1Chapter 2: Surf Lesson

Bradin awoke the next morning with his mind drowning in questions. All he could think about that night was Lauren. Why did she come here, how did she get here, why hadn't he been informed on the new house guest? All kinds of questions, Bradin got out of bed and went to the kitchen to get something to eat. He grabbed himself a bowl of cereal and sat down. Bradin sat and stared into space as he pondered about all the questions that flowed through his mind that night. Lauren walked into the kitchen and got some cereal. Bradin could have died at her sweet smell.

"Hey, Brae mind if I sit down?" Lauren asked Bradin. Bradin hadn't heard her considering he was deep in thought. She looked at Bradin, "Uh, Bradin..." She waved her hand up and down in front of his face. "Hello?"

Bradin snapped out of it. "huh what?"

Lauren looked at Bradin. "Are you okay? You seem a little distracted. Is something bothering you?"

"N-no nothing, it's nothing, just thinking about something."

She nodded and took a spoonful of cereal. "So you gonna teach me to surf better today? Or is today not good?"

"Today's perfect. Remember, same time and same place?" Bradin took a spoonful of cereal.

Lauren laughed and nodded, "Of course I remember."

They finished their breakfast not talking much to each other. Both had been lost deep within their minds, drowning in thoughts. Bradin thought about Lauren and Lauren thought about Bradin. They both went to their rooms and got in their wet suits and grabbed their surf boards and headed to the beach. They talked and laughed all the way there.

Ava watched them as they walked off.

"Well those two seem to be getting along quite nicely, huh?" said Jay in his thick Australian accent.

"Yeah, you could almost say that they've known each other forever...even though they only met yesterday." Ava said chuckling a bit.

Jay gave her a little look. Susannah came out of no where and said, "Or even like they were in love."

Jay gave her a curious look. "Ya think so?" Susannah shrugged. Jay didn't like the sound of that. He thought to himself, 'Nah, that can't be. They just meet yesterday. Yeah, they're just really good friends.' Jay smiled and walked off.

Down at the beach Lauren was in the water on her surf board wiping out constantly. Bradin was down on the beach watching her, shaking his head. This was gonna be harder than her thought. Lauren was riding a wave when she took a really hard wipe out. Bradin's heart jumped when he heard her hit the water. He didn't see her come up for a few moments and he panicked. Just as he was about to rush out there her head popped out of the water. She swam to the shore with her surf board and limped slightly up the beach. Bradin ran to her and let her lean on him.

"Are you okay?" Bradin said panicked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just landed on my ankle a little funny. I just need a few minutes."

They sat down on the beach. Lauren massaged her ankle as she leaned on Bradin. Bradin just wanted to kiss her and hold her and tell her how much he wanted her. He had to restrain himself though.

"Why is this so hard? It's like everything's against me. I hate it!" Lauren whined.

"Why do you want to surf?" Bradin asked.

Lauren looked at him. "Well...uh..." Lauren thought a moment. "Well for one I love the ocean... I guess feeling the rush of it all ya know? It's scary and exciting all once. It's like riding on air, a cloud." Lauren closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she imagined it all. She turned to Bradin, "Just the whole experience... I love it! What about you?"

"I couldn't have said it better myself."

He smiled at her and she gave him a big smile back. "My ankle feels a lot better. So how 'bout you teach me to ride a wave now." Lauren said.

Bradin nodded. They stood up and grabbed their surf boards and headed towards the water. Once in the water Bradin told her what she was doing wrong. Lauren tried again on the next wave and stayed up longer, but wiped out again. She swam out to Bradin. "Just watch me okay? Concentrate on everything I do." Bradin said.

He got up on his board and rode the wave, trying to be as clear for her as he could. Once he reached the shore he hopped off his board and signaled to Lauren to go. She waited for the next wave and rode it. Bradin cheered, he couldn't believe she did it. Lauren ran out of the water screaming.

"I did it! I did it!" Lauren screamed.

Bradin ran to her and embraced her in a big hug. Lauren kissed him on the cheek, "Thank you so, so much! I wouldn't have been able to do it if it weren't for you." All Bradin could do was smile. He had just gotten a kiss from the hottest girl he had ever seen in his life. Lauren ran around and hopped up and down. "C'mon! Lets go ride more waves, I want to see what else I do!" Lauren yelled to Bradin as she got to the water. Bradin picked up his board and ran after her.

They surfed for a couple more hours then headed to the beach. They collapsed on the sand, exhausted.

"That was so fun!" Lauren said as she hugged Bradin. Bradin got butterflies in his stomach and blushed. This time she had hugged him for no real reason. Last time she hugged him out of excitement and joy. Lauren leaned on Bradin.

"I'm glad you had fun."

Bradin kissed her forehead. Lauren looked up at him. They stared into each other's eyes for a few minutes. Bradin leaned in towards her and their lips met. Bradin's heart soared. After a few minutes they broke apart. They looked at each other again. Bradin leaned in for another kiss. Lauren quickly said, "We should go now." Bradin sighed. Lauren grabbed her board and quickly rushed off. Bradin punched the sand and thought to himself, 'Damn! I was so close.'

Bradin got up and went home. He went to his room and put some clothes on and walked to the couch and sat down. Lauren walked into the room and they both froze and stared at each other. Lauren broke their stare and rushed out of the house. They hadn't seen each other until dinner. After dinner was finished they both went to their rooms not talking to one another. Bradin lay on his bed deep in thought about what had gone on that day. He replayed everything over and over again in his mind. Then all he could think about was Lauren. Lauren seemed to be in his head all the time now. He loved her so much and couldn't get her out of his head. He had to have her, no matter what it took. They were so good for each other; they had a lot in common and there was definitely something happening between them. Bradin wasn't sure how to approach it though. He had to be careful if he didn't want their relationship to end up like his had with Erika, Jay's girlfriend. Bradin shuddered at the thought. He definitely didn't want to go there. After all he was, once again, dealing with Jay's sister. He had to get her, just wasn't sure how...