Surviving the Surfer// Bax Radic x OC

Chapter 7

Morning came far too early for my taste, the buzzing of my alarm jolting me out of my dreamless sleep. I groan as I stretch my way out of bed, tossing a pillow over at the sleeping form of my cousin who just grumbles and shoves herself deeper under her covers.

"Come on Sum, we gotta get up or Griff's going to be grumpy that we were late again."

She relents and rolls her way out of bed, rummaging through our closets to find our wet-suits while I throw my hair in a braid, not wanting to ruin it for my lesson later. We get dressed in nearly record time, jumping out the door just in time to see Mars' truck roll to a stop in the driveway. We throw our boards in the back, and I smile a greeting at Ari as he jogs outside to catch up. The ride to the beach is smooth and fast, barely anyone out on the roads this early in the morning. To all of our surprise, we make it to the beach first, so we take our time to set up all of our gear. Ari and Summer disappear down the beach, and Mars and I share a long suffering sigh at being left.

"So, you and Radic huh?" Marlon's eyes are curious, trained on me as he waxes his board with practiced hands.

"Yeah I guess so." A blush rises to my cheeks at the thought of him, and excitement races under my skin knowing that I would be seeing him again soon. As if I'd summoned him with just a thought, the boy in question rounds the corner, my favorite smile breaking over his face when he sees Mars and I.

"Good morning Outback, Brazil." Bax nods his head in Marlon's direction, swinging his arm to rest on my shoulders.

"I'm going to go call Griff, see where he is with Bodhi and Pops." Mars shoots me a grin before sauntering away. I rest my back against the warm metal of Mars' truck and glance up to see Bax already watching me, ocean eyes light and peaceful.

"Good morning to you too Pyro." His smile widens at the nickname, and reaches up to tug a pink strand of my hair out of its braid.

"So obsessed you had to dye it like mine huh?" I scoff and attempt to push him away, fingers pressing into the hard panes of his stomach. My tries go unnoticed as he used his superior height and weight to settle us both against the side of the truck. My heart stutters in my chest when he dips his head down to kiss me. His lips weren't as soft as they were yesterday, a little more demanding, and the battle for dominance is quickly lost on my end. My fingers thread through his hair, secretly hoping to get the same result as yesterday, and I was instantly successful. My victory is short-lived however when he grabs both my hands and pins them above my head, effectively rendering me useless.

"You are going to get yourself into trouble," Bax's low warning catches me off guard, and I open my eyes to find his almost black with emotion. I wriggle around trying to get free but his grip is like iron, the muscles in his arm flexing to keep me still.

"Go get a room you two," Summer's teasing prompts Bax to drop my hands, but the mischievous glint in his eyes tells me that the current conversation was not over. I throw him a saucy wink before turning to grab my board.

"Funny that that's the one you chose, I made that you know." Surprise springs its way through my body as I whirl back around to the pink-haired Aussie.

"Really?" He nods, reaching a long arm to palm the board, rotating it as if admiring his own handiwork. The violet paint dances in the sunlight, adding drops of color to his tanned skin.

"I did it for Summer right after she got here last year. It's not perfect but I like it." I listen and choose to ignore the weight behind his words, and the relief in his expression was something I could almost feel. I gently take the board from his hands to wax it, and he disappears off behind Griff's truck to change into something more ocean appropriate.

I make my way into the water, savoring the taste of the salt in the air drifting across the sea. The first few waves are caught by Mars and Griff, the ex-rivals being unable to help their old competitiveness with each other. I beat Poppy to the next one, executing a few sharp turns before giving up and tipping into the water. Once I kick up back to the surface I lay belly-down on my board, happy to let the tide push me back to my friends. A tug on the cord attached to my ankle has me turning around to see Summer grinning at me and gesturing behind me. I turn back around just in time to see Bax catch the next wave. He'd decided against a wet suit today, and miles of abs glittered in the sun as he settled his board confidently against the wave. I can't help but stare when he executes his classic spin over the crest of the wave and then disappears beneath it.

The next few hours are spent trading waves back and forth between ourselves, calling out encouragements and constructive criticisms as each of us take a turn. My watch buzzes far too soon, and I send an apologetic smile over to where my cousin and Ari are floating side by side.

"Hey guys I've gotta get to the barn for my lesson. I'll catch you guys later."

"Oh alright, leave your board by the trucks, we'll bring it home with us."

I paddle back to the shore as smoothly as I can, trying to keep as dry as possible so I wouldn't drag too much of the beach with me when I left. Once I make it back to the parking lot I stow my board in the back of Mars' truck and grab my duffel bag out of the backseat.

"Leaving without saying goodbye?" For as big as he was, Bax was near silent across the ground. I jump in surprise, having not heard him come up from the beach.

"If I don't leave now I'm going to be late to my lesson," I explain, checking to make sure none of the zippers on my bag had come open during the journey from the house.

"You were going to leave me out there all by myself looking for you?" Now that he's so close I can feel the heat radiating off his bare skin, and I can't help but drag my eyes slowly up his bare torso, the muscles in his stomach flickering when he crosses his arms over his chest.

"Like what you see?" Pure male amusement laces his tone.

"So what if I do?" I dart back, finally looking up to make direct eye contact.

"Cancel your lesson...please."

I don't think anybody in the history of the world had ever heard Bax Radic beg. But here he was, eyes as pleading as his tone as he looks down at me.

"I can't, Pyro, but I won't be gone for long I promise." Quite aware that at this point I was officially running late, I stood up onto my tiptoes and gave him a soft peck on the cheek before running off down the road to make up for lost time.