I know what you're thinking. Omg a new chapter so soon? Is this for realsies? Well... yes. Lemme explain. This chapter plus what I published the other day was supposed to all be Ch.15, but I thought it might be too long since I was approaching 6k words, so I split it. In hindsight I probably should've kept it as 1 since chapter 15 ended up being super short, but whatever. So basically, I got an extra chapter for free, and I couldn't wait to post it because this entire thing was fun to write and I wanna share it. This won't be the norm, though. The wait for Ch.17 should be like any normal wait for the next chapter. This was just a side effect of the chapter becoming too long. I was gonna wait to post, but then I was like screw it, nobody will complain about new content this soon. Enjoy, and thanks for reading!
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"Anyway, enough of that," I said. "I don't wanna think about work anymore. For the rest of the day, I ain't your secretary. I'm your coach. Ready to get started?"
"Heck yeah!" he said, eagerly reaching for my surfboard like a child seeing candy.
"Whoa whoa whoa," I said, pulling the board away before he could grab it. He looked confused. "Not so fast, buddy. This is your very first time, right?" I asked, to which he nodded. "In that case, gotta teach you some basic things first."
I gestured for him to follow me out to knee-deep water. Once we were out there, I placed the board in the water to show him how he should lay.
"Every board's different, but for this one your chest should be lined up with the middle," I said, laying on the board myself to demonstrate. "Just like this. You're taller than me, so it might be different for... h-hey! Focus!"
He's checking out my butt!
I snapped my fingers at him.
"Ya wanna learn or not?" I asked. "Or is a girl in a swimsuit gonna be too distracting for ya?"
"I-I wasn't—!"
"I saw where you were looking," I said. "Don't make me slap ya."
His face went beet red. I'm honestly not sure how I feel. I didn't come out here to be eye candy, but at the same time... it's him. Even if it was a little crude, he was still enamored by me.
Crap, am I blushing again? Ugh... whatever. Probably best to just play it off for now.
"J-Just because I'm in a swimsuit, it doesn't mean you can stare, ya hear?" I said.
Ugh... stammering again. He really caught me off guard with that. Regardless, it looks like he got the message.
"I-I'm paying attention," he said. "Sorry."
I rolled my eyes. The threat of a slap probably helped.
"Good," I said, hoping he didn't see me blushing. "Anyway, you give it a try."
We swapped spots and I kept the board steady while he found his position. Not sure why, but it was kinda cute to watch him adjust himself.
"Feel alright?" I asked.
"Seems pretty solid," he said.
"Great," I said. "Lemme attach the leg rope..."
I gave instructions as I wrapped the leg rope around his ankle. Basically, take the board out to waist-deep water and get on the board when you see white water coming.
"Make sure it's a good distance out so you can paddle around," I said, showing him the paddling motion. "Don't stop paddling until the wave starts pushing you. And don't try to stand up either. Just bellyboard. Once you can catch waves reliably, I'll teach ya how to pop up. And remember, if you get caught by a rip, don't fight it. Just stay calm, and let the waves take you back to shore. If you're really in trouble, hold your hand up high and I'll come get ya. Got all that?"
"I think so," he said.
I talked for a while, but I'll trust that he wasn't distracted through it.
"Alright. Break a leg," I said. "Wait... I didn't mean it like that. Just... g-good luck."
He chuckled. "Thanks."
He got off the board and hoisted it up, walking out to deeper waters while I walked back to dry land... scolding myself.
Break a leg? The hell was that? Are ya trying to sound stupid, Jean?!
I took a breath. Calm down. There's nothing to worry about. He hasn't even mentioned anything about this being a date or not. Just... play it cool.
I took a seat in the sand, maintaining a watchful eye on the commander. I kept my board close by in case he needed help.
Hmph... he looks pretty cool walking out there like that, silhouetted against the early evening sky. Couldn't have picked a more perfect time to go surfing, honestly. The sun is just starting to dip below the horizon, forming a soft, silky band of red and purple below—and perfectly blended with—the milky light blue sky. The clouds further away were a smooth pink color while the closer ones were a silken blue, like both colors of cotton candy. The world is at its most beautiful during sunset. My favorite time of day to surf, without a doubt.
Looks like there's some good waves out there. Now he just needs to try and catch one of them.
He glanced back at me, as if he was wanting me to tell him what to do. I just gestured for him to go on. Admittedly, catching waves was a hurdle I had to overcome, but he ain't gonna get anywhere by waiting.
