Home

Six

The morning came all too quickly. I debated taking a shower first, but decided it would be better off in the evening. I'd be spending most of my time in the ocean, after all. Emma was up and sipping coffee by the time I emerged from my room, two piece suit on with shorts and a tank top over it.

"How did it go last night? What time did you get home?" She nearly spilled her coffee, excited to see me walking into the kitchen. "Why are you up? Where are you going?" She asked quickly, realizing I was dressed and ready for the day at 7:30 am.

Pouring myself a cup of coffee, I started making some toast and eggs. "Oh, Emma. Last night..." I sighed and smiled at the memory. "Last night couldn't have gone better."

She beamed behind her coffee cup, "Charley, that man is still totally crazy about you. He was beside himself when he heard you were moving back. You're all he would talk about! I was trying to tell you last night but you didn't want to hear it."

So that's what she had been trying to tell me when I cut her off. "We sat on the beach until around midnight then he drove me home. It was like nothing changed," I said, leaning against the counter.

"I told you there was nothing to worry about!" She laughed.

Grabbing my food, I sat down across from her. "Yeah yeah. We are going to Bronte today with some of his friends. He's gonna try to teach me to surf again."

She leaned forward, elbows on the table. "Are you two back together then?" She asked intently.

I shook my head. "Nah. Besides, it's too soon for that," I told her with a mouthful of eggs.

I just wanted to take things slow and see where things went organically. I wasn't eager to relive the heartbreak, and feared that if we jumped into things, that's where we would be heading. I would be lying though if I said I wanted things to work out between us.

"Pssh, it's only a matter of time. You two were made for each other," she replied, leaning back into her chair.

I smirked and finished my breakfast while she asked more details about the previous night. The doorbell rang, interrupting us. My heart skipped when I answered the door, seeing Michael. I still wasn't used to seeing him again.

"Hi," I breathed, voice faltering slightly.

"Ready?" He asked, giving me a smile that made my knees weak.

"Heya, Mousey Boy," Emma waved from the kitchen.

I made a mental note to ask him about that nickname. I grabbed my bag and started to walk out the door when Emma told me to wait as she ran down the hallway. Reemerging, she handed me a wetsuit. I had forgotten how wonderful a wetsuit was when spending so much time in the water. I thanked her and we made our way to the car.

"I still can't believe you're here. I feel like I'm dreaming," he told me as we drove down the road.

"Well if this is a dream, don't wake me."

He reached over and squeezed my hand lightly, sending butterflies into my stomach again. We parked and he handed me a board from the back of his car.

"You'll be standing on this by the end of today," he said in a matter of fact tone.

I didn't know how true that was, but he sounded so confident that I didn't dispute him.

Making our way to the sand, I turned to him. "Anybody here today I'll know?"

He thought for a minute. "You know Beardy and Whippet."

I had no idea who the first man where, but I did know Whippet, one of his oldest friends. Of course he still went by his old nickname.

"Beardy?" I asked.

"Sorry, Daniel."

"Oh man, you guys have some weird nicknames. How are they doing, anyway? I can't believe you still hang out with them. Shouldn't be surprised, though," I smiled thinking about them. They were some of his best friends back in the day.

The beach was pretty empty except for a few people here and there and a loud bunch of boys I could only assume were who we were meeting. Approaching the group of guys on the south end of the beach, I heard one of them shout my name.

"Is that Charley?"

I laughed when I saw who it was. "Ryan Clark, you haven't changed a bit!"

He enveloped me in a hug and smiled from ear to ear. "Good to see you again, mate."

I noticed a bearded guy smiling at me from next to Michael. Studying him for a minute, I gasped when it clicked who he was.

"Danny??"

The group erupted into laughter at his name, but he broke out into a big grin.

"You're the only one allowed to call me that!" He said, hugging me.

"Look at you, you look incredible! The years have been good to you, mate," Whippet smiled at me.

"Hey, I'm Jesse. It's good to meet you. This bloke wouldn't shut up about you!" a heavily tattooed guy said, as he clapped Michael on the back, causing Michael to shove him aside.

I noticed a hint of embarrassment flash across Mick's cheeks and I couldn't help but smile slightly. It was cute to see him flustered. The other couple of the guys introduced themselves, and after we set up our stuff on the beach, Michael held out the board to me.

"Ready?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I'm just gonna hang out here for a little. Enjoy the sun and wake up a bit more. I promise I'll go out in a bit though," I told him, shaking my head.

What I failed to mention was that I was nervous as hell to get back on a surfboard. It took me so long to even stand up on one back then, I was certain I was going to make a fool of myself or even get hurt. I wasn't as young as I once was, and I certainly wouldn't bounce back from an injury as quickly as I used to.

I could tell he wasn't buying my excuse but instead of arguing, he sighed, "I'll be back for you."

And with that, he followed his friends down into the surf.

***

"So what's going on between you two?" Whippet asked Mouse as they walked into the surf.

"Hell if I know, mate. I only saw her for a few hours last night." Mouse answered, trying to hide his aggravation at the question.

These days, he didn't like to talk about his feelings, much less when they included Charley, and certainly not with his mates.

"Only a matter of time before you two are back together," Whippet added before paddling out, leaving Mouse in the shallows.

Mouse turned around towards the beach to steal a glance at Charley. She was laying back on her elbows, sunnies over her eyes, soaking in the sun. What a sight. Turning his attention back to the ocean, he hopped onto his board and paddled out, joining his friends. After surfing in a few waves, he was about to catch a wave back on when something caught his eye out the back. He smiled, knowing exactly what it was.

Charley would love this.

Grinning, he went back into shore to grab her.