past caught her unawares, and she stopped dead. Suddenly she was back at their little bay in Devon with Greg and he was grinning at her, the saltwater making his hair stick up like a silly hedgehog as she reached out to touch it, the noise of the waves crashing behind them, his eyes intent on her, glinting in the evening sun as she twisted a strand between her fingers.
Only it wasn’t. She was with Johnny – and she was a million miles from where her heart had been broken back home.
‘Maddie? C’mon!’ Johnny was halfway to the water.
Maddie half ran, half walked to catch up, laughing and feeling – what? Joy. Yes, it gave her a jolt to realise it.
Johnny stared to wade in slowly. ‘Make sure you’ve tied your wristband on, so you don’t lose your board. We’re just going out a little way, to take in some smaller waves. I’m sure it will all come back to you.’
She ploughed straight into the warm water, clutching her board. Johnny was in front of her. It was like wading into a bath, with the soft sand under her feet. As the waves crashed around her on the shore, she took the plunge and hopped on top of her board and started to paddle out to near where the waves broke. She could taste the salt in her mouth and feel the heat from the overhead sun on her back, even through the haze. Johnny was further in, sitting on his huge surfboard and beckoning her to join him.
She was on top of her board, being buffeted by the waves and clinging on, sea spray splashing her face. She realised, this is it! I do feel awesome. She paddled out further, next to Johnny.
‘Right, I’ll stay here and watch you. First you’ve got to look behind you and check out the incoming waves. When you see them break, paddle forward on your board, and with any luck, you’ll be carried by the wave and off you go – remember?’
‘Let’s hope so!’
‘C’mon, there’s a good one coming!’ shouted Johnny. Wave after wave whooshed past, and even though she madly paddled to catch them, she wasn’t quick enough. After a while, her arms ached with the effort and she was clinging to her board, having a break. Johnny paddled up to her.
‘You’ll do it!’
‘I don’t know,’ she shouted, then spat out a mouthful of water. ‘This is exhausting!’
‘Have another go!’
She shook her head and was just about to paddle back to shore, when she caught sight of another wave and decided to give it one last go. As it roared up behind her, she glanced back, nodded at Johnny, gripped her body board with both hands at the front, and pointed for the shore, kicking her legs furiously to keep up with the wave. For a moment, it looked as if she had done it and she was riding the wave, but then her board flipped and slipped out from beneath her, toppling her over. She was thrown under the wave, round and round, caught up in the turmoil of the sea. She took in a lungful of water and started to choke, didn’t know which way was up. White foam was everywhere; her shins met with the seabed, rough sandpaper grazing her legs. She could see the sunlight above. She could hear a muffled roar of the wave. She couldn’t breathe. Then two strong arms were hauling her up.
‘Whoa! You OK? You’ve been spectacularly dumped!’ She emerged from the water, half standing, half kneeling, hair matted to her forehead, spluttering for air.
‘Oh Jesus!’ she managed after a while, glad of the firm sand underfoot.
‘You all right?’ he asked. She nodded. She wasn’t going to be defeated that easily.
‘I’m ready to go again,’ she said with a bravado she didn’t really feel, wiping some hair off her forehead.
‘Attagirl.’ He grinned as he released her arm with a gentle squeeze.
Once more, they paddled out to where the waves started to gather force. She lay on her board, breathing deeply, getting herself orientated again, flicking wet tendrils of her hair out of her eyes.
After a few waves had passed them by, Johnny signalled to another set coming in. She chose her wave, started to paddle, kicked her legs furiously to get on top of it and then she felt buoyed – she’d done it. She was riding the wave! She clung on to the board as its tip zoomed in front of her, propelled