Wandering with You ✔️

Chapter 2

"Uh-huh."

"You're a good little surfer, you know."

She waited for the implied 'but' as the man took a moment to 'stretch.' He flexed his arms across his chest in a way which emphasised his muscles.

Urgh! There was nothing less attractive than a man who knew he was hot.

"But ..." he continued, "you surf on your back foot too much." The corners of his eyes creased into deep lines. "We can paddle out together sometime, and I'll give you some pointers."

Oh, can we? Why thank you so much! She mentally rolled her eyes.

"Thanks, but I'll give it a miss."

"What's the problem? Are you here with someone?" He peered around, sussing out the other surfers.

Really? Did she need to have a boyfriend to say no? At least she had one and didn't need to lie outright.

"He's away right now."

"Oh, right." The man seemed dubious. "Whereabouts?"

"Costa Rica." I think. She regretted the answer the second it came out.

The man blew out a gust of breath. "Costa Rica? Geeze, babe, you're trusting!"

I'm not your babe. Nadia ground her teeth and would have crossed her arms, but her hands were already tucked away. Instead, she settled for a glare. "I'm not the jealous type. Besides, I'll be with him soon." Just six more weeks.

"Right you are." The man laughed, and his eyebrows waggled like a pair of fluffy black caterpillars.

Nadia reined in the urge to tell him where to go, digging her nails into her palms. They were soulmates. Khai had told her that a hundred times. There was nothing like time and distance to prove they were meant for each other. Sure, it was tough — but true love was never supposed to be easy. And when you found it, you stuck in there no matter what.

"Sooooo ..." the man said. This time she did roll her eyes. "The lucky bugger got a head start on the Gringo Trail without you — eh?" The expression on her face must have confirmed this. "I remember doing it myself." He shook his head. "Long distance relationships and Latin America don't work, trust me, babe. I know alllll about them. I'd hurry up on over there. Or ..." He winked. "You could just forget about him for the moment and make the most of —"

The bustle of the surfers about them broke the conversation. Lines of water bulged on the horizon, announcing the approach of the set. About frickin' time.

Though her mind whirled, Nadia made a point of looking like she was focusing all her attention on paddling into position. She lined herself up with her onshore marker: the light pole in front of the white-roofed house.

The man tried to snake around her and steal her priority, but she blocked him by moving further into the inside and sending him a scowl.

The jerk sat up and held up his hands in a peace gesture.

Asshole!

Despite the adrenaline pumping through her veins, she didn't bother going for the first wave. Tired and apprehensive — not to mention having cold-numbed hands which would make her paddle like a dog — she had no chance of competing with the crowd. Better to be strategic and wait it out.

Nadia watched the group of men, Eyebrows included, fight for it, nudging each other. Someone shouted in frustration, and there was the familiar roar of water spilling in on itself.

She took advantage of this distraction to head back to the prime location and the front of the line-up, ready for the next one. When it came, she paddled, gritting her teeth as she willed her fingers to hold together, pulling them in hard strokes through the water. Her shoulders and lats burned. And then, when she thought she couldn't manage another stroke, her board moved on its own. She popped up. Her feet hit the waxed deck, gripping, and she felt a drop in her belly as she glided down the face of the wave. To her right, the wall of water shimmered blue and green, translucent enough to make out the reef beyond.

A slick, bronzed body materialised a couple of meters ahead of her.

No bloody way. "Hup."

The form didn't waver.

She leaned back to slow down and prevent a collision. "Hup, hup!"

Eyebrows turned to look at her, smiled and, shrugging his shoulders, steered his board off the wave with casual grace.

Wanker.

She moved her balance to her front — back-foot-surfer, my ass — and forced herself faster, bending and extending her body to speed up and out of the white water. When she was clear of it, she steered up to the tip. The nose flashed around in a roundhouse as she turned to face the breaking water behind her, carving back to the white water. She turned and used its power to propel forward, and repeated this pattern, once, twice, before allowing her board to sail over the crest. She floated in the air, hovering for an exquisite moment stretched in time, and splashed down into the water.

Popping her head above the surface, she beamed. Definitely the wave of the day.

Nadia rode her elation to the crowd.

"Sorry 'bout that, love." The man opened his mouth.

Oh, for Christ's bloody sake! Before he could speak, she snorted at him, then narrowed her eyes at the lowering sun. I suppose it's just about time to head in anyway. Then, from the corner of her eye, she spotted a lanky figure with long, blonde hair and a hipster moustache.

Thank God. "Oi, Mike! How you going?" She headed over to him, a smile plastered across her face.

Mike flushed at the attention, and Nadia grimaced, then thought better of her guilt. She wasn't doing anything wrong.

They chatted until the next set came and Mike caught a wave. She missed out, and so turned her attention to practising her Spanish.

Quiero una cerveza, por favor. She mouthed the words to herself. Mi nombre es Nadia. Soy de Australia.

It had been bloody hard work to save in such a short period. Khai hadn't given her much notice about his latest trip, though it had been on his cards for some time. And then he had his one-way ticket. Thankfully, he'd invited her along, though belatedly, sobbing from a payphone in Tijuana — a sure sign of love from a self-professed solo traveller.

Since finishing university, late the year before, she'd met roadblock after roadblock. A Bachelor of Arts degree was not lucrative. Nadia had spent a couple of weeks in sales, cold-calling. She shuddered at the memory. There was no dollar value for copping verbal abuse: mental health and self-respect were priceless.

Returning to work at her parents cleaning business had meant swallowing her pride — and a drop in her pay. It also allowed her to maintain her dignity. After all, toilet scrubbing was honest work. Squirrelling her money had not been easy, especially with the cost of last-minute flights, insurance, and the money she had sent Khai for their Inca Trail passes. She had just enough to join him for the latter half of his gap year. Luckily, Khai was a fastidious saver who earned plenty of money in his accounting day job. He told her he had a substantial chunk tied up in a high-interest saving account for back-up purposes. And he was starting up an online business. It would be fine.

A breeze skimmed along the water and shot up her back. She shivered. Soon everything would be perfect.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Quiero una cerveza, por favor.  — I want a beer, please.

Mi nombre es Nadia. Soy de Australia. — My name is Nadia. I am from Australia. 

Photo by Kensuke Saito Surf Photography on Unsplash.