Surfing. That was definitely something that was out of Carver’s comfort zone. But he was in the mood to do something new. Something he never thought he’d do. Surfing seemed to fit that. He had absolutely zero idea of how to surf or what even went into it other than a surfboard and the ocean. Thank God for Jude. If he hadn’t volunteered to help, Carver most likely would’ve attempted it on his own which probably would’ve led to an injury. So he was grateful for a friend that would teach him.
It was about an hour before sunset. Carver had decided to go ahead and be there, ready and waiting. It was beautiful out with the way the sun was going down and painting shades of pink, orange and yellow across the sky. He sat and enjoyed the view while he waited. It gave him time to think. When he felt a presence approaching, he turned and squinted up at the man that stood towering over him as he sat on the sand. “Bout time,” he teased.
—
Twilight loomed overhead. The sky was a mess of painted pinks, purples, greens. As usual the tide absorbed the banners, twinkling the message to relay to those which dwelled beneath the foamy and vast waters. He wasn’t partial to dark sea; sharks and other things took advantage of opportunity but when you were learning, this was the peak time that the tide seemed the most agreeable. And, he wasn’t about to let someone get lost at sea, or caught in the riptide because they didn’t know what they were doing.
“You’re coming, right?” Jude smirked, lowering a hand down to Carver to help him up. Beneath the arm on the opposite side was his surfboard. He’d waxed it two days ago and it was ready for another ride. He’d opted to go without the wetsuit. Board shorts and bare feet, the full sleeve of tattoos and that playful pachyderm with the taunting tail left exposed. He tanned so he wasn’t worried about any leftover sunbeams.
—
Looking up at him, Carver smiled and took his hand. “Of course!” On his feet and he couldn’t help but lick his lips at the sight before him. Thank God they could still flirt cause it was going to be really difficult not to when he didn’t have a shirt on. Biting his lip, “no wetsuit?” He smirked. “Was I supposed to bring a board? Cause, y’know I don’t have one.” He said with a shrug and a chuckle.
—
Jude sighed. A heavy breath through his nose and his eyebrows lifted. “How did you expect to surf without a board?” Those chiseled abdominals wavered and he offered up his. “Here. You can borrow mine.” His smirk carried over though. “I don’t need a wetsuit. The sun decided to take a nap.” He pointed up at the colorful sky. “What you want to do is attach the cuff to your ankle,” he said, motioning to the long black cord. “It’ll make sure you don’t lose your board. Lay on your stomach and paddle out past the waves. You can sit up when you’re ready. When a wave comes just hop up.” Jude planted his feet in the sand and pointed down. “Put your feet like this on the board and stick your arms out for balance.”
—
When Jude offered his board and gave all the instructions, Carver arched a brow. “Really? Just straight out into the water?” He asked and gave another shrug. Bending down, he attached the cord to his ankle and held the board under his arm. “Alright. Wish me luck.” He spoke and took off into the water. Hands moved as paddles as he made his way out into the water. The waves seemed to be really good. There were some pretty big ones. Once out there, he turned the board around and waited.
There was a big one coming and Carver started paddling, feet hopped up and he stood. “Woo!” He shouted, celebrating a bit too early as he lost his balance and crashed into the salty sea, the wave he’d attempted to ride crashing over him. Popping back up, he swam to the board and tried to climb back on, but tipped over. Finally getting back on, he tried again. But once more, he found himself swimming instead of surfing. After a couple more attempts, each fall funnier than the last, he swam back to shore and carried the board back to Jude. “I don’t think I’m getting it.”
—
“Well, we have to make due,” Jude replied with a shrug. Carver seemed to have a board in his Instagram so Jude had gone on the belief that he had rented one to bring now. That was a bit of a surprise. “You’ll be fine.” Arms crossed over his chest as he watched the eager labrador paddle into the water. “I should’ve brought a chair and a book,” Jude sighed.
With an arched brow he observed. Each plummet into the surf was comical and very much amateur. “Yeah…I got that vibe, too.” Jude smirked, his blue eyes teeming with the beginnings of starlight. “I recommend practice and also getting your own board so you’re familiar with how it rides.” Surfing on an unfamiliar board was a lot like driving a rental car. “I think you’ll be fine.”
