Ripped - Cassia Leo Page 0,13

at Parker Construction in Wilmington, and try not to feel like a failure for having given up on my surfing career. For having given up on myself, really.

It wasn’t until I got arrested for assaulting Kaia’s father, Nathan Jennings, and moved to Wrightsville that I began to feel like maybe I didn’t have to be the man my father wanted me to be. I didn’t have to take over the family construction business. That wasn’t my fate.

I was destined for a lifelong love affair with the ocean. There is seawater pumping through my veins, of that I’m certain. And no one, not my father or Carlos Ferreira or even Lindsay, can change that.

Lena asked me to meet her on the beach today instead of picking her up at her house. When I arrive at our usual spot about 150 yards north of the pier, I find her sitting cross-legged on a green blanket on the sand with her eyes closed and her hands resting on her knees, palms facing up. I quietly set my boards down on the sand a few feet downwind, then I sit on the sand and wait for her to notice I’ve arrived.

The breeze picks up and carries the scent of coconut-pineapple sunscreen to me. I smile as I think of how my ex-girlfriend Claire used to meditate in front of me sometimes. She was actually addicted to it, though. I’d almost forgotten about that.

I try not to think of Claire when I’m home. Something about allowing my mind to wander back to past relationships feels sort of like mentally cheating on Lindsay, even though I harbor no romantic feelings for any of my exes. If I were to tell a marriage counselor about this, he or she would probably tell me that this stems from the fact that both Lindsay and I have been unfaithful in the past.

I’ve never seen Lena meditate before. I guess all the problems she’s having with Yuri must be really getting to her.

I allow myself to think back to the times I watched Claire meditate, and I remember she used to picture the ocean. Now that I think about it, there’s probably no better place to meditate than the beach, especially for someone like Lena, who loves the ocean as much as I do.

It takes about ten minutes for Lena to realize I’m sitting a few feet away from her. When she opens her eyes and looks at me, the serene expression on her face melts into a bright smile.

“About time you got here,” she says with a smile.

“What are you talking about? I’ve been sitting next to you for about two hours,” I reply, standing up and grabbing my board.

Suddenly, she peels off her T-shirt, exposing a coral string bikini. “Oh, so that smell was coming from you?”

I laugh as I watch her push her shorts down. “I told Lindsay she needs to stop feeding me eggs in the morning.”

Lena grabs her board and nods toward the waves. “First one to catch a wave gets a free lunch today.”

Once we paddle out, I feel the need to go easy on her and let her catch the first wave, but she quickly calls me out on it as we lie belly-down on our boards near the lineup.

“I’m not a newbie, so don’t treat me like one, Adam,” she says, fixing me with a piercing glare as a wave lifts our boards, rolls under us, and drops us on the surface before it races toward the shore. “Imagine I’m Carlos. It’s down to me and you. And the next one to catch this wave wins the whole fucking tour.”

“You’re much better looking than Carlos,” I say before I can stop myself. “I didn’t mean to say that. I—”

I’m about to apologize when she begins paddling out toward the crest of the wave passing underneath us. My thirst to win kicks in and I paddle out after her, quickly gaining on her. She laughs as I shove her aside so I can catch the wave, which I ride for only a couple of seconds before I intentionally bail so I can head back to meet her at the lineup.

She’s straddling her board when I paddle up next to her. “I guess chivalry is dead.”

“Hey, you told me to pretend you were Carlos,” I say, spitting out a bit of salty seawater as I climb up onto my board so we’re both sitting next to each other, facing the shore.

I feel like I