude like you end up with a cool girl like her?”
“Luck, I guess.”
“Luck is right,” he said, dragging his eyes up and down her small frame. I liked Reef. He never got in my business and kept to himself for the most part. But right now I wanted to kick his ass for looking at Cassidy that way. “Your girl here tells me she knows how to rip some waves,” he said to me then turned his attention back to her. “Me and my boys are gonna be heading out to catch some waves soon. I have an extra board if you wanna come.”
Cassidy smiled. “I would love to.”
“No, she wouldn’t. Come on, Cass,” I demanded, but she didn’t move.
“Dude, chill out,” Reef said.
Cassidy ignored my scowl. “What time, Reef?”
“Tide gets right in about half an hour.”
“Sounds good. I’ll go change and be right over.”
“Take your time, dudette,” Reef crooned, and my blood spiked with anger.
She nudged my shoulder as she passed by me on the way back up to the house, and I couldn’t help but grin at her defiance. However, that grin fell away when I caught Reef staring at her retreating ass.
“If you want to keep your eyes, I suggest you find something else to look at.”
“I have an extra board for you too if you wanna come.”
“Well, I’m sure as hell not trusting you to take care of her out there.”
He peeked over my shoulder with a smug grin. “I think she’s the kind of chick who can take care of herself. Relax, dude,” he said, clapping a hand to my shoulder. “It’ll be fun.” And with that, he turned and walked away.
I tugged at the back of my neck, anxiety swamping me. Just the mere thought of being back out there sent my head spinning. I looked out over the water, begging for some kind of reprieve. A reprieve from the memories and the unforgiving regret that I constantly carried.
When I got back up to the house, Cassidy was already dressed in a pair of black bikini bottoms and a long-sleeved Billabong top. She was still wearing a frown.
“It’s going to be freezing out there. You need a wetsuit.”
“I’ll be fine. It’s not that cold out.”
“Cass, please. Don’t make me do this.” She had that look of determination. She was going out there no matter what I said, and she knew I would not let her go alone.
She moved to stand in front of me, wrapping her arms around my neck to pull me down, brushing her lips with mine. “You can do this, Reid. I know you can.”
My forehead rested on hers, and I sucked in a shallow breath, fear creeping up my throat. “I can’t.”
“Tell me what you’re so afraid of.”
I shook my head. “I just…can’t.”
Lifting up on her tiptoes, she pressed her lips to mine once more. The comfort and reassurance that tiny kiss held knocked the wind out of me.
“You have to stop blaming yourself, Reid. It’s not your fault. You have a right to live. You’ve more than earned it after how much you’ve punished yourself.”
Adrenaline spiked in my veins, sweeping over me in a familiar rush of excitement. I couldn’t remember the last time I got excited about the prospect of getting back up on a board and because of her, that feeling was back again. It was thrilling.
And fucking terrifying.
