Quinn Peterson

September 10th, 2018

As long as I've lived in Florida, I had never once thought about surfing. Beaches were fun if you got drunk and were with girls in bikinis. But the idea of spending time on surfboard in salt water, it never dawned on me. That was until I met Cassandra and let her convince me to actually give it a try. She brought up the idea a couple of weeks ago at Rose's birthday party. After a couple of rain checks and a long drive to St. George Island, Cassandra finally had her chance to teach me how to surf.

I had been waiting by the shore with one of Cassandra's surfboards in my wetsuit. I had to go out and buy one just for this trip. As much as I wanted to surf in just a normal pair of swim trunks, Cassandra told me this was the only way to do it. Especially around this time of year, the water was getting much cooler. I ran my hand across the spare surfboard that Cassandra had brought with her to FSU. Strapping them to the top of my jeep was a pain in the ass but it'd be worth it. Cassandra had stayed behind at the jeep to but her wetsuit on which left me on the shore by myself. Watching the waves crash on to the beach was peaceful in a way. Not many people were on the beach to begin with. So the only sounds were the sounds of seagulls and nearby boats docking at the pier.

Then a new sound hit my ear, the sound of a whistle coming from far behind me. I turned around to see Cassandra walking towards me with her surfboard in hand and her wet suit tight around her body. Not that I was staring at her body, it was just there. I shook my head and turned my head back towards the water. I heard Cassandra walk up beside me and felt her tap me on the shoulder.

"You ready to give this a try?" She asked.

I picked up the velcro strap attached to the surfboard and strapped it to my ankle. "My only goal for today is to learn how to not fall of the damn board."

"Yeah ok." She said laughing before patting me on the back. "Try learning how to stand up on it first."

"Don't act cocky now because you know what you're doing."

"Me?" She said placing her hand on her chest. "Act cocky? I would never."

Before I could even get a word out Cassandra was knee deep in the ocean water with her surfboard in hand. I followed her until my the water went up to my ankles. I only stopped because Cassandra turned and looked back at me. She was about waist deep in the water before she hopped on to her surfboard. I only watched as she laid flat on it before paddling farther away from me. Now I felt like a little kid being left behind by their older sibling. I tucked my surfboard under my arm and held it close to me before making my way towards Cassandra.

I chased after her, trying my best not to tumble into the water. "Hey! Wait up!"

I got about waist deep into the water before I decided to hop on my board the same way she did. Except when I went to throw my leg over the board I slipped and fell back in the water. When I came back up I could hear Cassandra laughing a couple yards away from me. I shook my wet hair and slowly climbed on to my board, this time I straddled it completely. I kept my balance as I laid flat on it and paddled towards Cassandra.

"Look at you." She giggled. "You're a natural."

I caught up to her and took a deep breath. "First, fuck you for leaving me. Second, what do we do now?"

"Now.....we wait." She said posturing up her on her board.

"You still haven't taught me a damn thing about surfing. Like what am I supposed to do when the wave comes?"

"Well if you must now." She said rolling her eyes. "You paddle underneath it until you catch it, then you slowly posture up and then stand up and then.....ride the wave out."

I tried to posture up on my board like Cassandra was but my board only slipped out from underneath me which put me back under water. When I came back up I heard Cassandra laughing again, this time was much harder. I glared at her and she instantly stopped and looked away. I climbed back on to my board and balanced myself on it just like Cassandra.

"Why do I feel like everything you just said doesn't explain a damn thing?"

"It's better if I show you, these waves are bitch waves." She said with a smirk. "It should be easy for you."

I felt my body rise up as a wave passed right underneath us. "You call these bitch waves?"

"Well to me they seem easy." She said before laying flat on her board. "Just watch."

I held on to my board as to not lose my balance as another wave passed right underneath us. Only this time Cassandra paddled with the wave as it began to crash. I watched as she quickly went from laying flat to standing up perfectly on her board. That's when I realized I was out of my damn mind for even considering this. Everything Cassandra was doing seemed so coordinated and precise. The way she moved her body and her board to stay on the wave as it slowly gave out into the shallows. It seemed way too damn hard to learn, at least in a day. Hell I had no idea how the hell I was gonna stay up on the board like she did. I saw her stand up in the ankle deep water and wave her hand at me. I waved back like an idiot but that's when I realized she was signaling that another wave was coming.

