C H A P T E R   E I G H T
help me

shoot the curl:
to surf through a barrel of a wave.

Following sitting in the back of Dawson's truck for what seemed like hours, we made our way onto the deserted streets as he drove off towards my house.

I was spitting out directions, telling him to turn left or right as I stared out at the road in front of us illuminated by the headlights of the truck and the streetlights hanging above.

"So.." I start breaking the silence after we drove down the main street in the direction of my place. "What made you head out to the house party tonight?"

He grips the steering wheel tighter, turning it to follow the curve in the road. "I was there with my friend Daniel, he was going there to try to pick up some girls and I was suppose to be his wingman. That was until you wandered up to me, drunk out of your mind. Guys kept staring at you like you were a piece of meat, so I stayed with you for the rest of the night."

I feel blood rushing to my cheeks as I turn my head to glance out the window hoping that he couldn't see me blushing in the dim light.

He lets out a small laugh as he turns his head towards me. "Your friends seemed a little bit crazy last night. When we were dancing together I'm pretty sure Miranda had almost fainted."

"Doesn't surprise me there with that one, my friends are characters to say the least. Besides, I haven't been with a guy in a couple of years so i'm sure that they were shocked to even see me within three feet of the other gender."

"In years?" He exclaims, shock evident in his voice. "I find that one hard to believe."

"There's no point in it. What am I going to do? Date a guy for a year or so? I'd catch feelings and then it would make leaving so much more difficult. Besides, guys here are assholes anyways."

"Oh so now i'm an asshole? Let me just add that to the lists of generic terms to describe guys." Dawson says as he turns into my driveway.

As much as I hate to admit it, he wasn't an asshole. Annoying for sure, but not an asshole.

I turned to look at him as his face was illuminated by the porch lights coming from my house. Even in the dim light his features were prominent. His chiseled jaw line with the slight shadow of stubble, his brown eyes flaked with gold specs seemed to shimmer, and the smirk tugging at the corner of his lip cast me under his spell.

"Are you done checking me out?" He asks with a laugh that snaps me out of my trance. "Your mothers has been staring out the window for a little while now."

My mother... usually she is asleep at this time I acknowledge as I read the time on the clock, 2:49 a.m.

"Shoot!" I mumble as I try to unlock the door. "I've got to go, thanks for the ride asshole." I say teasingly as I open the door, the cool breeze hitting me.

I jump down to the concrete, stumbling slightly from the effects of the alcohol pumping through my veins before gently pushing the door to his truck closed.

Making my way towards my front door I turn back and give a small wave to Dawson as his truck pulls out of my driveway and heads off into the darkness.

My mother lets me inside locking the door behind her as she leans up against it.

"That wasn't Miranda." She states. "Who was that you were with? I've never seen him around here, or around you before."

"Dawson." I reply, my voice quieter than normal as I take off my shoes. "No need to worry about him mom, he's just a friend."

Part of me thinks she didn't believe the last part of what I said based on the look that was on her face. Her eyebrow was raised as she shook her head slightly, an "mhmm" leaving her lips.

She definitely did not believe me.

In an attempt to escape the potentially awkward conversation I slip past my mother and make my way upstairs to my room, shouting a goodnight to her before closing my door.

I collapsed down onto my bed and ran a hand through my hair as I tried to piece together what exactly occurred tonight. It wasn't what I had expected in the slightest. I never expected to see Dawson, nor escape the party with him to hang out for hours but somehow I found myself enjoying it. However, the alcohol may of had something to do with it.

He may have been an asshole, but there was something about him that kept drawing me in. He was persistent, and that was something no guy has ever been towards me. It was almost something I enjoyed, being chased instead of being the one who did the chasing all of the time.

Dawson was quite attractive as well, but I would never admit that too him. I couldn't give into his ego. No matter when I saw him, he always appeared as though he just walked out of some teenage romance novel, always looking perfect.

Suddenly I was snapped out of the thoughts running through my mind as my phone let off a ding from my purse.

I pull it out and notice that Miranda has left several messages on my phone. None of which I noticed earlier as I was apparently too distracted with Dawson.

I sent her a quick message letting her know that I was home and that I'd talk to her tomorrow to further explain where I disappeared to during the party.

As soon as I finished typing the message to Miranda another text flashed across my screen.

I enjoyed spending time with you this evening, hopefully now you'll see i'm not as much of an asshole as you think ;) -D

I can't help the smile that makes it's way onto my face. There's something about someone texting you after hanging out to let you know they had a good time that makes butterflies take flight in my stomach.

Thanks for looking out for me tonight :) and you're right, I don't think you're as much of an ass as I had originally thought was my response to his message.

