Language of Love

Chapter 7 - Surf Date Part 2

At the Pavilion, Troy unlocked the lifeguard changing rooms and showed Abi where the women's locker room was. He stole a quick kiss before disappearing into the male changing rooms.

Abi undid the braid in her hair and showered quickly, wincing slightly when the spray hit the bruise developing on her arm. Next, she changed into a paisley print sundress. She ran her hand through her now wavy hair, leaving it to dry naturally, then hurried out of the change room.

Troy was waiting, now dressed in clean boardies and a white t-shirt, leant against the lockers. His eyes travelled up and down her body as she walked through the door, slight awe evident in his gaze. Abi felt herself flush. He stepped forward and pulled her into him, leaning down slightly and kissing her hesitantly, as if unsure the move would be welcomed. Abi kissed him back, and the kiss deepened. They were interrupted by her stomach growling loudly.

Troy pulled away, smirking.
"Lunch." He said."Hoppo would put me on toilet cleaning duties if he caught us making out in here."

They ended up in a cafe on Hall Street, sat holding hands across the table. Troy turned her arm to get a better look at her bruise.
"That's a good one." He said sympathetically.
"I can already feel my whole body aching." She sighed, stretching.
"Not putting you off?" He almost sounded worried. Abi realised how important it must be for him for someone he was interested in to also support or share his love of the Ocean.
"I was terrified initially, but you made me feel really safe. I can see why you love it so much. It's really freeing and exhilarating."
"So you want to go out again?"
"Definetly! I need to improve or Whippets going to stick me with Bambi for a nickname."
"You sticking around long enough to get a nickname?" He smiled.
"Unless you get bored of me." She said, ducking her head coyly.
"Not going to happen Abs." He said quietly but surely.

He'd called her that twice now. The way he said it with soft affection made her heart melt. She was seriously falling for this sweet man.
"Abi?" She looked up at him.
"Lost in your own thoughts there. You okay?"
"Sorry. All good."

Troy walked her back to her apartment block.
"I've a couple of hours before I need to go to work. Do you want to come up? Caitlinns probably in."
"The fan girl?" He asked, looking wary.
"If I can cope with the guys, you can cope with her." Abi laughed as she grabbed his hand and pulled him through the door.

"So are you a pro surfer now?" Caitlinn called from the kitchen as Abi opened the door. "Was he drool worthy on his surfboard?"
Abi looked at Troy, embarrassed and apologetic.
"Caitlinn, we have company." She replied. Caitlinn's head stuck round the corner, and she grinned mischievously.
"Gonzo!" She exclaimed, and her tiny frame bounced down the hall to engulf the 2 of them in a hug.
"This mini cannonball is Caitlinn. Caitlinn, this is Troy."
"Yeah. I know who he is." She said releasing them."Not like you've stopped talking about him since you met him." She bounced off back into the kitchen.
"So FanGirl's a bit of a whirlwind." Troy said quietly, sounding a little stunned.
"She's a force to be reckoned with." Abi laughed."Please ignore everything she says."

Grabbing them some water Abi followed Troy to where he stood awkwardly in the living room. She pulled him down next to her on the sofa and curled into his side as she switched the TV on. He wrapped his arm around her.

A little while later, an alert went off on her phone. She reached for it to find herself tagged in an Instagram picture taken from behind them and showing the back of their heads as she leant on his shoulder with the caption Young Love. She glanced back at Caitlinn, raising an eyebrow. Caitlinn waved at her innocently from the breakfast bar.
Her phone pinged again at the same time as Troy's. They both checked their phones. Caitlinn had tagged a few lifeguards into her picture and Maxi had responded: Awww the lovebirds.

Troy had banged his head back into the sofa. He showed her his Instagram. Someone had tagged him and bondirescue in a video of them surfing this morning captioned: Who knew Gonzo had a girlfriend? It was blowing up with comments from fans.
"I was trying to avoid that." He sighed.
"Can't be helped." Abi said.
"The whole reality TV thing can be a lot to cope with sometimes. I wanted to shield you from it."
"I guess we just let them think what they want. I'm not keen on being on TV but it is part of your job, part of your life. Do you want to respond to it or just ignore it? Caitlinn says lots of the guys are pretty active on their Insta. Will they comment? Maxi has already put something on Caitlinn's post but kept it vague." She showed him Caitlinns Insta.
"We agreed to follow the lead of the person it involves. I really don't know what would be best."
"You don't have to do anything now. Perhaps talk to the guys? If you do put something, let me know."
"You've got work soon. Think I'll head down there now and talk to Whippet or Deano." He got up from the sofa and pulled her up into a hug.
She followed him to the door.
"I had a really good time this morning Troy. Don't let that post put a cloud over it."
"I had a great time too." He kissed her forehead and headed off.

Abi shut the door and then slumped back against it heavily. Caitlinn appeared in the corridor.
"That freaked him out." Abi sighed.
"He's just trying to protect you. I think he's more worried that you'll think it's all too much too soon, or the media will scare you away."
"I'm really not sure I'm comfortable with media attention, but I'm not going to let it scare me off. How can I feel like I'm falling for someone after 3 dates?"
Caitlinn let out an excited squeal. "When you know you know." She shrieked as she launched herself into a tight hug, crushing Abi against the door.