Blackbird (11 page)

“I would be lying if I said I didn’t want you
Claire, if I said I didn’t want to be with you and kiss you all over again. But
I realize now I shouldn’t have. You have a boyfriend and I betrayed that trust.
It was wrong for me to put you in that situation, but I’m telling you now
Claire, I promise to never do that again. I will never kiss you while you’re
with someone else.

“What you did for me was more than anyone has ever
done before. You believed in me, even when I was a stubborn prick. I don’t
deserve you, and never will, but you made me want to be a better person. Hell,
you got me walking again.

“When my Dad died my whole life changed and I
watched it as it slowly spun out of control. Just when I thought I’d hit rock
bottom, you came into my life. You helped me when no-one else could. You made
me see there was more to life and it was worth fighting for. You’re like no-one
else I’ve ever met before and I don’t want to lose you.”

“But I’m not yours to have,” Claire said quietly.

“I know that, but if all I can have is our
friendship then that’s all I want. Please Claire,” he pleaded with her. “I
promise to never overstep our friendship. I promise I won’t hurt you. All I’m
offering is to
be friends, that’s
it.”

Claire sighed. “You’d have to swear to never try
and kiss me again, never try and be with my in any… sexual or loving nature. I
can’t do that to Dave again. I have to respect what we have. I care about him a
lot.”

“I swear.”

Nate was asking to be friends, and Claire was
considering it. After everything that had happened this was where they were at.
If she said yes, though, would that go against her promise to Dave- even if she
did promise never to do it again? And if she said no was she willing to walk
away from Nate and never see him again?

Claire couldn’t deny her feelings for Nate were
strong, but she had convinced herself the feelings were only because of
everything that happened. It wasn’t the kiss they’d shared or the flirting, but
it was the feelings of kindness and the fact she cared for Nate. A friendship
had formed between them. A friendship she strangely wanted.

“If you have to talk to Dave about it, I
understand.”

Claire shook her head. “He hates you enough as it
is.”

“Did you tell him?”

“I told him that I cheated on him, yes… But I
didn’t say it was with you. He hates you from that night at the club.”

Nate nodded his head, his face sombre. “I guess I
deserve it.”

“You’re not a bad guy,
Nate,
you just make shitty choices sometimes.” She paused. “Yes, I’ll be friends with
you. But I’m not going to tell Dave about it. It’s not that this means more
than what it is, he’s just really busy with work at the moment with a major
development, and I don’t want him to get stressed out over it.  But
please, don’t make me regret this.”

Nate grinned. “I promise you won’t.”

Claire smiled back at him.
“So,
what now?”

“
Mmm
let me see, ever
tried to surf before?”

Claire laughed. “Me?
Surf?
I’m the most un-coordinated person alive!”

He shook his head. “I doubt that you’ve met my
mate, Tim. Now he makes standing look hard!”

They both laughed together, and for the first time
in a month Claire felt relaxed.

“Come on, I’ll teach you. Fun guaranteed.”

“Fine, but
I’m trusting
you.”

“I won’t let you down.”

The anxiety and nervousness Claire had felt
earlier were gone. Being friends with Nate was what she wanted. And this time
they wouldn’t overstep the friendship line. They couldn’t.

CHAPTER
SEVEN

Nate had been given a second chance
with Claire and there was no way he was going to stuff it up.

He knew he had done wrong, but he couldn’t help
but think,
was it so wrong to want her
?

Nate had been so pissed that Claire hadn’t told him
about the events leading up to the accident. But as the weeks went by after
their fight, he missed her, missed everything about her.

His emotions confused the hell out of him. He
wasn’t
that
guy. The kind of guy to get all hung up about a girl, yet he
couldn’t stop thinking about Claire.

Nate had gone out and tried his fucking hardest to
get Claire off his mind by trying to sleep with the whole coast. His dick,
however, had a different idea. Every time he’d been with a chick he couldn’t
get it up. No sex goddess or supermodel’s body or the thought of fucking them
seven ways till Sunday got him hard.