—
The board he had in the picture had been someone else’s that he’d spotted on the beach. They had struck up a conversation and he borrowed it just for the shot. Being out in the water and attempting to surf, he proved he was not good at the surfing thing.
“Yeah. Guess I should get my own. Something else to save up money for.” He said with a chuckle. “Okay, so I’m not good at this so far. But you’re right, more practice and I think I might get it.” He spoke and pushed wet hair away from his face. Setting the board down, he took a seat on the sand. “Any other tips you got? Like for technique or something?”
—
“Keep your eyes on the water. Arms out for balance and spread your feet about hip length apart.” Jude moved his own feet so Carver could observe the stance. “Really it’s just about having fun. You aren’t going to catch a lot of waves at first, you want to work on your technique on the small waves before trying to tackle the big ones.”
Moving to sit down next to Carver, Jude took a minute to peer out at the water. Foam lapped up the shore. The sky shimmered and the water painted itself in the colors from the sleeping sun.
“What brought you out this way, anyway?” Curiosity was his best and worst virtue. Those blues turned and fixed upon the other man. “Besides your car,” he added, lips pulled into a smirk.
—
Giving a nod, he listened to the advice he was given. “Alright, got it. Feet hip width apart, small waves first, arms out.” He repeated it all in his head so he’d remember when he tried again.
His sight was focused on the water and the sun kissing the horizon as he heard the question. “My best friend. Some trouble happened at home and he was sent here. I followed as soon as I was able to. Plus, he needed me. So I came.” He answered and turned his gaze to Jude, spotting that smirk.
—
Balance was key to staying above the water. You would undoubtedly get soaked and saturated, but the whole point of surfing was riding the wave, not tasting it. “Like anything, it just takes practice.” His shoulders rolled up and then back down casually.
“Aren’t you a good friend?” Jude replied. There weren’t many he’d do that for - just up and leave the place he was in for someone else. “What kind of trouble?” If it was serious…well, they’d keep the mood positive. He’d been on the other side of the law once or twice before, he got it. People made mistakes.
—
“Yeah. I’ll get it.” He spoke with confidence. “When I decide to learn something I don’t usually stop until I get it down.”
Giving a smirk, “Yeah. Sometimes.” He replied. The next question had him giving a bit of a sigh. “Protest turned bad.” He answered. “His punishment was being sent away to a beach town. Me? I got stuck with my parents for about a month before the court would let me leave town.”
—
“That’s a good trait to have.” Follow through was one thing a lot of folks lacked. He possessed that, too. It left a void in him that he couldn’t shake when something was left incomplete. Maybe he just liked the satisfaction of knowing he’d accomplished something.
Jude nodded. “Protests can turn on you if you aren’t careful.” Most of them were peaceful, all of them valid, but one trigger could cause the whole thing to flip over onto its back and once the belly was exposed…well, you got what seemed to have transpired with Carver and his friend. “At least you guys made it here together.” And there weren’t negative consequences.
—
“It is,” he nodded, “I don’t like to start something and not finish it.” He spoke and smirked.
“That they can. Hopefully, that was my last one.” He said with a chuckle. “Yes! The two positives that came out of it… got out of that town and we are still together.” He smiled and gave a solid nod.
Standing to his feet, he grabbed the board and attached it to his ankle. “I’m gonna try again.” Running out into the water, he dove in with the board (like he’d seen in movies) and paddled out to where he was comfortable. He turned around and kept an eye out for a decent wave to practice on. Finding one, he started paddling and jumped up on the board, feet hip width apart, arms out. He had it, but only for a moment before losing it and crashing. Three more tries and he was getting better, but not by much. He tried one last time before coming back out and finding his teacher. “Okay, so still don’t have it. But I’m getting better.”
—
“We have that in common,” Jude mused.
With a nod, the blue eyed babe in the sand smiled. “They call that silver lining.” The good parts of a bad situation that make enduring the situation worth it. He truly was glad for Carver. Having a friend and getting away from a bad situation was ideal.
Nodding, he sat back and watched as Carver went to tackle the tide. “Not bad,” he murmured. “You’ll get the hang of it.” Practice would eventually make perfect. “You can hang onto that board if you want. I’ll come get it when I’m ready to use it.” It would give them a reason to see each other again, too.
