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Chapter 29

"I'm so excited." Elizabeth said as Jason parked the car and they walked to the pipeline where they would start their surfing lessons. She was wearing her wetsuit, and had to admit not having to worry about her suit slipping would make this much more relaxing. Jason had done great. The suit fit perfectly and was more feminine than any she'd seen before. The cap sleeves would give her freedom of arm movement and the shorts would keep her from feeling like a sausage in a casing. "How big is the class?"

"It's just us." Jason told her. He didn't want her feeling self-conscious. "I didn't pull any strings, private lessons are actually more popular than the group ones." He had done some reading up on the sport. It was a lot more complicated than taking your board out and finding a wave to ride.

"Mr. Morgan?" A young woman inquired as they walked past the first lifeguard stand.

"Yes." Jason turned and angled himself so that he was slightly in front of Elizabeth. It wasn't even a conscious move.

"I'm Leinani. Your instructor for the week." She said smiling. All customers were given background checks and well it wasn't hard to find out information on her newest student.

"Hello." Jason said relaxing. "This is Elizabeth."

"Ms. Webber, welcome to the island. Have you enjoyed your stay so far?" Leinani was proud of her home. She also loved the water so this was a perfect job for her.

"We have, we've been here a week today." Elizabeth took over the conversation. Their instructor was about her height which alleviated some of the fear that she was too small to surf. "Leinani is a beautiful name."

"Thanks." The instructor said smiling. "It means gorgeous child, because nothing like a little pressure right from the start." She said cracking herself up. Elizabeth was in a wetsuit, a common look for beginner surfers, Jason had opted for board shorts. They were wearing rubber soled swim shoes which the school recommended for novices. Both students were dressed fine for the lessons. "Let's get you guys some boards so we can get started. According to your paperwork you want to purchase boards, so we are going to go up the beach a bit to the pro shop."

"Okay." Elizabeth said as they followed their teacher.


"Now. There are a lot of nice shiny boards here, and we are going to skip those for the moment and go to the used section where the rentals are. Since you are beginners you are going to ding up your boards so you don't want to take the first couple of lessons on shiny new ones. I'm going to have you rent boards for the week, at the end of camp if you still want to buy something we'll come back and get you some gear." Leinani told them as they moved to the rear of the store.

The fact that she wasn't immediately trying to get them to buy something impressed Jason. It was clear the school wasn't just about making a quick buck. It was also clear their instructor knew the shop owner because the guy didn't even bother to ask if they needed help.

"Let's start with you, can I call you Elizabeth?" Leinani always checked.

"Liz is good. Jason for him." Elizabeth said looking at all the surf boards before grinning over at her boyfriend.

"Liz and Jason it is then. When you get a board you want something that is about a foot to a foot and a half taller than you are. Since you look to be in good shape." Her new students both had arms and legs that were nicely toned. "Liz, I'm going to say a six and half footer for you. If that is too long we'll swap out tomorrow. For you Jason I'm going to select a seven and half foot board." He should be able to easily manage that. "Next up is width, you will want something as wide as possible because it will be more stable. Balance is everything in surfing. Jason for you twenty-two inches. Liz I'm going to go smaller with, twenty inches, because you should try to get something you can fit under your arms. I can't do that with anything over twenty-one inches so you won't be able to either. Finally you need to look at the thickness of your board. The thicker the wood the more buoyant it will be. So I'm going with three inches for both of you." With those criteria she quickly selected two boards. "Back to the sand, the shop will bill the school the rental fee is included in your package." Outside the shop Leinani grabbed a beautiful board painted with a vibrant sunset image. On the beach she pushed the board down into the sand and told her students to follow suit. "First up is the swim test, if you can't swim you can't surf. To the green buoy and back, this isn't timed so no rush." They would be swimming a length equal to five lengths of an Olympic sized pool. You generally didn't surf near the sand.

