Page 45 of Ride the Wave

‘You know what, Leo? I might actually take you up on that offer of a top-up.’

His eyes gleam at me, before he grabs the bottle of wine and fills up my glass. As he concentrates on pouring, I find myself studying him, those long eyelashes, the sharp jaw, full lips and rumpled, brown hair that gives him an easy-going, natural handsomeness. Gazing at him, you’d easily forgive him for being superior and arrogant. But now I’m not sure he’s either of those things. My eyes run down the slope of his neck to his broad, muscled shoulders and back up to his Adam’s apple.

It strikes me that he has a really good neck.

I think about what it would taste like and a warmth throbs between my legs.

‘Here,’ he says, his throat bobbing as he speaks, jolting me from my daze.

My cheeks burn hot as I pull my glass back towards me, hoping he thinks I’ve been standing here thinking completely normal thoughts and not been passing the time strangely fixated on his neck.

‘Thank you,’ I whisper, my cheeks flushing with heat.

‘Cheers,’ he holds his glass up to mine.

Tapping my glass against his, I take a sip, both of us turning to look as Marina squeals in embarrassment when Anna grabs her hands and forces her to dance in the middle of the circle out on the decking.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Leo observing them with a smile on his lips.

‘How did you and Marina meet?’ I ask him, dragging his eyes from them to me. ‘Did you find yourselves floating next to each other in the water one day or was it here in the bar?’

‘Would it be embarrassing to admit we were introduced through my dad?’ he says, wrinkling his nose as he smiles.

‘Not at all.’ I laugh. ‘Your dad seems all-knowing. In fact, I’d be keen to be introduced to others through him. Bet he has some great friends.’

‘Yeah, he’s a lot of fun when he wants to be,’ Leo agrees, nodding. ‘He’s lived here a long time and knew Marina well – both local small business owners. I wasn’t in the best place when I arrived. It took me a while before I was ready to meet new people. After a long time of me moping around and when I was ready to get back in the water, Dad arranged for us to all go surfing.’

‘Surfing brought you together.’

‘You could say that.’

He catches me smirking into my wine glass and frowns.

‘What?’ he asks. ‘What are you thinking?’

‘That you lied to me.’

‘When?’

I look him right in the eye. ‘When you said you were a lone wolf.’

He opens his mouth to protest, but thinks better of it, his shoulders slumping slightly as he concedes. I have him there.

‘You’re lucky to have such a great support network,’ I continue, enjoying the light atmosphere between us. ‘Your dad is your coach and your fellow surfers are your friends. It’s nice. You find your inspiration in and out of the water, you could say.’

He shakes his head at me with a teasing smile. ‘I’m not sure you even realise you’re doing it.’

‘Doing what?’

‘Putting quotes in my mouth.’ He gives me a pointed look. ‘Come on. Referring to my family and friends as “inspiration in and out of the water”. Sounds like a well thought-out caption beneath an adorable group photo.’

‘How do you know I’m not poetic at all times?’

‘Well, I’m not, so don’t try to make me say shit like that,’ he says, before propping his elbow up on the bar again. ‘So, what aboutyourinspiration?’

‘For what? Writing?’ I gave him a quizzical look. ‘I guess in this case, that would be you.’

He laughs, properly laughs, the crinkles forming in all their glory, his brown eyes gleaming with surprise. When he laughs like that, his eyes become gentler.

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