Page 45 of Speechless

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Henry

“How long is the drive?You’re not taking me to Tijuana, are you?”

Lucy’s been peppering me with questions about today’s destination ever since I had to drag her body out of bed this morning. When I asked her last night if I could take her out for a surprise she seemed very excited, well, until I mentioned the five a.m. call time. But paddle boarding at sunrise is remarkable. She’s going to love it.

Her first guess was an Alaskan cruise, then a trek through Yosemite. Now that we’re in the car and dressed for a swim, she’s starting to narrow it down to the southwestern coast. Latigo Beach is only a short drive from the house, but I’ve told her to bring plenty of snacks for the road trip. I like to keep her on her toes.

Once we park she finally notices the paddle board strapped to the roof of the car. I’m not quite sure her eyes were actually open when we left so she is genuinely surprised.

“Henry, you’ve seen me stand for like thirty seconds on a surfboard, on my best day. What makes you think I’ll be any good at this?”

“Relax Luzu, we’re sharing. I’ll do the paddling; you’ll do the sunrise watching. Does that sound reasonable?” She beams, confirming that this was an excellent idea. Well done, Henry. “And if you’re up for it, I might just let you paddle on the way back.”

Once we get down to the water I explain to her that she can sit in front while I’m standing behind her. I show her some different options to help her balance, though she’s not the most coordinated if I’m being honest. She decides to sit cross legged and once we’re steady and moving she leans back until she’s laying flat on the board with her head at my feet. Can she see up my trunks? I try to dispel the thought and focus on her instead. And then I realize focusing on her means staring at her half naked body, tan skin glowing ever so slightly with the rising sun, and am again, and more heavily, concerned about her seeing up my trunks.

That damn yellow bikini.

It’s my favorite color now too.

“Lucy, sit up straight if you can. You know, balance and . . . stuff.” Fucking hell.

She gives me a strange look before sitting back up and facing away from me. I miss her face immediately.

“This is amazing. I’ve always wanted to go paddle boarding. Jack used to go with our friends every summer at the Vineyard. I didn’t even know I could share the board with him.” I follow her gaze to the horizon where the faintest line of gold is starting to glimmer.

“You do seem to love the water, do you mind if I ask why it scares you so much?”

“Well, I was in Bermuda, my Junior year of college for Spring break. Went jet skiing with my bo—with Jack, and umm, I fell off. The undertow was really strong that day, I remember them warning people not to swim out too far. It sucked me down really hard. I honestly thought I was going to drown.” There’s a long beat of silence and I wonder if her story is over. “A lifeguard from the beach ended up saving me, not before I smashed into a huge piece of coral of course.” She motions to the subtle scar along the outside of her thigh, and then another one on the back of her neck. “Twenty-two stitches. And I haven’t been out past my waist since then. Well not until recently. It feels good to be out here again, even if I’m still mildly terrified.”

“I’m impressed.”

“Impressed? That’s not the reaction I was expecting. Whenever Jack or I explained to his friends why I didn’t want to join their ocean activities, the typical response was ‘awww.’” She looks back at me and scrunches her face in annoyance.

“I’m sorry you got hurt, but you’re not a child, Luce. I’m impressed you’re out here, with me. I’m impressed that you’ve been out surfing with Graham almost every day for the past month. I’m impressed that you didn’t let one tragic experience take something joyful away from you forever.”

She stays silent for a while and I wonder if I’ve said something wrong. I know what it’s like to be scared. For most of my life I’ve been scared to leave the house, and even now I rarely socialize with anyone outside of HAAAM, and now Lucy.

I decide to stop for a beat and sit with her; the water is exceptionally calm at the moment. I kneel down to balance back on my heels and tap her on the shoulder.

“Hi, care to turn around?” I offer a hand to help her maneuver toward me.

“Oh, hello Maestro, how kind of you to join me down here.”

“So, what do you think?” I gesture toward the horizon, the sun slowly rising up above the hills, a ball of flaming orange wrapped in a glowing halo. No matter how many times I do this, I always find the view breathtaking.

“It’s amazing. Thank you for bringing me. I’m sorry you had to drag me out of bed. You really should have told me what we were doing—Imightnot have been so difficult.”

“But that would have ruined the surprise.” I give her a quick wink, feeling a bit more confident than I did earlier.

“Touché.”

“I’m just glad you came. It’s nice having someone to talk to out here. I’ve only ever come alone.”

When she smiles at me like this, I have to remind myself to breathe. The sun reflects off her emerald eyes, and they glow an unearthly shade of amber. Her hair catches the same light, glittering in the breeze. She looks like an angel.

I realize I’m staring at her and promptly clear my throat. “So, I finishedThrone of Glass.” She swiftly turns her gaze from the sky to me, eyes wide.

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