It's been a busy month for Jack. Not only was he pursuing his art and making time for Rose, there was school and another extracurricular activity that took up his time. Surfing. He had taken lessons the summer before, but he had been so preoccupied with his girl, that he had let it fall to the wayside. But now that things were steady with Rose and he had finished the projects he was sending to New York, Jack decided that it was time to pick up the board once again.

It was a bright, sunny Saturday. Perfect surfing weather. Jack had made up his mind that morning on how he was going to spend the day. Not drawing. He's had his full of art for a few days or so. No, this weekend was his weekend to dust off his surfboard and get out there on the waves once again. He was going to be rusty, but he was sure he would get the hang of it again. With his plans for New York, this will be his last year to take advantage of California living.

"Are you going to take Rose with you? Impress her with your surfing skills?" Julie asked, standing in the doorway of Jack's room, her arms crossed, but her eyes laughing.

"If I wasn't so rusty, yeah. But I'm too off my game. She'd laugh at me," Jack shrugged. He had thought about taking Rose to show off, but he didn't want to seem like an amateur to her. He wanted to at least look like he knew what he was doing.

"I doubt very much that she'd laugh at you. Everything you do is perfect in that girl's opinion," Julie snorted, leaving the doorway to head into her own room. "Just be careful. Mom worries."

"I'll be fine!" Jack called.

Fifteen minutes later, he had gone down to the kitchen and packed a nice sized lunch and grabbed some blankets, planning to spend the day at the beach and in the cave he now referred as his and Rose's cave. He then grabbed his surfboard, a change of clothes, and loaded everything in to the car. Five minutes later, he was arriving on the beach, which was just beginning to fill up with people.

He jogged to the cave and stashed his lunch and things inside, then returned to the beach with his board. He stood at the edge of the water, checking out the waves. He spotted a few other surfers out testing the waves and smiled in satisfaction. It certainly was a good surfing day.

…..

Rose adjusted her sunglasses as she closed the door of her car. She had decided to just spend the day at the beach, reading a good book. She had thought about calling Jack, but thought it was best to let him have his space. Especially since it's been a month since they had made love. It was going to be nice to not feel the desire she normally felt in Jack's presence. She loved him dearly, but it was frustrating knowing that she couldn't have him.

She made her way to the beach and found a nice spot a few feet away from the water. She was about to spread out her blanket, ready to tan herself in the sun above when she looked out at the ocean and gasped in surprise. She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, wanting to make sure that she wasn't just seeing things.

There was Jack wearing blue swimming shorts, surfing on a red board with a white stripe running down the middle. She didn't even know that he knew how to surf, but then again, she shouldn't be surprised. Jack seemed to know how to do everything. She stood there, shielding her eyes from the sun, watching her boyfriend balance himself on the board, riding an incoming wave.

"Is that your boyfriend?" A girl a few years younger than herself with blond hair and green eyes asked, watching Jack as well.

"Yes. I didn't even know he surfed."

"He's really good," The girl complimented.

Jack wasn't even aware of Rose until he felt a pair of eyes on him and looked to see her dressed in a green one piece bathing suit, her red curls bouncing in the gentle breeze. He was so startled that he lost his balance and washed out.

"Jack!" Rose gasped as Jack found himself washed up onto the sand. She ran up to him as he picked himself off the ground and began to brush sand off his shorts. "Jack? I didn't know that you could surf!"

He blushed and smiled, shrugging his shoulders. "I haven't done it since the summer."

"You should have told me," Rose picked up his discarded board. "Are you alright? Did it hurt? Washing out like that?"

"No. I'm fine," Jack laughed, waving away her concern. He looked at her inquiringly. "You look great. What are you doing here?"

Rose blushed. "I was hoping to get a tan. With us going to New York next year, I wanted to take advantage of the California sun while I could."

Jack had to laugh. He loved how in sync he and Rose seemed to be. "I had the exact same thought about surfing."

"I had no idea you surfed. I thought that you only liked art. What else don't I know about you?"

Jack grinned. "Not quite everything yet. A few surprises will keep you from getting bored with me."

"I could never be bored with you," Rose giggled, reaching out to push a wet strand of hair out of his face, revealing even more of his laughing blue eyes. Not for the first time, she was struck by how beautiful he really was. She didn't know how she got so lucky to be able to call him hers, but she was.

"The way you're looking at me right now, I should be blushing," Jack smiled, already feeling his face heat up.

"You just look great when wet is all," Rose giggled, blushing herself.

"Well I shall get soaked more often," He grinned, taking her hand in his. "So what do you want to do besides get a tan, now that we are both here on the beach?"

"Can you teach me how to surf?" Rose asked, feeling rather shy. She had never really thought much about the sport of surfing, but now knowing that it was something Jack did, she wouldn't mind learning. Or rather the perks of learning, like falling into your boyfriend's arms after many failed attempts.

"Sure. But we won't do it out in the ocean. I'll rent a balance board. You can practice on that. It's a lot safer that way," Jack chuckled, taking Rose's hand and leading her to the small shack at the edge of the parking lot, where people could rent surfing gear, from actual boards to the balance board that Jack was talking about. A tall, incredibly tanned blond man about their age maned the register.

"What can I do for you dude and dudette?" The clerk asked in a stereotypical surfer dude voice, which made Rose giggle in amusement.

"A balance board, please," Jack grinned, also amused. It was actually the first time someone referred to him as a dude.