—
A smile formed on his lips as he liked that they shared that trait.
“Yeah. I’ll get it. Just gonna take some time.” When he offered to let him hold onto the board, Carver smiled. “Awesome. Thanks.” He said, his eyes meeting those bright blues. “I promise it’ll be in good shape when you get it back.” He smiled. “Speaking of, what needs to be done to take care of it?”
—
“I just waxed it, it should be okay for a little while.” As long as Carver didn’t break it or lose it, things would be fine. “And, I appreciate you being willing to take care of it.” Surf boards weren’t that expensive but he also didn’t want to have to go and get another one.
“You can swim, right?” He figured that Carver could just based on his ability to get in and out of the water just fine.
—
“Of course! It would be really rude of me to borrow it and return it all ruined. Doubt we’d be friends much longer after that.” He laughed.
Hearing the question, Carver raised a brow and gave a slow nod. “Yeah. I mean, I seem to be doing fine with that part.” He answered with another chuckle. “Unless I’m doing something wrong that I don’t know about.”
—
Jude chuckled, “Nice to know I can loan you things.” Carver wasn’t an asshole and that worked out just fine for the both of them. Outside of the surfboard, though, there wasn’t much to offer up. “And, it gives us a reason to see each other again,” he added.
With a smirk, Jude nodded, “Good. While I like playing lifeguard, I just wanted to make sure you weren’t dumb enough to climb into the ocean without the basics.” Some folks weren’t graced with smarts.
—
“Well, in that case, I may have to hang onto it for a while.” He spoke with a smile. He enjoyed Jude and his company. There was something about the man that made Carver feel comfortable. Very comfortable.
Carver laughed. “Yeah, no. I might be lacking a bit in the intelligence area sometimes but I’m not that dumb.” He flipped his hair from his face before speaking again. “Thanks, though, for caring.”
—
Jude chuckled. “Maybe you should.” Likewise. Carver was fun to be around. He was easy to talk to and could give back the sassy quips as easily as he could take them, and Jude admired that about him.
“Just had to check,” he murmured. “I don’t think you’re the type to go charging into the water ill equipped, but you never know sometimes.” His shoulders just shrugged. And, what kind of a friend would he be if he wasn’t looking out for folks?
—
The smile on his face grew at the man’s words. His gaze lingered on those blue eyes. Trying to hide it, he sighed heavily in his head. But his body betrayed him and his back seemed to relax into it instinctively. This man could be dangerous for Carver and he knew it. The kind of dangerous you fall hard for. But he didn’t want that - even though truly he did. He was too afraid to delve that deeply into someone again.
He reflected on the conversation they’d had. Friends. That’s all it needs to be. Just friends. His thoughts repeated as he tried to convince himself that anything more was too dangerous. Instincts betraying his intentions, he blinked slowly and his mouth fell just slightly into a frown. But he quickly twitched it back into a smile.
“Yeah, you never do. It’s amazing how some people are so stupid and yet have made it so far in life.” He gave a shrug of his own. “I do stupid things, yes but I promise I have common sense.” He laughed.
—
Danger was one of the things Jude was good at exuding. It wasn’t on purpose, not really. He just carried an air about him that attracted the innocent like flies. He stayed out of relationships for his own reasons. Not a lot of people knew the reason behind the tattooed letter L on his finger or the turmoil that had come with that. Keeping the past tucked down into the box he’d put it in was safer for everyone. It was also a lot of the reason why he was the way he was - cautious and curious.
“Right? I’m amazed that some people are still alive.” Those eyebrows arched a bit when Carver’s expression shifted slightly. He didn’t inquire, though. “I trust you,” Jude laughed. “You’ve proven yourself so far.”
—
“Yes!” He exclaimed with laughter. “Some people completely baffle me.” He said, shaking his head. “You trust me, huh?” He asked with a wiggle of his brows. “Yeah except for with the car, right?” He laughed, remembering the night.
It’d been a decent night actually. But with it having started so bumpy, he had been embarrassed and felt terrible for it starting so crumby. In the end, though, it turned out to be a pretty interesting night. Making out then learning about the car. Little more kissing. He wouldn’t be forgetting that night anytime soon. The memory of it putting a dreamy smile on his face without his knowing it.