Chinese Eyes

"God," I said. "I thought I was fit." I mean, I worked out, I swam, I ran, I trained at Taekwondo two or three times a week. Didn't seem to have made any difference. Three hours in the water and I was "buggered." I'd have to look that one up.

"Let's go in then," Alex said. "I gotta call up me mates and find out what's up anyhow. Come on, catch this one and we'll go all the way in."

He was off and I was paddling after him, groaning coz Jesus my arms were sore and that wave behind me looked pretty darn big to me. Actually, it looked frigging enormous but I caught it and it took me all the way to the beach and wasn't that a total rush just hanging onto the board and rushing in until that wave faded away and Alex was there, helping me stand up, picking up my board and carrying it along with his in the waist deep water.

"You doing anything for the rest of the day, Charlie?" Alex said, walking back up the beach with me and I couldn't stop smiling. I could barely walk and he was carrying my board coz my arms were totally noodly but I couldn't stop smiling. Screw Rick, this was fun and this dude Alex, he maybe had potential if he wasn't already hooked up so why the heck not?

"Uh, I didn't have any plans," I said, kind of shrugging, glancing at Tiff up the beach on her towel lying there looking totally cool and hot in that Minkpink bikini that matched mine and did I look that hot? "Just hanging out with Tiff." I grinned. "She's the only person I know here."

"Apart from me." He grinned right back.

"Apart from you," I said, thinking hey, does this mean he wants to, like, hang out with me. Or maybe that's, he wants me to hang out with him? That's be so great coz he'd said he was here for a few weeks too and okay, hunky guy.

"How do I get out of this?" I said a few minutes later, coz whatever I was doing with that wetsuit, it wasn't working. I was, like, totally stuck.

Alex was on his mobile, talking.

"Here, I'll help you." Tiff stood and started working that wetsuit off me and Jesus, even with her help it was kind of difficult coz it was like a second skin.

"Hey, Tiff, you got plans for this arbo?" Alex said, 0ff his mobile now, peeling his wetsuit off and making it look easy while Tiff continued to help me out of the one I was wearing. "Coz Lachlan called and the break down at Byron Bay's real racy. Lays 'n Phoenix want me to bring all the shit down so I'm gonna head down there and join them. Thought maybe you and Charlie might like to come. I can drop you both back tonight."

"Can you come?" Tiff asked me. "We can watch these dudes riding real breaks. You can see what it's like for real. Be back late though, like, ten or eleven by the time we get back here if we leave early. Think your Mom'd be okay with that?"

"How far is it?"

"'Bout a hundred kay's down the road, take us an hour or so to get there," Alex said. "Just tell me what time you got to be back."

"Uh, yeah, give me five. I'll text Mom and ask," I said. Nah, not a hope in hell, but maybe I could hook up with Tiff tomorrow. I'd ask her. God, I hoped so coz she was the only person I knew here aside from this dude Alex and Mom, and I'd barely seen her since we got here.

I did text, and Jesus, miracles do happen coz Mom texted back right away that it was fine and to text her if I was later than midnight coz she was out with a friend and not to worry if I was back before her. I did kind of wonder if that was the same friend as the last couple of nights and what the heck was Mom up to but whatever, that was her business and if her nose wasn't into mine, I was good with that.

"Yeah, I'm in. Mom says it's okay," I said, sounding about as surprised as I felt. "Gotta let her know if I'll be later than midnight, that's all." Weird. My Mom always worried about me if I was out late.

"Cool bananas," Tiff said. "Let's go, mate." That was to Alex.

"Throw the stuff in the back of the shag wagon," Alex said as we walked across the parking lot. "Don't need to clean it. We can rinse the wetsuits out down at Byron."

Fifteen minutes later the three of us were in the Sandman, me in the middle next to Alex and it was kind of a weird cross between a car and a pickup. Almost like a pickup truck, but not. Sort of like a car body but just that bench front seat up front and the truck back with that built-in canopy. Strange.

"Seems kind of old," I said. Different from anything I'd seen back home.

"Me Dad's," Alex said. "This one's 'bout 1978 I think. Aussie icon, these old panel vans. Based on the Holden ute but they stopped making them 'bout the late seventies. Dad loves this old beast though so he just kept it 'n its grouse for surfing. Throw all the gear in the back no probs 'n we drove it up here from Melbs. He's busy dating some Sheila he hooked up with so I get to use it here as well."

"Do you sleep in the back sometimes?" I asked, coz I'd seen the mattress back there.

