The crush

[Pywakit]

Maria

For a brief moment, Maria froze, hoping that everything would somehow continue on without anyone noticing. No luck. The lights came on and Mrs. Thompson was looking up at the back row… specifically, at Maria. The sudden brightness dazzled her, and she couldn't see.

Maria scrambled to her feet, doing her best to not annoy whoever it was she'd fallen into as she'd tripped over the cord. She opened her mouth once, smiled, glanced about the room. Mrs. Thompson looked up at her over the top of her glasses. "Well then. It seems that Miss Lauren is done with her object lesson on why it's important to get to class on time, so why don't we see about continuing the lesson the rest of you came here to learn, hmm?" One final acid glance up to Maria, and then Mrs. Thompson nodded once to one of her aides who had just reset the projector up on the table. The lights dimmed and the projector, having miraculously survived the fall, flashed into life.

Maria slumped down in the chair, trying to shrink into it, to vanish. After a few moments, she glanced over at the guy in the next seat over, the one she'd practically sat on when she'd tripped.

It was Rick.

'Oh… umm… Hi there. Uh… I'm sorry about that…" she whispered awkwardly to him.

 

[Beach Boy]

Rick

"That's okay." Rick whispered reaching over and giving Maria a quick reassuring hug.

Maria cuddled with Rick for a second then pulled away and become silent.

Mrs Thompsons aide was clicking through the slides looking for the right one. He stopped on one of the Grand Canyon

"The third law is the law of Superposition" Mrs Thompson said "It simply states that new rock is deposited on top of older rock. The oldest rock is at the bottom and the youngest is at the top."

Mrs Thompson continued to flash through slides that illustrated Stenos three laws. The landscapes were rugged and beautiful. Looks like scenes out of "The Good The Bad And The Ugly" Ricks thought, his mind drifting. "Maybe I'll see you in some classes.." He remembered himself saying.

Suddenly the lights came back on and Mrs Thompsons aides began handing out study sheets. Rick wanted to say something to Maria but he bit his tongue.

Rick felt a tug on his shirt sleeve."So Rick are you in a lab yet?" Maria asked.

"Yeah... I'm in the 3 o'clock lab today."

Maria smiled "Me too."

 

[Pywakit]

Maria

Maria blushed as the aide glared at her as she handed her a pair of study sheets, obviously still cranky for her interruption of the class. She handed one of the sheets to Rick, folded hers and stuffed it into her bag while she waited for the aide to move on.

"Well… I gotta go hit a couple more classes, but I've got an hour and a half before the lab, and I'm usually pretty hungry after having four classes in a row. Umm…" She glanced down at her bag bashfully. "Uh… I usually just stop by the teriyaki place by the bookstore, cause it's pretty close to the labs and they've got good food. Um. The teriyaki place has good food, that is. Not the labs. Uh, anyway, if you haven't eaten lunch by then, maybe I'll see you there?" She glanced up at him out of the corner of her eyes, half expecting him to have left the lecture hall already.

 

[Beach Boy]

Rick

"Maria.." Rick enjoyed saying her name "I was going to eat at twelve but I could wait until one-thirty.." He looked into Maria's eyes.

"The teriyaki place is good" Maria said adjusting her baseball cap. "...I'll see you there." Maria smiled scooping up her backpack tossing it over a shoulder.

Rick grabbed his backpack and followed her out the door. "That was quite a dramatic entrance you made today." Rick grinned "It seems like something I would do."

"I think I just want to forget about it..." Maria laughed.

"Well then, I'll see you at one-thirty." Rick said trying to end the conversation before he said something really dumb. He really wanted to give Maria a little hug but he knew that he probably shouldn't dare.

Maria just nodded and smiled then turned away and headed off across campus. And Rick turned and headed the other direction for his Calculus class.

 

[Pywakit]

Maria

Maria did her best to concentrate during her next few classes, but found her mind wandering, usually back to how it felt to stumble and land in Rick's lap. By the time lunch-time rolled around, her stomach was twisted up in nervous jitters. She found herself hurrying to the restaurant. Rick wasn't there when she arrived, and she had to remind herself she was about ten minutes early before she got too disappointed. She entered and sat down at a table by the front window. When the waitress brought her some water and tea and asked if she was ready to order, Maria blushed and said she was waiting for someone but would be ready in a few minutes to order.

