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With the ending of Samwell’s spring semester, the boys of the Samwell Men’s Hockey team head home for the summer to their various locations around the continent. Chris Chow usually goes farther than anyone else, but he’d convinced Dex to join him for a few weeks at the beginning of summer. This meant that Chris would be frequenting places he normally rarely went, the more touristy places.
“So Chow, what do you normally do when you’re home during the off season? You don’t strike me as the golfing type.” Dex shifted in his seat as they drove to the nearby Ocean Beach.
“Yeah no, I hate golf. I don’t understand why it's so popular? Like if I was invited golfing I’d go because I don’t want to let my friends down but I wouldn’t choose to go golfing on my own.”
“So what do you do?”
“I usually just hit the gym. It’s hard to do much else.” Chris turned down the street towards the beach. “Or I go swimming. Not usually at the ocean though, it's often crowded with tourists.”
“So why are we going to a beach?” Dex gestured to the Ocean Beach sign as Chris entered the parking lot.
“Because you’re a tourist.” Chris laughed. He popped the trunk of his mom’s car, and he and Dex took their things to a clear patch on the beach, setting up a beach blanket and a beach umbrella.
“I’m not really a beach person. I usually just spend my summers working.” Dex brushed some sand off the blanket, looking out at the pristine blue ocean and the crowded beach.
“Yeah, that’s exactly why I asked you to come and stay with me for a few weeks. You’re always working, you need a break!” Chris said. They sat staring at the waves for a moment, catching sight of a few surfers farther out. He thought about Dex’s question, about what he usually does during the off season.
“Maybe I’ll try surfing.”
“Hm?” Dex was spreading sunscreen on his arms half paying attention.
“What I should do during the offseason. It’s not like it’ll be hard to find a beach in California, afterall.” Chris gestured around them, and Dex rolled his eyes.
“You know, it might be a good idea. You can embrace the surfer dude stereotype Californians get.”
“I’m serious dude! I think it’ll be s’wawesome.”
“Hey, I never said it was a bad idea.” He stood up and pulled his shirt off. “Now, are you going to join me in the water, or are you going to let me be all touristy all on my own?”
Chris laughed but followed his friend’s lead, and they approached the water’s edge. It was an unusually hot day for the time of year and the location, so Chris didn’t mind going into the water. Dex entered the water slowly, laughing as the waves pulled at the sand beneath his feet. Chris decided it was better to go in all at once, and he ran into the ocean, turning away from the waves every so often to keep the water out of his face until he was far enough from the shore to actively swim. Dex joined him eventually, and they bobbed along the waves splashing each other every so often and giggling like children.
Chris noticed a large wave approaching and a surfer riding it. He tried to get Dex’s attention so he’d move out of the way, but he got distracted by the surfer’s face. Even with the wind whipping her ponytail into and out of her face, she was one of the prettiest girls he’d ever seen. He managed to reach out and grab Dex just as the wave crashed over their heads, and they both came up sputtering.
“Dude, what was that about? You just started spacing out and then the wave caught us when you pulled me.” Dex wiped ocean water from his eyes, looking around them for whatever had caught his friend’s attention. Catching sight of the surfer, Dex figured it out pretty quickly.
“Sorry Dex, I saw a surfer coming and didn’t want to get in her way.” Chris looked after the girl as her board came to a slow stop some short distance away from them. “Hey let’s go back to shore, I’m getting a bit hungry.”
He started swimming back, but Dex had other plans, swimming so that he angled Chris towards the surfer, who was still standing on her board. Chris tried to protest, but Dex was determined, laughing as if they were just messing around, finally pushing Chris enough where he knocked into the girl’s board, shaking her off into the water.
“Oh my god, Dex, what the hell?!” Chris grabbed onto the girl’s board to keep it from floating off, as the girl popped up with a somewhat annoyed look on her face.
“Watch where you’re going! Luckily the wave was already over, or else you guys could’ve gotten seriously hurt.”
