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After a very successful surfing session, Brody, Geoff and Bridgette tuck their surfboards under their arms and walk up the beach. Brody shakes his head, spraying salty water everywhere, and Bridgette splutters.
“Do you mind, Brody?!” she says, wiping her face.
Geoff laughs and slaps Brody on the back. “Just use a towel, dude. You don’t need to shake yourself dry like a dog.”
“Why not?” Brody says. “It’s fun, bro.”
Bridgette rolls her eyes, but she is smiling. They walk across the damp sand, onto the soft sand and then up the stone steps onto the grass. The grass tickles her bare feet, and Bridgette grimaces.
The three surfers put tether their boards to the room of the jeep, grab their bags and head to the public shower block. Bridgette can’t wait for a shower, hating it when the salty water dries and makes her hair all stiff and straw-like. As they walk, Brody reaches for Bridgette and Geoff’s hands, and interlocks their fingers with his. Geoff smiles and squeezes his hand, and Brody squeezes her hand. From the soppy way Geoff and Brody act, you might be surprised to know that they are actually 22 and 20, respectively. Bridgette is the only one who actually acts mature most of the time.
“See you guys in a minute,” Bridgette says when they reach the shower block, and she heads into the women’s section as the two guys go into the men’s section.
She takes off her wetsuit and steps under the warm stream of water, washing the sea salt out of her long hair. Bridgette injured her leg when she fell from her surfboard earlier, hitting her leg against a submerged rock and grazing her skin, and the water makes it sting. She winces, fighting the pain to give her sore leg a good clean, not wanting it to get infected. The soles of her feet ache from walking barefoot, and the cold tiles of the shower are wonderfully soothing.
Bridgette spends five minutes in the shower, emerging in a blue T-shirt and white shorts, a dressing taped to her leg and dark blue sandals on her aching feet. She expects to find the guys waiting for her, but they must still be in the showers. Getting an idea, she rushes to the jeep and grabs the blue and black checked picnic blanket, and then wanders across the grass. When she is a fair distance from the shower block, but with it still in sight, Bridgette lays the blanket on the fresh spring grass, and sits down.
From here, if you turn your head to the left, you can see the beach, the sea lapping against the sand. If you look to the right, you can see fields and trees right to the horizon, all of the trees covered in pink and white blossom, which flutters off of the branches with every gust of breeze. And if you lie on your back, the sky is clear and a beautiful shade of blue, with only a couple of small white clouds speckled across it. To put it simply: it is beautiful.
Bridgette tucks her hands behind her head and stares up at the sky, listening to the sound of the sea. Eventually, this sound is peppered by footsteps and the loud voices of Brody and Geoff.
“Hey, Bridge!” Geoff yells, dropping down onto the blanket beside her and kissing her. “I like this idea. Let’s stay here for a bit.”
“Yeah, bro, I love that idea,” Brody says, grinning as he lies down on her other side.
Bridgette smiles, raising an eyebrow. “What took you two so long? I’ve been ready for ten minutes.”
“Eh, half the showers didn’t work,” Geoff says. “And the only ones that did work only let out a tiny trickle of water, so it took ages to wash our hair.”
“Yeah, it was totally annoying.” Brody kisses Bridgette, snuggling up beside her and intertwining their feet. “Anyway, how are you, Bridgey?”
She snorts; Brody always calls her that for some reason. “I’m okay. My leg hurts a bit, though.”
“I’m not surprised,” Geoff says, looking at the dressing taped to her leg before copying Brody, snuggling up to Bridgette and running his fingers through her damp hair. “Still, at least it didn’t bleed. Does anyone know what we should do now?”
“I dunno,” Brody says. “But I’d kinda like to stay here for a bit. This is nice.”
Bridgette smiles, resting her head against Brody’s shoulder. “Yeah, this is real nice.”
And Geoff kisses her forehead, and she hears him whisper, “I love you two.”
Brody laughs. “That’s so sappy, bro. But thanks. And I love you too.”
Just like Brody did earlier, Bridgette reaches for their hands and links their fingers together. And she closes her eyes, listening to the waves hitting the beach and feeling the warmth of her boyfriends, and whispers, “I love you so much.”