I looked back and saw a bunch of water collecting into another wave. I took a deep breath and paddled with the wave just as Cassandra did before. As the wave grew larger I felt that it was time to stand up and ride the wave out. Only when I went to posture up and plant my feet on the board I completely came off balance and ended up falling under the wave. I was underwater for a few moments tumbling along the ocean floor with the wave as my board was being dragged with it. Once I got my bearings I simply stood up as I was only in waist deep water. The familiar sound of Cassandra's laughter hit my ears as I shook my wet hair and grabbed my board. I looked over at Cassandra who was walking over to me with her board in hand.

"You've got a ways to go." She said nonchalantly before moving deeper into the water.

"Tell me about it." I muttered to myself before following her.

March 1st, 2017

My head came above the water with a huge splash of water. The saltwater stung my eyes I looked around for Brianna who had went underwater with me. After a waiting a few seconds longer I felt her come up right behind me. I turned around to see that huge smile on her face as she wrapped her arms around me.

"Told you I could hold my breath longer." She said before pecking my on the lips.

I brushed her hair away from her eyes as a smile formed on my lips. "If I'm being honest, I just wanted a way to get you in the water."

"Is that so?" She said tilting her head.

I pressed my forehead against hers and wrapped my arms tightly around her. "Absolutely."

"You know I was thinking, after we this we could take the long way home." She said with that longing look in her eyes.

The "long" way home essentially meant she wanted to pull over on the way home and have sex. It's been a phrase we've used for the past two years ever since we started having sex in my jeep more often. Brianna and I weren't as sexually active as all of our friends liked to make us out to be. Most of the time we hung out we just watched Netflix and.....chilled.

"Maybe that's why everyone thought we were horn dogs?"

The idea of us having sex in my jeep did excite me in a way. However, I had a much.....much better idea.

"Why don't we find a nice spot to spend the night instead? We are adults you know?"

"You actually want to rent a room out here?" She asked.

I moved my hands under ass and pulled her whole body much closer to me. "If I have sex with you in that jeep one more time I swear I'm going to lose it."

"Maybe I want to see you lose it." She said before pulling me in for a kiss.

"Ewwwww get a fucking room you two!"

I pulled away and groaned when I remembered that we had brought Danielle and Isiah with us. I looked over at the two of them swimming just a few feet from us.

I scoffed. "Since when did you actually swim at the beach Danny?"

"Since when did my brother become such a dirty white boy?" She asked with a look of disgust.

I rolled my eyes. "Since when was I allowed some fucking privacy?"

"It's a public beach." Isiah said.

"There are kids here you know." Danielle said with the fakest shocked expression I had ever seen.

"Then we're gonna give them a show." Brianna said before pulling me into another kiss.

"Fucking gross!" Danielle said.

If my lips weren't locked on to Brianna I'd have the biggest smile on my face. I held up my middle up finger in Danielle's direction and felt a splash of water hit Brianna and I both. I pulled away and looked at Danielle who was of course the one who did it. I swam after her as she screamed and swam away as fast as she could. The sound of Isiah and Brianna both dying of laughter only help put a smile on my face as I chased Danielle. I wasn't much of a beach boy, but with these people, I'd go to the beach everyday if I could.

September 10th, 2018

After an three hours had passed and I had fallen off my board at least thirty times I found myself laying on shoreline. I had fallen off my board again and just decided to take a break on the the sand. I could hear the waves crashing only a few feet away from me, before I felt the water hit my legs only to recede back out into the ocean. It happened a few more times before I heard Cassandra's feet pattering against the wet sand. I turned my head to see her flop down on to the ground beside me. Her heavy breathing implied that she had just finished riding her thirtieth wave of the day. We laid there for a moment staring at the bright blue sky like two children. It was only when Cassandra shifted on to her side and looked at me that I felt obligated to turn my gaze to her. It was different seeing her like this, much different from a typical day at FSU.