And so she proceeded to wait, each passing minute seeming to take longer than the last.

 

[Beach Boy]

Rick

Rick glanced at his watch even though he knew what the time was. I've got an hour and a half till one o'clock, he thought to himself. But he still had to hurry the greenhouses were on the other side of campus.

"Mr Smith" Rick said rushing in "I'm glad I caught you.

"And what may I do for you Rick?" Mr Smith asked graciously.

"I remember you said something about getting some seeds for a rare blue cycad from Australia."

"Yes.." Mr Smith nodded and gave Rick a curious look.

"You offered me some seeds.."

"Yes but they're now little seedlings. And you know that variety of cycad is very rare and valuable... It's a very primative variety that's been around since dinosaur times."

"Yes I know." Rick nodded. "I'd like to grow one as a gift for a friend.."

Mr Smith smiled curiously at Rick. "Perhaps we could make a trade.... You could help out in the greenhouses in the afternoons in exchange for the cycad."

Mr Smith got up and gestured to Rick to follow. They passed exotic and strange looking plants and headed into the main greenhouse where Mr Smith grew the cycads.

"They look like perfect little blue palm trees." Rick commented.

"Yes but they're much slower growers." Mr Smith explained. "And they're more closely related to pine trees. I'm in the process of repotting them if you'd like to help now."

"I can help for a little bit but then I've got to run. Would it be okay if I came back and did a little work tonight." Rick asked.

"Sure!" Mr Smith said enthusiastically then eyed Rick "Is she pretty..?"

"Very.." Rick nodded. "But she's more..somehow."

They went to work pulling the little seedling out of the cell packs and planting them in larger pots.

Rick glanced at his watch. "Oh no I'm going to be late!"

"Then you'd better get going!" Mr Smith said, "I can take care of this".

Rick grabbed his backpack and rushed out. If he hurried he might make it. Most people were in class so the walks were relatively clear. He half jogged half walked towards the bookstore.

He breathed a sigh of relief. Maria was smiling out the window and waving at him!

Rick rushed in beaming "I hope you haven't been waiting long."

 

[Pywakit]

Maria

As Rick comes racing around the corner of the bookstore, Maria can’t help but smile and wave. She immediately turns back to the menu, a flush rising to her cheeks. In the few seconds remaining before Rick reaches her table, she fights to get it back under control.

“I hope you haven’t been waiting long,” he gasps as he takes a seat opposite her. She smiles back at him.

“No, not really. Only a few minutes.” She smiles again as he shakes his head and runs his hand through his hair; for a moment, she wonders what it would feel like to do the same, to feel her fingers in his hair. “You didn’t need to run, though. You’re technically early; you had a whole two minutes before 1:31 and me storming out of here, cursing a blue streak.” She smiles even more for a moment, then turns to the menu. She’s ordered here almost every day since she started school here a few weeks ago and knows what she wants, yet she takes her time looking at the choices. She glances up to see he’s doing the same.

“The chicken bowl’s really good here. The spring rolls are nice too, but I can never finish them so I usually just get the chicken bowl. It’s pretty good. I just said that twice, didn’t I?” She feels the heat of her blush rising in her cheeks again and puts the menu down in disgust as she shakes her head and rolls her eyes. “It’s a good thing paleontologists don’t need strong conversation skills, eh?”

 

[Flurtayshus]

Cameron

Cameron drove toward the campus while Kale sat talking animatedly about the possibility that he might get sponsored soon.

“If I do well next competition,” he explained. “Then I’ll have the scores I need to qualify for Maui!”

Cameron smiled slowly. She loved to listen to Kale when he was excited like this. It was one of the times she truly got to see the softer side of him. The side of him that was still a little boy who sometimes bubbled over with laughter. Generally, Kale was a good-natured man but he tended to be reserved when he was in public, preferring not to show a lot of emotion.

Having met his father once, Cameron was certain that Kale had learned that behavior but she wasn’t entirely certain it wasn’t a cultural thing as well. However, she’d been working on him and little by little he’d learned how to be more expressive with her like he was now.

She threw a glance in his direction and he caught the smile.

“What?” He asked curiously.

“Aww, nothin’.” She grinned steering the car down Main street.

Kale leaned over and nuzzled her neck, kissing her throat gently and eliciting the response he knew he’d get.