“I am so sorry, my friend was messing around, I was trying to avoid any of the surfers who could be nearby I didn’t want to get in your way I am so so so sorry.” Chris knew he was rambling, but he didn’t want this pretty girl to hate him. “I had just been telling my friend there that I was thinking about learning to surf because I’ve lived in California for most of my life but I’ve never gone surfing and I was admiring you when you came in on that wave but the wave hit us and I don’t think he could see you and he just ended up swimming us into you and I am so sorry.”
The girl laughed, a beautiful crystal clear sound that Chris wanted to hear more of. “Slow down, dude. I’m not that angry, like I said, it's a good thing the wave was over. You know, if you want to learn how to surf, this beach has a surf school that operates around this time starting next week. It’s run through Surf Coastal. There’s a flyer on the bulletin board by the parking lot, if you’re interested.”
“Oh! Thank you.” Chris was surprised she was being so nice about it, but he pulled his hands away when she got back up on her board, and she waved as she began to swim off.
“Well, see ya around, dude.” She winked at him before leaving him and Dex bobbing in the water.
“Dude, you’re smitten.” Dex shoved him with his shoulder, waking Chris up from his stupor.
“What? Am not. But what was that, why’d you make me knock her off?” Chris splashed him back, but Dex only replied with a smug grin. Rolling his eyes, Chris swam back to shore, heading back to their beach umbrella with Dex following behind.
The bulletin board at the parking lot had the flyer for Surf Coastal, as the girl promised. Chris took one of the strips to call later before driving himself and Dex back to his house in San Francisco.
“Aren’t you going to call?” Dex plopped down on the teal bean bag chair in Chris’s room a while later, which was filled with a lot more Sharks merch than Dex expected. Sure, he’d seen the boxes that Chris had brought to put into Jack’s old room at the Haus, but his room in San Francisco was something else. Dex picked up a stuffed shark, cocking an eyebrow at his unusually quiet friend.
“Yo Chow, you ok? You’ve been staring at the slip of paper for a couple minutes now.”
“I really don’t like making phone calls, but there’s no website.” Chris looked at Dex with wide eyes, and Dex rolled his own.
“Give me the slip of paper, I’ll do it for you.” Dex snatched the paper from Chris, plugging in the number in his phone. It immediately started an automated message, and Dex rolled his eyes. “It’s not even a person dude, here.”
Chris took the offered phone, listening to the message and saying his details as he was prompted. At the end of the message, it said they’d send information to his email. He had to wonder why they couldn’t have just put an email on the flyer. He hung up the phone, handing it back to Dex.
“And now you’ve signed up for surf lessons all because of a cute girl.”
“Not just because of a cute girl!”
“Just?”
“Oh shut up.” Chris threw a pillow at Dex’s head, and the conversation changed to hockey and who they thought would win the Stanley Cup.
The email Chris received from Surf Coastal gave him all the information he needed for surf lessons, such as location, time, price, experience, and equipment necessities. Luckily, it wasn’t that expensive compared to something like hockey, and he didn’t even need to have his own board. The surf lessons took place at Ocean Beach where the flyer had been posted, although they took place early in the morning or later in the evening.
The worst part about the email was it linked to a website, and again Chris lamented the fact that the flyer hadn’t had an email or website on it. He idly thought that he could make a better flyer. The website had all the information that was in the phonecall and a far easier way to sign up for lessons.
“Dex, look at this, they actually have a website.” Chris pointed to the screen, and Dex looked over from where he had been playing a video game.
“Wow, that’s annoying it wasn’t on the flyer. Well, whatever, you’ve signed up right? When’s your first lesson?”
“I’m thinking of signing up for the morning lessons. On the website it says that’s best for beginners.” Chris pointed to the information on the screen. “It says it’s taught by its own student instructors, so people around our age.”
“What if that cute girl is your instructor, wouldn’t that be something.” Dex laughed. Chris imagined it and couldn’t tell if his blush was from embarrassment or from his silly crush.
“I hope not.”
