Meet Me in Hawaii by Georgia Toffolo (best affordable ebook reader TXT) 📗

‘Nah, I’m as tame as they come.’

‘Yeah, right,’ Malie laughed along with Zoe. ‘Did I also mention he’s a compulsive liar?’

‘Ooh, harsh,’ He pressed his palm to his bare chest, feigning hurt. ‘We best begin before you dish out any more compliments. You ready to get started, Zoe?’

Her friend rubbed her hands up and down her thighs and took a deep breath. ‘Yup.’

Malie smiled softly. She could see the need to be brave, the need to conquer her fears, the need to do this written in every line of her friend’s face and her tight nod.

‘We’ve got this, Zo.’ She offered out her palm for a high-five, a move they’d done as children before they’d tackled any joint project and Zoe’s smile became a grin.

‘Hell, yeah,’ she said, smacking her hand against Malie’s.

‘You heard the lady, let’s do this,’ Malie said to Kalani and they got moving, each one focused on the end game. Getting Zoe to surf again.

Within an hour, Zoe’s confidence outshone Malie’s. They were out in the water, Zoe life-jacketed up and lying prone on the surfboard, Malie standing on one side of her, Kalani on the other.

‘Are you sure you’re ready for this?’ Malie asked.

‘Definitely.’ Zoe gave her a vibrant smile; she looked so small on the board, the life jacket size a large kid’s, making her more vulnerable to look at. She gripped the special straps positioned so that she could hold herself in place, but as her confidence had grown over the course of the lesson, she was using them less and less.

Malie looked to Kalani and he smiled encouragingly.

‘If you eat it, we’ll be there in seconds to get you – OK?’ she said.

‘I just want to catch a wave already.’

‘You’ve caught plenty.’

‘Alone, Devil.’

A wave ran through them making the board bob and showering spray over them all. Malie looked out to the sea, judging the waves. It should be OK. It should be safe. She knew she was being overly cautious and shouldn’t be. This is what it was about. Freedom. The power to be in control. The power to move unaided. It was exactly what Zoe wanted, what she needed.

‘OK, I’m coming with.’

She left Kalani with Zoe and raced out of the water as quick as she could, taking up her board. It was far better for her to surf alongside Zoe than to try and keep up without the board. Her pulse raced in her chest, the thrill of knowing what was to come and the hope that the ocean would behave and deliver her friend the perfect wave.

‘Let’s do this!’ She ran into the surf and leaped onto her board, powering herself out to them with a grin as wide as the sea itself.

‘I’ll keep watch,’ Kalani said when she neared and he stepped back to free Zoe to paddle out with Malie.

‘This is gonna be so epic,’ she said to her friend. ‘Come on, race you!’

‘You have a head start,’ Zoe complained, but she was already paddling hard and fast, keeping up with Malie stroke for stroke. Which wasn’t really a surprise since Zoe’s arms served as her legs too, wheeling her day in, day out. They grinned at one another and for a second, time fell away, they were kids again, doing what they loved. Leaving their problems at the shore and living for the wave.

‘I can’t believe we’re doing this,’ Malie said just before executing a perfect duck-dive, Zoe too.

As soon as she surfaced, she checked on Zoe – sure enough she was still there, her ponytail slick down her back, her eyes bright and smile big.

‘I know. I think my parents would have a fit.’

‘Yours and mine. But hey, we’re adults now, we do what we want, when we want.’

They paddled out a little further, just beyond the breaking waves. The line-up was relatively quiet and anyone present knew her well enough to stay back and give them space.

They turned their boards and looked back to the shore, then each other.

‘OK?’ Malie asked.

‘Never better.’

Adrenalin pumped through Malie’s veins as she eyed the swells coming from behind. ‘When I say go, we go?’

‘How about when I say go, we go?’

Malie laughed, loving Zoe’s spirit and marvelling at it all the same. ‘You’re on.’

They bobbed on the water, Zoe watching, Malie waiting on her. Happy, so happy. And then her friend nudged her head forward. ‘Now.’

They were off, a little giggle erupting as they raced each other as well as the wave, and as it lifted, they took off. Malie popped up, pivoting away to keep a safe distance between them, her eyes flitting between her own path and Zoe as her friend rode the wave to shore, the spray kicking up in her face, her mouth closed against it but her smile obvious.

‘Go, Zo!’ she shouted and Kalani whooped from where he was positioned between them and the shoreline. It was spectacular to watch, and she knew it would feel even more so for Zoe, to feel the exhilarating power of the move and to do it alone.

As they neared the shoreline, Kalani was there alongside Zoe, helping her to stay on and bringing the board back around as Malie dived off her own.

She was buzzing from head to toe as she waded through the water towards them, her board under her palm.

‘How was it?’ she called out, already knowing the answer.

‘You have to ask?’ Zoe laughed, the sound coming in pants with her rapid breath. ‘The best! The absolute best!’

‘Ready to go again?’

Her friend wiped a hand over her face, across her dainty mouth. ‘Definitely.’

Malie launched herself onto her board. ‘Race ya!’

‘Is everything a race with you, Malie?’ It was Kalani who asked as they took off.

‘I’m sorry, have you not met me before?’ she called back, sending Zoe a wink and realizing her friend was already pulling away.

‘You paddle faster than you used to,’ she said, coming up behind