A soft moan escaped her and that only encouraged him. His hand slid across her waist to cup her hip as he continue to rain kisses on her throat and collar bone.

“Enough you!” Cameron protested. “I’m driving here.”

“I’m kissing here.” Kale responded laughingly.

Just then Cameron spotted Rick’s car parked along side ‘The Daily Grind Café.’ Suddenly she felt like having some hot cocoa. She whipped the car into an empty parking space near the curb and pointed at the familiar face she spied in the front window.

“Looks like you’ve got your chance big boy. If you wanted to harass him, now’s the perfect time.”

 

[chris2c4u]

Kale was a bit disappointed that she pulled up at the cafe; he was enjoying his arousing of her as she tried to concentrate on the road.

She whipped the car into an empty parking space near the curb and pointed at the familiar face she spied in the front window.

"Looks like you?ve got your chance big boy. If you wanted to harass him, now's the perfect time."

He looked over at the window seat where Rick and Maria sat talking and laughed. "Perfect, come on!"

He paused at the door, turning to Cam and practised his scowl. "Fierce enough?"

She pretended to cower and he grinned and went in, standing by the table where Rick an Maria were engrossed in each other.

"That was a pretty stupid thing to do, dropping in on my wave, wasn't it Rick." Kale waited till he had his attention. "You should have known better than that, you quimby. You know what this means, don't you?"

He saw Rick's reaction and continued, snapping his fingers; Cam picked up on it and scurried to his side.

"The pistols, Cameron. Tomorrow, this so-called surfer and I duel." He tried to keep the smile from his lips a moment longer...

 

[Beach Boy]

Rick

“It’s a good thing paleontologists don’t need strong conversation skills, eh?” Maria said her cheeks flushed. She had a faraway look in her eyes.

"Didn't you say that you're from back east?" Rick asked cautiously.

"Yeah.. I'm an eastern girl." Maria said emphasizing the "eastern" part.

"So how do you like it out here!" Rick instinctively changed the subject.

"I love it!" Maria smiled. "I love the small town. I love the ocean!

"Do you swim?" Rick asked. He'd met people some people from the mid-west and the east who didn't.

"Yeah silly I swim!" Maria laughed punching at Ricks shoulder playfully.

"Do you surf!?" Maria asked.

"Of course!" Rick chuckled "Everybody around here surfs! Or at least they try."

"You see that guy out there?" Rick asked "That's Kale, he's practically a professional... "

"And that's the girl who was wearing your shirt!" Maria interrupted.

"And she's Kale's girlfriend." Rick said quickly.

Maria gave Rick a suspicious look and Rick detected a little sadness.

Kale and Cameron come into the restaurant and headed for the "Daily Grind" section. Cameron ordered a cup of something then smirked at Rick.

Rick hoped the Maria didn't notice the smirk and turned back to Maria.

"That was a pretty stupid thing to do, dropping in on my wave, wasn't it Rick." Rick heard Kale's voice and looked up.

"You should have known better than that, you quimby. You know what this means, don't you?" Kale snapped his fingers and Cameron came over to his side. "The pistols, Cameron. Tomorrow, this so-called surfer and I duel." Kale said barely hiding a grin.

Rick looked over at Maria ackwardly.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it." Maria defended. She studied Kale nervously then looked pleadingly at Cameron.

"A duel?..." Rick asked trying to sound calm. It was bad enough to do something dumb. But to get ribbed about it in front of Maria.. Then suddenly a brilliant thought jumped into his head "Maybe...maybe that's not a bad idea!"

Maria flashed a suprised look at Rick.

"A duel.. just between the two of us.." Rick nodded seriously struggling not to grin. "And since it should be between just the two of us then how about tonight.. instead of tomorrow!"

Rick noticed the look of suprise in Kales eyes. He'd dodged Kales bullet!

"It's supposed to be a perfect night. And perhaps.." Rick widened his eyes and looked over at Cameron then back at Maria ".. Maria and Cameron would like to judge?"

"Judge?" Maria asked suddenly looking a little frightened "What are you going to do..? ....You're not thinking.. of going surfing!... Are you?... How can you surf in the dark?... Isn't that dangerous!"

"Nah, people go night surfing all the time." Rick said noticing her concern. "And anyway it's supposed to be a beautiful calm moon lit night. And I'm not a kook.."

