Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
The sun was just beginning to set, turning everything to gold, including his wet curls. When he smiled at me, it made my heart trip over itself. “We’ve got this,” he called, “but we need to go now!”
With that, he flipped onto his belly, and we both started paddling. As the wave began to break, he leapt up and balanced himself on the board, his lean body starkly outlined in his black wetsuit. I watched as he found his balance and shot forward. He was grace and strength personified, and I was in awe of him.
I was so busy staring at my amazing boyfriend that I forgot about trying to stay ahead of the wave. In the next instant, it crashed down on me and spun me head over heels. Pretty soon though, I bobbed back up like a cork and tossed my head to fling my wet hair out of my eyes.
This wasn’t the first time I’d wiped out, and it wouldn’t be the last. I let the wave carry me up onto the beach, and then I stayed there, sprawled out on the sand and staring up at the golden sky as I caught my breath.
A few moments later, Tima appeared above me. His board was tucked under his arm, and he asked, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I was so mesmerized by you that I forgot the bit about actually catching the wave.”
He grinned and said, “Yeah, that part’s key. Do you think you might want to get up? It’s time for dinner, and I’m starving.”
“If I must, even though I’m pretty comfortable down here.”
He helped haul me to my feet, and after I picked up my board, we made our way up the beach. Along the way, many of the people we passed said hello, and I told my boyfriend, “Australians really are the friendliest people on earth.”
“Don’t let the Canadians hear you say that.”
“Okay, so in a nice-off between Australia and Canada, it might possibly end in a tie,” I admitted. Since we’d been to both countries and two others over the last four months, I had a basis for comparison.
When we reached our rented Jeep, we loaded our boards in the back. Then we peeled off our wetsuits and toweled off before pulling on hoodies with our swim trunks.
It was mid-May and fall was in full swing down under, but it wasn’t cold enough to make us want to put the Jeep’s top up. I found a classic rock station on the radio as Tima drove us through Sydney, and I had to smile when Bohemian Rhapsody came on and he started belting out the lyrics. He kept going when we pulled up to a stoplight, much to the amusement of the pedestrians in the crosswalk and people in the other cars. When some of them joined in, he looked absolutely delighted.
Our vacation rentals had varied a great deal over the course of our travels. One hadn’t had running water, and in another, we’d shared the living room with a chicken. This one happened to be a posh apartment with a gorgeous view of Sydney Harbor.
One of the apartment’s best features was a huge shower with multiple shower heads, and we’d been using it together every day. We did that again this evening, and as we got dressed afterwards I said, “We have to install a shower that big in our house, because showering with you is one of life’s greatest pleasures. I’m going to hire a contractor when we’re back home in San Francisco next month.”
“I have no idea how anyone could fit something like that in our pretty, yellow Victorian, but by all means, make some calls. I’d love a shower like that.” The yellow paint job was new, a joint decision after Tima had moved in with me. It just fit, somehow.
After dinner, we settled in on the sofa. I sat at one end with my laptop, and my boyfriend sprawled out on the rest of the couch and put his feet on my lap. There was a long scar on his calf, and I gently ran my hand over it. After weeks in the cast, he’d spent time in physical therapy, rebuilding his strength. Then, just as soon as he could, he was back out on a skateboard. He wore a helmet now, at my insistence, but he was the same fearless natural athlete he’d always been. I couldn’t help but admire his courage.
While I checked my email, he unfurled a map. Forget digital. He had a great love of paper maps and had been amassing quite the collection. “I’m so excited about tomorrow,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to see New Zealand.”
“Same here.”
We’d seen and done some incredible things over the last few months, starting with a road trip through the US and then up through Canada. After that, we’d traveled to the South Pacific before moving on to Australia, where we’d spent the better part of a month. We’d covered a lot of ground since we’d been here, and the last few days in Sydney were meant to give us a chance to rest up before beginning the next leg of our adventure. But my amazing boyfriend wasn’t the type to sit still for long.