Hidden Hollywood

He grabbed a bright blue paddleboard. “Lucky for you, I’m an expert paddleboarder.”

“That is lucky,” she said with a throaty chuckle. He could listen to that sexy voice all day long. But it wasn’t just about her effortless sexiness, he felt so comfortable with her, like he knew her already. There was something vaguely familiar about her, though they’d never met. He didn’t know what it was, he only knew he wanted to soak her up as much as he could on the one date allotted him.

Maybe he’d negotiate for more than one date. Everything was negotiable.

He watched as she took a smaller yellow paddleboard for herself. He was ready to step in and help with the weight of the board, but she handled it easily, surprisingly strong for her size. She looked about Mad’s height, five three maybe to his six foot.

“Next step,” he said, heading to the water. He walked in up to his calves and suppressed a wince at the chill of the water. He set the board down. “Start with the board in the water. Then get on the board on your knees. Strap the leash to your ankle once you’re on so the board doesn’t slip away from you. Then paddle out, pushing off on either side of the board. When you’re ready, slowly stand, shoulder-width apart, in the center of the board. Feet parallel to each other. Don’t go surfer on me.” He did a surfer impression, one foot in front of the other. He suddenly realized she couldn’t see his feet in the water. “That probably would’ve worked better on shore. I have one foot in front of the other.”

She laughed. “I got it. But, foxy, you’re going to help me on this board or it ain’t happening.”

“Foxy, I like it. We’ll have to come up with a new name for you to call me if you get wet.”

“I could think of a few more colorful words for that scenario.”

“I bet.” He waded back out to her, setting his board on shore. He took her board and set it in the water. “On your knees.”

Her jaw dropped comically.

He laughed. “I just realized how that sounded. I just meant…it’s easier to balance if you start on your knees. Bring your paddle too.”

She grinned and stepped into the river with the paddle. “Ah! It’s freezing!”

“Come on. It’s not that bad.”

“It’s bad!” She did a little dance and turned to go back on shore.

He snagged her by the elbow and pulled her next to the board. “I’ll strap your ankle to the board as soon as you get on.”

She stared at the board.

“Look, I got it.” He had both hands on the board, holding it steady.

She jabbed a warning finger in his face that had him grinning. Then she flashed a brief smile and got on the board, kneeling. He quickly strapped her ankle in place.

“You can swim, right?” he asked with a straight face.

She glared at him; even through her shades he could feel it. “I will throttle you with my bare hands if I take a dive in this river.”

He chuckled. “Bloodthirsty. All right, now stand and get your balance. I’ll keep it steady while you push off with the paddle.”

“Feels like training wheels.” She slowly stood, feet shoulder-width apart as he’d instructed. After a moment, she announced, “Okay, about to paddle.”

He held on lightly as she pushed off in one smooth stroke, and then he let go. She had good balance.

“Woo! I did it!” she exclaimed.

“More like I did it.”

“Shut up, foxy! Hurry up and catch up. I don’t know how to stop this thing.”

He got on his board and pushed off, quickly catching up to her.

She beamed, her teeth sparkling white in the sunshine. “This is fun! I have no idea how to turn, but a straight line seems to be working okay.”

“Keep your knees bent a little. When you want to turn, put the paddle on the opposite side of the turn and twist your body toward the side you want to turn.”

“I’ll watch you.”

“And move your hands further apart. One on the handle, one on the shaft.”

She adjusted her hands.

“You’re a natural,” he said, impressed. The first time he’d gone paddleboarding, he’d fallen in three times before getting his footing. Of course, she had him to do the difficult part of getting up on the board. He’d only had his friend Steve laughing his ass off at him.

“Must be all those Pilates,” she said.

All the women he met out in California were fanatical about Pilates and yoga. “You into all that Pilates yoga stuff?”

“Just a little routine I do at home.”

Of course she probably couldn’t afford a fancy gym membership. Actually he didn’t even know what she did for a living, just that she was a small-town girl. “What do you do?”