"Really I'm not!" Rick laughed noticing the grin on Kales face.

 

[Pywakit]

Maria

Maria looks back and forth between the two guys, unable to determine if they're clowning around or not.

"But it'll be too cold, won't it?" she asks, already knowing the answer. She glances over to Cameron, hoping to find some support from her against this crazy plan.

 

[chris2c4u]

"OK, why not? Don't know how much the girls will be able to see to do any judging but should be cool."

Rick and I fell to talking about surfing at night. Shadows, reflections, not being able to fully see the wave, riding almost totally by "feel".

"OK, down by the pier tonight? There are lights along it. Perfect for a warm moonlit night like we should have tonight. Catch some little black barrels you can't see out of. Get pounded, you
have to guess which way is up!"

We laughed, looking forward to it. This also fitted my training for the competition; something a little unusual - and fun. We shook on it and grinned.

 

[Beach Boy]

Rick

Rick glanced at Maria who had a faraway pained look in her eyes and he realized that he'd ignored her last question.

"Maria, you're right it can be cold but we'll probably wear wet suits. This time of year it's fairly warm so my 2 millimeter ought to be good enough..."

Maria just sat there looking a little dejected. Rick thought to himself, god how could I have just been such an idiot, and cut her out of the conversation like that..

"Why don't you guys join us?" Rick offered getting up out of his seat and moving over to Maria's side of the booth.

Cameron and Kale sat down on the other side of the booth.

"This is my friend Maria." Rick said cautiously reaching over and sliding his hand under her long hair and resting it extremely carefully on her soft warm shoulder.

"Cam, Kale, Rick!... and Maria?" Tracy's loud voice caught their attention. Maria looked at Tracy nervously

"Rick and Maria...?" Tracy repeated eying them curiously. "You guys.. Sir Lancelot's throwing a rager this Saturday night and he said everybodies invited! Are you guys coming?"

"I don't know.." Rick laughed "Lance's parties can be pretty wild." He cuddled Maria a little and explained "Lance is a professional surfer. He owns that cool looking house out on the end of the point."

"And he's a totally cool guy!" Tracy added enthusiastically.

"He's just a little crazy" Rick laughed "But hey.. uh.. we're going to go surfing tonight. Do you want to come along?"

 

[Pywakit]

Maria

Maria's shoulder tenses for an instant as Rick rests his fingers on it, but then she relaxes. She's a little annoyed at him, getting the idea he's trying to show off or something in front of his friends, but she decides instead to just nod and listen to the conversation. She glances over to Tracy and flashes her a quick but subtle smile while Rick invites her to the "surfing duel".

"You should come along, Tracy! These two strong men are gonna duel it out on the waves. I'm not sure if they'll be fighting with clubs or thrown rocks, but it should be fun in any event." She smiles (perhaps only slightly nervously) at Rick and Kale to let them know she's goofing around.

 

[Flurtayshus]

Cameron

At 9:30 pm that night Cameron ran down to the end of the pier where she would have the best view. She was wearing one of Kales’ black hoody sweatshirts and a pair of jeans to protect against the cold wind that would be blowing off the water.

As she got closer she saw Maria and Tracy huddled against the chill in two lawn chairs.

“What are we waiting for ladies?!” She asked with a shout and climbed up onto the rungs of the pier rail.

Out of the front pocket of the sweatshirt, she pulled the air horn that would start the race. Knowing the boys couldn’t hear her over the waves she just let it rip with a glaring blast from the horn.

The wind lifted her hair around her face and she searched the waves for the two dots she knew should be out there and then caught sight of the neon green neoprene she knew Kale was wearing.

“Isn’t this fun?” Cameron asked as she stepped down onto the wooden planks and turned toward her company.

“I don’t know that I’d call it fun.” Maria murmured quietly. “It seems a bit dangerous if you ask me.”

“Oh nooooo,” Cameron protested. “They do this all the time. At least Kale does when he needs to get centered. Rick, hmmm, not so much. But Kale will take care of him. He knows how much Rick means to me.”

“Hmm!” The simple sound came out like an expletive and Cameron turned to figure out whom the sound had come from.

Tracy met her eyes and shook her head, a smirk edging her lips. Tracy’s eyes then looked briefly in Maria’s direction and then snapped back almost as if she hadn’t done it at all.