Tiff choked. Alex grinned. "Not exactly sleep," he said. "They don't call these old bombs shagging wagons for nothing."

"'N Alex shags anything that moves," Tiff snorted.

"Including you, Tiff," Alex said.

"Yeah, 'n that was once and that was a while ago, Alex," Tiff said, a bit drily I thought. "I think we're both over that one, Alex." She grinned at me. "He's not half bad, though."

"Shag wagon?" I said. Guess they did know each other. Good to know it was over though.

"Uh, it's slang, Charlie," Tiff said. "Dunno what you call it in America but you know, shag, bonk, pork, screw..."

"Fuck," Alex said, very helpfully.

"Oh!" I said, getting it. "Okay, I got it." I did giggle though. Shag wagon. Gotta remember that one.

Alex drove, not that fast and he was busy pointing out some of the sights on the way and him and Tiff were talking 'bout the surfing as he drove south on the coastal highway.

"Pacific Highway," Alex said. "Take us past some good spots. Burleigh Heads, Coolangatta..."

"Yeah, cool," I said, kind of closing my eyes coz I was wiped. Nice and warm and I wasn't even worrying that all Tiff and I were wearing were those Minkpink bikinis coz...

"Hey, wakeup, Charlie." Tiff was shaking my shoulder, my head was resting on Alex's and I was totally confused for a minute. Like, where the frigging heck was I and who were these people?

"Byron's Bay," Alex said, grinning and oh my god, I'd dribbled on his shoulder.

"You know where they are?" she asked Alex.

"Clarkes beach," Alex said. "Lachlan texted, said it's really pumping there this arbo." He turned into a carpark and that beach looked good. Not crowded either.

"Lays and Phoenix'll like that," Tiff said. "I'll hang out with Charlie and watch." She gave me a smile. "You and me are gonna go on the point there where everyone's hanging out watching."

Alex slid out 'n by the time Tiff and I were out and I'd slipped my shorts and my tee on, he had his wetsuit on and his board out.

"See you in a couple of hours," Alex said, 'n he was just about running for the water. Guess he really wanted to get out there and winter or not, there were a bunch of surfers out there.

Tiff and I walked up onto the grassy point, looking down onto the beach and it was just beautiful, sandy, wide, flat, sheltered and sunny and it went on for what looked like miles.

"Really is pumping," Tiff said, rather critically. "This'll do," 'n she was laying her beach towel out and slathering on sunscreen. "Better use it," she said to me, tossing me the tube, so I did 'n then I kind of lay there and watched and hey, if I closed my eyes for a minute...

"Hey, wake up, they're coming in." Someone was shaking me.

"Tiff?" I said, sleepily. "Wazzup?" Then, "Jeez, did I go to sleep again?"

"Like a baby," Tiff was grinning. "Four hours."

"Holy guacamole, you're kidding me," I shook my head.

"Nope," she said. "This morning must've fair tuckered you out. Come one, they're coming in. We'll go meet them down by the shag wagon."

"Hey, Charlie." Alex was there, smiling, peeling his wetsuit off. "This is Lays, Phoenix, Lachlan, Colin and this dude's Ken. Guys, this is Charlie from Kansas."

"Hi Charlie..." Well, Lays was Chinese as well so this was all kinda cool and we smiled at each other. She sure looked chirpy for someone that'd been surfing all day and that bright pink wetsuit was just cute as. Phoenix smiled as well, shaking out a mane of wet blonde hair and they were all, like, totally toned and fit.

"Come on, let's dump this stuff and head down to the Beach, grab a Stone and Wood." Lachlan was keen. We got there and it was only six but that bar was humming, which was how I found myself perched on Alex's lap with his arm around me and I didn't mind at all. I even tried some beer and that's not something I ever drank. That, and I was starving 'n the first thing I did was look at that menu and oh yeah, thai chicken curry and rice and it came pretty quick and I ate it even quicker.

After that, I just kind of sat there, head on Alex's shoulder, like I was his girlfriend or something, just listening to them all talking away and every now and then they'd ask me something and I'd reply but I was that tired it was all just totally blurry.

"Hey guys, Charlie's buggered. I'm gonna give her a ride home," Alex said a lot later and I had no idea what the time was but it was dark and the pub was just raving and how the heck had I been sleeping through all this?

"I'll stay and catch a ride with Lachlan and Lays," Tiff said. "How 'bout we pick Charlie up tomorrow morning. Eight okay with you, Charlie? I'm gonna sleep in."