Chris received confirmation of his sign up with information that the lessons would start on the following Monday. He spent the weekend with Dex, spending his last few lazy days playing video games and going to touristy locations around San Francisco. He’d be able to do that still even after the lessons started, but he’d be a lot busier.
Come Monday, Chris left at dawn, carefully stepping over Dex sleeping on the floor, trying not to wake his friend up. There was no point since Dex wasn’t taking the class with him. He drove back to Ocean Beach, arriving far too early and sitting in the mostly empty parking lot, scanning the beach. There was a stand a little ways down from the parking lot that had a Surf Coastal banner, probably the place he’d have to meet at.
He considered staying in his car until it was time to meet but it would probably be weirder to do so than to be ten minutes early. With a sigh, Chris left his car, hoping he'd followed the instructions to just wear a normal swimsuit properly. It had been a long time since he'd done a sport for the first time, since he'd been doing hockey all his life practically. He also hoped that the girl wasn't there, because he had decided it would be mortifyingly embarrassing if she was.
Approaching the stand, he saw a group of surfboards already propped up outside, and he was drawn to a white one with what looked like black vines on the front. It wasn't what he'd normally go for, but then again there weren't any teal ones among the bunch. He reached out to touch it, feeling the unfamiliar waxy surface.
"Good choice. That board's about right for your height. You should go talk to the stand director for a wet suit and change into it before the class starts." An unfortunately familiar voice from behind him startled Chris, and he turned around to see the same girl from before.
"Um hi ok I'll go do that so he's just over there? Ok um sorry." Chris knew he was rambling so he shut up and went over to the stand director as instructed. He could feel the heat in his cheeks, and he was beginning to regret signing up for surf lessons at the place the girl had suggested. Of course she'd be his instructor, his luck was just that bad.
He finished changing with a few minutes to spare before the lesson started. Chris didn't want to go back out to face her, but he also couldn't stay in the gross beach bathrooms any longer. He left to see a small group outside the stand, some already in wet suits and others holding them, listening to the girl. She brightened when he approached, and gestured for him to join them.
"Hey, thanks for signing up, all of you. Now that everyone is here, I wanted to introduce myself before we got started. Of course, I want everyone to be ready before we start too, so I'll make this quick so that the rest of you can go change. My name is Caitlin Farmer, and I am a sophomore at SF State. I've been surfing since I was a kid and got a job instructing at Surf Coastal after I graduated from high school. Now, why don't you guys tell me about yourselves too?" Caitlin smiled brightly at the five of them, and Chris rubbed the back of his neck. Dex might have been right that he signed up because of a pretty girl.
When it was finally Chris's turn, he tried to keep it short. "Hi I'm Chris Chow. I'm from California but I go to college at Samwell in Massachusetts, where I play hockey. I decided to take surf lessons cause I hate golf? The traditional off season sport for hockey players, you know." He stopped himself from rambling more with that statement, and was glad that the focus quickly shifted to the next person in the group.
When all the introductions were finished, the couple who hadn't put their wet suits on split off to do so, and Caitlin had the rest of them sit and wait. It was clear to Chris that some of the others in the group knew each other, and he was beginning to regret not forcing Dex to join him for at least the first few lessons. Instead, he focused his attention on the board Caitlin had said he’d probably be using, looking it over.
He’d never gone surfing before, so he wasn’t sure what to expect. He’d seen people with surfboards of course, considering how close to a beach he lived, but he wasn’t confident in his ability to get it. He wondered if his built-for-hockey muscles would help him. He touched the surface of the board again, feeling the waxy texture.
“So, you play hockey, huh?” A voice from behind him startled him. Chris looked around, only to find Caitlin behind him, watching him with her bright blue eyes. It really wasn’t good for his heart how often she snuck up on him, even if this was only the second time.
“Y-yeah. I’ve been skating since I was really little and my parents would drag me to their alma mater and the rink there and funnily enough that’s where I decided to go to college since they have a really good hockey team. I’ve also always been a fan of the San Jose Sharks since it's the nearest team to here and also I like the color teal and also my favourite animal is sharks…” Chris trailed off, feeling the heat rising in his cheeks. But Caitlin only giggled, a sound that Chris felt like he could melt into if he wasn’t already so nervous around her.