But the look on Maria’s face was very clear. The reddening cheeks could have been mistaken for wind chill but Cameron was certain it was most likely because Maria hadn’t meant it to come out.

Walking over to Maria’s side, Cameron dropped down Indian style next to her. Looking out over the water Cameron watched as Kale caught the first wave beneath the moonlight and began to speak.

“Look. You need to know that there isn’t anything going on between Rick and me.” She smiled at the thought of Rick. “We grew up together. He’s my best friend. Next to Kale he’s the closest thing I have to family.”

 

[Beach Boy]

Rick

""You should come along, Tracy! These two strong men are gonna duel it out on the waves. I'm not sure if they'll be fighting with clubs or thrown rocks, but it should be fun in any event." Maria smiled nervously at Rick and Kale.

"Mariaaa.." Rick said in mock anger then turned to Kale and Cameron "Maybe Maria and I should go and get something to eat before our lab.'

"Yesss..we should." Maria said deliberately.

"Yes, I'd love to come to the duel!" Tracy said looking at Rick and Maria with bemusement.

Rick and Maria got out of the booth and Tracy sat down in their place.

"Richard and Maria... Who would have thunk it?" Rick heard Tracy say as they headed towards the Teriyaki counter.

"She calls you Richard?" Maria asked smirking.

"Not usually.." Rick said "But hey.. I'll buy you lunch!"


-------------------------------------------------

The surf report said that the waves were only a little over single overhead so Rick chose his six foot squash over his big gun. Rick grabbed some wax and his three mill full length suit and booties. It wasn't supposed to be very cold but Maria somehow had influenced his thinking. He wanted to be warm!


It was a perfect moon lit night. There was a slight inland breeze but it was calm enough that the waves were sure to be almost glassy smooth.

"You couldn't have picked a better night." Tracy said greeting Rick at the beach. "And Sir Lancelot is gonna be showing up fairly soon. He wants to see Kale surf. He's got these super cool night vision binoculars!"

"The pressures on." Rick laughed.

"Nah, no worries Richard" Tracy laughed.

Rick struggled for a second to think of a longer name to call Tracy but couldn't think of one so he just smiled and nodded before anxiously heading for the beach. Kale was already there busy putting a coat of wax on his board. He was wearing a wetsuit too but his wasn't full length and looked a bit lighter.

"What's Tracy up to?" Kale asked.

"She say's that Sir Lancelots going to be coming by. And he want's to see you surf so he's bringing some night vision binoculars"

"He won't need them tonight." Kale said looking up at the full moon.

 

[Pywakit]

Maria

Maria glances warilly at Cameron as she sits down next to her and tries to explain the situation between her and Rick. She seems honest enough, at least.

Maria sighs, and hugs her arms across her torso. The thin sweater she's wearing isn't quite enough to keep the nip out of the air.

"Well... If you say so, Cameron. I just don't want to... well... um... get in the middle of things, I guess. I had enough of that on the east coast."

She smiles, forcing herself to calm down and give Cameron a chance. "So you've known him since he was a kid, eh? I bet you've got all sorts of funny stories about him then, yes?"

 

[Beach Boy]

Rick

"Are you stoked?" Kale asked enthusiastically as he put his wax away in his backpack.

"Yeah, we've got some primo waves out there right now!" Rick nodded as he copied Kale and put a fresh coat of wax on his board. He wanted good traction. He had found that he wasn't as sure footed in the dark.

"Let's ride the rip out south of the pier." Kale suggested "But let the long shore current carry you past the pier before catching any waves."

"Pretty tough shootin' the pier at night." Rick laughed.

" Rick." Kale said "I promised Cam that I wouldn't you kill yourself."

Rick collected his stuff and together Kale and Rick walked south past the pier. Some clouds blocked the Moon for a couple seconds and Kale stopped to stare out at the ocean.

"What do you see?" Rick asked gazing out into the dark ocean. Judging from the sounds of the breaking waves things were starting to pick up. "Maybe I should have brought my big gun..." Rick said but Kale didn't reply.

The clouds passed and Rick could see a huge wave starting to wall upl directly under the moon. "There's a person out there." Rick gasped. The figure made what looked like a late take-off but made the wave anyway charging out of the bottom and right over the top with an impossible alley-opp that left him hanging in the air for a second. Somehow he landed it and sent a wall of spray up as he carved the face of the wave in the moonlight. Then the wave curled over and buried him.

