Waves - Book #2 [completed]

5 ~ Abience

Abience
(noun)
The strong urge to avoid someone or something

"So," April drawls, closing the passenger door of my truck after climbing in. I close my eyes for a second so I don't roll them again, already knowing what's coming. "Mason."

There it is.

"What about him?" I snarl, kicking the engine.

"He's hot." It's a statement that hangs in the air for a bit.

"No, he's not." Nonchalantly, I shift gear.

Maybe.

"He is."

Okay, yeah, he's quite handsome, but he's also a big asshole and I'd have to drink a lot more than just one tiny beer to be able to ignore that attitude of his. I shake my head as I steer my trusty old truck towards my home further out of the city's center. I'd also need a lot, lot more alcohol – they'd probably need to pump my stomach – before I admit out loud that he's easy on the eyes. This whole wild Tarzan slash Thor vibe is... I don't know... hot.

Dammit!

I hit the steering wheel and grip it tighter after, earning a confused side-look from April.

"If you say so," I say wryly, hoping that she'd just move on because I don't want to think about him that way.

She hums, trying to read my expression in the dark of the unlit street we're currently on. I'm sure she wouldn't be able to read anything in my face, but I'm still thankful for the darkness and keeping a stoic expression. Just in case.

I gave up too soon and let Harry talk me into teaching Mason when I had planned to let him stew a little – something I'm sure he's never done. I bet he's one of those people who get everything they want the second they utter their wishes. I should've said no, especially after today. He made me feel odd, the way he looked at me, stared at my arms, my nose, my eyes... my boobs. It felt like my skin was lit on fire everywhere he looked. I felt exposed, and not in a bad way. It's just been a long time since someone looked at me like this – all hungry-eyed. Granted, I'm wearing very little fabric, exposing my arms, my back, my legs, but I do that all the time. It's summer, it's warm, I basically work at the beach all day and I like my body. So I'm not shy about showing off what I trained and worked hard for. Guys always look appreciatively, that's fine, it usually just makes me more confident. But they don't flirt with me because they know I'm not interested – everyone in Connor Head knows that. I just don't get flirted with. Period. And maybe that's why I felt so weird when Mason came onto me.

And now I'll have to keep my promise and help this Seppo to not crack his skull open when he eventually falls off the surfboard. That would be funny to witness though. Him falling, not the skull cracking. I'm not a monster.

April keeps quiet for the rest of the drive. She's a lightweight and probably walking on clouds from just the two little drinks she had right now. She and I have been friends in Primary School but grew apart when Mom, Luke and I moved to Connor Head when I was fifteen even though Byron Bay's only a half hour drive from here. The distance became more apparent when April went to University and I didn't because I travelled and worked – mostly abroad. Now we're more like good acquaintances than friends, but she refuses to accept that and insists on visiting me at least every few months and makes me visit her whenever I'm in Byron Bay. She's quite good at tracking me down.