"Yeah, that'd be great," I yawned. Eight was sleeping in? Jesus. We were in different time zones. "See you all in the morning," and it kind of seemed totally natural for Alex to be holding my hand as we walked down to where the Sandman was parked and I climbed in the driver's side and then laughed and just slid across to the middle as Alex followed me in and my eyes were closing again.

"Close your eyes," he said, starting her up, and I did, but it seemed totally natural to sit right next to him even without Tiff there, resting my head on his shoulder and he had a hand on my leg as we drove and I rested one of my hands on his and moved it higher and just closed my eyes.

"Where're you actually staying, Charlie?" He woke me up as we drove in to Surfers and it was all high rises and bright lights and shops and cars and people, on and on and on.

"That one," I pointed coz it totally stood out and then we were parking and he was opening the passenger door for me and walking me to the entrance and there was that long moment where we just looked at each other and I almost smiled coz he looked so nervous 'n I could tell he wanted to kiss me. Probably wanted a lot more than that, he was a guy after all, and he was driving that shag wagon and we weren't going there but hey, you have to start somewhere.

"You can," I said, sort of smiling.

"Can what?" he said.

"Kiss me," I said. "If you want to?"

Guess he wanted to, coz he didn't need any more prompts and next second I was in his arms and there was that heart stopping moment before his lips touched mine where we looked into each other's eyes and I sort of instantly forgot all about Rick and Instagram posts and just went with the flow and it was totally magic that went on and on and on forever.

"Get a room, sport," some guy walking around us said.

"Tomorrow," I said, coming up for air.

"A room? Tomorrow? Great." Alex said.

"Idiot!" But I giggled. "See you tomorrow morning."

"Pick you up right here," he said. "Eight. Bring your togs."

"Togs?"

"Swimsuit," he said. "We're going surfing."

"Great." Which seemed like the perfect time to kiss him again and wasn't that nice and it was a long time before we stopped.

"Hey, Charlie." Ten past eight and I was late but he was there, sitting on the curb at the front with a coffee and I could see the Sandman parked across the road.

"Alex." I was totally smiling, looking forward to whatever. Coz it was with Alex.

"Just you and me this morning," he said. "Told the others I was giving you a few lessons right here. Got a nice break today, Lays said you could use her spare board and her old steamer 'n Tiff said see you this arbo."

"Where're they today?"

"Down at Burleigh, but that's no good for you. Too fucking gnarly, the break there's really pumping 'n you gotta get over the rocks. You're nowhere near that, Charlie. You and me, we're going to spend a few mornings here just getting the basics right. Few mornings with me here and no-one'll think you're a total grom, 'kay?"

"Sounds good to me." Hey, my own personal coach. And there were other things we could do besides surf. I had a few ideas.

"So this arbo we'll head on down to Burleigh and you can see what it's like."

"Cool."

"Right then, let's get out there."

"The guys are down at Coolangatta, wanna come along for the arbo?"

"Sure."

It kind of went like that all week and into the next. Surfing lessons with Alex every morning and by the end of that first week, I was catching waves, doing some real basic carving, working on my cutbacks and I kind of had the idea but I screwed them up more often than not.

"Keep working on it, Charlie. You're getting better." Alex was there, grinning, hanging on to me after I'd tried and totally mullered in off the last wave I'd tried to catch and it'd been going great guns until I went for that cutback and totally frigging screwed it.

Duck diving under that incoming wall of white like I'd been doing it all my life, coming up, paddling like crazy coz I was totally clucked by the size of that next one and by the time I made it out past the break there was this was a totally awesome set coming and oh boy, I was totally in the zone, right there in the section, waiting where the waves aren't breaking and it's the best spot to catch those swells.

"Wait one, Charlie, it's a fucking bomb..."

Too late. Coz I was on it and it was clean but he'd been right, it was frigging massive and I was on my own on this one and Jesus I was totally clucked now coz this must be fifteen frigging feet and holy shit, if I mullered in of this one I was gonna get worked through the washing machine and there was no way off it coz I was on the face and dropping in and that crest was way up the fuck overhead as I popped up onto my knees and then my feet and Jesus, Jesus, Jesus there was no way I wanted to wipe out off of this and I didn't see any other way off it.

