Sweet Swell

Chapter 2

After spending several hours out in the spray catching waves I was starting to get tired.  My hair was tangled from the water and salty breeze, and my skin was warming up with a bronze glow from the hot sun. Just when I was about to announce that I was going back to the beach for a rest, a bunch of surfers appeared by the edge of the shore, examining the swell.

“Finally, some competition out here!” Tamra yelled while straddling her prized pink and yellow Roxy board she’d won at a minor league surfing contest the year before. It was totally adorable and I must admit I’ve been jealous of it since the second she held it in her arms. Tamra was the best surfer among our group of friends, and obviously she cherished a good surf smack down, as she would call it. The rest of us were fairly okay surfers, nothing near excellent though. It was just our thing we loved to do when we got a chance to hang out together.

“Actually, I prefer chasing waves with you girls,” Lissa started, “My paddling isn’t all that strong…I don’t know if I’ll be able to catch one with all these other people competing for one.” Tamra waved Lissa’s comment away with her hand as if it were a fly, “Just yell ‘mine’ before any of them can catch it. They ought to know the name of the game.” Lissa looked doubtful and turned on her back towards the cloudless blue sky, indicating that she’d rather sit this one out. "You have to get priority," she sighed. Lissa knows practically everything about anything. She's a real brain. "In order to get priority, you need to be the closest surfer to the breaking lip of the wave," she ploughed on in a bored voice, "So good luck paddling it out."

“Let’s just go ahead show ‘em what we’ve got!” Laurie cried excitedly, ignoring Lissa's speech. She’s one of those girls who loves a bit of competition as a way of showing off. She won Miss Teen Durban in the spring and I doubted she’d ever get off the high from winning such a high title. Beauty pageants aren’t my thing, but I sure as hell was proud of Laurie. Tristan obviously didn’t know what he had lost. 

The surfers started paddling out to where we were waiting for waves. I didn’t recognise any of them, which I found strange, since locals hanging out at Leeu’s were generally well acquainted. A tanned boy with tousled blond hair smiled brightly in our direction. The sun was reflecting off his skin, giving it a golden glow. This boy was so good looking… and I’d never seen him before. Was this him? My fantasy summer guy?

My stomach made a summersault as I smiled back at him shyly. “Howzit,” he greeted with his dazzling smile and a wave. When he lifted his hand the muscles in his arm tensed, making my jaw drop ever so slightly. Keep cool Claire, I warned myself. “What’s up,” I answered perhaps a bit too nonchalantly.

“How’s the surf today?” one of his friends chimed in. I hadn't even noticed the rest of the group paddling up. Everyone surrounding this sex god was so good looking it felt almost unnatural. I have this theory that good-looking people travel in packs. This was exhibit A. I was distracted by Howzit guy’s friend’s bright blue eyes for a second before Tamra answered, “Not bad. Not sure if there are enough waves for all of us out here though. We’ll have to battle it out if you’re up for it,” she slyly smirked.

Howzit guy’s group consisted of three ridiculously attractive guys including himself and two leggy blonde girls. I was jealous of the girls instantly. Howzit guy looked at me curiously, tilting his head to the side, “Alright there, meisie?” I realised my jaw was still kind of slack and I’d been staring at him with squinted eyes trying to figure out who exactly he was for a while.

I hate being called “meisie” more than anything, which sort of broke the halo I was seeing above this guy’s head. Meisie is the Afrikaans word for “girl” and saffas use it in all sorts of contexts, and quite regularly it’s used in a rude way. I snapped my mouth shut and glared at him before rolling my eyes,

“Claire,” I enunciated, tucking my hair behind my ear, suddenly annoyed. “Liam,” he said, motioning towards himself and then reaching out his hand towards me. I realised he wanted to shake my hand…nobody does that around here. I held out my hand anyway and shook his, curiously examining his face. Damn gorgeous face, may I add. 

“You’re not from around here,” Lissa said, now lying on her front with her cheek resting on her left palm, obviously equally as entranced by the attractive newcomers as I was. God forbid I had that same expression on my face. I scowled, looking down quickly.

“Ja, we’re from Durbs, just got in now,” Blue eyes explained smiling confidently. “How did you find this place…” Laurie suspiciously asked. The leggy girls giggled, “Tonight is the bonfire? We got invited here. Tristan Stone gave us directions, if you know him,” One of them sweetly said. I could sense Laurie tensing up beside me. Of course, Tristan’s conquests went as far out as Durban.

“Anyway, this place is nice,” Liam smiled awkwardly after the tense silence, “glad we finally got to see it. We’ve heard some great things about Leeu’s Kuil.”

Laurie shrugged, “Well you’re here now, might as well get to the point.” Tamra nodded. “Surf’s up losers,” she called, paddling out further into the sea to where the bigger waves were rolling in. This was our cue, Lissa, Laurie and I all turned our boards towards the beach, ready to paddle into a wave. The group of ridiculously hot people all followed Tamra a bit further in, and so we waited.

Within less than half a minute Liam was up on his board, essentially surfing circles around everyone else trying to take his wave. Tamra had already called it and looked determined to take over from Liam, but he practically surfed her into the whitewater and took the all-illusive "priority" of the wave. He was a more skilled surfer than all of us, and Tamra was left in his wake, staring incredulously at his stupid cute butt making his way back to the beach. I saw Tamra’s lips forming a string of profanities. “What was the name of that game Tammy?” I mockingly yelled out at her. She threw a finger at me, causing the leggy blondes to start laughing hysterically. 

Just as Liam was making his way back out to us I managed to catch a wave. The feeling of having my feet swept up underneath me turned into a sensation of euphoria, and I knew summer had arrived. The sensation of the spray against my skin was heavenly, and Liam was “whoo-hoo-ing” at me as I passed him. I laughed giddily all the way while the wave carried me towards the shore.

As I paddled back out, I found Liam waiting for me from the spot I saw him when surfing out. He high-fived me, “Good job meisie.” He laughed and winked. Obviously he’d caught on about the “meisie” thing annoying me.

“So you know Tristan?” I started fishing after we’d been paddling in silence for a while. “My sister’s sort of dating him,” he stated as he motioned towards one of the blonde girls. “Why, are you guys close?” he cocked his head at me smiling curiously. “Uh, no… No Tristan and I aren’t close,” I said as I worriedly looked in Laurie’s direction.

Of course, Tristan was already on to his next victim. Liam pursed his lips. If only he knew what his poor sister was in for. “I’m catching some hostile vibes here,” Liam laughed, “there’s history there huh?” I laughed nervously. “Nothing you need to worry your pretty little head about,” I said, immediately regretting my choice of words. Liam laughed awkwardly, cocking his head at me again, wrinkling his forehead. “Sure thing, Clarise,” he jokingly retorted.

What the..? “It’s Claire,” I said, lifting my eyebrows. “Ek weet, meisie,” he said with a distracted smile, paddling off to his friends after squeezing my forearm ever so lightly. He knows.