She looked around the beach with a smile on her face.
I mumbled, “Beautiful.”
Her head whipped up. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Oh, your necklace. It’s beautiful. You’ve had it for a long time,” I said, recovering from blurting out the word.
Her hand went to it, and she nodded. “Yes, it’s very special to me.”
Afraid that speaking more about the necklace would have me spilling my secret, I quickly said, “I should’ve offered to bring you some breakfast, but I have drinks,” I said.
“No worries. I get up pretty early by habit. Had something before I came.”
I nodded while trying to remember the talking points I had practiced. “Do you come here often?”
She snorted as she tightened her ponytail. “That a favorite pickup line?”
Realizing how it sounded, I stuttered, “N-no. Wow, I always seem to say the wrong thing to you, don’t I?”
Looking into my eyes, she answered, “Not always.”
Gaining confidence in that answer, I said, “I meant to ask you if you still surf often. Life gets in the way for me, but I try to several times a month. It helps me decompress, I guess. Sorry, please sit down.”
Waiting for her to get comfortable, I sat next to her.
“Truth? I haven’t surfed in about two years. When I walked onto the sand, it was like my body relaxed for the first time since Ethan and I split up.”
When she saw my shocked face, she squinched up her nose adorably. “Ridiculous, right? I let my ex steal that from me. I mean, it wasn’t his fault directly, but I just…” She didn’t finish but looked away toward the ocean.
“You felt a little lost.”
She turned back to face me and nodded her head.
“Well, today, you’ve found your way back. I’m grateful to be here with you, taking back what was lost.”
We looked at each other for what felt like an hour before she spoke again. “I’m glad it’s you with me today, too. Niko, you’re the sweetest man. There’s a compassion in you that’s so evident and refreshing. The woman whose heart you’re hoping to win is a very lucky girl.”
I licked my lips, her eyes tracking the movement before looking back up at my eyes. “I’d be the lucky one, that’s for certain.” I wasn’t sure, but that seemed to make her sad, and Mike’s words came back to me.
“Well, I might be a little rusty, but you ready to head out?” she asked, turning away from me and jumping up.
“Ready when you are.”
Leyla and Isurfed for hours, completely losing track of time. The waves were perfect, and neither of us was in a hurry to get out of the water. Watching her confidently ride the waves took my breath away.
Her cheeks were pink from the sun, and her smile was just as bright. I whispered a prayer of gratitude that she agreed to come with me. We took turns hollering our excitement as we competed on the waves, only to wipe out and come up laughing.
Bobbing in the water on our boards, she said, “This has been the perfect morning. Gosh, I didn’t realize how much I missed this.” Looking around with a huge smile, she cupped her hand in the water, letting it slip between her fingers. “I feel like I can breathe again.”
“I love seeing you like this. After everything went down at school, I looked for you every time I went surfing, hoping to see you.”
She hung her head down and her lips pursed. “I hate that my anger made me miss out on days like this. With you.”
When her eyes lifted back to mine, I took a breath in, ready to confess everything, no matter what Mike had said. “Leyla…”
Then she pushed back her shoulders and her smile returned. “Does she surf?”
My eyebrows lowered, and I asked, “Who?”