For some fucked up reason the only person that
could get him hard was Claire, who just so happened to have a boyfriend. Not to
mention she hated him now.
Just his luck.

When Claire agreed to be his friend, Nate had
finally felt the relief he’d been waiting for, and he wasn’t talking about his
cock. They were only friends, he had made a promise he wouldn’t try anything
while Claire had a boyfriend, and he wouldn’t break that promise.

Nate had reasoned with himself that he would be
friends with Claire, because, let’s face it, he really wanted to and he meant
everything he said about what she meant to him and how he valued their
relationship. But Nate had also hoped that by becoming friends with Claire it
would help him solve his problem. She would eventually, like every other woman
in his life, become annoying and too hard to be around, and he would lose
interest. He would then be able to go back to life the way it should be,
fucking whoever and whenever he wanted.

Well so he thought, anyway…

Claire and Nate had met up at the beach that
morning. The waves were perfect, and since Nate wasn’t yet able to get back
onto a board, he thought it would be a perfect opportunity to take Claire out.

“Now, just remember what I told you,” Nate said,
pulling the board over the white wash, waves crashing around them. “When I say
so, you paddle and kick as hard as you can, then when you feel the wave take
you, jump up. Use your body to balance the board.”

He looked back at Claire lying on the mini mal.
She looked scared.

“You’ll do fine!” Nate said as he smiled and
winked at her, pulling her board closer and waiting for the next set.

Claire had proven to be a fast learner. It had
taken her only a few attempts of riding the white wash before she was
successfully standing up. So Nate had decided to step it up to unbroken waves.
If Claire was scared now, she wasn’t willing to let it on. Even if her face
showed it, Claire wasn’t going to admit it.

Nate had to admit he couldn’t help but notice how
sexy Claire looked in her black bikini. Thank fuck they didn’t spend too long
on land and he could hide his hard on in the water.

Nate had also caught Claire looking at his topless
torso. He didn’t make it known though.
Friends, remember?

“Do you miss it?”

He turned to Claire, gripping the board tightly to
avoid her floating away.
“Surfing?
Yeah, I miss it. I
used to go surfing nearly every day with my Dad. After he died, I didn’t go as
often. Then of course the accident happened…”

“Was he a good surfer?”

“The best.
Although he’d never admit it.
He surfed all his life, and
when I was born he couldn’t wait till I was old enough to get me on a board.
 When I was two, he had this tiny board made up; it seemed he couldn’t
wait any longer for me to grow up and learn to ride a real board. So he taught
me to ride the white wash with it, and then as years passed I got better and
better until I was on a real board and we were both surfing together. Even if
the surf was shit, we would still come out here and just sit out here talking.
It was something we always had together, our ‘thing.’

“He tried to get my sister into it, and she loved
it as well, but then she became a teenager, and she was more interested in
sunbaking then surfing. He never pushed us, though. He only wanted what was
best for us. He told us that surfing would give us the power, fitness, and
strength we needed. It helped us relax. Out here, there is no yesterday, no
tomorrow,
just
now.”

Nate looked around him at the peaceful serenity of
the ocean.

“Your dad sounds like a smart man.”

“He is… He was.” Nate could feel the tears in his
eyes remembering all those moments with his dad, the moments he could never
relive.

“It’s okay to miss him,” Claire said, placing her
hand on his shoulder.

But Nate didn’t want to miss
him,
he wanted his Dad to be here with him, right now.

Nate cleared his throat as he spotted the next set
coming through. “Okay, here it comes. Are you ready?”

Claire’s expression changed, her nervous face
giving her away.
“Yep.
I’m ready.”

“Ok,” he said, pulling her board around so it
faced the shore. “When I say, give it all you got. Don’t lean too far forward
or you’ll nose dive. Lean back, bend your legs, balance and take control. Turn
your body against the break so you can ride the wave.”

