Page 34 of Erase Me
“My God, you’re a walking encyclopedia when it comes to Southern California.The history, the marine life...”
“That’s because I’m from New York.We don’t get to experience things like bioluminescence on the East Coast.”I gestured towards the beach.“Besides, I like being here and knowing more about the town and the culture.That’s true about every place I go.It’s a perk of the job.”
“You mean, your job in property insurance,” she said.
“Right.Property insurance,” I repeated.
There was that look again that made me feel like I was being analyzed.
“You said it’s back.The blue bioluminescence.It comes and goes?”
“From what I hear, it shows up for a short time between March and June and then again in the fall.”
“That’s pretty cool.I didn’t expect to experience any of this.”She stopped and gazed at the surfers in the fading light.“Do you need to be a good athlete to surf?”
I’d seen all of her, and Avalie was strong.She had a lean athletic build.At the same time, she was sexy, with curves in all the right places.I tore my gaze away from her body and watched a trio of surfers go by us onto the beach.She wasn’t coming back to my place tonight, so I had to get my head out of the gutter.
“How strong a swimmer are you?”I asked.
“Mediocre.”
“Flexible?”
“My joints have been known to creak on occasion.”
“What do you do for cardio?”I asked.
“Does going from my laptop to the fridge count?”
I smiled.“Balance?”
“Not great.”She made a face and touched a spot on her rib.“Here’s the proof.”
“How patient are you when it comes to learning new things?”
She scoffed.“Not exactly a strong point.My parents told me I gave up on riding a bicycle after the first try because I didn’t master it right off.”
I stopped, facing her.“You can’t ride a bicycle?”
“I can now.But it took years before I got back to it.”She linked her arm in mine, and we started walking again.
“That doesn’t sound too promising.”
“You’re not going to back out on me now, are you?”
I laughed.“Hey, you can’t scare me with all that stuff.We’re surfing tomorrow.We’ll just warn the lifeguards in advance.”
“Excellent.What time?”
A woman, pushing a double stroller and holding the hand of a third young child, cut us off and jerked to a stop in front of us.I immediately recognized her.She was the one ready to fight Avalie for the Jane Austen book at the library book sale yesterday.
“Oh good.People I know,” she said in a rush.“Can you watch these two while I’ll take this one to the bathroom?”
She didn’t wait for an answer.Leaving the stroller in front of us, she scooped up the other child and ran to the nearby bathroom building.
“What just happened?”Avalie asked.
I had no chance to answer, for both children in the stroller started screaming simultaneously.
