Page 85 of This Could be Love

“No,” she grumbled. “We’ve simply texted a few times. Totally platonic. I don’t think I’ve got the ghost of a chance with him.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not his type,” she said unhappily.

“Oh, come on…”

“He likes typical surfer chicks. Like Pili. And Millie.”

“His ex.”

I stopped at a light.

“Well, it probably wouldn’t be the best time to start something up with him anyway, right?” I said, mainly to cheer her up. “I mean, you won’t be here much longer either.”

“Dunno. We’ll see.”

I looked at her in surprise.

“Don’t you have to go back to school?”

She let out a deep sigh. “In theory, yeah. But…somehow everything within me’s resisting it.”

“But that’s just normal when you’re on vacation. I mean, not wanting to go back to the everyday.”

The light changed to green, and I stepped on the gas.

“Yeah, maybe.”

Shortly thereafter, we reached our destination. The beach seemed to be popular, what with all the vans and their surf racks parked all over the place. The water was full of surfers, too, zigzagging here and there. People watched them from the shore, cheering and clapping.

“Is this some kind of surfing catwalk or what?” Laurie joked.

I shrugged. We walked down to the water. Laurie had brought a thermal bag with drinks, fruit, and snacks. We were already wearing our bikinis beneath our clothes. I’d decided on the turquoise one again and was a little anxious to see how Vince would react.

“Do you see them anywhere?” I put a hand over my eyes.

“They’re probably in the water. But Vince has got his bright Tommy Bahama umbrella with him. We’ll find them.”

She was right. Just a little later we were sitting down in a sea of colorful towels. Laurie hadn’t just recognized the umbrella, but the neon-colored beach volleyball that obviously belonged to Vince too.

“That might be Pili,” she said, pointing to a brown-haired woman in a yellow, long-sleeved surf shirt, speeding across a massive wave.

“Wow,” I uttered and watched in fascination how she remained standing upright. Longer and longer.

“Crazy,” Laurie said as Pili arrived in the shallows and skillfully hopped off her board.

Someone clapped, drawing her attention in our direction. Seeing us, she waved. Sinking down next to us a few seconds later, she seemed both tired and happy.

“Killer waves out there today.” She gasped.

“That was nuts,” I said. “I mean, the way you ruled that wave! It must’ve been at least thirty feet high!”

She laughed. “Yeah, you might think so. But it wasn’t even fifteen.”

“What?!” I looked out toward the ocean.

“Yep. That might give you an idea about the waves Chip usually surfs.”