All I Am (Wattys2015) (ON HOLD)

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Maddy sat there for a second on his board, stunned. Who the bloody hell is she? he thought. Her first wave of the morning and she was doing bottom turns. And she'd just stood on a surfboard for the first time yesterday!

He yelled in excitement as she stayed on her feet. From his angle and the way the sun was hitting the water, Blue's wave was somewhat translucent. He could see her silhouette through it. And it was a big wave.

Maddy fleetingly regretted putting her on the wave, because it was so big and heavy. Especially for a beginner. He tried to recall whether or not he had explained to her how to wipe out on a wave like this one. He hoped to God he had.

She wobbled and then fell. It happened at once, all a blur but crystal clear at the same time. Maddy watched her dive out back – behind the wave – and kick the board away from her.

He let out a sigh of relief. She had somehow figured out the correct way to fall from a green-faced wave.

Could the girl be any more surprising?

Blue surfaced, choking on the saltwater. She caught sight of Maddy's stunned face as he remained straddling his surfboard. She turned and started swimming after her board, grabbed it and then started walking back to Maddy.

"Hey," she said, pushing her wet hair out of her face. It hung in strands, separated by the saltwater.

"Bloody hell! What did you just do out there?" Maddy exclaimed.

Was he mad at her? She hoped not. "Umm...I don't know?" she said, although it sounded like a question.

"That was amazing! Blue, I am so fucking speechless right now!"

She let out a sigh of relief. So he wasn't mad at her. She noticed his hair was still dry – he hadn't caught any waves yet. "Thank you, Maddy. Go on and practice; I'll be fine," she smiled.

He grinned back. "Alright, if you're sure. I just want to give you a couple pointers first, though. Next time, try not to have your hand on the board. Straighten into a comfortable stance, and then use your arms and upper body to guide you into the turn. The more your do it the quicker you get – it's that simple. Also, when the wave starts closing in, lean to the outside rail a little bit to guide you away from the wave face. But not too far."

She tried to process, understand and remember everything he just said. "A-alright. Will do," she replied uncertainly.

"Good! If it's okay with you, I'm going to try to go get an aerial or something, then come back again?"

"Sounds great – good luck!" Blue smiled.

Maddy leaned back and pivoted his board around, just as a wave was folding over him. Before Blue could process what he was doing, Maddy rolled over under his board, let the wave pass and then rolled back into upright position. He ended up lying on his board like nothing happened.

"What did you just do?" Blue half-exclaimed, half-asked.

"Turtle roll!" he called back at her before paddling off. Blue studied his arms and muscles as they flexed while he retreated.

She found herself blushing.