Gone were the cut off outfits I had gotten used to seeing her in, replaced only by a skin tight wet suit. Her hair was soaking wet which only made her bright green eyes that much more piercing. I felt spoiled in a way, I'm sure they were a number of guys who would love to be in my position. Yet here I was spending alone time with Cassandra at the beach. The worst part is I don't think I could even take full advantage of it. I was overthinking again, surely we could've just been two good friends surfing at the beach.

Except we weren't, I hadn't forgotten what Cassandra said at Rose's party. I'm sure she never expected me to hear it but there was no denying it, Cassandra definitely had some sort of feelings for me. I just really hoped that she was one of those girls who are too shy to ask a guy out. If she did that and I shot her down, it would make the rest of our friendship awkward. I had just started to get used to us being friends, I didn't want it to end like that. Maybe I was overthinking yet again, maybe Cassandra was just being dramatic, maybe she didn't feel that strong about me. Yeah....maybe.

"Are you going to say something?" She asked breaking the long silence.

I felt a warm smile form on my lips. "I was hoping you were gonna say something first."

"You'll get better you know, at surfing." She said.

"Yeah hopefully I won't eat shit every time I try to stand up on the board."

"My first time surfing was with my dad." She said sitting up and hugging her knees. "I was eight."

Both of my ears perked up as I sat up as well. "Eight?"

"Yep, my dad used to let me ride on the front of his board." She said staring at the waves crashing on to the beach.

"We'd catch waves together until my mom forced us out of the water. We did that almost every day when my dad got off of work." She added with a huge smile forming on her lips. "The sun would be going down and we'd still be here....riding the waves."

I kept my eyes on her as I leaned over towards her. "That seems pretty awesome."

"It was.....for a time." She said. Her smile faded away as fast as it appeared. "My dad got older, he stopped caring about surfing. He stopped caring about a lot of things. It went from us riding the waves together on his board....to just me......just me."

"That's part of growing up isn't it? You know you stop doing things after a while."

"It wasn't just that!" She snapped shooting me a look of annoyance. "It was what it represented, my dad filed for a divorce with my mom soon after." Her hands formed into fists and she stared back off into the ocean.

"It was like the moment we stopped surfing together was the moment we started growing apart. I love my dad Quinn, but I swear sometimes I see him and it's like he's a fucking stranger." Her voice only grew more and more estranged with every word spoken. I leaned forward a bit more to maybe comfort her but I should've known better.

"A stranger who doesn't care about surfing anymore, a stranger who doesn't care ABOUT HIS FUCKING DAUGHTER ANYMORE!!!" She screamed hitting the ground with her fist a few times.

I thought about putting my arm around her to comfort her but I stopped. This was some serious venting coming from her, I never even knew her parents were divorced. The only thing I knew about her family was her brother, which was another sob story. Maybe that's what Cassandra meant at Rose's party, about me understanding what the pain feels like. It seemed I was only cracking the surface on who Cassandra Winters really was. Not that it was a bad thing, but it was certainly intriguing.

My thoughts faded away when I heard the sounds of sobs coming from Cassandra. I scooted closer to her and saw the tears streaming down her cheeks. The past could be harming, revisiting old memories of better times, it could break a person if they weren't careful. I understood that as well as she did. I went to put my arm around her but I hesitated. She seemed vulnerable, she could've easily exploded on me like she did to herself. My inner dilemma was decided for me when I felt her lean into my shoulder as my arm naturally wrapped around her. I simply leaned against her and held her snug against me. Her wet hair tickling my cheek as I rest my head atop hers. The sounds of Cassandra's sobs died down as they were replaced by sniffles instead.

"I'm sorry." She croaked as she seemingly wiped the tears from her face.

"For what?"

"I totally just killed the mood didn't I?" She asked looking up at me.

I smiled at her and ran my hand through her wet hair. "Absolutely murdered it."

"Even when I want to be upset, you still find a way to make me smile." She said cracking a soft smile.