C'mon, Commander. Just pick a wave, paddle around, and keep paddling till the wave pushes ya. You can do it.
He turned around and seemed to look outward into the sea. I perked up when I saw him lay on the board. Yep, there's a pretty good wave coming in. Let's see if he catches it.
I saw him haphazardly paddle, trying to turn around. Eh... technique definitely needs work, but he's trying.
I watched as the white water picked him up, looking as if the board was cutting through the wave as he stopped paddling.
Huh... not bad. He actually caught it. I'm impressed. Took me a while to get the hang of catching waves. He's learning fa—
...wait, why is he trying to stand up? What the hell is he doing?!
"Wait, Commander! No no n—!"
Too late. I watched as he lost his balance and toppled over into the water.
"God damn it," I grunted. I knew that would happen. I grabbed my board and headed out. Luckily, as I paddled, I saw him emerge and climb back up on the board, giving me some relief. I swam up next to him and gave him a look.
"Commander, you were doing so well," I said. "Why'd ya try to pop up?"
"I-I don't know..." he said. "I just felt like trying?"
"And what happened?" I asked.
He pursed his lips. "...I fell?"
"You fell," I said. "Even though I told ya to just bellyboard."
"Sorry..." he said.
I rolled my eyes, managing a chuckle. "Well, you're ambitious, I'll give ya that. But remember what I said? Gotta learn to catch waves first before anything else?"
"Yeah..." he said.
"Ya started off alright, though," I said. "Try and catch some more and we'll go from there. I'll catch some with ya so you can have an example. And don't try to stand this time, ya hear?"
"Yes, ma'am," he said.
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Looks like that first wave he caught was a fluke.
"Argh!" he grunted as a wave passed under him.
"Ya ain't going fast enough!" I called out. I saw another wave approaching. "Here, watch!"
I turned around and paddled hard, trying to match the incoming wave's speed. My peripheral vision became flanked by white water as the wave picked me up. I stopped paddling when I felt the wave push me, and I gently glided to shore.
"See?" I called out. "Gotta hustle, or else the wave will just go right under ya!"
A wave was coming up behind him.
"There's another good one coming up. Get ready!"
I watched his arms start to move. He's trying, but he ain't going nearly fast enough. And the wave was coming in quickly.
"Paddle!" I yelled. "Paddle, paddle, paddle, paddle!"
I saw him grit his teeth as he paddled harder and harder. The wave crept under him, and his eyes went wide as the wave pushed him along. He did it.
I couldn't help but grin. It's satisfying to see your protégé succeed. That face of his was super cute too.
When the wave settled, he swam up next to me.
"Jean, I did it!" he cheered.
"Yes, ya did," I said. "Not too shabby, Commander. Get back out there and catch some more. Practice makes perfect."
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Here comes another one. This was big enough for both the commander and I, so I caught it with him. I'm honestly impressed. He's quite decent at catching waves now. Not perfect, and his paddling technique still needs work, but his progress has been great.
He looks pretty good on a surfboard, too. Then again, he always looks good.
I swam up next to him once the wave dissipated. His hair was wet and darkened, and messy from him brushing it out of his face constantly. Looks cute, actually.
"Not bad, Commander," I said. "Doing alright?"
"This is really fun," he said. "I need a break, though. My arms are tired."
"I figured," I said. "That's fine, though. I was wanting to show you how to stand on the board anyway. You can rest while I show you. Let's head back to shore."
He followed me as we swam back. Once we were in knee-deep water, we hopped off our boards and—
SPLASH
"Ack!" I yelped, feeling water being tossed at me. "What the..."
I heard snickering.
"Commander, why did y—"
SPLASH
"Augh!!!" I cried as more seawater was thrown in my face. Not a lot, but he managed to get some in my mouth, which I immediately spat out. Ugh... nasty.
I wiped the excess off my face and saw the commander looking away nonchalantly, as if nothing happened. I rose my eyebrow at him.
"What?" he asked.
"Ya know what ya did," I scolded.
He shrugged. "Must've been the wind."
Ah. Gonna play dumb, huh? Gonna try and mess with me? Well, two can play at that.
"Pish... them's some pretty weak wind," I remarked.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" he retorted, dropping his dumb charade.
"Commander, a cup could hold more water than what you threw at me," I said. Heh, judging by his face, I reckon he doesn't like having his crap thrown back at him. "Hey, don't gimme that look. Consider this another learning opportunity. This is exactly the problem with your paddling technique. Ya gotta cup your hands to allow more water volume... like this!"
