God, Love & All Things Surf

Chapter 2: It Wasn't Nothing

"Man did you see that?!" Thea yelled above the waves, adrenaline still pumping through her body. "That barrel was like-WOW-and the speed I got??" she exclaimed, using her hands and arms to describe what her breathless words could not. "And that hack--wasn't it totally my best ever?"

Komachi laughed, "Yea, we watched the whole thing! You've totally improved since last year." Thea beamed at the compliment. "But I think you should have switched the cutback for an aerial. Then it definitely would have been a 10 point ride." Komachi joked.

"Oh please! After a barrel like that you would have skipped the rest of the wave and just pulled out. And you still would have bragged about it," Max challenged. "As if that wicked wave wasn't enough, she snapped it off the top like she was Stephanie Gilmore or something," he added, referring to one of the top pro surfers and once again defending Thea. Then turning to her said, "Definitely the wave of the week, Thea! I'm so proud of you. You attacked that wave fearlessly."

Back to Present Day-------------------------------

Thea grinned, silently thanking God once more for His help earlier. She was so grateful for God's endless supply of courage. It reminded her of one of her favourite verses:
2 Samuel 22:30-31 "For by You I can run against a troop; by my God I can leap over a wall. As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him." (KJV)

In her life she could recall time after time when God had intervened and given her more courage than she ever could have found by herself. He had been her shield in so many ways; supporting her, surrounding her with peace, and loving her in her lowest moments. Not to mention all those times - not just in the water - when she felt completely helpless. She never had to strain to remember the feeling -- it was always there, as if it was waiting for her to give in. The most intense fear would wash over her, causing her to go into 'panic mode'. Her heart would race and she could never seem to catch her breath. Unaware of what was happening around her, the only thought that ran through her mind was that she had to get out, had to escape--

"Hey, are you gunna come back to join us or did you decide to have your own 'Me and Myself' party out here?" Max jokingly questioned her as he walked up and he reached for her hand to turn her around to face him.

Startled at the sudden jerk back to reality Thea jumped and lost her balance as Max turned her around. Trying to regain her footing she accidentally tripped on the boarded walkway behind her and suddenly found herself being held inches from the ground, Max's strong arms around her waist. Even in the dim light of the torches Thea could still make out his hypnotizing ocean-blue eyes and his coarse, blonde hair that matched his Dutch background.

"I believe it's 'myself and I'." Thea corrected him, hoping he couldn't see her blushing from embarrassment, her heart still pounding in her ears from the world he had just pulled her out of. When she looked up to see if he had noticed, all she saw was his silly boyish grin staring back at her. This of course made her blush more.
She tried not to stutter as she gathered her thoughts and Max lifted her back up. "I was going to come back, I was just-" she hesitated as he stifled a laugh, "-just thinking about the wave I caught this afternoon."
She shifted her weight, aware of Max's arms still around her. "Thanks for not letting me, you know, fall just then. Guess I'm more of a natural in the water then on land," she joked, hoping to lighten the awkward moment.

Max chuckled at her comment. "You're welcome. And no I don't think so, maybe just a bit of a klutz sometimes."

 
"Cheeky, isn't he?"

The two turned to see Malea Lao, Thea's best friend and neighbour, coming down the boardwalk toward them.

One year older than Thea, Malea was also a bit taller and thinner, her muscles toned from many years of surfing and vigorous exercise. For the past 2 years she had been competing in a number of surfing competitons, hoping to get supporters to travel to surf comps around the world. The Afro-Costa Rican girl had a surprised and rather curious look on her face as she glanced between Max and Thea.

Max suddenly realized he was still holding Thea and, feeling rather embarrassed, put his hands in his pockets. "Thea tripped," he rushed to explain, "and, well, I wasn't going to let her fall so I--"

"Mmhm, sure." Malea interrupted him, "Boy, when you're ready to fess up to liking my girl," she stated in her thick Jamaican accent, "Come find me."

"Malea!" Thea called, trying to hush her best friend. She always spoke her mind and didn't care who was listening.
"He's telling the truth." Thea whispered as she walked closer to her friend. "Please stop trying to read into everything. Nothing's going on between Max and I."

"Oh really?!" her friend accused in not such a quiet voice. "Well, if Max holding you like you're about to disappear into thin air is 'nothing'..." She emphasized as she looked Max straight in the face.

"Fine! You're right, it wasn't nothing." Max finally exclaimed, as if he had been waiting forever to say it.

Thea flew around to face him, astonished. "It wasn't??" She hadn't meant to mean anything by it...

"Theeeeeaaaa!" Simeon and Karina, the fraternal Tyler Twins called as they raced to their sister, stopping every now and then to try and blow out the torches that lined the boardwalk.

Thea was still looking at Max, waiting for him to continue.

"Mom and dad want you to come back." One of the twins said, relaying their parent's message.

"We're getting ready to leave." The other twin piped up.

The Tylers had spent the day visiting friends on the east coast about a 4 hour drive from their home. Knowing that the Caribbean shore had some of the best waves this time of the year and that the trip out east didn't happen very often, Thea's parents had allowed her to invite Max, Malea and Komachi to spend the day surfing with.

"Okay guys, thanks. We'll be there in a minute!" The last thing Thea wanted to do was sit the long drive home wondering what Max had meant by 'it wasn't nothing'.

"They said NOW!" the first twin replied, pointing his finger to the ground  to emphasize the 'now'.

Max grimaced as he met Thea's 'it's hopeless' look. He didn't mean to leave her hanging but everyone who knew the twins knew that they had big mouths and loved to exaggerate anything they saw or heard. "Hey guys, race you back to the van!" Max challenged, trying to distract them. As he past Thea he quickly grabbed her hand and gave her a hopeful smile. "Tomorrow. I promise," then ran to catch up to the twins.

"Have I said, 'I told you so' yet?" Malea teased as she walked after them.

Now she had to spend the next 4 hours in the 'Tyler Bus' (the family's 11-seater vehicle) putting up with Malea's teasing comments, trying not to talk to Max, and not thinking about whatever it was that just happened. 'Unbelievable...' Thea thought to herself as she trudged up the boardwalk toward the parking lot.