Chapter 6

For the next few days, I showed up at the beach at 7:30 sharp every morning, even though every night before bed, I'd swear to myself, "If I go tomorrow, I'm such a fool."

The moment my alarm went off, I'd still drag myself out of bed.

The reason was simple.

Henry was seriously easy on the eyes.

And I really didn't want him thinking I was some kind of slacker.

On the third day, I finally managed to stand on the board for two whole seconds.

Henry filmed it for me.

I watched it ten times.

I was seriously proud of myself.

Sure, it was only two seconds.

But hey, one must give oneself some credit.

I posted it on my social media. [My first time.]

Five minutes after I posted it, Richard liked it.

I stared at his profile pic.

Seriously, it was so annoying.

Two minutes later, he left a comment. [Stay safe.]

It was more annoying.

Samantha commented: [Thanks for Henry's hard work.]

Henry commented: [Yeah.]

I blocked both of them for ten minutes.

That evening, Henry showed up at the guesthouse to see me.

I'd just finished my shower.

I headed downstairs in my nightgown.

He was out in the courtyard, sipping on a glass of ice water.

When he spotted me, his eyes lingered for a moment. "We're taking a break tomorrow."

I sat down next to him. "Why?"

"Your legs are bruised up," he replied.

I looked down at my leg. Sure enough, there was a bruise right next to my knee.

It wasn't serious, but exactly a pretty sight.

"So you finally care about your students?" I teased.

"I'm afraid you'll try to scam me for some cash," Henry shot back.

I rolled my eyes.

He laughed.

The courtyard was a stone's throw from the sea.

The evening breeze was cool.

The place was quiet, with Samantha nowhere to be seen.

I glanced at Henry. "You don't have a girlfriend?"

"Nope," he replied.

"What about before?"

"Yeah, I have."

"How many?"

He looked at me. "What is this? An interrogation?"

"Just curious," I said.

"Three," he replied.

I was honestly shocked. "Three girlfriends at twenty-five?"

"Is that a lot?" Henry asked.

I thought about Richard.

When I met him, he was thirty-four.

I never asked how many girlfriends he'd had.

Back then, I thought it would make me look petty.

I kind of regretted it.

Young men at least had simple romantic histories.

I asked again, "Why did you break up?"

"We weren't a good match," he replied.

"That's such a canned answer."

"What about you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you get divorced?"

I went quiet.

Everyone seemed to think the answer was simple.

Richard fell for someone else.

So we got divorced.

Honestly, I always thought so too.

But I didn't know why.

When Henry asked, I suddenly remembered something Richard once said to me. "You don't have your own life anymore."

I absentmindedly traced the water droplets on my glass. "He went for someone younger."

"That's it?" Henry asked.

"What else?" I replied.

Henry looked at me for a few seconds.

He didn't press further.

I let out a sigh of relief. But somehow, I felt kind of empty inside.

The next moment, he suddenly leaned in.

I instinctively leaned back. The chair back stopped me. There was nowhere left to go.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm chasing you." He spoke like it was totally normal.

My heart did a little flip. "Is this your idea of chasing a girl?"

"What else would I do?"

"Shouldn't you at least bring me flowers?"

"Do you like flowers?"

"Not really."

"Then why ask for them?"

I paused to think. "It's for the vibe."

Henry laughed, "Hey, Mia."

"Yeah?" I replied.

"You sure have a lot of demands."

"You can still back out now."

"Not a chance."

With that, he leaned in and gave me a quick kiss. He barely touched my lips and then pulled back.

I froze.

Guys at twenty-five had some nerve.

I was speechless for what felt like forever.

He leaned in, grinning. "Did I scare you?"

I blinked, finally coming back to my senses. "No."

"Then why are your ears all red?"

"Probably the heat."

"Pretty sure it's only 73 degrees tonight."

I reached out to playfully swat him.

But he caught my wrist before I could.

We goofed around for a while.

Eventually, I was the first to burst out laughing.

After the laughter faded, it hit me. I hadn't felt like this in forever.

It wasn't about a new bag, or jewelry, or Richard finally making time for dinner.

It was just that I was happy.

*****

Richard showed up in Seasiaven without giving me a heads-up.

I was coming back from the beach with Henry.

Today went pretty well.

I managed to stay standing for at least eight seconds.

That was a huge improvement.

I was in a great mood.

Henry was on his motorcycle.

I sat behind him.

I held onto his waist for safety.

We'd barely pulled up to the guesthouse when I spotted a familiar black Bentley.

My smile vanished in an instant.

Richard was standing by the car.