by Candy Quinn
Chastity shook off the thoughts, decided she’d rather be well-rested before the long drive down to the coast than stay up half the night considering her love for her step-father, and the rather tricky situation that would put her whole family in if it ever got out.
But before she actually tried to go to sleep, she sent a hand south, beneath the elastic lip of her pajama pants. It was a nightly ritual, and thoughts of her step-father topless in the pool flooded hotly into her mind.
* * *
“So how long is the drive?” Chastity asked Matt over breakfast. It was half past seven – way earlier than she liked to get up – and before her on her plate was a piece of toast that looked as dry as the Sahara desert. But, she thought, since it was a special occasion, and since she was about to go on a weekend holiday with her hunky step-father to the beach, she was going to relax a little. She spread butter on her toast generously. No watching the diet this weekend!
“Four hours maybe, depending on the traffic,” he said, looking up over the newspaper. “Could be three and a half if we hit all green on the way out of the city.”
“Think that’s likely?”
“Maybe. It’s Friday, remember, not Saturday, so people won’t really be driving out yet.”
“Is it okay you’ve got the day off?”
“Yeah, I applied for it ages ago.”
“Really?” Chastity asked, her voice hitching high. “So, you’d been planning this trip for a while?”
“Sure. You’ve always said you wanted to learn how to surf. I know how to surf, sort of, but Dylan is practically a semi-pro. He’ll have you riding the waves in no time.”
“Oh,” Chastity said. She hadn’t realized that Matt had planned it so far in advance. He’d remembered that she wanted to learn to surf. It was… well, surprisingly thoughtful. Not surprising of him, she guessed. Just… surprising in general.
“So after this what’s next on the list, then?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
“Drums, but I can’t teach you that, and we’re definitely not getting a set in this house.”
“Wow,” she said, raising her eyebrows.
“I pay attention, sweetheart,” he said, this time not looking up from his newspaper. “You know, listen to you when you speak to me.”
Chastity didn’t let her internal smile break out onto her face. “So are we going to pick Dylan up, or meet him there?”
“Dylan? He never comes into the city. He’s a beach boy through and through.”
“Is he hot?” Chastity asked, teasing.
“What?” her step-father said quickly, looking at her through serious eyes.
“Just a joke, Matt.”
“Right, right,” he said, nodding slowly. “Uh, I don’t know, that’s not really my expertise.” He tapped his ring finger. “Straight as an arrow.”
“That’s fine, I was just joking. Don’t be so awkward, yeah?”
“Mm,” Matt hummed back at her.
What was that? Chastity thought.
* * *
They had the car packed by half past eight, and Chastity tried her best to cut a drawn-out goodbye with her mother short, but to no avail.
“Don’t step on coral.”
“Yeah.”
“Make sure you wear enough sunscreen.”
“I know, Mum.”
“And for God’s sake, keep your mouth closed if you’re going to fall off the surf board. Don’t swallow sea water!”
“I don’t plan to, Mum.”
…
“Yes, Mum.”
…
“Okay, Mum.”
…
“I got it, Mum, take it easy!” Chastity got into the car, closed the door and rolled up the window. Her mother looked at her, disapproval plastered on her face, hands on her hips, shaking her head.
“Let the girl have some fun, Beth,” Chastity heard Matt say. She watched, feeling a pinch of seething envy, as the two kissed goodbye. It was just a peck, too! God, if Chastity had been in her mother’s position, she would have taken Matt’s lips so fiercely… she would have put her tongue down his throat and she would have-
“Ready?” Matt asked, climbing into the car.
“Yeah!” she shouted, snapped out of her lurid thoughts. “Um, yeah.”
And then they were off, first out of the driveway, then out of the district, and then out of the city, zooming along the motorway, with the sun shining brightly overhead.
“Hey, Matt,” Chastity said, looking over at him. His side profile was silhouetted against the reflection of the sun from the car in the next lane, and it made his strong jaw and chin that much more obvious.
“Yeah,” he said, turning briefly and breaking the image.
“I was, uh, thinking that we could use this trip to bond.” She felt distinctly foolish saying it.
“Bond?”
“Yeah, you know, like get to know each other.”
“Honey, I’ve been your step-father since before you were a teenager.”
“I mean, for me to get to know you.”
“Oh,” Matt said. Obviously that hadn’t occurred to him. “Well, okay then. Uh, do you feel like you don’t know me?”
“I mean, I know you,” Chastity said, moving her hands vaguely in front of her as though the gesture articulated the thought. “But I mean, like, your history, or whatever. It’s just I was thinking I don’t know much about you prior to you meeting Mum. I mean, I know you’re a contractor, I know you oversee building sites and all that; I know your job, but I don’t know much else, you know?”
“Well, okay,” Matt said, nodding. “How about you ask me whatever you like, and I’ll answer if I want to.”
“If you want to?”
“Well, I can’t tell you everything, can I?”
“Why not?”
“Because then I would lose my mysterious aura.” He made a face, and Chastity smirked.
“Yeah, whatever, Matt.”
“So what did you want to know?”
“Did you go to university?”
