Pulled Under

They both look at each other and then back at me.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Nicole says. “It’s like you just made up words.”

“I know that and you know that, but he doesn’t know that,” I explain. “It’s not like I could say I wanted him to do it because he’s tall and I was looking for an excuse to brush up against him.”

“Did it work?” asks Sophie. “Did you brush up against him?”

I smile at the memory and nod. “It was electric. I turned and looked up at him, and I was just about to kiss him again when . . .”

“. . . yeah . . . ,” they say eagerly.

“. . . my dad came out from the house to go on his morning run.”

They sag. “Argghhhh.”

“That’s when it got awkward. Dad said something like, ‘Hey Ben, what are you doing here?’ And I sort of panicked.”

“Oh my God,” Sophie gasps. “What did you say?”

“I told him that Ben had stopped by so the two of them could go ru

Sophie and Nicole both laugh out loud.

“You did not,” says Sophie.

“No, that’s exactly what I did. Because, you know, I’m so smooth.”

“And Ben went along with it?” asks Nicole.

“He didn’t really have much of a choice. They ran eight miles. By the time they got back, he had to go chaperone the campers on a field trip to the Ke

“So you haven’t seen him since it happened?” asks Nicole.

“The first time will be in a few minutes when he arrives here. I figure it should be a very romantic follow-up. What with all the screaming kids and of course my favorite person on the planet, Kayla McIntyre.”

“Forget about Kayla,” Sophie says. “He’s already picked you over her. She lost. You won. Game over. You’re his summer romance.”

“It was one kiss,” I say, trying to maintain some semblance of reality. “In my world one kiss is a huge deal, but in the regular world I don’t know that it qualifies as a summer romance.”

“Do not sell yourself short,” says Nicole. “You always do that. It was a kiss with purpose.”

“It was a kiss that he had to run eight miles for,” I reply. “How bad is that?”

“No,” she says. “It was a kiss that he thought was worth ru

“The tall girl makes a valid point,” says Sophie. “He likes you. And when you didn’t get the signs he was sending, he built you a billboard.”

“Okay, maybe he does like me,” I concede. “But he’s just broken up with a longtime girlfriend, and he’s all freaked out about his parents’ divorce. I’m not sure he’s looking for a full-fledged summer romance.”

“Well, whatever he’s looking for,” Sophie says, pointing toward the beach access, “we’re about to find out.”

I turn and see Ben marching the kids our way. He’s acting like his normal goofy self, which is a good start, but while he’s wearing his sunglasses I can’t really read his expression.

“Do not sell yourself short,” Nicole reminds me just before they get within earshot. “You are totally worthy of long distance ru

I appreciate the pep talk, but I’m still in full panic mode right up until the moment he reaches us and flashes that smile. It’s a huge relief. I realize that part of me was worried that he completely regretted what had happened and that he was going to act differently around me. I still don’t know what there is between us, but at least now I know there’s nothing awkward about it, so that’s a big step.

Kayla is her normal self, gorgeous and obnoxious (gorbnoxious?) all at once. She’s got a new bathing suit that truly showcases her (not so) secret weapons, but today I have a secret weapon of my own—Sophie. Wherever Kayla goes, Sophie is right by her side acting like they’re BFFs, roommates, and sorority sisters all rolled into one. This makes it impossible for her to flirt with Ben. When we line up to stretch, Sophie slides in front of Kayla so that she obstructs Ben’s view of her. And when it’s time to pick demonstration partners, Sophie latches on to her arm and exclaims, “We have to be partners, Kayla! We just have to!”

Despite all the subterfuge and mental distractions, the big news of the morning is the lesson. We keep the soft boards—large, padded surfboards—on the sand and practice our paddling and pop-up techniques. Then we hit the water and put them into practice. I can’t express how exciting it is to see the kids’ faces light up the first time they get up on their feet and ride a wave. Even though we’re only in three feet of water, it’s exhilarating for them.

My favorite is Rebecca, the shy girl I noticed the first day. She has continued to come out of her shell a little more each week. Today she stays up on the board the longest of anyone, and I can see in her the same spark I had when I was her age at this camp.

Throughout it all, Ben and I exchange quick glances and whispered comments. Our hands touch a couple of times as we help kids get up on their boards, and once when I’m not looking his way, he uses a boogie board to splash me, which gets a big laugh from everyone. Even with my compromised sign-reading ability, it all seems kind of flirty.

We finally have a brief moment right after the lesson when the kids are taking an orange slice and bottled water break. I look over and see that Kayla is still dealing with Hurricane Sophie, which means she won’t be able to drop in on me again like she usually does.

“They did great today,” I say.

“You did great today,” he replies. “The way you love it so much co

There’s an awkward pause, so I just jump headfirst into the situation.

“Speaking of real . . . ,” I say, unleashing the worst segue in history, “did that really happen yesterday?”

He smiles and nods. “It did. In fact, I think it was maybe going to happen again when we were interrupted.”

“By ‘interrupted’ you mean when you had to take an eight-mile detour with my dad?”

“Kinda, yeah,” he says. “I have to say I did not see that coming. I was hoping that maybe we could talk about it. . . . You know, without so many people around.”

“That can be arranged.”

“How about after work?”

“Sure. My shift ends at six thirty.”

“Great, I’ll meet you at the shop,” he says. “You’re not going to make me go ru

I shake my head. “I promise.”

“Good, ’cause I’m pla

Our eyes linger for a moment, and I say, “See you at six thirty.”

“See you then.”

He rushes off to make sure the kids pick up all their orange peels and water bottles, and I start stacking up the surfboards to carry back up to the shop. I see Kayla finally break free of Sophie and head our way, but she’s too late. Today’s score is Dolphin 1, Shark 0. And the dolphin is now in it to win it.

Although Sophie and Nicole seem to think that all the signs they saw on the beach were positive, I’m still approaching the situation with total caution. All I really know is that Ben’s coming to talk with me after work. Maybe he’s pla

I spend most of the day watching the clock, and at 6:13 I’m in the middle of my “do you see yourself as a shark or a dolphin?” routine with a girl looking for a bikini when Ben comes into the store. He smiles and waves, and since I don’t want to be rude to the customer, I respond on the sly with a half smile and a raised eyebrow that I hope looks cool and not like a nervous twitch.

“Which do you like best?” the girl asks, holding up two swimsuits.

I give her my undivided attention, consider both suits, and point to the one in her left hand. “That one.”