Hope is Rising

20. Quiet Coves

I was clueless on where we were going. But I always loved his surprises, so I couldn't wait to see what he had planned.

We drove by the coast to a small private beach. I found out later we were near Ocean Beach.

"This is Kellys Cove," he told me as he turned into a parking lot, "where surfing really began in San Francisco."

"No way," I replied, "I've always wanted to come here." Only the most dedicated surfers came out here. You even needed to have a pass to come.

"Want to go surfing?" He said smiling as he turned off the truck.

"I would but I didn't bring a swimsuit--" I began.

"Here, Emma and Madeline packed a bag for you," he said as he opened the trunk and pulled out a beach bag of new swim stuff.

"How did they know?" I asked confused.

"Well, they helped me buy a few things. They said you'd like that swimsuit. I hope it's okay..." he began.

"It's perfect!" I said as I pulled out a pink fringe bikini, some matching flip flops, and a towel from the bag.

"And Kevin loaded your surfboard into the truck this afternoon."

"This is amazing, Dylan," I said giving him a warm kiss.

We found a small restroom so we could change. I absolutely loved the fringe swimsuit. Emma and Madeline were so thoughtful.

As I came out of the bathroom, Dylan stood there waiting for me. I could see his eyes moving down my body in my new swimsuit.

"Are you checking me out?" I said smirking.

"Maybe," he came close to me with his cheeky smile. "I mean, who wouldn't? You're gorgeous," he gave me a soft kiss. He loved to playfully tease me.

We carried our surfboards toward the shore and found a perfect spot on the beach by the cove. There were only about twenty people still surfing since it was dark. The moon rose high above the clouds and shone on the perfect waves.

We both paddled out to the deep. My foot was tingling from the salt on my skin. But I could surf all night. Especially with Dylan here with me.

We had been surfing for about an hour when there was another good sized wave coming. Everything about it was literally perfect, and I could tell he was going to let me take it.

"We can both ride this one!" I said as he smiled in approval.

We stood up about the same time. I began to ride it but my timing was way off and I wiped out. My foot began throbbing and stinging terribly.

When Dylan saw me go underwater, he deliberately wiped out and swam toward me. He knew I wouldn't let a perfect wave pass like that unless something was wrong.

"You okay, babe?" He asked coming up for air.

"My foot is throbbing," I said truthfully as I fought to keep my head above the coming waves. He swam closer to me and pulled me toward him. I wanted to stay in his arms forever.

"Here," he said. He looked really strong as he picked me up and put me on top of his surfboard.

I lifted my foot out of the water so he could examine it. "I think you've been stung by a jellyfish," he said calmly. But by the look in his eyes, I could tell he was pretty concerned.

It wasn't just a small sting. It was bigger than any other sting I had seen before.

"We'll go back to shore for a little while," he said as he carefully pulled me and our surfboards back to shore between the large crashing waves. I had to hold my breath a few times as I lay on top of my surfboard. My foot hurt so bad and it didn't help that it was the same foot that was still healing.