“I’m a Sharks fan too! The team, that is. But summer sports have always been more my thing. Other than surfing I play volleyball at school. What position do you play on your team?”
“I’m a goalie.” Chris made sure to keep it short this time. Caitlin hummed in acknowledgement, but didn’t say anything else. Luckily for Chris, he didn’t have to think of something to say, since the two people who went to put on the wetsuits returned and Caitlin was back in business mode.
“Alright everyone, today’s just a first lesson, but by the end of these two hours we’ll have you riding a wave, I’m sure of it. I want everyone to pick a board that isn’t much taller than yourself from the ones leaning up against the shack, and grip it from the middle when you carry it.” Caitlin got them all set up, and Chris picked up the surfboard he’d been eying. It was heavier than he thought, but a stupid idea to try and impress her meant that Chris acted like it was nothing.
The lesson went mostly smoothly. Chris wasn’t outstandingly good, but he also wasn’t outstandingly bad. He was average. Unfortunately, that meant that Caitlin spent more time focusing on the ones that were outstandingly bad. Reasonably, he understood that he can’t have one on one time in a group lesson but Chris’s hopeless crush on Caitlin made the irrational feelings of disappointment push reason to the side.
After two hours, everyone had managed to stand up on their board and ride a wave, even if just for a short distance. The lesson ended without ceremony, a quick note from Caitlin to return the boards and the wetsuits to the stand. Chris didn’t want to leave yet, but he didn’t really have an excuse to stay. Sure, he had made his decision to take up surfing in the off season, but there wasn’t much he could do after lesson number one.
He looked at the board he had used, lingering, trying to think up some excuse, though he wasn’t sure why exactly he didn’t want to go. Luckily, or unluckily, depending on how Chris felt about it later, Caitlin approached him again.
“You’re still here. Chris, right?” She was still in her wetsuit, and Chris figured she was going to go back out.
“Yeah. Um, thanks for class today, I had a good time.”
“You weren’t bad out there.” Caitlin smiled at him and Chris was trying hard not to melt. He’d only known her for two days cumulatively, he had no right to be so far gone for her. “You said you were thinking of picking this up as an off season sport, right? Is that still the plan?”
“Oh yeah I really hate golf, surfing was a lot more fun. I’d like to get better though,” Chris paused and looked at the board again. It was as good an excuse as any. “I was thinking about maybe buying a board like this one.”
“Well, then I’d suggest this one.” Caitlin laughed. “It suits you well, and you handled it well today.”
“Are you sure it's fine? It’s owned by Surf Coastal right?” Chris was a creature of habit, the nature of a hockey player, so he would feel more comfortable using the same board anyways, but there was an issue of money and storage among other things.
“Oh no, these boards are owned by the shack here. My uncle runs the store, and he’s got rental boards and suits. It's half why I can host lessons here. Surf Coastal may be the employer but they tend to set lessons at more populated beaches than this one.” Caitlin knocked on the side of the shack.
“So I can buy this rental board?”
“Yup! It's gonna be cheaper than a newer board anyways, probably only around 300 bucks? My uncle can tell the exact amount, and recommend some gear too. Owning a surfboard means taking care of it.”
“So it's a big commitment?” Chris rubbed the back of his neck, looking at the board. It was appealing, but considering his already high maintenance sport, he wasn’t sure if he could commit to something like this.
“Probably not as big of a commitment as hockey, that’s true. Board maintenance only needs to happen a few times a year, and if you’re only surfing in the off season you could get away with less.” Caitlin shrugged, picking up one of the boards and turning towards the shack. “Well, think about it, ok? You’ve only had one lesson so far anyways.”
With a quick smile, she walked away, leaving Chris standing there, with no excuse left to stay.
Dex was awake when Chris got back. He’d been playing video games, but he paused it immediately when Chris walked through the door.
