Page 59 of Ride the Wave

He nods, shifting in his seat, clearly uncomfortable with this topic.

‘Leo,’ I say in frustration, leaping to my feet to walk around to the picture and study it properly, ‘they’re really good! Are you kidding me?’

He laughs at my expression. ‘How are you annoyed at me? I can tell you are.’

‘Because you haven’t mentioned that you’re a secret artist! Do you know how gorgeous an angle that is for the feature? Tell me about it!’

‘Ah, there’s not much to tell,’ he insists, looking down at his hands as he clasps them together. ‘It’s not serious. It helps me think. Sketching is a bit like surfing in that it takes me away from everything else.’ He hesitates, adding with a wry smile, ‘It’s a bit more relaxing than surfing, though. I guess it’s good to have a hobby that helps me unwind.’

‘How long have you done it for? You’re so talented!’

He shakes his head. ‘I’m not disciplined at all in it; I only do it when I have the time. I used to be quite good at art at school – probably the only thing I was good at when it came to school. But then I sort of… lost it for a bit.’ He clears his throat. ‘I took it up again when I moved back here. My dad bought me the stuff I needed, actually; he got me all the charcoal and graphite supplies, encouraged me to give it a go again.’

I point at the sailboat in the picture. ‘Why is this one special?’

‘I’m sorry?’

‘This one must be special to you, it’s the only one on your wall,’ I note. ‘The ones in your dad’s shop and at Marina’s are surfers, but this one is a boat. You don’t have any other ones up here in your home but I assume you have done more drawings than this, so what is it about this one that you like?’

He looks at me, puzzled, his lips slightly parted in confusion, as though he’s never thought about it. Eventually, he closes his mouth and swallows, before saying, ‘It was the first one I ever sketched here on the balcony, so it felt like a moment,’ without taking his eyes off mine.

I nod, folding my arms as I turn back to admire it. ‘Charcoal creates such a cool effect. Whimsical almost. Kind of haunting.’

‘I saw the boat out there and I wondered where they were going,’ he explains, standing up to come join me in examining it. ‘Then I realised that they probably didn’t care where they were going. They were just… sailing.’

Side by side, we fall into silence. I’m so aware of how close he’s standing to me, how if I stretched out my fingertips, they might brush against his and maybe that would lead him to wrap his hand around mine like earlier today and drag me towards him and—

The doorbell rings and I jump.

‘That will be Dad,’ he says in a low voice, stepping behind me to go to the door.

Exhaling, I shut my eyes while my mind races with thoughts that I shouldn’t be having. It’s a good thing I have this date tomorrow so I can quash this silly crush with the excitement of dating someone like José, who is quite potentially the Perfect Man. I’m heading home soon, too, so anything that happens with José would be temporary and uncomplicated – just how I like it. Icannotdevelop feelings for Leo. That would be extremely complicated.

What matters here is my career.

And that’s something I have to remind myself continually throughout the evening whenever I catch Leo’s gaze lingering on me a little too long as I burst out laughing at one of Adriano’s stories, or when I find myself admiring Leo’s artwork too many times to be subtle, or when I say goodnight and he tells his dad he’s going to walk me home, happy to stroll slowly next to me while I totter along in my wedges, putting out his hand to help me balance down the steeper slopes.

‘Thanks again for this evening, Leo, it was really… helpful,’ I say stupidly, as we get to my apartment building. ‘I like your dad’s attitude towards your training in the lead up to the competition. He’s so calm and casual about it. It’s refreshing.’

He shoves his hands in his pockets. ‘He makes it seem easy, right?’

‘I think that’s a good thing. He doesn’t want to put too much pressure on you.’

‘It doesn’t matter; the pressure is there. I don’t want him to lose his business.’ He looks disheartened for a moment. ‘If I win, it could do everyone a lot of good.’

‘And what about you? What does it mean to you to ring that iconic bell again?’

He brings his eyes up to meet mine. ‘It would do me a lot of good, too, knowing I still have what it takes to compete with the young stars out there.’

I fold my arms across my chest. ‘You doubt yourself?’

‘Doesn’t every athlete have their doubts?’

I smile slowly at him. ‘That’s why they have their support network to help them overcome those doubts. But not you. You’re a lone wolf.’

He grimaces. ‘I think I may have to adjust that quote.’

I laugh, rummaging in my bag for my keys. ‘I’ll see you in the morning bright and early. Your dad has invited me to come watch you surf down the coast first thing.’

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