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“I did once.”

“Did you like it?”

“I was sore the next day. It hurt to walk.”

She giggled, and I realized I liked talking to her. It was easy and natural, unlike with so many people. Above me, I could see Orion’s belt; just over the horizon on the water, Venus had appeared and glowed a heavy white. Guys and girls continued to tramp up and down the stairs, flirting with booze-induced courage. I sighed.

“I should probably get going so I can visit with my dad for a while. He’s probably wondering where I am. If he’s still awake, that is.”

“Do you want to call him? You can use the phone.”

“No, I think I’ll just head out. It’s a long walk.”

“You don’t have a car?”

“No. I hitched a ride this morning.”

“Do you want Tim to drive you home? I’m sure he won’t mind.”

“No, that’s okay.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You said it was a long walk, right? I’ll have Tim drive you. Let me get him.”

She raced off before I could stop her, and a minute later Tim was following her out of the house. “Tim is happy to take you,” she said, looking way too pleased with herself.

I turned toward Tim. “You sure?”

“No problem at all,” he assured me. “My truck’s out front. You can just put your board in the back.” He motioned to the board. “Need a hand?”

“No,” I said, rising, “I got it.” I went to the chair and slipped on my shirt, then picked up my board. “Thanks, by the way.”

“My pleasure,” he said. He patted his pocket. “I’ll be back in a second with the keys. It’s the green truck parked on the grass. I’ll meet you out front.”

When he was gone, I turned back to Savannah. “It was nice meeting you.”

She held my gaze. “You too. I’ve never hung out with a soldier before. I felt sort of… protected. I don’t think Randy’ll give me any trouble tonight. Your tattoos probably scared him away.”

I guess she had noticed them. “Maybe I’ll see you around.”

“You know where I’ll be.”

I wasn’t sure whether that meant she wanted me to come visit again or didn’t. In many ways, she remained a complete mystery to me. Then again, I barely knew her at all.

“But I am a little disappointed that you forgot,” she added, almost as an afterthought.

“Forgot what?”

“Didn’t you say that you’d teach me how to surf?”

If Tim had any inkling of the effect Savannah had on me or that I’d be visiting again the next day, he gave no indication. Instead he focused mainly on the drive, making sure he was heading in the right direction. He was the kind of driver who stopped the car even when the light was yellow and he could have sailed through.

“I hope you had a good time,” he said. “I know it’s always strange when you don’t know anyone.”

“I did.”

“You and Savannah really hit it off. She’s something, isn’t she? I think she liked you.”

“We had a nice conversation,” I said.

“I’m glad. I was a little worried about her coming down here. Last year her parents were with us, so this is the first time she’s been on her own like this. I know she’s a big girl, but these aren’t the kind of people she usually hangs out with, and the last thing I wanted was for her to be fending off guys all night.”

“I’m sure she could have handled it.”

“You’re probably right. But I get the feeling that some of these guys are pretty persistent.”

“Of course they are. They’re guys.”

He laughed. “I guess you’re right.” He motioned toward the window. “Which way now?”

I directed him through a series of turns, then finally I told him to slow the car. He stopped in front of the house, where I could see the light from my dad’s den, glowing yellow.

“Thanks for the ride,” I said, opening my door.

“No problem.” He leaned over the seat. “And listen, like I said, feel free to stop by the house anytime. We work during the week, but weekends and evenings are usually clear.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I promised.

Once inside, I went to my dad’s den and opened the door. He was peering at the Greysheet and jumped. I realized he hadn’t heard me come in.

“Sorry,” I said, taking a seat on the single step that separated the den from the rest of the house. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay,” was all he said. He debated whether to set aside the Greysheet, then did.

“The waves were great today,” I commented. “I’d almost forgotten how fantastic the water feels.”

He smiled but again said nothing. I shifted slightly on the step. “How’d work go?” I asked.

“The same,” he said.

He lapsed back into his own thoughts, and all I could think was that the same thing could be said about our conversations.

Three

Surfing is a solitary sport, one in which long stretches of boredom are interspersed with frantic activity, and it teaches you to flow with nature, instead of fighting it… it’s about getting in the zone. That’s what the surfing magazines say, anyway, and I mostly agree. There’s nothing quite as exciting as catching a wave and living within a wall of water as it rolls toward shore. But I’m not like a lot of those dudes with freeze-dried skin and stringy hair who do it all day, every day, because they think it’s the be—all and end—all of existence. It isn’t. For me, it’s more about the fact that the world is crazy noisy almost all the time, and when you’re out there, it’s not. You’re able to hear yourself think.”

This is what I was telling Savannah, anyway, as we made our way toward the ocean early Sunday morning. At least, that’s what I thought I was saying. For the most part, I was just sort of rambling, trying not to be too obvious about the fact that I really liked the way she looked in a bikini.

“Like horseback riding,” she said.

“Huh?”

“Hearing yourself think. That’s why I like riding, too.”

I’d shown up a few minutes earlier. The best waves were usually early in the morning, and it was one of those clear, blue-sky days portending heat that meant the beach would be packed again. Savannah had been sitting on the steps out back, wrapped in a towel, the remains of the bonfire before her. Despite the fact that the party had no doubt gone on for hours after I’d left, there wasn’t a single empty can or piece of trash anywhere. My impression of the group improved a bit.

Despite the hour, the air was already warm. We spent a few minutes in the sand near the water’s edge going over the basics of surfing, and I explained how to pop up on the board. When Savannah thought she was ready, I waded in carrying the board, walking beside her.

There were only a few surfers out, the same ones I’d seen the day before. I was trying to figure out the best place to bring Savannah so she’d have enough room when I realized I could no longer see her.

“Hold on, hold on!” she shouted from behind me. “Stop, stop…”

I turned. Savannah was on her tiptoes as the first splashes of water hit her belly, and her upper body was immediately covered in gooseflesh. She appeared to be trying to lift herself from the water.

“Let me get used to this….” She gave a few quick, audible gasps and crossed her arms. “Wow. This is really cold. Holy cow!”

Holy cow? It wasn’t exactly something my buddies would say. “You’ll get used to it,” I said, smirking.

“I don’t like being cold. I hate being cold.”

“You live in the mountains where it snows.”

“Yeah, but we have these things called jackets and gloves and hats that we wear to keep warm. And we don’t thrust ourselves into arctic waters first thing in the morning.”

“Funny,” I said.

She continued to hop up and down. “Yeah, real funny. I mean, geez!”

Geez? I grinned. Her breathing gradually began to even out, but the gooseflesh was still there. She took another tiny step forward.