The Art of Appreciation (11 page)

Abby tossed the bottle back to him. “Can you get my back?” she asked, turning and presenting it to him.

He studied the sweep of skin before him, entirely exposed aside from a narrow strip that was covered by the top’s band. Hell, yes, he could. Squirting the lotion into his hand, Matt smoothed it over her shoulders, stroking downward to coat her shoulder blades, feathering the lotion onto her sides.

Abby arched forward, chuckling breathlessly. “Sorry. Cold,” she murmured, drawing a breath as the tips of Matt’s fingers brushed the outer curve of her breast.

Checking his own internal temperature, Matt acknowledged that “cold” was nowhere near accurate.

Resisting the impulse to let his fingers linger at the low waistband of her swimsuit bottom, he finished and stepped back. “Done.”

“Thanks.” Abby crouched and pulled a white, long-sleeved T-shirt out of her bag. She tugged it over her head, covering the body he had been trying to impress into his mind so he could take it home to his unfinished statue. “Extra protection. I hate burning, and I nearly always do,” she confessed, tugging at the lower hem of her shirt.

“No problem.” Matt looked out over the ocean, judging that the biggest morning swells should be about over. “Ready?” Abby nodded, and Matt went into teacher mode. Starting with the basics, she practiced stances with the board on the sand. Matt stood behind her, holding her hips and demonstrating how she should move. Eventually, she practiced on her own before moving to the water. Matt took his time, explaining things thoroughly. He both wanted her first surf to be a pleasant experience and wished for the day to last.

Her first ride on a small swell ended in a wipeout a few yards from the beach, but Abby came up laughing and shrieking in triumph. She immediately paddled back out to try again and again until she could ride her board almost to the beach before leaping into the water. Each time, Matt followed her back out, straddling his board as she mirrored that position while they waited for the next wave to come in. After several rides, they went out once again and sat quietly, watching the next wave build.

“How long have you been doing this, Matt?” Abby asked.

“Mmm…I think I was seven or eight the first time, so about thirty years.” He winced theatrically, and she laughed, eyeing the water. She shifted to one knee, with a foot braced and hands gripping the sides of the board, measuring the ocean with her gaze.

Cutting her eyes toward Matt, one side of her mouth lifted in a smile. “You look pretty good for an older man. That year between us makes a huge difference, you know.”

He grinned back, ready to stand on his board. “It’s always about age with you. You’re lucky I like slightly younger women.” Abby laughed, and then the wave rushed in, and they got on top of it, riding it nearly to the beach before slipping off the boards and taking them to shore.

Matt headed toward the blanket that he’d anchored on the sand with the cooler and their bags. “Hungry?”

“Starving. Being in the water always does that to me,” Abby said from behind him, and he nodded, opening the cooler and picking up two bottles of water before turning around.

Holy hell. Matt stood stunned, holding out the bottle. Abby walked closer, twisting her hair over her shoulder and wringing water out of it. Far from hiding her curves, the T-shirt that he’d resented now accentuated every one, clinging to her body as the deep plum top, showing through the translucent shirt, accentuated her chest.

Taking the bottle from Matt’s hand, she gave him a curious look, and he dropped his eyes to the cooler, busying himself with unpacking it and willing his body to behave itself. “Chris put this together, so I don’t know exactly what’s in here. He has pretty good taste, so I’m sure it’s okay.”
Enough babbling
, he told himself.

Abby didn’t seem to mind. She sat beside him and reached for some grapes as she gushed about her rides. Matt relaxed, laughing at her enthusiasm and answering another dozen questions as they snacked on fruit, cheese, and bread. Opening a thermos she’d retrieved from the bottom of the cooler, Abby took a deep swallow and started coughing. “Wasn’t expecting sangria,” she gasped out, laughing as Matt cursed Chris for not warning him. Sharing the rest of the wine, they rested on the blanket, talking about different styles of sculpture and the funny “buys” Charles had made over the years.

Matt eventually looked out at the ocean with a calculating eye, glad for once that the gnarly swells Surfline had predicted hadn’t come in. Still, it was getting late, and the tide would be rolling in soon.

“One last ride? The waves will be too big for junior riders soon,” he said with a smile.

“It’s been a long time since I was a junior anything, thank you very much,” Abby retorted, leaping to her feet and extending her hand. Matt grasped it and pulled himself up, holding on longer than necessary as he examined the incoming surf.