SPLASH
"Argh!" he cried as I ambushed him with a bucketload of seawater in his stupid, cute face. Larger than his pathetic sprinkling. Now it was his turn to spit out seawater.
"Pffft!!! Pffft! Wh-What the hell?" he cried.
I chuckled. "Don't be like that. You splashed me first."
SPLASH
"Gah!" I yelped, shielding my face and mouth.
Alright, Commander. Wanna play? Then let's play.
"Oh, I'm about to sink your dumb ass!" I cried, returning a double-handed splash directly at him.
SPLASH SPLASH SPLASH SPLASH SPLASH
We traded blows, drenching each other in seawater one after the other. He did his best, but he was no match for me in my element. I swamped his ass, while he merely gave me a bath.
"Take that!" he cried.
SPLASH
"That all ya got?!" I retorted.
SPLASH SPLASH
Didn't he wanna take a break because his arms were tired from paddling? The hell was he thinking starting a splash fight?
As expected, he didn't last much longer. Pretty soon his breathing was labored, and he was knelt in the shallow water.
Shame. I was starting to have fun.
"Had enough?" I said, triumphantly standing over him.
"Y-Yeah," he said. "Pfft! Ugh... so much seawater in my mouth."
"That's what ya get for challenging a battleship to a splash fight," I said, smirking. "C'mon, I brought some drinks. That'll quench the saltwater."
I helped him up and we grabbed our boards and walked back to my cooler. One oxy-cola for me, and a regular cola for him.
"Here ya go," I said, handing him the bottle of normal cola.
"Thanks," he said, taking a glug. "Ah... that's better."
I took a sip of my own drink. Ah... much better. All that nasty seawater was washed away.
"So am I just gonna practice with the board on dry land?" he asked.
"You're half right," I said. "Dry land? Yes. Board? No. You could break it if ya stand on it on dry land. Here, gimme your board and rest your arms for a minute."
He handed his board to me. I laid it down and drew an outline of it in the sand.
"Alright, so the next hurdle. Standing up," I said. "It'll take ya a while to nail this down, but after practice you'll get it. Watch closely."
I laid down, belly-first on the board outline I drew. "So you'll wanna position like you're halfway through a push-up, except you're body's flat on the board. Next step, lift your torso up like this." I demonstrated, pushing my upper body up with my arms and keeping my lower half flat, curving my back. "With me so far? Form is everything, so I wanna make sure—h-hey! Eyes up here, you scalawag!"
That pervert was ogling my chest!
"S-Sorry!" he said. His face turned beet red again.
"Ain't very discreet, are ya?" I scolded, trying to cover my cleavage.
"I... um..."
You're really lucky I like you, Commander
I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. You're lucky I'm in a good mood, so I'll spare you a slap. Don't expect mercy if I catch ya doing it again, though."
"Y-Yes, ma'am," he said, trying to hide his face, which was kinda cute. "I-I think I understand so far."
I'm still not sure how to feel about him ogling my body. Admittedly, I might be blushing a tad. But again, I didn't come out here to be eye candy. I didn't realize my swimsuit was gonna be so distracting.
"G-Good," I said, getting back into my upward-curved body position. As I explained, I did the motions. "So from here, ya wanna hop up to your feet, set one foot forward and one foot back, shoulder-width apart, keeping your knees bent and your body low so you can maintain balance, almost like you're crouching. Make sure you're looking and pointing straight so ya ain't thrashing everywhere. From here, it's just about getting used to balancing. Think ya got all that?"
"Um... I think so?" he said.
"Try it on the outline here a few times," I said, swapping spots with him.
I watched as he laid down and then tried to follow through with what I demonstrated.
"Like this?" he asked.
"Close," I said. "Here."
I walked up to him, and my face started to heat up because... I was about to adjust his body myself. Like... touch him. Get close to him. Feel his skin...
...argh! What am I thinking? I'm just trying to be a good coach, right? Nothing wrong with adjusting him on my own.
"Jean?"
"Hm?"
Oh crap! Have I just been standing here while thinking?! Argh! Jean, get your shit together!
"Y-Yeah! I'm coming," I said, hoping my face wasn't too red. Thankfully the sky was much redder now, so I think I'm good. I hope. I steeled myself as I got closer to adjust him. "Your front arm should be pointing straight. So should your head," I said, moving those parts respectively. "Wherever ya point and look, that's where your board's gonna go. Your legs ain't shoulder-width apart either," I said, tapping the back of his thighs.
