This one is for Foxy Roxy!Surfin' USA
It was nice of Delko to invite Ryan to join him at the beach, he'd never done that before. Ryan was excited, his car was working fine, the sun was shining and he was going surfing.
Surfing and Ryan, not a mix you'd expect, and to be honest he'd never done it before, but how hard could it be? Plus if Delko had invited him, surely he thinks he's capable of learning fast!
Arriving at the beach he parks up next to Delko's red Lamborghini, pulls a bag out of his trunk, locks his car and heads on down the beach to find where Eric is on the sand.
...
Eric waves to him and he joins him sinking into the golden sand with every step.
“Hey Delko!” He greets him enthusiastically.
“Wolfe! You made it!” Comes the energetic reply.
Delko was already wet, he'd obviously been for a swim or surf before Ryan had arrived. “I brought an extra board for you to use, and there's some guys meeting us here that I normally surf with, we thought we'd have a little competition today.”
“Um, you are aware that I've never surfed before right Eric?” Ryan asks him nervously.
“Yeah, sure you'll be fine!” Eric dismisses his worries, “you can swim right?”
“Sure I can!” Ryan glares at him.
“Then you'll be okay, I promise.”
...
A group of guys head towards them, they all shake with Delko, or greet him in some way. He introduces Ryan to them as they pass by.
'They seem nice' Ryan thinks to himself.
They all start prepping their boards and themselves, some of them already in wetsuits, others sliding themselves into them.
Ryan looks down at his shorts... he didn't think about a wetsuit.
“Um, Delko...”
Delko looks at him, “Oh, it's okay, not everyone wears a wetsuit, I'm not putting one on today.”
Ryan glances around the group, which was steadily getting larger, he notices Eric was right, there were more people in wetsuits than not, but there were still ample people without. Steadily they all start heading for the water, carry their waxed boards under their arms. Ryan stands just in the waves watching them all first of all swimming while lying on the boards, then eventually standing up and riding the waves.
“Doesn't look too hard.” He says to himself out loud.
He feels something get pressed into his side.
“Your board Wolfe!”
“Thanks Delko!”
He watches Eric run off into the sea.
...
Not ready to join them yet he watches in awe at the grace and poise that the surfers have. He watches Delko, he was brilliant, Ryan decides he should really find out more about what his work partner did in his spare time.
The dip in the sea must have been a warm up, because after around twenty minutes the surfers all start to exit the water. They all head up to where they had originally gathered. Eric ran passed Ryan, water dripping down him, he had a big grin on his face.
“Come on Wolfe, we're going to arrange the competition, I'll make sure you go up against another beginner.”
...
Two by two they start to get paired off, chatting wildly amongst themselves, Ryan felt a little left out, but Eric kept pulling him back in. Eventually he announces that Ryan needs a beginner to go up against.
Ryan blushes as everyone looks at him, there were a lot of eyes on him and he felt a little self-concious. So in true male form he starts to get the macho on!
“Well...maybe I don't need to go against a complete beginner...”
Eric smiles, “anyone got any suggestions?”
A guy steps forwards, “how about Johnny?”
“Johnny Ford?” Eric asks, “is he here?”
“He just arrived.” The guy responds, nodding behind Eric.
Ryan turns, there's a kid all of four foot eight walking towards them, he couldn't be more that nine years old, ten at the most.
“You have got to be kidding me?!” Ryan says incredulously, looking at Eric.
“You think he'll beat you?” Eric goads him.
Ryan looks at the approaching Johnny, then back at Delko, raises an eyebrow and says, “no way!”
Delko nods, “then Johnny it is!”
“What's me?” The youngster asks as he joins them.
“This is Wolfe, he's gonna compete against you today. He's a beginner.” Eric introduces them.
Johnny smiles, “cool dude” and offers a high five to Ryan, who tentatively responds.
...
The first few pairs take to the ocean, Ryan watches closely and tries to follow how they decide who wins, it seems it's all down to the vote of the watchers on the beach. Tricks, jumps, waves, balance, style, they take it all into account. When he hears his name called he suddenly gets butterflies. There was no way he was pulling out though, not when he was competing against a child. He walks towards the sea, Johnny offers his hand for a shake and tells Ryan good luck. Ryan reciprocates with a smile.
...
Ryan lays with his stomach to the board and swims out slowly, keeping one eye on his competition. He really didn't have a clue when he should stand up, or even how he could! When he noticed young Johnny start to make a move to stand he decided that must be his cue, he gets up onto his knees and stays pretty well balanced. He hears a whoop from the crowd and turns his head to see Delko cheering him on. Gaining in confidence, he starts to get to his feet, out of the corner of his eye he sees Johnny, the kid was riding waves, flipping over, even balancing on one leg...
'I've been duped' he thinks, losing his concentration. Just then a wave hits, even if he had been concentrating it's unlikely he would've stayed on the board. His inexperience means he would've ended up back in the water either way. He surfaces spluttering, he can hear the cat calls from the beach. He looks to see Johnny doing a handstand on his board.
'Hmph, Delko always wants to dish out lessons' he thinks to himself, grabbing hold of the board and heading for the sand.
...
He storms out of the water and onto the beach, there's a spattering of applause, and then silence. Ryan stops and looks at the group. The silence turns to whistles and laughs, and even applause. Eric is looking at him, motioning in a downwards direction.
“What?!” Ryan yells at him.
Eric keeps trying to motion to him to look down, pretty urgently now.
Ryan suddenly gets the gist and looks down.
He grabs the surf board and holds it in front of him, looking back into the ocean to see if his shorts had even followed him back to the golden sands. They were nowhere to be seen...