I narrowed my eyes at her as I felt my hand slide up her shoulder and on to her cheek. "I do that sometimes."

"All the time." She huffed as she mimicked my actions by sliding her hand up to cup my cheek.

"You know Cassie.....the only thing that made wiping out worth it, was hearing your laugh when I rose above the water."

"Quinn?" She asked with a weak smile.

I noticed a sudden change in her entire posture and mood. It seemed to depress a bit as she leaned away from me. The look in her eyes was completely different, she seemed anxious.

"But what would she be anxious about?"

Then it hit me like a truck.

"Oh............shit."

I felt my heart nearly leap out of my chest as I braced myself. "Yes?"

"I have to tell you something." She said finding it hard to keep eye contact with me.

"No no no no no no no. Don't say it Cass. Please don't fucking say it."

I gulped. "What is it?"

"I....I really li-" She said before a giant wave crashed right in front of us.

The water splashed on to both of us as it moved us back a few feet. It seemed while we were busy talking the tide had moved in. I coughed a bit as some water got into my mouth. I looked over at Cassandra who was moving moving her hair out of the way of her face. Her eyes locked on to mine and I could see the confidence fading away from her them. Maybe she saw the interruption as a sign? I felt horrible for actually being glad that the wave interrupted her. I wiped the water off my face as I moved closer to her again.

I chuckled at the situation. "What was it you were saying?"

"I uh....nothing." She said shaking her head before standing up.

I stood up and dusted the wet sand off my wetsuit. "Cassie what was it?"

"Nothing! Forget it!" She snapped picking up her surfboard.

"Cassie if it's impo-"

"I SAID FORGET IT!" She yelled before walking away towards the parking lot.

Now I really felt like shit, it didn't take a genius to see that she felt embarrassed. It was like she could read my mind, after that wave hit us all her built up confidence disappeared. Maybe it was for the better, at least this way we could stay friends without making things awkward. Hell maybe the idea will leave her head after this situation, maybe she'll just see us friends. I mean she hasn't really talked about any other guys. It's like I'm the only she's been hanging out with. I wonder why that was? She never seemed to talk about any other guy friends.

"Why am I asking myself?"

I picked up my board and made my way up the beach over the hot sand to the parking lot. My jeep was parked right in front of the little boardwalk that led to the beach. So I could see Cassandra using the the shower attached to the boardwalk. She had taken her wetsuit completely off and was wearing nothing but a sports bra and a pair of boy shorts. Now I bet a lot of guys would love to be in this position as well. I mean there was no denying it, Cassandra was beautiful and her body was....

"Wait no no no no no stop stop stop. I bet that's what she wants you to look at. Fuck! Just look away! Just look away on 3. Ok 1....2....."

"You gonna keep staring at me or are you trying to rinse off as well?" She asked looking at me.

"Uh....."

"DAMMITTTT!!!"

"Well?" She asked.

I nodded and walked over to her. I placed my board next to hers which was resting against the railing. "Yeah of course, salt water is a bitch on my skin anyways."

"Just stop talking!"

"Your skin?" She giggled. "You sound like a woman when you say that."

"At least she's smiling again."

I cracked a smile of my own and stepped underneath the water pouring down on both of us. "What can I say? I got sensitive skin."

"Sure." She said rolling her eyes. "You also have like a foot in height over me and you're taking up all the damn water." I felt her push me back a bit as she tried to make more room for the water to fall down on her.

I moved right back to my original spot and planted my feet. "Last I checked you had a good couple of minutes of this thing to yourself."

"I'm a girl I have to rinse it all out of my hair you idiot." She said trying to push me again, but I didn't budge.

I fought her hands as she kept trying to push me. I eventually wrapped my arms around her and pulled in her super close. "Well I guess were staying like this, that way there's enough room for both of us."

"You're impossible Quinn." She said rolling her eyes again. "Fine, you mind turning me around then? I need to wring my hair out."

I chuckled and simply turned her around in my arms. "Do what you gotta do Cassie."