No cutbacks, no fancy shit and oh god, I was in the frigging pocket now and that wave was closing in and I edged forward on the board, getting the speed up 'n some frigging jake just dropped in, frigging near cutting me off and I almost lost it for a second before I managed to carve around him, up the face and down and put myself back down with a floater and gave him the frigging finger as I cutback in front of the asshole 'n I was hanging five now and this was a frigging monster peeling down behind me.

The curl swept closer and I kind of grinned as the jake went grubbing and I shouldn't be coz it'd be me next then oh shit I was right where I'd never been before and I didn't want to be and that was in the green room, racing down the tube, water curved around me, right in the barrel, crouching down and totally slotted and fuck I had to get out of here and I was racing, faster than I'd ever ridden before and it was total frigging adrenaline as I spat out the mouth of the barrel 'n I didn't even think about it once I found myself back on the face 'n that was one frigging monster wall towering overhead.

Nose down, racing the curl, further and further ahead and it was like that board was part of me, bouncing, swerving, just going for it and I was back up on the face and the crest was up there and I carved straight up towards the lip and it was just totally rad coz I'd never done that before and there was that moment of total insanity when I thought to myself fuck it, Charlie, don't be a dick dragger.

My board hit the lip, smashing me back down and I went with it, absorbing that hit, turning, carving back down the face and holy fuck that hadn't been such a great frigging idea coz there was a gaggle of dudes paddling out and I kind of did this insane weave and managed to frigging miss everyone of them 'n one of the dudes gave me the shaka 'n I had no time to do more than grimace coz I was back in the frigging barrel and dropping back in had been a totally frigging insane idea.

Edging forward, getting out of the green room, onto the face again and I didn't fuck around this time. Up the face and I kicked out, over the back of the wave and Jesus frigging Christ.

"Aaaaaiiiiiiiii." I screamed. I frigging did, coz I was airborne and about fifteen frigging feet in the air and sailing in a frigging arc through the air and it was all in frigging slow motion as my board went one way, the leash jerking at my ankle and I was heading down into the soup in the trough and...

"Ooommmphhhh." Jesus that hurt and I was tombstoning, way the fuck under with my board bobbing up there on the end of the leash and I was stroking for the surface only I wasn't panicking now coz I'd been here a gazillion times now and it was almost second nature. Air. Duck dive under the next one, grab the leash, find my board and onto it and doing a turtle roll as the next break washed over me and now there were a few dudes paddling out around me and I was just totally stoked when one of them gave me the shaka.

"That was totally sick," he yelled.

"Thanks," I yelled, just grinning as I headed back out 'n Alex just dropped in of this wave right next to me and after the wash went past he was looking at me 'n looking a bit pale.

"Thank Christ," he said. "Didn't think you had a buckley's getting off that one in one piece."

"Fair go?" I yelled. "Thought I'd come a gutser, did 'ya?"

"Too right," he said. Gave me that grin. "Good one, Charlie. I think you' ready for Byron."

"Not telling porky's are 'ya?"

"Want to try it tomorrow?"

"Yeah, okay. If you think I can."

"After that one? Bloody oath you can, Charlie. That was one frigging massive wave. Now quit shagging around 'n lets get out there and do it again. We can go hook up with the others this arbo."

"Suits me."

"Hey, wake up, we're here."

"Huh?" Jesus. I'd slept the whole way? I remembered climbing into the front of the Sandman while Alex went to throw everything in the back like he usually did but I was kinda getting used to that and then I'd climbed in the front of the shag wagon and... nada. "Was I asleep?"

"Out like a light. You were fast asleep about two seconds after you sat down." He grinned. "Feel better?"

"I'm starving." I yawned, but Jesus I was sooooo hungry. Six hours out there with Alex and I ached everywhere. I was starting to get a handle on it though and that big mother had been so totally cool.

"Here. Got some tucker on the way. Let's take it up on the bluff and we can watch. This is one beach you're not even gonna try. Not for a while."

"Where's here?" Coz I had no idea. Hadn't been to this one before.

"Burleighs Head. That's Burleigh down there but the best breaks are here. Gotta watch for the rocks down there, see."

"Take a look out there." He pointed. "Yah, that's Lays. Bright pink steamer and that pink stick she's on. Spot her a mile away. Phoenix is the one in pale blue, next to her. Hard to see."

The binoculars helped once I got them focused and holy crap-a-doodle, those waves were big, dwarfing the surfers out there and with every incoming wave, one or two surfers would be up and on it, riding in and how they heck could they maneuver their boards like that? I mean, I'd seen how it was done but doing it myself?