“Wanna try a bigger wave?” he asked.

Abby grinned. “Hell, yes.” She moved to grab her board.

Matt tugged her upright. “We’re gonna do this one together.” He let go of her hand to hoist his longboard onto his shoulder.

“You can do that?”

“It’s how my dad taught me.” He took her hand. “Trust me?”

Abby nodded, searching Matt’s eyes before she started for the water, towing him in her wake. After wading out as far as they could, he helped her onto the board and pushed it out to a distance that would be challenging yet safe before shimmying up behind her and waiting for the wave. He caressed her shape with his eyes, lingering on her vulnerable nape and the soft swells of her hips, looking up only when she gasped. Flicking his eyes to the water, Matt watched a silvery-gray pair of dolphins arc out of the water well in front of them.

“Beautiful, aren’t they? You should see the gray whales out further, over at Steamer Lane. They’ll swim around your legs and it’s just…” He trailed off, at a loss for words.

“Can we?” Abby whispered, and Matt laughed.

“Not this time. That’s advanced.” The swell started to grow, and he turned into it. “Get ready to stand up. Count of three, okay? I’m going to hold on to you, just like when we were practicing, so don’t be startled. Move with me, or we’re going under.”

Abby got ready to stand. Matt watched the oncoming water, deciding the right moment for a slow countdown. At one, they rose in tandem, riding the crest of the wave. Gripping her hips, Matt both steadied Abby and used subtle pressure to indicate which way she should shift her weight. They moved like one body as the board rushed toward the shore. Her delighted laughter floated back, and Matt smiled, dodging errant strands of hair that whipped toward his face from the loose braid she’d twisted. A few dozen feet from the shore, Abby looked back at him, eyes sparkling, and that was all it took for them to overbalance. Luckily, the wave had diminished enough that rather than being sucked under, Matt merely plunged below the surface. His heart stuttered in his chest when he didn’t spot Pretty as soon as he rose. He ducked under the water, looking around frantically before spotting a pair of white legs scissoring near him. He rose to the surface with a splash.

Abby grinned and hung on to his board. “Worried, Matt?” she teased.

He smiled back, leaning his arms across from her. “I love this board, and I’d hate to lose it.”

She laughed, sleeking hair back from her forehead with one hand. Without thinking, Matt reached across the board and smoothed the hair above her ear, letting his palm drift down until he cupped her cheek. The laughter in Abby’s eyes became tempered by something warmer. Matt brushed his thumb over her lips before leaning forward and kissing her forehead. “I was worried about you,” he said against her skin before drawing back. “I shouldn’t have been, though. You’re a natural.”

She studied his face before she nodded and let go of the board. She swam toward the shore. He watched her for a minute before paddling after her.

By the time he got back to their spot, Abby lay on the blanket, one knee up and one arm flung over her eyes while the other rested beside her. Tendrils of hair had escaped from her braid and were curling around her face as they dried, creating a frame. Her lips curled into a smile, and it took a mighty effort to sit next to her, hands linked loosely as his arms wrapped around his upraised knees.

“That was damned incredible,” Abby said.

“Glad you liked it.” Easing onto his back, he mirrored her position, though he turned his head toward Abby so he could still see her through one squinted eye. Despite the summer day and the radiant heat from the sand beneath them, Matt could identify the unique body heat of Abby’s hand as it rested a hairsbreadth from his on the blanket. “So…how did you come to be a museum curator?”

Abby laughed. “Started as a painter, but I found out that I wasn’t as good as I’d hoped. Switched to art history.” She glanced over at Matt. “Don’t get the ‘I’m sorry’ face. I’m fine with it. We have a joke in the community, in fact: ‘Those who can’t do, teach. Those who can’t teach, curate.’ I like my job.” Her hand twitched and came into full contact with Matt’s. Abby looped her wrist over his, lacing their fingers together.

Matt was going to have to reconsider his statement to Jason. He’d meant it at the time, but…damn.

“What did you have to talk about with Jason that kept you up so late?” he asked, closing his eyes and absorbing the warmth of the sun and the heat of her hand in his.

“Us. Jason and me.”

“Did you come to any resolution?”

“I suppose so. For me, anyway.” Her hand tightened around Matt’s, and she shifted closer to him. “Jason’s a good guy, Matt, he really is…but…” She sighed. “It’s just not there for me.”

“But it is for him?” He peeked at her through one eye.