He looked over at her, his eyebrows furrowed. “Why do you ask that?”
“If you’re going to answer every question with a question,” Chastity began before her step-father interrupted her.
“Okay, okay. I did, yes. The full three years. That’s how it was back then.”
“What did you study?”
“I started off in philosophy, but moved into sociology after. Also did a few electives in physical therapy, as unrelated as that seems. Anybody could take it back then because nobody really took it seriously. They all bet wrong on that one.”
“Why did you transfer out of philosophy?”
“I don’t know,” he said, exhaling. “I guess it just made me feel like I was learning how to be unhappy in a more intelligent way. Just didn’t feel… rewarding.”
“And sociology?”
“More of the same, really, only with more theory and a bunch of white-coat friends who tried their best to cite each other with every paper they wrote. Just one great big boys club. As you can probably tell, my tertiary education is not an experience I particularly valued then, nor do I now.”
“And physical therapy?”
“I was just interested.”
“I didn’t realize you did so much in school.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, grinning. “Are you trying to imply something, Chastity?”
“Well, you do fit the stereotype of a jock. Like, the way you look and everything.”
“A jock?”
“Yeah. You know, dumb as a rock, bad grades, amazing bod, scholarship.”
He skipped over the inappropriate compliment smoothly. “Funny you should say that. Back when I was your age, I was anything but a jock.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. So, do you like jocks at your school?”
“No,” Chastity answered. It was the truth.
“Good thing I’m not a jock then,” Matt said.
The two fell into silence after that, and once again Chastity could feel that awkward barrier between them. She was beginning to suspect that it took two to tango, and perhaps he had feelings for her, too. Sort of like two clumsy teenagers with hopeless crushes on each other finding themselves sharing the same lift.
“Hey, Matt?”
“Yeah?”
“Um,” Chastity faltered. “Never mind.”
“Okay.”
* * *
“Wow, it’s amazing here!” Chastity said, climbing out of the car and running to the lip where the grass ended and the beach began. “Not a soul in sight!”
“I told you,” Matt said, grinning. He looked from left to right, and Chastity followed suit. A couple of miles of interrupted, uninhabited, absolutely beautiful coast. Water as blue as in travel advertisements, and sand as white as though it were the fake stuff from a spa.
The bay was curved sharply on the left, a hook of land jutting out, and held within the lagoon-like enclosure was water so perfectly calm that Chastity felt as though she were looking into a mirror. She could easily count in the reflection the number of red berries on a small bush on the other side. Then, toward the left, no longer protected by a caring arm of land, the water churned with repetitive surf, wave after wave after wave breaking far out to see.
“Are those waves big?” Chastity asked.
“Not really,” Matt replied. “The water is really shallow for a long way, and the waves start breaking a way’s out. Where we’ll be doing your first lesson will be somewhere over there.” He pointed at the sea, around fifty meters out from the shore. “Those are small enough that you’ll get the hang of balancing on a board first. You’ve got to master that before you can even think about trying to ride a wave.”
“How deep is the water there?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Matt said, humming and thinking for a moment. “Probably about waist height on you. Thigh height on me.”
“Great,” Chastity said. “Not too deep. I read about riptides on my phone earlier. Do I need to worry about that?”
“There are none here. This isn’t a riptide beach.”
“You sure?”
“Positive, honey,” Matt said, looking at her. “You can actually often see a rip tide if you pay attention. It literally looks like a river of water moving in an unintuitive way. Like, you’ll see this column of water pulling outward when the rest is coming inward. With a bit of practice, you can spot it in no time. Come on, I wouldn’t put you in any danger.”
“Okay,” Chastity said, unable to take her eyes off the perfectly idyllic scene before her. She stood for minutes, not even standing in sand yet, just taking in the sight of an empty, beautiful beach, seemingly unspoiled by people.
In the back of her mind, she sort of regretted that she was about to do just that.
“Where’s, uh, Dylan?”
“Oh, he’ll turn up eventually. I told him to give us some time first. What time is it now?” she watched him as he reached into his pocket for his phone. “Only barely twelve. Hmm, we got here pretty fast.”
“So when will Dylan come?”
“You want to start, eh?”
“Of course I do.”
“He’ll be along at around three I reckon.”
“Why so late”
“The surf starts to calm down in the late afternoon. It is your first lesson, after all.”
“Yeah,” Chastity said. She agreed with that, actually. Though she was eager to start, she wasn’t exactly a graceful creature in the water. Swimming wasn’t her strong suit, and if her attempts at skateboarding were any indication, she probably wasn’t going to be fantastic at surfing.
But it was trying it out, trying to learn, that was exciting, and she wasn’t about to not try it because she was a little afraid of looking silly.
“So what should we do now?”
Matt put his hands up, palms facing the sky. “Anything you want. We can go see the cabin we’ll be staying at. Or we can go swimming. Or have a snack. Whatever.”
Chastity grinned. “Let’s sunbathe for a bit, then go for a swim.”
He smiled back, nearly stopping her heart. “Sounds like a plan.”
