Chapter 20

He straightened, leaned back. Andy was extra weight on the board’s nose, dragging them at a sharper angle than Scooter was used to, but then it was all instinct, keeping the board upright and moving. Scooter flexed his knees and pushed them harder toward the crest and then zipped along the smooth curl. He kept his mouth shut—it was always tempting to let loose with a war cry, but that was a great way to choke on a mouthful of ocean and seaweed.

It was a lesson that Andy was going to learn fairly shortly if he didn’t stop laughing like a loon, but Scooter couldn’t quite tell him to stop, it was such a warm and happy sound.

He hoped to hell that Andy had a good grip, slid back and pushed his weight until the board spun in a graceful half-circle, riding up through the crest and back the other way, making a zig-zag toward the shore. That was where first timers usually lost it. Going straight was easy. Turning was a bitch. But Andy just leaned with him as if they’d practiced together for years. Scooter punched the air in triumph, sliding down the glassy wave. He got to the end of the second run and that was probably enough for now; other people were waiting their turn. The inlet was too narrow for multiple riders at a time. “Jump off!” He checked his tether, then dove off into the side of the wave, going down until the current no longer battered him.

He touched the sandy ocean floor and shot back up, following the black line of his tether. He threw an arm over his board and got eyes on Andy.

Andy had already surfaced and was treading water, grinning fit to burst. “Okay, that was great,” he said. He glanced back toward the shore, where a lanky teenager was already starting to swim out. “Taking turns?”

Scooter nodded. He spat out a mouthful of water, the salt stinging the inside of his mouth a little. “This is the best spot, but it’s small,” he said, paddling over. “Come on, Jason’s gonna go after this kid.” He jerked a chin at Jason, who was holding their big red-and-white striped board, which meant he and Kat were going to show off. “You don’t want to miss that.”

Jason and Kat, who’d once gone on a wave-chaser vacation and rolled double-overheads, when the curl was twice as high as Jason, could ride tandem like a pro team. Kat liked to say it was winters in the ex-Soviet Union that had taught her how. They got to shore just as Jason was cresting, and with a few slick movements, Kat climbed up his legs and got balanced on his shoulders, riding Jason like a bar-room mechanical bull.

“Holy shit,” Andy breathed, eyes locked on the pair. “You really weren’t kidding about the showing off.”

A skinny black girl with her hair tucked under a swim cap wandered over to them. “Scooter, why you gotta bring them ‘round? Always makes it a letdown for the rest of us.” She was grinning though, and punched him in the arm lightly at the end of her complaint.

“Pfft,” Scooter snorted. Ugh. His nose was running already; side effect of surfing, and it was damned unattractive. If he stayed out too long, he’d get a bloody nose. “Who do you think rousted me before dawn? Hey, Andy, this is Raneisha Collins. Her mom runs the candy store down the way, the one with those chocolate-covered coffee beans? Raneisha, this is Andy, my new employee.”

Andy offered Raneisha a hand, eyeing her appraisingly. “Student?” he guessed.

“Kemps Landing Magnet School, math and engineering,” she said, proud of herself. And she should be; Raneisha was brilliant. She shook Andy’s hand and then took a very obvious step to one side, eyeing him up and down. “Heard about you.” Scooter restrained himself from rolling his eyes; of course Andy was gossip fodder. There weren’t that many newcomers to Sandbridge, but the fact that the women in town were all talking about his assmade Scooter a little possessive and defensive and…admittedly, a bit jealous, too.

Andy seemed to take it in stride, though. “Whatever you heard,” he said solemnly, “it’s all true.”

“I’m up,” Raneisha said, grabbing a board and heading into the waves.

“You want to try standing for a second run?” Scooter gave in to temptation and put an arm around Andy’s shoulders, stippled with water and running gooseflesh as the wind picked up. The storm was gonna be a rager when it came in. They probably ought not stay out too long; Dockside would need to be battened down.

“Sure, I can try,” Andy said, accepting the challenge with a wild grin. “If you don’t mind me toppling us over more or less immediately.”

They watched two more sets go out; Ryan was pretty good, but his friend Thomas wiped out almost immediately. He got cheerfully razzed as he dragged himself back to shore and flipped off a handful of pre-teen girls, red-faced and furious.