She shrugged. “He thinks so. He asked me to wait to make any decisions until he gets back from New York. I agreed.” Abby’s lips twisted into a smile. “Didn’t want him to deal with a race
and
a breakup.”

Tough for him
, Matt thought. He shifted onto his side and leaned on his elbow. “So. What brought it up?”

“Sex.” Abby laughed as Matt’s eyebrows shot up. “You asked.”

Matt’s hand tightened on hers. “Does he force the issue?”

“God, no,” Abby scoffed. “Jason’s a sweetie. And he’s not hard on the eyes and pretty damned good at—”

Matt covered her mouth. “I don’t want to hear this, do I?”

Abby pressed a kiss on his palm and then shifted his hand to rest on her collarbone. “Maybe not. Anyway…despite that, I just…” She thought for a minute. “It doesn’t feel right, for two reasons. First, I was all about the summer fling with the younger guy because I’ve never done that. I’m boring, and whitebread, and…boring.” A frown line appeared between her eyebrows. “But I guess there was a reason I haven’t done it before. It’s not me. When I’m with Jason, I have a great time, but sometimes I feel like I’m putting on an act.” She sighed. “I will never get the appeal of chainsawing video game zombies and bobbing my head to hip-hop. Ever. And I have a confession: I don’t think Tupac was the poet of our age.”

“Of course not. That would be Kurt Cobain,” Matt deadpanned, and they both laughed. “Okay, so you don’t transmit on the same frequency. Sounds like a good enough reason to shut him down. What was your second reason?”

Abby’s hand tightened. “I wouldn’t be thinking about him,” she whispered, “and that’s not fair. He deserves better.”

Matt leaned forward until his face hovered over Abby’s. “You’re right.” He searched her eyes. “Who would you be thinking about, Pretty?”

Her breath came out in a rush, and she let go of his hand, sliding her fingers over his bicep and shoulder and onto his neck. Matt rested his hand on the blanket next to her head, bracing himself above her. “Your eyes are the exact color of the water,” Abby murmured distractedly, looking from them to Matt’s mouth. “This isn’t fair either, because I said that I’d wait. But I can’t. Kiss me.”

He needed no further invitation. Closing the space between them, he dropped his mouth onto hers and tasted her lips with kiss after kiss, each one building in intensity until her tongue swept over his lips. Abby’s hand plunged into his hair, fisting there. Matt felt a steady build of internal heat as her other hand tentatively rested on his lower back before she began tracing the long muscles with her fingertips. She flattened her hand over his shoulder blade, urging him closer. A tiny moan came from Abby’s throat as Matt did just that, leaning his weight on his elbow so that he could caress the side of her face with his hand.

Lost in her touch and kiss and a deep desire to shift her on top of him so that his hands would be free, Matt was startled by a snicker coming from above them.

“Old people mackin’ at the beach. Gross,” said a low and decidedly youthful male voice.

There was a sound of hand against flesh, and the speaker yelped. “Would you shut up?” a girl’s voice hissed. “I think it’s cute.”

Abby started to giggle as Matt rose back up to his hand and dropped his forehead onto her chest just below her shoulder. “Thanks, kid,” he muttered.

Abby burst into full-fledged laughter. She came up on her elbows and kissed the side of Matt’s neck. “C’mon, old guy.”

“Don’t think I can get up yet.”

“Why?” Abby blushed when Matt looked at her sideways. “Oh.” She darted a glance at his shorts and chuckled. “I thank God just about every day that I’m a girl.”

“Not funny. And I’m pretty thankful you’re a girl too.”

They laughed together, and Abby extended a hand.

“Come into the water with me. It’s pretty cold.” Her eyes sparkled with mirth.

Matt grabbed her hand, standing gradually. “Yeaaahhh…not so much. Wet T-shirt won’t help.”

Abby looked down at herself in surprise. “Never thought of that.” She smiled at Matt as he took her hand.

“So…is this happening?” he asked.

Abby looked out at the ocean. “I’d like to talk to Jason again. No more wait and see.” Matt hesitated, sensing that there was more to her answer. “I’ve never done this before, Matt. Started a relationship with a deadline, I mean.” She turned to look at him. “We live on opposite coasts. I’m going home in two months. I like you, and I want you…so much,” she added in a whisper. His breathing roughened as he saw the heat in her eyes, and he embraced her. He could feel her breath on his neck.