“Well? How’d it go? Think it’s what you’ll do?” Dex seemed far too excited for someone who didn’t know the half of it. Chris wondered if he’d somehow had a large hand in making this all happen.
“It was pretty fun, I’ve already thought about buying a board and all that.” He plopped down on his bed with a sigh, knowing before he asked what Dex’s next question would be.
“Oh man, she was there wasn’t she? I knew it, since she was the one who had suggested this specific group.” Dex smirked. Chris was pretty sure at this point that Dex had had a very large hand in this.
“She was in fact the instructor. Her name is Caitlin, and she goes to school out here.”
“Did you ask her out?”
“No! How could I! Our first meeting was such a disaster there’s no way she could possibly agree to go on a date with me.”
“Well let me ask you this, who talked to who first?”
Chris lifted his head to stare at his friend, whose smirk got even bigger. With a groan Chris let his head hit the bed again. “She did. She approached me first.”
“You better hurry up and ask her out before you waste your summer and regret it.”
“Yeah I know…” Chris pulled a shark pillow into his lap, staring up at the ceiling. The two friends spent some time like that, Chris on the bed thinking far too much, Dex playing video games not thinking much at all.
Chris was wasting his summer. He’d go to the surf lessons in the morning, then hang out with Dex in random touristy spots around San Francisco in the afternoon. In his defense, he didn’t want to leave his friend on his own even though every day Dex asked him if he’d made any progress with Caitlin.
And he hadn’t. Chris had been thinking about it far too much and he kept leaving as soon as the lessons were over. He didn’t linger like he had after the first lesson. He was avoiding her and he both knew why and had no idea why. She made him too nervous and Dex’s suggestions made him too self conscious. Chris knew he was running out of time but he had no idea what to do.
Eventually, two end dates came up. The surf lessons were a three week course that happened to line up with the three weeks that Dex had planned on staying with him. Chris wasn’t sure what to do with himself after each ended, but he had to deal with them one way or another. Surf lessons ended the day before Dex’s flight out, luckily for them since his flight was early in the morning to counteract the time difference. But that just meant Dex was even more annoying, waking up at the same time as him.
“So, are you finally going to ask her out today?” Dex yawned, glaring blearily at Chris.
“If you’re so tired, why are you awake right now? I’ve been quiet in the mornings to keep from waking you up, so why’d you choose to wake up on your own?” Chris shook his head, ignoring Dex’s question.
“I had to be awake to be sure you remembered to ask her out. Don’t waste your youth like you’ve wasted your summer, dude.”
“I have to get going. Get some more sleep while I’m gone, you already have an early morning tomorrow.” Chris sighed, opening the door to his room. Dex waved tiredly, plopping his head back into his pillow as Chris closed the door.
Chris left for his last surf lesson, Dex’s reminder and his own worries bouncing around his head. He wasn’t sure how he ended up at Ocean Beach, but he was early for the lesson for the first time in a few weeks. He quickly put on the wetsuit he’d bought earlier in the summer before heading over to the shack. Just like they had been at the first lesson, the boards were already set up, including the one Chris likes to use.
“So it's the last lesson, finally. Will you buy the board this time?” Caitlin popped up out of nowhere, and Chris hated to admit he jumped a little.
“Oh hi Caitlin… yeah I was thinking about it again. Do you think I’ve gotten better?”
“Well, you were completely average at the start of the sessions, but you’ve gotten pretty good for someone who isn’t going to be doing this competitively.” She smiled brightly at him, and suddenly Chris was thinking about what Dex had said.
“Um so you know, it's the last lesson and it's hard to… meet up without them though it's not like we met up outside of them anyways and I have been kinda avoiding you but it's not because of anything you did or anything I’m just not used to talking to pretty girls and my friend wouldn’t stop pestering me about a lot of things and I just didn’t know what to say to you but I don’t want to never see you again and--” Chris trailed off, knowing one hundred percent that he had said far too much. He couldn’t hide the blush spreading across his face, though he certainly tried, burying his face in his hands.
