Page 13 of We Are Just Us

“You’re actually doing it.”

Kieran flinched so hard he nearly dropped the board.

Rory stood ten feet away, arms crossed, wetsuit pulled halfway down and tied at the waist, looking like he’d walked out of a surf film.

Kieran’s stomach did a slow backflip. “What…how are you…”

“Surfing?” Rory completed the sentence, utterly unbothered. “Same beach. Different time.”

Kieran narrowed his eyes. “You just happened to show up during my class?”

Rory shrugged. “Didn’t know you were taking a class. I usually surf at this time. Moonlight Beach isn’t that big.”

“Right.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. I didn’t come to watch you flail around.”

“Cool,” Kieran muttered, cheeks already hot. “Then look away when I drown.”

But Rory didn’t leave. He lingered. Arms still crossed, one foot buried in the sand, pretending not to watch.

By the time they made it into the water, Kieran was more soaked from sweat than surf.

The Pacific slapped him like it had a personal vendetta. He paddled wrong, popped up late, and got knocked back so many times he started to think the ocean was homophobic.

But weirdly, he didn’t hate it. The water was cold but cleansing, and every time he came up gasping and laughing, salt in his mouth and sand in his hair, he felt a little less trapped in himself.

Jax paddled past him at one point, evaluating the class with the interest of someone watching paint dry.

“You gotta commit!” he shouted vaguely in Kieran’s direction. “Stop hesitating!”

“I’m not hesitating, I’m…” Kieran tried to explain, but Jax was already paddling toward the teenage girl, who’d easily managed to stand up.

“Yeah! Like that! See, guys? It’s not that hard!”

Jax high-fived the girl, then immediately paddled away to check his Apple Watch.

Patient instruction. Sure.

Halfway through the lesson, while waiting for the next baby wave to form, he caught sight of Rory again, beyond the break, gliding toward him on a real board.

“You okay?” he asked, voice half-concerned, half-mocking.

“I’m fantastic,” Kieran gasped. “Just communing with nature. On my face.”

Rory adjusted his position, facing Kieran. “You are overthinking it. You’re looking down at your feet. Keep your eyes on the beach or you’re gonna keep nose-diving.”

“Oh, good,” Kieran said, sarcasm bubbling up. “You’re about as helpful as the instructor.”

“Rory!” a voice called from deeper in the water. A woman paddled toward them on a longboard, moving with the easy confidence of someone who’d grown up doing this. She was striking. Tan, athletic, with sun-streaked hair tied back in a way that looked effortless. “You coming or what? You said you wanted to catch the next set.”

Rory turned, his body language shifting. He looked lighter, more…open. “Yeah, I’m coming!”

She paddled closer, eyeing Kieran with friendly curiosity. “Oh. Hi.”

“Meg, this is Kieran. My neighbor,” Rory said. “Kieran, Meg. We work together.”

“The neighbor,” Meg said, grinning. “With the dogs who keep trying to tunnel under the fence?”