My colleagues and I had divided the kids up by age range for the day’s activity, and thanks to my new gig, I was hanging with Noah and the rest of the five-to-seven-year-olds for our surfing lessons. I was happy to see that he’d started to come out of his shell a little, telling the other young cruisers about the stowaway now sharing his bunk. Since we were strict about our no-phones policy with the kids, he’d resorted to drawing a picture of Ariel in the sand while the other kids watched in awe.
And speaking of awe…I glanced over to where Logan was chatting with one of the instructors. He was in swim trunks and a T-shirt that I sort of hoped would come off, because I needed to know what was going on with those shoulders.
The biceps peeking out beneath his sleeves clued me in to all of the hidden real estate worth exploring.
No. Down girl.I mentally sprayed myself with a water bottle. He was now my boss times two, and he was still a big freaking grump.
Both Logan and the instructor seemed to sense my staring, because they looked over and busted me in unison. My face went hot, and I turned away abruptly, like I heard someone call my name.
I was happy I was still wearing my cover-up over my bikini, so I wouldn’t have to wonder if they were staring at my ass.
“Hey, Team Stingray,” I called out, clapping my hands. “Report to me, please. We’re almost ready to go.”
My group of young cruisers scampered over to where I was standing right as the instructor for our section walked over. He had the sun-bleached, laid-back vibe of a man who was living his dream every day, and the body that proved that surfing was phenomenal exercise.
“I’m Tanner,” he said, extending his hand to me. “Looks like we’ll be working together.” He winked at me. “It’s my lucky day.”
“Nina.” I played off the compliment as we shook hands. “This is a fantastic group. Right, Team Stingray?”
The kids cheered and pogo-ed, but I noticed Noah drifting backward.
Uh-oh.
Tanner cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Team Stingray, let’sgo! Who’s ready to shred?”
I laughed because Tanner seemed like a big kid. It was the right sort of energy for my group of goofballs.
Tanner led the kids through the basics of mounting a surfboard while on the sand, and they all followed along, even Noah. But when it came time to get used to the sensation of holding onto the board in the water, he refused to go more than ankle-deep. I’d had a feeling he was shutting down, and now I had proof.
Tanner broke off from the rest of the group to check in.
“Hey little bro, you good?” Tanner asked him.
Noah stared down at the sand. “I’m going to watch.”
I walked over to them and placed my hand on Noah’s shoulder. “I’ll hang with him, it’s okay.”
“Hey bud, surfing is super fun,” Tanner said encouragingly. “And your beautiful counselor and I won’t let a thing happen to you. Am I right, Miss Nina?”
He glanced at me and winked again. Yeah, guy, you’re handsome and all, but cool it with the hard sell in front of the kids.
“Exactly. You’re okay, Noah.”
“I’ll go out in a minute,” he answered.
Tanner looked ready to say more, but I stepped in front of Noah. “When we’re ready, we’ll come out.”
“Well, alrighty,” he gave us the “hang loose” hand sign and waded back out to the rest of the group, who were looking on.
Noah had been making progress with the rest of the kids, opening up a little thanks to the kitten, but now they were seeing him revert back to the scared, quiet kid who preferred beingalone. I knew that wasn’t the real Noah, but I still wasn’t sure exactly what was making him retreat.
I dropped down where the water met the sand. “Sit with me?” I suggested.
Noah plopped down beside me.
“I love swimming. How about you?”
“Me too,” he said in a small voice. “My grandpa has a pool. I swim there when I visit my dad.”