Caitlin was silent for a moment, and Chris was worried he’d scared her away. A soft laugh that pulled at his heart and an even softer touch at his hands made him look up at her. She was smiling at him, a soft smile that said a lot if he allowed himself to think about it.
“I don’t want to never see you again either. Why don’t you stay behind a bit after the lesson and we can talk more? I’ll even help my uncle sell you the board.” She winked at him, and Chris became acutely aware that the rest of the class had begun to show up.
The lesson went as normal, but Chris fell off his board more than once, he was too focused on what Caitlin could possibly want to talk about. The two hour lesson felt like it went on for so much longer, but he also didn’t want it to end, too afraid of the impending conversation.
All too soon, Caitlin ended the lesson, and the six of them were back by the side of the shack. Everyone was saying their goodbyes, Caitlin was giving her last little critiques, and Chris was nodding and smiling and dreading when the rest of them left. All too soon, it was just him and Caitlin beside the shack.
“So.” Chris started, but he had no idea what to say.
“So.” Caitlin smiled at him, and he hoped she knew what she wanted to say. “You seemed a bit out of it today, Chris. Are you alright?”
“Oh. Yeah I’m fine I was just distracted. I think I saw a sea lion at one point? I knew they came near this beach but not so close to surfers or swimmers or anything.” It wasn’t a lie, but it sure wasn’t the reason he was so distracted.
“Oh the sea lions! Yeah they come out more so at sunset.” Caitlin looked out at the ocean, shadowing her eyes. “Speaking of… let’s get you this board.”
They went around to the business side of the shack, and Chris shilled out the 300 some odd dollars for the board, plus another 20 or so for the various things he needed to care for it. They didn’t speak much, but when they went around to put the other boards back in the shack, which Chris offered to help with, Caitlin stopped in front of his new board.
“You know… surfing at sunset is a great experience. You can find yourself surfing beside a sea lion sometimes too. If you want, you can leave your board here and come back around, say 7? And we can go surfing together.” She didn’t look at him while she said it, so he couldn’t judge her face. If Chris didn’t know any better, this might be a date.
“Oh! Sure. I might be hanging out with my friend who’s visiting though. He leaves tomorrow.”
Caitlin’s shoulders dropped slightly, as if in disappointment, but Chris didn’t want to read too much into it. “That’s fine. Here, why don’t I give you my number, and you can let me know. Worst case, the board will still be here another day, and you can come get it at any time!”
She turned a bright smile to him, rattling off her number to him, before excusing herself, taking his board to the shack. Chris stared at her number in his phone, before leaving for home himself. At least it's not nothing, Dex should be satisfied with that.
“You’re going on that date, because it's 100% a date,” Dex told him bluntly after he recounted the conversation.
“But it’s your last day in California! There’s a lot of places we could go to.” Chris was again sitting on his bed hugging a shark pillow. Dex was staring at his friend with an annoyed look on his face.
“I’m tired of acting like a tourist, I’d rather just stay here and play video games until it's time for your date, which you are going on.” He threw a stuffed shark at Chris’s head, and Chris didn’t move to dodge it, letting it hit him square in the face.
“It's not a date.”
“Chow, if you don’t go on this date I won’t talk to you when we have to be back at school again in August.”
“But!! I!.. Fine. I’ll meet her, but it’s not a date!” Chris pulled out his phone, opening a new textlog to Caitlin. He sat there, not typing anything, for way too long for Dex, who reached out and took Chris’s phone away, typed a quick message, and then tossed the phone back at Chris.
“There, you’ve accepted the date.” Dex smiled, but Chris didn’t trust it, considering all that Dex had interfered with.
He looked at the message, but it was pretty innocuous: “Hey this is Chris, I’ll be able to go tonight, my friend said it was ok.” As he was looking, Caitlin replied with a simple “Ok, see you at 7 ^.^” Chris spent a long time staring at that emoji before Dex had enough, coughing to get his attention.
“So are we playing or not?”
