Jace was sitting on the other side of the bar. How did he know where I worked? I didn't even tell him my name and this wasn't exactly a hot tourist spot. Tourist usually only stumbled across the place after drinking enough liquor to drown forty men. I immediately became flustered and started searching for Alec or Isabelle. They would help me, but Alec was still talking to Jordan and Isabelle was probably in the middle of the crowd on the dance floor.

"W-what are you doing here," I asked as I scrambled to fill a drink order one of the waitresses needed. "What do you want to drink?"

"Oh, just water is fine," he said. I placed a glass of my famous pineapple water and leaned against the bar, thankful that the drink orders were slowing down. "I'm not stalking you or anything. My cousins brought me here. I just moved here and they wanted to show me around."

"Wait, you're Isabelle and Alec's cousin?" I was shocked. Isabelle hadn't mentioned her cousin's name and now that I knew it was Jace, I wouldn't be able to completely avoid him. Oh, Iz was going to love this.

"Yeah, do you know them?"

"Do I know them? I live with them. Isabelle is my best friend."

"Wow, what are the chances?" His smile lit up the room and I couldn't ignore it. He was infectious. "So, you must be Clary. I can't believe I didn't put two and two together today at the beach. I mean how many redheads live in Hawaii and can surf like that?"

"Two actually. My mom taught me how to surf." He nodded and took a sip of water. Isabelle and Alec finally made their way to the bar, saving me from further conversation with the surf god sitting in front of me.

"Oh, I see you've already met," Alec said pointing at us.

"Yeah, this is actually the girl I dropped in on at the beach today," Jace said in response. So, Isabelle knew my side of the story and Alec knew Jace's side. This should be interesting.

"The one who told you off and kept calling you Cali? Yep, sounds like Clary."

"Gee, thanks," I said as another order came in. I glanced at the clock and my shift was about to end. My mom had called earlier and asked if we could go out early in the morning to hit the waves and I wanted to get straight to bed when I got home. I finished the drinks I was making and started my end-of-shift process. "Okay, guys. Are you staying for a while? I'm going to head home."

Isabelle and Alec were staying, typical, but Jace ran after me when I got to the door.

"Can I give you a ride home," he asked with his hands in his pockets.

"Thanks, but I walked. It's not that far." I pointed in the direction of my house.

"Can I at least walk you home?" I conceded and continued walking without giving him an answer. We walked in silence for a few minutes before Jace started playing twenty questions. "So how does an Irish girl end up growing up in Hawaii?"

"My mom's parents moved here before she was born. They were living in California and saw an opportunity here. They opened a restaurant that my mom still runs."

"That's cool." His hand brushed mine and I flinched. "My parents owned a surf shop in Santa Cruz. After they died a few years ago, I took it over. I'm out here to open up another one and I'm also trying to get noticed by Quiksilver to surf on their tour next year."

"Wow, you're that good?"

"Maybe. I don't know if I can make it yet. I've never tried to go pro before."

"So, you're from Santa Cruz?" He nodded. "Have you ever surfed Mavericks?"

"Every year since I was sixteen." I gasped and my mouth hung open. That was one of the most difficult waves in the world to ride. "Have you surfed Jaws?"

"Yeah. My mom and I are a tow team. She tows me in every year."

"That's pretty amazing." We stopped in front of my house and neither one of us turned to leave. As much as I hated admitting it, Jace wasn't so bad, even if he was from California. "Listen, I really wanted to apologize for this afternoon. I honestly didn't see you and I knew that was going to be the wave of the day so I couldn't let it roll past me."

"It's fine, really. I may have gone a little overboard when I yelled at you." We were stalling and we knew it. I didn't want to leave, but I knew he probably should. "Have you surfed Break Wall yet?"

Break Wall was this awesome surf spot just off a port and the waves were unlike any other. It was definitely my favorite spot and it didn't get too crowded.

"No, I haven't. I just got in a couple of days ago and basically followed the surf schools, which was a bad move because they snaked all of the good waves." I laughed because it was true. You wanted to go to surf spots that the waves were consistently bigger than five feet or the tourist surf schools crowded the line up.

"Well, I'm going out early tomorrow morning with my mom if you want to join. We're going before the sun comes up, but I'm off work tomorrow at the hotel so I'll be there until at least eleven."

"That sounds awesome. I'll see you there."

