Ain't That a Kick in the Head (Camren)

Chapter 11

Camila heaved a sigh of relief and dropped her burning arms into the water, her forehead onto the cool foam of her board.

"They're four feet tall." Lauren assured, holding the nose of Camila's board to keep her from drifting. "They just seem bigger when you're lying at the bottom."

"That was exhausting." Camila mumbled.

Lauren smiled fondly. "That wasn't even the fun part."

Camila sat up and slicked back her hair. She glanced around and was surprised to find that they really weren't that far out. It'd felt like she'd been paddling for a mile, crossed into another land. Her fingers were going numb.

"Today we're gonna drop in." Lauren informed, watching Camila. "That's your trick. You're going to catch the wave and then drop to the left at the bottom. That's called backside."

Camila looked skeptical. "That doesn't sound as cool as what you do."

"We can't all be as cool as I am." Lauren drawled.

"Can I do one of those jumps like you do?" Camila persisted. "Where you fly up off the top and spin around?"

Lauren managed to turn her snort into a cough. She thumped her chest and met Camila's wide, earnest eyes. "Soon, yeah. Let's not-let's not get ahead of ourselves."

Camila nodded, pleased with that answer.

"Are you ready to catch one?" Lauren asked.

Camila really was not looking forward to riding a wave all the way in and then having to paddle all the way back out again. Maybe she could get Lauren to tow her next time. She nodded, and Lauren grabbed the nose of her longboard and pointed it towards the shore.

"Paddle, pop up, cut left." Lauren instructed, giving the tail of Camila's board a shove as the swell approached. Lauren smiled when Camila began paddling frantically. She cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, "You got this, Camila Cabello!"

Camila clung to the board, having lost control of herself as soon as she caught the wave. She hadn't "popped up," so dropping in had been like belly flopping onto a hard surface, and now she was moving so fast that she couldn't see straight. Honestly, it was exhilarating, and it was probably way better than whatever Lauren had wanted her to do.

Camila shrieked freely, mouth wide open. Her knuckles turned white around the rails of the board and she swallowed several mouthfuls of water as she skimmed along.

How Lauren was able to do this while standing up was a mystery.

"Well. That's one way." Lauren laughed to herself, watching Camila scream and careen wildly towards the shore.

Camila finally grounded herself in the sand, but she seemed far too excited or overwhelmed to stand up, so she just rolled off her board and into the shallow water. Lauren was whooping her congratulations- because at least Camila hadn't fallen off- when a figure on the beach caught her eye.

She silenced herself immediately, eyes locked onto her mother.

Clara Jauregui stood about ten yards behind Camila, in capri pants and a t-shirt, arms folded across her chest. She was too far away for Lauren to discern her expression. Camila was still rolling around in the shallow water like an excited beached whale, so she obviously hadn't noticed the other woman.

Lauren set her jaw and paddled for the next wave. She popped up and stayed low, carving down the face and very much aware of her mother's eyes on her. She contemplated just riding straight in, but Camila was watching as well- grinning and waiting expectantly for a trick- so Lauren smiled wryly and shifted into a bottom turn.