I took up windsurfing.
My instructor happened to be a good-looking, blonde-haired surfer with a knack for dropping his board every time. Fortunately, for me, I just needed him to teach me windsurfing and I hoped his slight clumsiness wouldn’t affect me.
Windsurfing seemed to be the best idea to take my mind off Wiremu. After our little incident a few days back, he hadn’t approached me or made a move to call me, even though I left my number. I understood that it was partially my fault for leaving him after a one-night stand, but I didn’t want him avoiding me. Even though I had been an asshole toward him, treating him like what happened between us was nothing.
I sat on the bench along with five other people. According to the lesson instructions, only six people were allowed to join the class. From where I was seated, I could see the blonde instructor squinting up the sky. A stream of sunlight cascaded down on him, highlighting his straw-colored mane.
I placed a hand on my forehead, blocking out the sun to peer at him closer. I ran my eyes over his handsome face. I took in the square jaw, his blue eyes that sparkled against the light and the way his lips formed a slight smile when one of his student’s said something.
His aura conveyed attraction, sexiness and something else entirely. The blond instructor seemed to be one of those guys, who spend too much time looking in the mirror, trying to gauge their looks and whether their hair is perfect.
“Welcome, beginners!” the blonde instructor said, smiling as he looked at us. “My name is Theo and I will be your instructor for the next couple of weeks.”
A loud hoot of ‘yeah!’ erupted from us in unison.
Theo—the blond instructor—chuckled under his breath and shook his head, sending a lock of blond hair flying.
“Alright, you lot. For today’s lesson, we’ll cover the basics for the next 90 minutes. Then, in just about an hour, you’ll be out in the water, sailing like pros. Hopefully. Otherwise, you’ll get a money-back-guaranteed refund from us.”
A burst of laughter echoed around me, and for the next hour, Theo kept us busy. He went through all the instructions and showed us where the wetsuit and appropriate shoes were for surfing, as well as other stuff we would need for the day’s lesson. I felt my excitement bubble to the surface, as I went to the bathroom and quickly got changed. This would be the first time I would do something exhilarating, and I couldn’t wait to get out into the water.
A light tap on my arm made me turn around. I was surprised to see Theo standing in front of me, a crooked smile on his lips.
“Hi,” he greeted.
“Hey,” I responded.
“You’re part of the group, right?” he asked.
I nodded in clarification. “Yeah, I am.”
“What’s your name?” he prodded.
“I’m Tina,” I said and held out my hand for him to shake.
He looked down and stared at my fingers, then his eyes lifted back up again and met mine. His beautiful blue eyes glinted against the light. The color was the same hue as the ocean behind us. Finally, just as I thought he wasn’t going to shake it, he took my hand in his and raised it to his lips.
A jolt of pleasure pooled in my belly the moment his lips touched the back of my palm. My skin tingled from the contact.
“What a lovely name,” he said in a husky voice.
I swallowed past the dryness in my throat and nodded. Was this man flirting with me? “Thank you,” I said.
I didn’t know if it was appropriate for him to be kissing my hand like that, but I wasn’t exactly complaining either.
“I trace an accent in your voice,” he said. “Where are you from?”
“G-Germany,” I answered.
“Ah. That explains the accent.”
I frowned at hearing him say that. “Is that a bad thing?”
He chuckled. His voice was deep and sounded beautiful, as he threw his head back in merriment. “Nah, it ain’t a bad thing babe.”
Did I just heard a southern twang in his voice?
“Are you from around here?” I asked.
He shook his head again. “Nah. I’m American. I moved to New Zealand a few years ago.”
Before I could say anything in reply, a man called out to him. Theo flashed me another smile before he said, “I look forward to seeing your windsurfing skills. Hopefully, you’ll learn quickly.”
I blushed at his comment and nodded. I watched in a daze, as he ran back to the cottage and went to see what the man wanted. I was never one to know, whether a guy was trying to hit on me, and I wasn’t going to start asking around now.
I shook the thought aside and went back to the bench. A half hour dragged by, as Theo went through the instructions and the basics of windsurfing. He demonstrated a few moves to show the right and wrong moves that a surfer should or should not make.
Before I knew it, our one-hour lesson was up, and we were ready to go and put our new skills into action. We spent time setting up the sail, the mast, and the rest of the gear and launched the board into the water. I grabbed hold of the handle and used the moves Theo had shown us earlier, leaning back the sail and going along with the gust of the wind.
Even though I swore I looked like a fool waving the sail around, Theo still praised me for being a natural. Natural my ass. I knew I sucked, but I appreciated his constant encouragement and listened to him for suggestions to improve.
It was half-past twelve by the time we finished. A satisfied feeling settled in me as I packed up the gear, laughing when a co-student told me something.