“Come on then!” she said, taking her first step onto the beach. The sand was so soft it felt like it coated her skin. “Wow,” she said. “Why is this sand so weird? So fine?”
“It’s like flour, isn’t it?” Matt said, smiling. “I don’t know why, honestly. But it’s nice to lie on. Impossible to wash off you, though.”
* * *
When Dylan finally arrived, Chastity couldn’t keep her eyes off him. The guy was gorgeous! Lean in all the right places just like Matt, with a completely disarming smile that made her heart stop, her breath quicken, and her center quiver. He had that typical beach boy look – bronzed, a bit messy, and with a confident swagger.
“Hi!” she said, sticking out her hand. “I’m Chastity.”
“Nice to meet you,” he said, his large hand swallowing Chastity’s up. “Dylan.”
“You’re late, Dylan.”
He glanced at his watch. “Only a little.”
“Well, let’s get to it.”
Dylan looked at Matt, who only shrugged back, and then shrugged himself. “Okay, let’s get to it. What do you know about surfing?”
“You stand on the surfboard, and ride the waves, and don’t fall off.”
Dylan laughed, and Chastity felt a pang in her gut. He had a great laugh, and she loved that she had made him laugh. “Okay. That’s pretty much all you need to know, actually.” He set down the two surfboards he was carrying, and picked one up by its nose, standing it up and gesturing for Chastity to take it.
“This is yours today,” he said. “Bit smaller, bit easier to handle. First thing we’re going to do is just get used to it, okay? We’re going to spend about an hour just paddling on it, climbing up onto our knees, and trying to stand gradually. You’ve got to get the feel of the balance right.”
Chastity nodded. “Right.”
“You have a spare t-shirt?”
“Yup.”
“Go put it on.”
“Why?”
“We’re going to be on our fronts for a long time. Good way to avoid the sunburn on your back. Also, make sure you get some lotion on the backs of your thighs and legs. If you burn them, you won’t sleep tonight.”
Chastity nodded enthusiastically, before leaning the board back over to Dylan. She did as she was told, and not long later they were out in the sea, and Chastity was standing on her very own surfboard for the first time in her life.
* * *
“You did really well today, Chas,” Dylan said, and he gripped her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “You caught on quick.” They had just finished their barbecue dinner, and were now getting ready to play, at her step-father’s urging, a game of cards.
Poker, specifically.
“Do you know how to play?” Dylan asked, grinning at her.
“No,” she said. “But we’re not playing for money, right?”
“We’re not?” Dylan asked, feigning disappointment. “But it’s so much more exciting that way.”
“No money,” Matt said, sitting down at the table and unpacking the box of cards. “Because this girl doesn’t have any.”
“Daddy, can I have a-” Chastity froze. She looked from her step-father to Dylan, who was trying his best not to smile. That was the first time since she was a young girl that she had called Matt that, and she couldn’t believe that she had let it slip out.
“Uh,” Matt said, not oblivious to the awkwardness. “Have a what?”
“Um, a beer,” Chastity said, the words sounding as if they had been choked out. “Would that be okay?” She summoned the courage to look back at her step-father and she smiled. It was probably best to pretend the whole thing had never happened.
“Yeah, sure,” he said. “Just don’t tell your mother.”
“Thanks, Matt.” She had t
ried her best not to put any extra emphasis on his name. She got up from the table, feeling slightly dizzy and sunbaked, and went to the fridge. “Any of you want a beer?” She heard two different voices say ‘yes’ at the same time. Three beers it was.
“Anyway,” she said, setting the beers down on the table.
“Thanks, sweetheart,” Matt said. She looked at him for a moment, but he was busy shuffling the deck.
“How do I play?”
“Well, we’re going to play the most popular form of poker,” Matt explained. “It’s called Texas Hold’em. It’s pretty simple.”
“Oh?” Chastity said. She listened as they explained the rules and went through a couple of open-face rounds. She couldn’t help but notice that Dylan kept eyeing her, not in a pervy way, but as though he had just gleaned something about her. It was the kind of look that said ‘aha, I know something about you’, and it made Chastity feel a little uncomfortable.
However, she caught on quick with the game, and decided to focus on that. It wasn’t difficult, and she could see why guys liked to play it in particular. It was competitive, about one-upping your opponent with either a bluff or with a better hand. It was about taking risks.
In short, it was something she didn’t particularly enjoy, but the beer was helping with that. She polished off her bottle fairly quickly, and looked at her step-father, putting on a baby face.
“Can I have another, Matt?”
Her step-father regarded her for a moment before he smiled. “Sure, but don’t get drunk, okay? And don’t tell your mother? This is just a treat. You’re still underage and shouldn’t be drinking at all.”
“Thanks, D-” she stumbled again, before quickly correcting herself. “Thanks, Matt.” She hurried to the kitchen, kicking herself for making that mistake again. What is with you? she thought. She could hear the two talking about something outside, their voices muffled. Still angry with herself, she returned to the table with a new beer for all of them, and lost herself in the game.
* * *
The games went by, and Chastity was starting to get it. She listened while her step-father and Dylan bantered, and slowly amassed a mountain of chips.