"Sir Lancelot.." Kale said under his breath.

--------------------------------------------------

Tracy got up out of her chair picked up a pair of strange binoculars and headed towards the railing.

"So you've known him since he was a kid, eh? I bet you've got all sorts of funny stories about him then, yes?" Tracy heard Maria ask.

"Yeah Cam com'on give us the dirt!" Tracy encouraged in her typical loud voice.

 

[chris2c4u]

The only thing my eyes were good for was picking out the moving lumps and trying to guess when to start paddling. The rest was dependent on the feeling coming though my chest and then my feet.

The water out where the moonlight took over from the pier lights wasn't completely dark; eerie phosphoresence swirled around us.

Waves looking like black-on-almost black smudges were coming at us. Moon shadows disguised the already dark faces of the waves.

Making the drop on a glassy overhead wave as it is walling up is always great; moments of true exhilaration. Now, at night, all that I could see - sense in some way - was the glint of moonlight defining the curve of the wave’s face.

Rick was out there some where as we glided, flew, across the water. So was Lance. Together: we were all alone with the moon and the sea.

 

[Beach Boy]

Rick

Even with the moonlight Rick couldn't see that much. But he could really hear the sounds of the waves breaking and smell the salty water. Somehow those senses weren't so acute during the daytime when vision dominated. What he could see were the lights along the shore and he used them to gauge his location as he paddled out of the rip. He definitely didn't want to get carried too far out. Pulling with clean strokes he brushed aside a little floating kelp and gazed at the lights on the pier bobbing up and down in the distance. He listened carefully and he could hear paddling ahead of him.

"Is that you up there Kale?" Rick called out.

 

[Flurtayshus]

Cameron

“I’m not tellin’ you anything!” Cameron directed her comment toward Tracy. “You’ve got a big ass mouth. I remember the last time I told you something.”

“Hey, that wasn’t my fault. I told under duress.” Tracy argued.

“Duress?” Maria asked quietly looking between the two of them.

“Duress? Yea, right! You were under duress because Mack Brady had his head planted squarely between your thig..”

“SHUT IT!!!” Tracy snapped cutting her off.

Maria laughed even as she shivered again.

“Come on.” Cameron stood up and offered Maria her hand. “Their about to start and if we cheer we’ll get warmer.”

“Can they hear us?” Maria asked stepping up onto the wooden bench where Cameron and Tracy were now standing.

“No.” Cameron replied simply. “But we’ll feel better.”

“I want to feel better too.” A deep voice drawled drunkenly from behind them. “Would one of you ladies like to help me out?”

Cameron turned as the voice was almost drowned out by the crashing waves.

Standing a couple yards down the pier were five silhouettes, none of whom Cameron could make out.

“Oh shit.” Tracy murmured. “No big deal. Stay calm.”

‘Tracy, baby.” The tallest of the guys stepped forward. “What no hug?”

Tracy slid closer to Maria and it was enough to let Cameron know that these guys were more trouble than she was trying to let on.

“Tracy who are they?” Cameron hissed under her breath.

“Some old, old friends.” Tracy’s voice shook but Cameron couldn’t tell if it was because she was scared or because of the cold.

Cameron knew that Tracy didn’t have the cleanest record nor did she have the most spotless past. Rick had told her once about Tracy getting busted with enough weed to get charged with intent to distribute, but her lawyer father had been able to get her off.

“What do you want?” Cameron asked with as much courage as she could muster. She glanced around and realized that out on the eighty six foot pier that no one else was there but these guys and them.

“This bitch wants to know what we want.” The tall man sneered and began to advance on them.

The others followed his lead.

“Tracy what are they gonna do?” Maria finally spoke up.

Tracy whispered her answer simply. “Kill us.”

Cameron nodded. “Great.”

Swinging one leg over the top railing she put both hands down on the rail between her legs and balanced herself.

“Back off!” She shouted as one of the men lunged toward her. Suddenly something knocked against the back of her wrists and she realized she had one weapon. One thing that could distract them long enough for them to escape.

When two of the men lunged for her again she ripped the air horn out of her front pocket and let loose with another blast right in their faces.