Well i'm glad, goodnight Ains.
Also happy birthday, hopefully I didn't ruin it too much. -D

A little, but not too much, you made it better in a sense. Goodnight Daws :)

I put my phone down on my nightstand as I make my way to my closet to grab an oversized tshirt to change into.

After stripping the makeup off my face and changing into the shirt I crawled into my bed and as soon as my head hit my pillow I was passed out.

—

The next morning I found myself at work once again. Thankfully it was quiet as I was nursing quite the hangover. Normally I wouldn't have drank so much if I worked the next morning but it was my birthday so I didn't hold back.

I don't know if it was from the amount of alcohol I consumed but I found myself dreaming of surfing, something I haven't done since weeks after the accident.

Something was calling me back to the water, wanting to see if I can bring back the passion I once had.

I decided that after work today I was going to stop by the surf shack where Dawson worked. I had no clue if he would be there today or not, but since he hadn't come to torment me at the diner yet I was hoping he'd be there.

There was something important that I had to ask from him.

This morning I was looking after only a few tables, the weather outside was so nice everyone was spending the day on the beach to take advantage of it.

Out the windows of Joeys I could see the children running up and down the beach, some building castles in the sand as others spent their time in the water. But what caught my eye the most was the couple of surfers which speckled the water.

It brought me back to the time when that was me. When I spent every waking moment out in the water, except for when I was at work or at school. But even then all I could think about was surfing, and everything I did was to further my chances at scholarships.

"C'mon Ains." Crystal yelled running into the crystal blue ocean. "I don't want to miss out on the sunset." She screamed hopping up onto her board.

I ran after her. My feet kicking up the dry sand until they came in contact with the cool water. I threw my board into the water as I chased after her.

"Want to know something." Crystal shouted from out in front of me. "Scouts from The university of Hawaii are coming out to the surf competition this weekend. I heard they have quite some interest in you."

"That's not what I've heard." I said stopping my paddling once I catch up to her. "People have been talking about how they are showing interest in you!"

"Could you imagine if we both got full ride scholarships to Hawaii? We would be able to spend every minute, of everyday together. We could even share a dorm!" She says, her eyes gleaming in the setting sun.

"That's all we've ever wanted. We could finally say that we would be living the dream."

A dream which I had given up on, but now thinking about it Crystal would have wanted me to live out the dream for the both of us. She'd be so upset if she knew I threw everything away.

I was snapped out of my thoughts by the chef placing my tables food down with the ring of the bell.

The rest of the shift went by quickly. It was only a couple of hours today and by the time I was finished it was only one o'clock.

I gathered all of my belongings and made my way out of the restaurant waving goodbye to all my coworkers in the process.

The walk down to the surf shack wasn't long, maybe ten minutes maximum. The hot California sun was beating down on by bare shoulders as a gentle breeze blew through my hair.

As I approached the beach the sounds of families filled the air; their laugher, chatter, and pure joy. There wasn't much waves out on the ocean today, the lack of wind was the cause of that.

My eyes wandered around before landing on a small, colourful building perched upon the shore. I noticed Dawson's truck parked out front the closer I got to the shack. It appeared to be quite busy which didn't come as much of a surprise due to the amount of people in Chancier today.

The closer I got the more my lips curved up in a smile as I recalled what Dawson had told me.

"I figured that I always come over to your work to annoy you, so why not show you where I work so that you can come and annoy me."

His next words shocked me and left me thinking about what he had said for days.

"We both know that we can't get enough of each other." He says with a small laugh. "I'm just kidding. Let's go."

I began walking up the sidewalk to the shack as I felt my heart rising up in my chest. My heart was pounding as my plans were getting sweaty. Ainsley stop stressing out. He's you friend. Friends go and see each other at work all of the time.

I seagull chirped overhead and that was when I realized I had been frozen in front of the door for a while so I placed my hands against the railing and gave it a light push. The door let out a chime as I walked inside.

The store was quite busy with the sound of people talking filling the air. I stood off to the side looking at the boards that hung on racks along the wall. I gently ran my hand along the wood, admiring the one that Dawson made in particular.

"Hey there." A voice said from behind me. "Is there anything I can help you with."

I turned around with a smile on my face as I recognized the voice. "Ainsley." He said. "I knew you couldn't get enough of me."

"Dawson, as much as you want that to be the reason why I came here it's not. It's more important." I mumble quietly, sweeping a piece of stray hair behind my ear before inhaling a large breath of fresh air. "I need you to help me. Your the only one that I can trust with this."

"Help you with what exactly?." He asks taking a couple of steps closer me, his voice more serious than the playful tone which was laced in his words earlier.

"I need you to help me surf again."

-----
Word Count: 2222