"Just learning how to rock the waves, huh bro?"

"That would be me. Jack is teaching me how," Rose explained, biting back her laughter.

"Ah, teaching the little lady. Awesome! Have fun!" The clerk handed Jack a board with a roller on the underside of it. Jack paid for the day and lead Rose out of the hut and to the entrance of their cave.

"Oh my god, was he for real?" Rose burst into laughter.

"He was like one of those people out of the old surfer movies," Jack grinned. "The only thing he needed was a peace sign and a 'surf's up, dude'."

Rose laughed even harder, unable to help herself. "Or a nickname, like the Big Kahoona!"

"Yeah," Jack grinned, walking into the cave and placing the board in middle of the floor. "I think we'll have plenty of privacy in here."

Rose looked around, noticing all of the things Jack had placed inside earlier. "It looks like you had something planned."

"Not really. Just wanted to spend the day out and was prepared for that. Had no idea that my angel would be joining me today," Jack smiled, taking her hand in his, marveling at how soft her skin really was. There were no words for how much he loved touching Rose. Right now, he was tempted to just wrap her in his arms and never let go.

"You're the angel," Rose blushed, stepping closer. He embodied everything that was wonderful about California, in her opinion. His eyes were the color of the ocean, his hair was the sun. And he was hers. "I love you Jack..."

He smiled at her, cupping her face with gentle hands as he looked into her eyes. "I love you, too Rose. More than anything..."

They stepped in close and kissed long and luxuriously, as if they had all the time in the world. At least they felt like they had. Finally they pulled away, with Rose licking her lips.

"I guess we better start practicing..."

"Yes," Rose sighed, letting her head rest against his.

Jack hesitantly stepped back, missing her closeness already. "Alright. Step up onto the board, a foot on each side...like you're skateboarding or surfing."

"Like this?" Rose asked, following Jack's directions.

"Perfect. Now begin shifting your weight, from foot to foot, keeping your balance."

Rose did exactly what he instructed, struggling to keep her balance. But gravity won out and sent her toppling off into Jack's arms, whose arms wrapped around her tightly as she fell.

"Careful there," He laughed, pulling her tightly against his chest to keep her from falling.

Rose's hands gripped his shoulders and she blushed as she looked up into his eyes. "I'm kind of clumsy, huh?"

"Nah, it's your first time doing this. It's kind of like riding a bike," Jack chuckled as she steadied herself. Ready to go for it again?"

"Of course. I'm not going to let one little fall stop me."

"That a girl," Jack grinned, gripping her hand as she stepped up on the board.

He kept hold of her hand as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She was doing good in Jack's opinion. It took him a few tries to stay up there for even a second when he had first started out. Rose was on there for twenty seconds the first time, then twenty-five the second before falling off again, this time sending Jack to the floor with her landing on top of him.

At first the both of them were giggling, but the giggles faded away when their eyes met and they realized the position they were in.

Rose found that she couldn't move, or rather didn't want to move. She could feel every inch of him beneath her. Strong, solid, and hard. He wanted her. She could tell that in his eyes, and judging from her goose pimples and the desire she felt, well...she wanted him too.

Jack laid on his back, staring up into her lovely face. He ran his fingers through her red hair and noticed how lovely her mouth was. She was the most beautiful girl he's ever seen in his life. He swallowed down his own nervousness and smiled up at her.

"Looks like we've gotten ourselves in a situation here..."

"I don't want to get up," She sighed, placing her head against his chest.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her in response. "You don't have to. Not until you're ready..."

"What if I'm never ready?"

He lifted her chin with a gentle finger and looked into her eyes. "Well then I'll never be ready either."

A small pink tongue ran across her pink lips, and he didn't bother to hide the new wave of desire that ran through him. He brought her lips down to meet his in a deep kiss that was full of that desire and she returned it with the passion and want that had been swirling inside her the whole time. It didn't take long for either of them to shed their swim suits and come together in that cave, again becoming one soul. Moving together, they surfed the waves of ecstasy and passion that had completely overtaken them.

After it was over, Jack reached out for the blankets he had brought and spread it over their nude, sated bodies. He held her soft body to his, not ever wanting to let her go. If only they could stay like this, make this moment last forever, he'd be happy. He kissed the top of her now damp curls and sighed in satisfaction. Today, he had come to the beach to spend it surfing. He had no idea that he would end up like this with his favorite girl.

"Are you hungry? I brought plenty of food," Jack smiled, stroking the soft skin of her shoulder.

"I can use something to eat...but not if it means moving."

"Well lucky for you, it doesn't," Jack reached out and pulled over the basket he had brought. "I brought tuna fish. Do you like that? If not, there's also ham and cheese and I think I have some chocolate cake in here as well..."

"Chocolate cake?" Rose raised her head in interest. "I am not one to say no to anything chocolate."

Jack reached into the basket and pulled out the chocolate cake slice he had packed and the fork and unwrapped the plastic wrap from it. He broke off a piece with the fork and offered it to her. "Here you go."

"Mmm," Rose closed her eyes as her mouth was filled with chocolaty bliss. Jack and chocolate. Her favorite combination. She opened her eyes to look into a sea of smiling blue and melted. "There's only one thing I love more than eating chocolate."

"And what's that?"

"Kissing you..."

Jack smiled and leaned in and claimed her lips. As their lips lingered against each other, they had no idea of the clouds on the horizon and that this day would see one of them through one of the darkest times in their relationship.