Page 47 of Keeping My Girl

CHAPTER27

Nicholas

IT’S THE OFF-SEASON, so the beach isn’t crowded, save for a few guys with fishing poles and one or two surfers out in the water. Even though the air is cool, the ocean is still warm, perfect for surfing.

I change first in the back of the van. I hop out, zipping up my wetsuit in the process while I motion for Selina to do the same. We bought her a suit at a little shop on the way. Once she’s inside the van, I close the door and wait for her to change.

Three familiar SUVs are parked not that far away from us, and I give a nod to one of the bodyguards sitting in the front seat of the closest vehicle. Can’t be too careful, especially with Constantine so close and creeping around in New York City right after the funeral of his son.

Aldo has been keeping tabs on the bastard, and everyone except me is stumped as to why he’s staying in NYC. I know why he’s not leaving. He’s hoping to get his claws back in Selina. I can feel it deep down in my gut. Constantine doesn’t like to lose, and he fucking lost the most beautiful girl in the world. He’ll never get to have her again. At least not unless he’s prying her from my cold, dead hands.

The side door on the van clicks just then and Selina steps out. “Uh, could you help me?” she asks, turning around. There is a gap in the back where she couldn’t reach, so I grab the zipper and begin to pull it up. My fingertips graze her soft skin as I zip her up, and I feel her shiver from my touch. Fuck. Clearing my throat, I tell her, “There. All set.”

When she turns back to face me, all the breath leaves my lungs. She looks so fucking pretty like this. We used to spend so much time out here on the water, surfing, laughing and talking. God, we would talk for hours. Surfing with Lina is one of my fondest memories from my teenage years.

“Race you to the sand!” she calls out before grabbing her board and taking off running.

Shit! I grab my board and take off after her. I almost forgot that we always used to race down to the beach, and whoever won got to catch the first wave. I can’t believe she remembered.

She beats me down to the sand by a few seconds, and I blame it on trying to manhandle my board and her getting a head start.

“Looks like I’m up first,” she says, practically beaming.

Chuckling, I tell her, “Okay, fine.”

We paddle out together into the water with our boards. The feel of the saltwater washing over me brings back memories of Selina and I surfing together. Fuck, it’s been too long since I’ve been out here. I missed it immensely. I’ve been surfing solo now and again over the past ten years, but it never felt the same. I never enjoyed it as much as I did when I was with her, so I pretty much gave it up.

“Are you good?” I yell to her when she starts swimming out to catch her first wave.

When she gets to the lineup, Selina simply looks back and smiles, and I know she’s got this. Hopefully surfing is just like riding a bike; something you never forget. But if she gets hurt out there, I’ll lose my goddamn mind.

“Be careful!” I call after her, but she’s too far out in the water to hear me now. I watch her swimming faster and faster until her graceful form suddenly pops up on her board and rides out a small surge. The wave wasn’t spectacular, but it was special. Her first one since she’s been freed.

“Your turn!” she says as she coasts in towards the beach and slides off her board and into the water.

I paddle out to the lineup, waiting for the perfect wave, which is the third one. Popping up on my board, I cruise along the water, the rushing sound of the ocean almost euphoric as I use my lower body to cut my board along the wave. I’m one with the ocean at that moment, and it’s an amazing feeling. You feel powerful when you catch a big barreling wave; almost like you’re controlling nature or just in the presence of something truly remarkable.

“Nice!” Selina calls out to me as I come swimming back towards her.

We take a few more turns catching waves, and I am growing obsessed with the smile on Selina’s face. I haven’t seen her smile this much since she arrived at the compound. A guy could get used to this.

Exhausted, I paddle back to the beach and crash on the sand. I’m watching Selina in the distance. She’s gearing up to catch a perfect wave. The water crests, and she positions herself beautifully. But just as she begins gliding over the water, I notice movement out of the corner of my eye. Another surfer is breaking through the other end, trying to take Selina’s wave. They’re going to collide in the middle if they both keep going.

Waving my hands frantically, I yell, “Watch out!”

But it’s too late.

The two boards hit each other, knocking both surfers off and into the water. Hard.

Selina goes under, and I lose track of her for several seconds. With all of my strength against the waves, I swim as fast as I can out towards her. “Lina! Lina!” I call out, searching the murky water for a sign of her blonde hair.

Every second without her feels like a fucking eternity, and I’m beside myself, wading in the water and crying out her name.

Finally, she breaks through the surface, gasping for air. I swim over to her, dragging my board, which is still attached to my ankle by the leash, behind me, and gather her in my arms. “Are you okay?” I ask, checking her head for injuries.

“Yeah,” she tells me, her eyes wide with lingering fear.

I know that probably scared the hell out of her. It scared the hell out of me too. I pull her close, holding her to me. “It’s okay. You’re okay,” I tell her. “Can you swim back to shore with me?” I ask.

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