Dex all but had to force Chris out the door so that he’d be on time for the surf date, but Ocean Beach was a lot more crowded in the evening than it had been in the morning. Kind of like muscle memory, Chris pulled on his wetsuit and walked over to the shack, this time to the business side. Caitlin’s uncle smiled at him, letting him know that Caitlin would be there in a bit, and that his board was in the back.
Sure enough, Caitlin arrived just as Chris was carrying his board out. She’d already put her wetsuit on, and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Even if it was pretty much what she always looked like when he saw her, he still thought she looked especially pretty.
“Chris! You’re here. Shall we go? I promise it's great to surf around this time.”
“I don’t doubt it.” He rubbed the back of his head, suddenly shy. He’d just realized this was probably a date, or at least one on one with the girl he had a crush on. He was determined not to make a fool of himself while out on the waves.
It didn’t take long before he made a fool of himself. The waves in the morning were shallower than the ones that he was experiencing now, and he wiped out on the first wave. He came up spluttering to a giggling Caitlin.
“Why don’t you take it slow, you’re still a novice afterall.” She called out to him, and this time Chris’s blush was from embarrassment. He said nothing, but he took her advice, riding out the higher waves, going for the ones he was more comfortable with. Caitlin, not bogged down by having to teach anyone, was riding every wave without any concern. Chris found himself watching her more often than not.
After about an hour, they sat on their boards, watching the sunset, letting the waves ride under them. Chris was searching for something to say, but he knew he’d be putting his foot in his mouth if he said anything.
“You know, you’re surprisingly more quiet than I thought, considering how much you say when you do talk.”
“Oh that’s just because I’m really nervous sometimes and when I’m nervous I start to ramble because it's easier to to say more than I need to than it is to say exactly what I mean… somehow.” Chris trailed off again, but Caitlin’s giggle set him a little at ease.
“So, why are you nervous around me? You’re always rambling.”
“Oh that’s because....” He stopped, because he knew he was going to say way too much. But Caitlin was undeterred.
“Because…. Oh I remember in one of your rambles you called me a pretty girl, is that why?”
“No! It’s not just… because you’re a pretty girl.” Chris kept his eyes focused on the sunset, but he knew she was grinning at him.
“Just?” She laughed. “You know, I only hated you for a short moment when you knocked me off my board. It quickly became an ‘oh no, a hot guy just knocked me off my board’ situation. If I had known you were this awkward I would’ve just told you that I thought you were cute earlier.”
Chris short-circuited. He couldn’t even begin to think how to reply to that. But he had to try. “You know, I was really hoping you weren’t the instructor, but I should have known, considering you were the one who suggested the company.”
“It was 50/50 really, I only teach the ones in the morning. But I hoped you’d choose it. I really wanted to see you again.” Caitlin laughed softly. “Even if our meeting was a bad one.”
“I’m still really sorry about that. My friend seems to have a desire to interfere with my love life. He’s been encouraging me this entire time to ask you out.”
“Well, what’s holding you back?”
“Our first meeting and every awkward interaction since.”
“What if I told you I’d say yes?”
“Then…” Chris glanced over at her, only to be met with her intense stare. It was all or nothing then. “Would you like to go out with me?”
“Absolutely.”
They smiled at each other for a bit longer than Chris was comfortable with, and he felt the need to break the silence. “Well this is getting awkward, so what do you say we ride a few more waves before calling it a night?”
“Sure. You should aim for one of the bigger ones now anyways.” And with that, Caitlin began swimming towards the next wave.
Chris hesitated a bit before following, the next wave approaching faster than he thought. Caitlin rode the top of it, framed beautifully by the fading sun, and Chris nearly missed the window to get up on the board.
The sea lion beside him in the water almost made him fall off his board. Caitlin hadn’t lied about them not shying away from surfers towards sunset, but he wasn’t expecting to surf right next to one. The wave finished and the sea lion lingered as the two sat on their boards. Chris began to think this summer would be just fine, with a beautiful sunset, a cute girl, and whole new experience he’s bound to continue years to come.