God, my heart's beating so fast. I did a few more minor adjustments before I backed away. My heart relaxed as I did so.
"Okay, now try again from the beginning," I said.
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Once I felt I drilled the technique into his head enough, we went back out into the water.
I had him watch me once before trying it himself. If I'm being honest, I kinda wanted to show off again too. But at least it's serving a practical purpose and not just me trying to impress him.
He took a few stabs at it but wiped out every time. At least watching him fall was giving me a chuckle. There was something kinda funny about the sound he made and the way he flailed his arms as he fell. Maybe it's the juxtaposition of him going from majestic and riding the waves to an idiot toppling into the water.
Eh... I shouldn't call him an idiot. Feels a bit too mean considering he's a beginner. He's at least able to consistently catch the waves. That, in and of itself, is a hurdle.
Maybe I'm laughing just because he's so damn cute. It's exciting to watch him.
I saw him fall in the water again, and I swam up next to him as he wiped the excess water out of his face.
"Damn," he said. "What am I doing wrong?"
"Ya gotta commit," I said. "I see ya hesitate when ya stand. Stand first, balance second. Keep tryin'."
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I watched from the shallower waters as the commander attempted to pop up, and...
"WAUGH!!!" he shrieked. I watched as he plummeted into the water for the... um... ah forget it. I've lost count. He's been at it for at least a half-hour. I'm surprised he hasn't come back to shore for a break. I'll have to call him back pretty soon regardless with the sun going down. It ain't safe for a beginner to surf at night.
I don't wanna stop, though. He's staying on the board for longer and longer. He's getting so close. Besides, I've been having a blast. I love surfing on my own, but being out here with him? I haven't had this much fun in a while. And I've had him all to myself without mountains of paperwork glaring at us. I've almost forgotten how upset I was earlier.
I couldn't help but admire him from afar as he rested on his board. He looked so handsome with the setting sun shining on him and—
Crap! He saw me!
I instantly darted my gaze away, feeling my face heat up. Tsk... and I yelled at him for staring.
I started making my way back to shore, reaching the exposed, wettened sand—able to feel the sea washing up on my feet—when a thought popped in my head that made me blush. I turned around to look at him again. What if I... invited him to stay here afterwards? I didn't bring any hard drinks, but we could still crack open some bottles and chat...
...nah. He'll probably be exhausted. I-I shouldn't keep him here, or overstay my welco—
Hold on... that's a big wave approaching him. Really big. Not pro-surfer big, but bigger than anything we've seen tonight.
And he's moving to catch it.
I felt my instincts kick in, wanting to yell at him to not catch that wave... but I managed to stop myself.
Let's see what happens. Maybe this'll be his lucky shot. There's determination in his eyes for sure, coupled with some fear. Understandable.
"C'mon, Commander. Ya know how to do it," I whispered. "I believe in you."
My eyes were fixated on him as I saw the wave close in. He was paddling hard. Harder than he has all evening. He's really going for it. The wave picked him up... and I held my breath.
I watched as he propped up his torso and then I gasped when I saw him hop up. I grit my teeth as he balanced himself.
C'mon! Don't let me down! Don't wipe out! You got this!
His body swayed back and forth and side to side ever so slightly...
...and then stopped. The wide eyes and big smile on his face said it all.
"Yes!!! I did it!!!" he cried.
Yes, you did, Commander. I'll be damned.
I exhaled in relief, chuckling to myself. I thought I would have to intervene if he wiped out. A big wave can easily drag ya out to sea if you're not careful. Instead, I was smiling.
"Jean! Jean, look out!"
"Huh?"
I gasped when I saw him coming straight for me. The big wave was carrying him to shore! And he was coming right for me!
"I-I can't stop!" he yelled.
"Get off the board, ya idiot!" I screamed, trying to sidestep.
Unfortunately, he sidestepped with me, and was still going as fast as his board.
CRASH
He came barreling into me like a human torpedo, slamming me to the ground as I felt the big wave's dying breath wash around my body.
"Ergh... damn it," I groaned, rubbing my temples. Idiot commander.
And what the hell's weighing me down?
"Jean, are you okay?"
His voice... why was it above me? And so close too?
I opened my eyes... and gasped.
My face felt like it caught fire. My heart began pounding. Time seemed to freeze.
He's... on top of me...