He watched the set come closer and just as they
floated on the wave he pushed the board forward hard. “Go!” he screamed.

Nate watched as Claire fiercely paddled and kicked
as hard and fast as she could. The lip of the wave curled and Claire jumped up.
Her body was a little unsteady but she stayed strong.

Nate watched as Claire continued riding the wave.
It closed off behind her and she came out standing. Claire jumped of her board
into the water. She’d done it.

Nate started swimming towards her, out of the
break. She emerged from the water, splashing in excitement.

“I did it!” she yelled.

Claire jumped on her board and paddled to Nate.
When they were close enough, he smiled at her. “You did it, Claire. I’m so
proud of you!”

Claire beamed at Nate as she jumped of her board
and wrapped her arms and legs around Nate. “I can’t believe I just did that!
Oh my god!”

Nate held her tight. “I told you that you could do
it!”

“It was unreal,” Claire panted into his ear.

She pulled her face back and looked at him. “Thank
you.”

“You’re welcome,” he smiled.

They looked into each other’s eyes for only a
moment, Nate very aware of her legs wrapped around him, the feeling of her body
pressed against him before Claire quickly pulled away and jumped back onto the
board.

“Come on,” Nate said pulling the board again.
“Let’s see if you can do it a second time.”

Claire’s face changed to excitement at his words.
“I guarantee I can do it again.”

“Oh, really?
Wanna
bet?”

“Name your price,” Claire said arrogantly. 

Whatever Nate was going to suggest, he was sure
Claire would follow through with it, win or lose. Her ridiculous tattoo was
evidence of that.

“Oh I think I could think of something…” He winked
at her. Claire just shook her head.

Yes, he could think of something alright
.
The only problem was he was sure he was going to lose. Once Claire set her
sights on winning something, she’d do everything to make sure she did.

***

“Hey babe,” Dave said kissing
Claire’s cheek. “How was the beach?”

Claire dropped her handbag on Dave’s kitchen bench
top and wrapped her arms around his neck. “It was amazing! I learnt to surf!”

“You what?”

“I learnt to surf. It was so awesome. Have you
ever done it before?”

“No I haven’t.” Dave paused “It’s a bit dangerous
for a girl, don’t you think?”

Claire pulled her arms away. “Excuse me?”

Dave placed his hands on her hips trying to pull
her closer. “I’m just saying it’s not really a woman’s sport.”

Claire brushed his hands away. “Are you serious?”
she snapped. “Women can do every sport that a man can do.”

“Not every kind.”

“Name one?” Claire said, putting her hands on her
hips, unimpressed with his ideologies on this topic.

“Just because women do the sport doesn’t mean they
should.”

Dave’s face was serious.

“Are you kidding me? What world do you live in?
Since when are men superior to women?”

“Do you really want me to answer that, Claire?”

He was serious. What a dick!

“You know what, don’t answer that question,”
Claire said as she grabbed her bag from the counter and stormed off, slamming
the front door behind her. She stomped down the staircase and towards her
parked car. Jumping into her car, she had just turned the engine over when her
phone rang. Without even looking at the caller ID Claire answered. “Unless
you’re calling to apologize and say how wrong you are, I don’t want to fucking
talk to you!”

“Claire? What’s wrong?” Nate’s voice sounded
concerned.

“Shit, sorry.” Claire’s voice calmed. She paused
before asking “What are your views on women doing ‘men’s’ sports. Do you think
it’s
okay? Do you think men are superior to women?”

“Why do you
wanna
know
what I think?”

“Nate, please, just
tell
me.”

“Okay, then, well, I
think
that all women can do whatever they want. Regardless of if you’re a woman or
man,
you are free to live your life the way you want,
provided it’s within the law of course. We live in an age right now where women
have rights and have a voice, so they have every right to use them.”

At least another male could see sense in it. Nate
might be an off the rails kind of bad boy but at least he had morals and
values.