They completed that with no issues and the lesson started in earnest. The first thing they did was take their boards out into the water and learn how to paddle, Leinani did take a moment to attach ankle straps to them both so that they didn't lose the boards. The green buoy was the benchmark for this as well. They paddled back and forth for most of the morning learning how the board maneuvered in the water. They caught a few small waves still lying on their stomachs and learned how that felt.

"Good." Leinani said smiling. "Tomorrow we are going to work on standing on the board. First on the sand." She placed her board down and showed them how to pop up. "Then in the water which is trickier. On Wednesday if you are feeling ready we'll go out into the waves. I'm not expecting you to actually surf, but what you'll be learning is how to balance in the water, how to read a wave, how to angle your board into the wave, and what to do when you wipe out. Based on the forecast we should be able to catch some small waves on Wednesday, enough for you to get the basic feel of surfing. Thursday and Friday we'll go out to the red buoy, and try putting everything together. Saturday you'll surf." Leinani grinned.

"In one week?" Elizabeth asked surprised.

"You won't be ready for competition, but you'll have the basics. After that it's up to you. Practice is the only thing that will make you a good surfer." Leinani told her students. "I surf every day, in addition to my classes. That's how I get better."

Both Liz and Jason nodded, they got it. You didn't master a skill without putting in the work. Since they lived so far away surfing everyday wasn't an option, but they could certainly take advantage of the two weeks they would have remaining after class wrapped up. "We'll see you tomorrow."

"You can store the boards at the shop. After Wednesday you'll be able to take them home to practice." Leinani told them. "A hui hou. That means until I see you again."

"A hui hou." Elizabeth said waving as they headed to the shop. "I'm hungry, how about you?"

"I could eat." Jason said grinning at his girlfriend. Time in the water always worked up an appetite. "There is a restaurant up the beach, just because our lesson is over we don't need to leave right away. Unless you want to get changed."

"This suit is really comfortable. It will be fine for lunch." Liz assured him, she wouldn't want to spend the rest of the day in it, but the next hour should be fine.


She broke the surface of the water and reached for her board trying not to get frustrated. She had wiped out three times in a row now. Looking over her shoulder Liz saw Jason pushing back up onto his board. He had wiped out again as well.

"You two okay?" Leinani checked from her position straddling her board.

"Yeah." Jason asked mimicking his teacher's position.

"I'm good." Elizabeth said sitting on her board. "What did we do wrong?" They were at the red buoy today and the goal was to ride to the green buoy or closer to shore if possible. So far neither she nor Jason had done it.

"No clue." Leinani said before laughing. "This is the most frustrating part of the learning to surf. Trying to read the waves. To know which way to lean your board so you stay balanced and on top of the waves. How did you feel just before you wiped out, which I must say you both are doing well." That might seem like a sarcastic remark, but it wasn't. Knowing how to fall into the water, and then get back on your board was skill that could save a surfer's life. "How did you feel before you went under?" Both her students had the makings of good recreational surfers. Yesterday at the green buoy they spent more time on their boards than off.

Elizabeth gave the question some thought. "Lop sided." Was the best she could come up with.

"That's balance." Leinani said paddling a little closer. "Pop up for me." Elizabeth did with no issue. Her stance was strong, knees bent, feet firmly planted on the wood, arms out to keep herself stable. Looking out to the open ocean Leinani saw the water breaking which meant a small wave. "Incoming." She said then turned her attention back to her pupil. As the board tilted with the motion of the water, Liz shifted her weight sharply in the opposite direction. "Lean back to the left a bit, your body is too tight." Leinani called out. "You want to be flexible so that you move with the water." Liz did and stayed on her board riding to the green buoy. "Nice!"

Jason watched as his girl jumped into the water and began to paddle back. She was doing better than him, which was fine. The lessons were really for her anyway. "I guess it's my turn?" He had been enjoying the classes, but was really only learning because surfing alone was dangerous. If Elizabeth wanted to go out, he wanted to be able to go with her.

