Disclaimer: I own everything but their names.

July 1, 2001 – Santa Cruz, California

I wasn't sure what it was, but something between Edward and me changed the day Lisle had fallen asleep in my arms.

Sure it was only a couple of days, but I know I hadn't imagined it. He was friendlier; more talkative. Less difficult to read.

Not gonna lie though, he still scared the hell out of me. He was this hot, older guy who made my heart flutter and my insides feel like they were doing cartwheels. Sometimes, the way he looked at me made me sure he could read the schoolgirl crush I was harboring like words written in the pages of a book.

Which made me dread what I knew was coming: my surf lessons.

It'd been two weeks since I'd started working at the shop, and though he hadn't brought it up again, I knew he hadn't forgotten.

Any time he spoke to me outside of his usual morning 'hello' and 'how are you,' my heart pounded even harder than usual around him—one, because he was simply hot, and two, because I just knew the other shoe was about to drop.

Slow moments in the shop were rare, but on the afternoon of said drop, we were dead. The screams from the kids and families enjoying a summer on the Boardwalk filtered over from across the street, louder than usual because of the upcoming holiday. Everyone was too busy to shop.

Jasper had taken off to grab some lunch for all of us, and Paul… who knew where Paul had disappeared to. Edward really wasn't kidding that first day – what Paul actually did at work was still a mystery to me. It was just Edward and I. As usual though, he was holed up in his office. When I heard his door open, I turned away and busied myself with folding some shirts that had just come in.

"Hey, Bel?" Edward called out.

My stomach danced and I took a deep breath, finishing the shirt in my hands before I turned around. My smile quickly returned as I got a good look at him, though. His hair looked like he'd been running his fingers through it for hours. Or he'd stuck his finger in a light socket.

"What's up?" I asked, trying to appear calm and casual.

He came closer, leaning forward on the case in front of me. Just like he had that first day. "You know, you've been here for a few weeks now, I think it's time we discuss you learning to surf."

I closed my eyes and sucked in a deep breath. When I looked back at him, there was the tiniest of grins on his face. He seemed to be enjoying my discomfort.

"You look like you're in physical pain right now," he said, and I could tell he was trying not to laugh. "Trust me, it's not that bad."

I narrowed my eyes. "Says you."

"Just meet me on the beach around six tomorrow." He jerked his thumb toward the Boardwalk, and I didn't need to ask which beach he was referring to.

I gulped. "Okay."

All throughout that night, I was a ball of anxious energy. When Jasper returned, he tried repeatedly to reassure me that I'd be fine. He'd said there wasn't much – if any – danger in the first surf lesson, insisting we probably wouldn't even make it into the water. Thankfully he didn't laugh at me when I cajoled him in to playing DVDs of surf lessons for beginners on the shop's television.

I was convinced, however, that I was on my way toward testing the limits of Charlie's medical insurance and making a total fool of myself.

Here we go. ;)

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Until tomorrow.

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