"Great." I turned to leave, but Jace caught my wrist and pulled me in for a hug. I ignored the forwardness of the gesture and melted into his warm body. He had a lean surfer body that held me strongly. This was bad news. Jace was definitely going to be trouble.

o.O.0.O.o

The next morning, I woke up bright and early to meet my mom at Break Wall. I had already loaded up my board the night before so all I had to do was put on my bikini and go. Sometimes, there's just not a need for other clothes. I rarely wore anything over my bikini or shoes for that matter. All I needed was my breakfast, my bottle of water and a towel.

The drive to Break Wall was peaceful because it was much too early for the tourists to be out and about. I pulled into the spot next to my mom's Jeep and knocked on her window. Her smile lit up her face as she hopped out of her car to join me on the other side of the car. We hadn't seen each other in a few days and I had missed her. When we got to each other, we hugged like only a mother and daughter can. We got our boards out of our cars and headed down to the beach.

Once we were on the sand, we knelt down and my mom handed me some wax. We watched the waves for about ten minutes while we waxed our boards and stretched. The sun was just peeking above the horizon and I could tell it was going to be a beautiful day.

My mom and I exchanged a look that said we were ready. We grabbed our boards and walked into the water. When the water was up to my knees, I grabbed the rails of my board, hopped on and started paddling out. I found the channel, where the waves weren't breaking, to make paddling out easier and made it out to the lineup in about five minutes. We were the only ones out there and it was the most peaceful feeling.

Once I paddled out to a satisfactory spot, I sat back on my board, straddling it and watched the waves. My mom pulled up beside me and did the same.

"How's it going, Clary," Mom asked while she circled her legs under the water. A set was building, but I wanted to sit and relax for a moment before I took any waves in.

"Good," I said honestly. "Whale season starts next week and I start my job with the whale foundation so that should be fun. I got promoted this year, so I can lead the tours on the boats."

"So you're adding that job to the other two?" She knew better than anyone that it was almost impossible to only work one job on this island, unless you had a college degree, which I had happily forgone when I was eighteen. It just wasn't for me. I would much rather work three jobs, surf and be happy than have a degree and work a nine-to-five job that made me miserable.

"Yeah, but this one is strictly volunteer based. We get tips, but that's about it. I do it because I love it. I love watching the whales and I love teaching people about them. I love watching people's faces light up when a whale breeches right next to the boat."

A couple of surfers had joined our line up, but they weren't anywhere near us.

"I think that's great, Clar." We let another set roll by. They were only going to get bigger and I was waiting them out. "I know you don't really want to work in the restaurant, but I might need some help when high tourist season hits."

"That's fine. I've been thinking of trying to find another morning job and quitting the hotel." I looked out to the horizon and a whale breeched in the distance. I smiled knowing that it would be a regular occurrence for the next three months. "I love it there. I do, but I can't stand the new boss. He thinks he knows everything and I've had to work twice as hard because I'm a girl. I'm never one to shy away from a challenge, but it's bordering on harassment and I feel like I could be an asset somewhere else."

"You know I've always supported you in whatever you wanted to do, honey. I get it. I would love to have you for the breakfast shift."

"Okay." A nice wave was forming on the outside and we exchanged a look. We had been surfing together for so long that we almost didn't need words to communicate about waves. Certain expressions showed that a wave was special and that we should take it, but I couldn't take it and leave her here. "Want to ride that one together?"

"Party wave?" She raised her eyebrows and I nodded as we laughed, sat back on our boards and turned to paddle.

We paddled and paddled hard as the wave formed underneath us. At the same time, we both popped up on our boards and road the wave. We turned into each other so we were close enough to hold hands. When we gained enough balance, I hopped off of my board and onto hers. This was something I had been doing since I could remember. When I first learned to surf, we would ride tandum, with me on the front of a long board and Mom on the back. It was almost second nature for us to be on the same board. We rode the wave until the wave turned to whit water and bailed out. My board was dragged by my leash and I pulled it back to me.

When we made it back to the lineup, I hopped off of my board so I could slick my unruly hair back from my face and let it fall on my shoulders.

As I resurfaced, I noticed someone had paddled out and sat next to us. He was talking to Mom and then I realized whom it was, none other than Cali himself, Jace.

"Clary, do you know Isabelle and Alec's cousin," Mom asked as I climbed back on my board.

"Yes, Mom," I smirked in Jace's direction. "I didn't expect you out this early."

"I'm not used to the time difference yet," he explained. "It's almost noon back in California. Plus, I figured I could teach you few things out here on the water."

"We'll see about that."


A/N: Thanks for reading! I really appreciate it and I love feedback so please tell me what you think and leave a review! :)