"I already know what your issue is." Leinani said trying not to laugh. "If you paid as much attention to the waves, as you did to your girlfriend you'd be okay. Liz said you have a motorcycle which means you know about the relationship between rider and vehicle. This should be fairly easy for you. At first I thought you were deliberately doing worse than her to make her feel better. To not show her up. Then I realized you were just distracted." Which was really sweet. "However in the water you need to stay focused."

Jason nodded his understanding. Still he couldn't help it that Elizabeth's ass looked fantastic in that wetsuit.

"I did it!" Elizabeth said getting two high fives. "You try."

"Okay." Jason said popping up on the board as a wave came in. He easily rode the swell, even carving a bit on his board a bit at the end when a second crest broke.

"Did you see how awesome he was?!" Elizabeth said clapping.

Leinani just grinned. Her students were totally gone for each other and it was really cool. "He must have been paying attention to how well you did."

"Jason's pretty good at most outdoor stuff." Elizabeth said with pride. As her guy rejoined their small group.

"Saturday we are going out to the orange buoy." Which meant a nice long ride back to the shore, and bigger waves to contend with. "Until you get more time in the water I would suggest you not go past that marker. Even on calm days a big wave can break without notice. Being cocky gets you killed. The buoys are the same color all over the island so you'll know your limits. Tomorrow we'll ride from here again." Both her students nodded. "Another wave is breaking, let's ride it in and then we'll paddle back out again to start over." Leinani said popping up and heading to the shore.


After another hour in the water they called it a day. "That was fun." Elizabeth had managed to do a lot better once she relaxed, riding almost a dozen waves, one right into the shallows.

"You guys are doing well. Still interested in getting some gear?" Leinani asked the two of them.

Elizabeth looked at Jason who nodded. "We are."

"Let's do that today then, and tomorrow you can use those for your lesson. That way on Saturday when we are out further you won't be on brand new boards." They headed up to the shop. "Clyde customers." She yelled out.

"What can I get for you folks?" Clyde asked coming from the back.

"Do we pick anything, based on the criteria you gave us?" Elizabeth wanted to know. "Or do you recommend something."

"Why don't you guys pick, and if you get too far off the mark I'll let you know." Leinani wanted to see if they had been paying attention.

"Everything on the south wall is on sale." Clyde added. He didn't scam tourists like some shops did.

"Thanks." Elizabeth said before she and Jason moved off.

It didn't take them long at all to each find a board they liked. Jason picked a Rusty brand surfboard. The Slayer, which just a bit smaller than the board he had practiced with all week. Leinani nodded her approval, it would be a good board for him. Elizabeth's selection was the Riot from Album surfboards. Another good selection.

"If these don't feel right after tomorrow's lesson bring 'em in and we'll figure out what you need." Clyde said ringing them up. Leinani's students rarely returned their boards, his friend was too good at what she did to let someone make a bad purchase.

"A hoi hou." Elizabeth said while Jason waved as they walked out of the shop. She was looking forward to using her new board.


Saturday they meet a couple of hours earlier than their normal class time. The sun hadn't been up that long, but the beach had its share of people out to catch a wave before the work day started. Leinani was in a wetsuit today, which made Elizabeth feel like their instructor was saying this was the real deal. "The water will clear in a bit as the first wave of riders leave."

"Is it always this busy this early?" Jason wanted to know.

"Yeah. Best waves are at sunrise and sunset. Less aggro to deal with. This morning they are really firing so the surfing will be good. Although surfing at night is not something you want to be doing." Leinani told her students. "Yesterday you both did good on your boards. Remember what you learned, the only difference today is that you get a longer ride. We'll paddle out as a group, and when the right wave for you comes along ride it in."

"Sounds good." Elizabeth said looking at Jason who gave her a grin.

"Let's go." Leinani said grabbing her board and running into the water.

"Ready?" Jason asked with a grin.

"Absolutely." Elizabeth said smiling wide as they too headed to the surf.


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