Most of them cringed away from the ear drum bursting sound…all except one whose hand clawed at her arm. Cameron wrenched so hard away from it that the last thing she felt was her body free falling through the air, the pier disappearing into the inky blackness of night.

 

[Pywakit]

Maria

For a moment, Maria thinks that this is just another bit of clowning around, like when the guys were talking about dueling earlier in the day. It doesn't take long for her to realize that these guys mean business, and when Tracy says they plan to kill them, Maria finds herself believing her. Her heart rises into her throat, and for a second she panics. And then, memories come flooding back, of how angry Andy had been several months ago when she told him she was tired of his shit. He hadn't taken it well, and it was only a the timely arrival of a police car that had given her a chance to escape. He'd become a full-fledged stalker after that, and Maria found herself thanking him for his obsession suddenly. For if Andy'd never gone crazy on her and turned into a wacko, she'd never have taken that self-defense class, nor would she have been carrying the pepper spray in her purse.

Suddenly, as Cameron lets loose with the air horn, things snap back into sharp focus. Maria's ears ring as the blast tears through the night, yet she deftly retrieves the pepper spray from her side. Four of the five guys are staggering back from the air horn's blast, but the fifth manages to claw at Cameron's arm and suddenly, she's gone.

Maria's eyes widen for a moment, and then she makes her move. She brings up the pepper spray and gives the looming figure next to her who knocked Cameron off the pier into the sea a full blast in the face. He screams in shock and anger, and his hands flail out madly. Maria staggers back, trying to avoid his flailing fists, but not fast enough; one of them catches her on the side of the face and the world explodes into light for a moment as she collapses to her knees. A few moments later, she jumps to her feet and looks around in a panic. She can see the men regrouping, cutting off her escape to shore. There's no sign of Tracy, and with her back to the pier's railing, Maria realizes she only has one choice. She plants the palms of her hands on the railing and with one fluid motion, vaults over the side and drops over the edge, hoping that Tracy made it to safety and that Cameron's okay in the split second before the cold grip of the sea closes around her.

 

[Beach Boy]

Rick

Rick relaxed and allowed the feel of the waves to help him get his bearing. The gentle roll of the waves underneath him and the sound of the waves breaking further in told him he was outside the line-up. The water was a little cold and Rick was grateful that he'd worn his thicker wetsuit.

"Bommb-araaa!" Lance's voice carried across the waves.

"Wha..?" Rick squirmed around on his board confused. Then craning his neck to look behind him he saw it.. A dark huge mass was building. He could just barely make out a figure being lifted by the wave and stroking strongly. "Sir Lancelot!" Rick laughed diving under the rogue wave to avoid being buried. He imagined Maria, Cam, and Tracy watching from the pier. If Lance was already here than Tracy would have surely found his pack and night-vision binoculars by now. Lance always left his backpack in the same place on the pier. And nobody ever bothered it. People respected Lance.

Rick could see another dark mass building and he got into position to catch it and began paddling. It was going to be big! Rick could feel his heart pounding as he pulled with long strokes trying to time it right. The girls were watching so there was no backing out now! It was harder at night because so much of balance and timing seemed to be connected to visual cues which were strangely missing at night, even under the best full moonlit conditions. Summoning up his courage he stayed with the wave and gave one last mighty stroke grabbing the rails of the board and hopping up. His take-off was late and he felt the sickening sensation of falling as he made an elevator drop down onto the curl of the wave making a backhand turn and going left.

Suddenly Ricks attention was drawn to lights in the distance. The pier! Damn it! He hadn't gotten far enough north before catching the wave. And out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw someone, or something, fall off of the pier into the water. Was his mind playing tricks on him? It was too dark to be able to really tell. "What the hell.." he muttered changing directions and heading in straight towards the pier.

Rick passed a safe distance from the north edge of the pier and got down on his knee gripping the rails of his board straining to see. There seemed to be a small group of people rushing around up on the pier and something floated by him. A backpack? Rick felt a lump growing in his throat. Rick looked towards the shore and was just barely able to make out a figure pick up something and run for the pier. It had to be Lance. What the hell was going on? Maria was up there, unless she was the splash in the water he'd heard. Rick was aware of one thing and one thing only -- he had to get up on the pier.. FAST!

 

[chris2c4u]

Kale sensed rather than saw it at first. Then the half light showed him figures falling from the pier. Rick had already come down from the wave and was striking out towards the pier.

