Page 16 of Lowering His Guard

Chapter 6

Leash – the cord that prevents a surfer from floating away into hippie chaos.

May

I glide across the lagoon. I’m on a paddleboard since there aren’t exactly any waves on a lagoon. I enjoy paddleboarding – not as much as surfing – but anything that allows me to be on the water is fine by me. There’s just something about water that soothes me. Makes me feel as if everything is right in the world.

Today is the Mermaid Lagoon Races. It’s an annual tradition on Smuggler’s Hideaway. Women don mermaid tales and race each other across the water. My job is to clean the water before anyone jumps in.

One of the old smugglers shouts from the other side of the lagoon. “May! May! May!”

“What is it, Earl?”

“Did you find any treasure? Or any trash?”

The other men nod at his question. The old smugglers never help out with the actual cleaning of the lagoon. But they always show up to ensure any treasure found in the lake doesn’t get thrown away.

One year, a porcelain mermaid statue was found. It’s about two feet tall and only has one arm. It’s beyond creepy. Mayor Lana is convinced it’s the island’s original mermaid. She put it on display in downtown Smuggler’s Rest. Children refuse to walk past it because they claim the eyes follow you.

I notice something floating in the water. “Hold on.” I paddle to it and fish it out. “It’s a rubber chicken.”

I throw it to the smugglers who begin debating where it came from.

“Anything else?”

Geez. Are they never satisfied?

I giggle to myself when I come up with a fun idea. I paddle to the far end of the lagoon and discreetly remove my bikini top. I glance over my shoulder. While the old-timers aren’t looking, I throw the bikini in the water.

“Terri! Terri!” I shout to my friend who also works at the resort. She’s the event coordinator and somehow got roped into helping coordinate this event.

She hurries over to me. “What’s up, May?”

I dip my hand in the water and pull out my bikini top. “What do you think? Trash or treasure?”

Her nose wrinkles. “Trash.”

“Yes!”

I jump up and down before sticking my tongue out at the men across the lagoon.

“Are you nearly finished?” Terri asks.

I throw my bikini top over my shoulder before paddling over to her. “I’ve been done for ages, but the old smugglers were bored.”

She groans. “Let me guess. This is your bikini top and you dropped it in the water to entertain them. Please tell me you’re not topless under your t-shirt.”

I roll my eyes. “It’s black. You can’t see anything.” And there isn’t much there anyway. Mother Nature did not bless me with big boobs. Honestly, I was probably in line to get better balance when they were handing out boobs.

I jump off the paddleboard into the water. “You’re such a fuddy duddy. Topless isn’t a big deal.”

“Says the woman who’s spent most of her adult life at hippie beaches surfing.”

I miss those hippie beaches sometimes. Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy to be back home. I’m staying on Smuggler’s Hideaway as long as my parents are alive. But sometimes I miss walking naked and barefoot in the sand in the middle of the night. Hudson would have a heart attack if I went topless at his resort’s beaches, let alone naked.

“Surfing topless is an experience everyone should have before they die.”

“I don’t have time for this. I need to make sure the mermaid tail booth is set up.” She glances around. “Alaia was supposed to work at the ticket booth but she’s off with her boyfriend instead.”