Page 81 of Catch a Wave

I stare at him, because I can. He’s truly one of the most gorgeous men I’ve ever seen. And he’s always a bit ruffled, even when we dress up. I love that he never looks completely put together. That casual air of sexiness fills every space he occupies.

I’m sitting here thinking how precious he is and how lucky we are when this odd rush of fear washes over me from out of nowhere.

“Will it change, do you think?” I look over at Bodhi. “Will we feel less … urgent, less like we’ve got to grab up all the goodness between us?” I tug at a cuticle and pull it off my thumb. “I mean, will there come a day when we take one another and everything we have for granted and get bored with one another?”

He smiles softly at me, pinching his lips slightly and shaking his head. “Nah. Not a chance.”

“I’m greedy for you, Bo.”

He turns left out of the parking lot to take me to my favorite little roadside stand for a quick breakfast.

“Babe, you cannot say things like that to me when I have to leave to get ready for work. And, no. I don’t think the feelings we have for one another will change. If anything, they’ll just get stronger and deeper with time. I’ve seen plenty of marriages go south. And I know enough guys who sadly don’t appreciate what they have. We’re not them. I think we’re more like your parents. You know the photos of them around your house? The ones from when they were dating, or when you and Kai were little? Your mom looks like you in those—or you look like her, whatever. Yeah, your parents have aged. But they still have that connection, like they know they found their person. Their love has mellowed, but in a good way, and it’s still strong.”

“I always wanted what they have.”

“Well, now you have what we have. I hope it’s what you want.”

“You’re everything I want, Bodhi.”

I pause before saying the next sentence. We’ve talked about our future a lot, but sometimes it feels like we’re overshooting the mark with all we hope we can grab out of life. We’re already two of the top surfers in the world. And we have one another.

Still, I muster up the courage to say what I need to say. “I want a bunch of little Bodhis running around on the beaches with us one day.”

He smiles. “And little Mavs. We’ll take them around the world with us.”

“I don’t know if I can picture traveling with kids. Something about that puts a big wet, soggy blanket on the dream. Diaper bags. Crying. Tantrums. Overtired and hungry children in strange places.”

He chuckles. “We’ll make it work. This is our life. Our kids will be born into it. We’ll adjust and so will they.”

Bodhi entwines my fingers in his, resting our enjoined hands on the seat between us. “Lots of people travel with kids. And they have a home base—or not. Oahu is our home base. And you know I’m working on talking my mom into relocating here. I don’t think we have to give up the life we love to have kids. We’ll make changes—we’ll have to. But we can still be surfers. And we can raise our little Bodhis and little Mavs to love all the places we love and to ride the ocean—like your dad raised you in the water.”

Bodhi pauses to focus on finding a parking spot. He pulls the truck to a stop along the road. The Sunshine Shack is right on the other side of the fence, painted a bright yellow, the awning up telling everyone they’re open for business. You’d almost drive right past this place if you didn’t live here. It’s small and nondescript with chickens wandering around the dirt surrounding the shack and the green mountains in the background.

Bodhi looks at me. “It nearly blows me away to think of a little girl who looks like you, spinning in circles with flowers in her hair. I don’t know if my heart could take it.”

Thinking of Bodhi as a dad fills me with a new warmth. “I want it all, Bo. Everything you described.”

“And I’m going to give it to you. All that and more. I just have to get a little more saved up so I can move out of the place I share with Kai. I’ve got a lot socked away from my sponsorships and contest earnings, but I don’t want to touch that. Give me a few more months … I’m not going into details … just know I’ve got plans.”

“And you think I’ll say yes?” I tease him.

“Nothing’s guaranteed in life. But I’m a risk taker, and I’m willing to take a risk any and every day when it comes to you.”

I smile over at Bodhi, and nearly whisper, “Yes.”

He didn’t ask, but he might as well. And I’m his. He knows that. There will never be another man for me. I don’t care if we make it official today or next year. My future is only happening with Bodhi Merrick at my side.

We’re sitting on the top deck of the Haleiwa Beach House Restaurant. The view of the ocean from up here is spectacular. A breeze is blowing through, taming the warmth of the midday sun. Bodhi and I are on a couch, my hand in his. The journalist forSurfer magazine, Megan, is sitting across from us. Her photographer, Denny, sits behind her, snapping shots of us occasionally. We’ll do an official photo shoot with him after the interview.

The article Megan plans to publish will be titled,The “It” Couple of Big Wave Surfing.It still blows my mind that people care about me and Bodhi outside of how we each surf. But, our relationship is more famous than our surfing at this point, drawing interest from people who never even cared about the world of surfing.

Megan continues her questions. We’ve each already gone into our reactions to our ranking and plans we have for future competitions. She asked us about our rigorous training regimen and now she’s getting personal.

“Bodhi, teen girls around the world have posters of you on their walls.”

“Yeah. I guess they do.” He’s so unaffected by this statement I almost laugh.

“Kalaine, does that bother you?” Megan smiles warmly at me.

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