I soon realized this was probably the stupidest thing I could've thought of doing. Not only was her back now pressed against me but her ass was as well. This position was literally no different than when she was grinding against me at Rose's party. To make matters worse she then bent over a bit to wring the the salt water of her hair. I swear she purposely bumped her ass against me when she did it too. It wasn't actually a bump, more like a lingering touch. She stood there bent over with her ass pressed against my crotch and all I could think about was running away. All the thinking distracted me from the fact that there was now a noticable bulge in my wet suit. Actually it was less of a bulge and more of an outline considering I didn't have any underwear on underneath. I nearly jumped when Cassandra pushed against me again.

That was enough to make me back away instantly and leave her alone under the shower head. This wet suit left little to the imagination and I was not having it right now. I left Cassandra at the shower before grabbing my board and walking back to my jeep. I rested my board against the hood of my jeep before opening one of the back doors. I unzipped my wet suit and peeled it off my body before quickly throwing on the clothes I had resting in the backseat. I grabbed my shoes off the floor board and slipped them as Cassandra came walking over to the jeep.

I ignored her and instead grabbed my board and lifted up to the roof of my jeep. I climbed on to the side of the jeep before grabbing the bungie cords I had left on the roof. I laid my board my flat on the roof before securing it with a bungie cord. I glanced at Cassandra who had changed back into her shorts and tank top. I held my hand for her to hand me her board which she obliged to. After securing her board to the roof my jeep I hopped of the side of it and got into the driver seat. I heard and felt Cassandra hop into the passenger seat but refrained from looking at her. Instead I start the jeep and backed out of the parking spot.

I wasn't going ignore her the whole trip back, that was pointless. However, I just wanted her to understand that I meant what I said about "staying single". All of the teasing and flirting antics had to stop. I was starting to find it hard to believe that she's never kissed a guy with as hard as she's been coming on to me lately. I mean maybe I was being a bit too harsh. Today was the only incident aside from Rose's party. Maybe she was actually oblivious to what she was doing. Or maybe she wasn't, maybe she was just playing innocent.

"I could just ask her......no that would only make it more awkward."

"You're being awfully quiet." She said breaking the long silence.

I kept my eyes on the road and just shrugged my shoulders. "My bad it's just been a long day of wiping out."

"You actually did better than I thought you would." She said leaning her seat all the way back.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean for starters you actually came." She said crossing her arms.

I glanced at her with a furrowed brow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that most of my friends don't even try surfing with me." She said reaching her hand out ot rest on my shoulder. "But you did.....and I'm really glad you came."

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat before bringing up the elephant in the room. "You really wanted to tell me something back there at the beach. I know you told me to forget it....but I can't."

The silence returned for a few moments before Cassandra sat up her seat up and stared at me. I only saw her out of the corner of my eye, but I could tell she was debating something in her head. I groaned and immediately pulled the jeep over to the side of the road. I put the jeep in park and turned my whole body towards her. She seemed like a child who got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. She was no longer staring at me, instead she was fiddling with her nails.

I sighed and leaned closer to her. "Cassie?"

"What?" She asked looking up at me through her wet strands of hair.

"Was there something you needed to tell me? Is there something at all?"

"I......." She trailed off before looking out the window. She crossed her arms and sunk into her seat. "I just really like your company."

"That's not what you were going to say Cassie."

"I'm glad we found eachother." She said looking at me with a smile on her face. "I'm glad we're friends."

"Just friends huh?"

I smiled back and reached over to pinch her cheek a bit. "I'm glad we're friends too."

"Ow!" She gasped holding her cheek. "My dad used to always do that to me......I fucking hated it." She giggled.

The smile on my face only grew. "I could get used to seeing that smile."

"You pinch my cheek one more time and you won't." She deadpanned holding her finger up.

It was cute how hard she was trying to be serious, even with an obvious hidden smile on her lips. I put the jeep in drive and pulled back on to the road. I kept my eyes on the road but I could feel Cassandra shifting in her seat. I felt her lean over and rest her head on my shoulder. It was a long drive from St. George Island to FSU. But if I had to be in this position the whole way, I'd drive all night.