He was lucky; the wave was pulling him in, he could ride it further before jumping into the foam himself and heading towards a figure treading water.

"Cam," he shouted; she didn't seem to hear him. He took her in the life saving position and kept trying to speak, to let her know she was safe. She was gasping, sobbing, incoherent. Suddenly the feel of sand beneath his feet and they were staggering onto the beach.

"Cam," she walked around in a circle, her clothes stuck to her, "Cam, what happened?"

In the distance, a wail of a siren sounded. Kale guided Cam higher up the beach, shouting for help.

Suddenly there were figures everywhere; two police cars, lights whirling, stopped up ahead. Officers ran towards them. An ambulance pulled into view...

****

The hospital supplied Kale with a fetching outfit of green toughened paper pyjamas and operating theatre boots, when they realised that he wasn't going to leave and they'd had enough of him dripping over the emergency room floor.

The doctor who came out to see him cast an eye over him then her mouth twisted into a smile. His anxious look was enough. "Kale?" He nodded. "She'll be fine. Shock mostly. You can take her home - well, I guess dressed like that you'd better not walk. Not that she's much better."

"Someone's on the way with dry clothes," he said, feeling much better already.

"Want to see her?" He nodded eagerly and the doctor smiled a more sympathetic smile. Young love, she mused and pointed to the room.

Kale opened the door a little and looked in. Cameron was sat on an examination table looking forlorn. When the door opened she lifted her arms up and he went to her pulling her off the table. She was laughing and crying at the same time, her bare feet held off the floor by Kale's bear hug and her bent knees.

Eventually it was more a laugh and she beat his back with her fists. "Put me down or it'll be a murder enquiry, I can't breathe!"

They stood together arms around one another in the middle of the room as slowly she began to tell her tale. They sat, hand in hand on the exam table. Kale's eyes hardened; she had seen that look before. He had made A Decision. she waited for him to speak.

"The surf competition?" she nodded. "I want to go early. Should be no trouble getting tickets changed." He took a deep breath. "Come with me? Soon as we can?"

 

[Flurtayshus]

Cameron

“You want me to come with you?” Cameron looked up at Kale and saw the hope in his eyes.

“Yes. I want to be somewhere where I know I will be able to protect you.” Kale took her hands in his. “I can’t have this crap happen again. Cam, when I realized it was you…in the water...”

“Honey, I’m okay.” Cameron cupped the strong line of Kale’s jaw. She was trying to sound brave but she wasn’t sure if she had pulled it off. “You don’t have to protect me. I’m not a baby.”

“You’re-my-baby.” Kale’s voice dropped to a lower octave. “Cameron. I love you. I don’t want you to just come with me. I want you to stay with me.”

Cameron pursed her lips in confusion. “Stay with you?”

“Yes. In Hawaii this would never have happened. My competition is there, my brother is there and I would feel more comfortable knowing…” Kale faltered when a nurse came in to hand Cameron the prescription for pain.

“Now don’t take these on an empty stomach.” The woman instructed and then looked at Kale. “And you take good care of her. She’s had quite the scare tonight.”

Kale smiled. “That’s what I’m trying to do.”

The nurse looked down at their hands and began to giggle. “Did you say yes? Oh my goodness! He proposed! I can’t believe it! Oooooh it’s so wonderful!”

The nurse threw her arms around Cameron and when she leaned back the woman actually had tears in her eyes. “You did say yes, right?”

The three of them looked back and forth between each other and when Cameron nodded the woman let out another whoop of joy planting a kiss on each of their cheeks and instructing them to stay put because she was sure she could find some celebratory ginger ale somewhere. The woman had clearly been mistaken about his intent but the answer was still the same.

Kale’s gaze was steady on her face when her eyes went back to his. “That’s a yes? You’ll move with me to Hawaii?”

A slow smile crept across her face and before she could react Kale had jumped up and was swinging her into his arms carrying her out of the hospital.

Just as they reached the automatic sliding glass doors they heard a shout.

“See! Aren’t they cute? They just got engaged.”

There was a collective “Awwww” from the group of nurses that had gathered at the nurses’ station. Looking back over Kale’s shoulder, her arms wrapped around this man who wanted her in his life forever, Cameron felt joy, love, pride and excitement well up inside her chest.

She would be starting a new life with Kale. A new life.