“Good job for today guys,” Theo praised. “Keep it up until y’all are rocking windsurfing.”
We nodded and filed in to the bathroom. I stayed behind when someone called my name.
“Yes?” I said.
Theo ran over to me and flashed me a wolfish grin. “You did great today, Tina. If I didn’t know any better, I’d have thought you were born to surf.”
I blushed at his appraisal. “Thanks Theo. You’re a good instructor.”
“You’re sweet,” he said. “I’ll see you again next weekend?”
I nodded. “You bet.”
***
“How was the lesson?” Anthony asked the moment I walked into the house.
I flashed him an exhausted smile and said, “It was good. I’ll just be in my room, if you need anything.”
He nodded, as I walked past him into my room, closing the door behind me. I threw my bag on the floor and flopped down on my bed. A sigh left my lips, as I looked up at the ceiling. My body was slightly fatigued from the surfing lesson and all I wanted to do right now was go to sleep.
I was planning to do just that when my phone vibrated inside my bag. I groaned and reached for it, my hand connecting with my iPhone. I pressed the middle button and scrolled through my new text messages; my heart pounded in my chest, when I saw an unknown number pop up on the screen. Could it be Wiremu?
With my heart thumping loudly in my ears, I opened my new messages but didn’t see a particular one from him. I bit my lower lip, wondering how he was doing. My phone vibrated against my palm and I jolted forward. I stared down and saw the same unknown number and answered it quickly.
“Hello?” I said.
“Hey, it’s me. Wiremu,” Wiremu greeted.
I sat up, clutching my phone in my hand, my heart still pounding in my chest. “Hi. I thought you would never call after the uh,—”
“Are you busy?” he asked, cutting me off.
“Uh, no. Why?”
“Can we meet somewhere? I need to talk to you,” he said and hung up before I could even say anything in return.
I looked down at my phone for a second before I went over to my closet. I grabbed a fresh outfit and was changing when I heard a quick beep from my iPhone. I bent down and retrieved it, reading the new message from Wiremu.
Meet me at Café Lab downtown. I’ll be waiting.
I stuffed my phone back to my jean’s pocket and rushed out the door. My host dad yelled after me, wondering where I was going.
“I’m just going out to meet a friend. I won’t be long,” I said and closed the door behind me. A cold wind flew by and ruffled my hair as I descended the small flight of stairs. I called for a taxi and jumped in when it arrived ten minutes later. I wondered what Wiremu wanted to say to me. Would he even bring up our one-night stand? Or would he simply pretend it never happened and leave it at that?
The car stopped, and I quickly paid the driver. I hopped out of the vehicle and pushed my way inside the busy café, catching a glimpse of Wiremu at the back. I pressed my lips in a tight line, my hands shaking slightly as I sauntered over to him.
“Hey,” I said when I reached him.
He looked up from his drink and said, “Hey.”
I grabbed the back of the chair and seated myself across from him. I noticed he had his fingers wrapped around his cold drink, the reminder of having those thick digits inside of me making me blush. Clearly, I still wasn’t over that passionate night.
“How are you?” I asked, suddenly nervous.
“I’m good,” he said. “How are you?”
“Not too bad.” I said, even though my nerves were all over the place. “So, what made you call me?”
He played with his straw, his hazel eyes lowered and unwilling to meet mine. I was growing more and more uncomfortable as the silence stretched between us.
“About that night...” he began. “I don’t know what came over me.”
I nodded, understanding. “Me, too. I mean, I don’t know what came over me that night either. I guess we both just got caught up in the moment.”
He didn’t nod like I expected him to. Instead, he looked up from his drink, his hazel eyes looking more green than brown. I gulped.
“Is that what you thought it was? That we both got caught up in the moment?”
“Yeah, definitely. I mean, what else, right?”
I didn’t know what else to say or do, as Wiremu and I continued to stare at each other. I didn’t know what else he wanted me to say. Did he want me to say that it wasn’t a mistake after all? That things were just meant to happen that night and that we shouldn’t be blaming it on the alcohol we consumed?
“I guess you’re right,” he said a moment later. “I guess it was a mistake.”
Did I hear disappointment in his voice, or did I just imagine that?
“And we drank alcohol that night. We should blame it on that,” I said, blabbering like an idiot now.
His eyes narrowed into two slits. Which was never a good sign, as his lips moved. “What are you trying to imply? That just because we drank that night I forced you into having sex with me?”
I opened my mouth and quickly reassured him. “Oh, no, no. I didn’t mean to make it sound like that. What I mean was—”
I tried to explain but he was shaking his head already. “Never mind. There’s no point in talking about this now.”
I felt a bubble of anger and I tried to keep my temper in check, but Wiremu seemed to be provoking me.
“Will you shut up and listen to me?” I growled.