Evie finds redemption with Gerald
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Author's note:
This story is fiction; all characters and situations are fictional and any relationship they may bear to any living or dead person is purely coincidental.
This story was inspired by the song 'Please don't tell me how the story ends' sung by Kris Kristofferson.
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I felt the familiar surge in the pit of my stomach as another massive Pacific swell lifted and tilted my board, then I was paddling frantically down the slope before gaining enough speed to stand and ride the breaking wave into shallow water. I jumped from the board, tucked it under my arm and walked shorewards. By now I was used to the admiring stares of the young men, and scowls of their partners, as they admired my slim, tanned body almost completely exposed by my tiny bikini swimwear. I reached my van and trailer, stood the board up and dried myself on a towel while watching the ever-changing, ever-healing ocean waves pound the beach. There was something hypnotic about their ebb and flow, each time the same, each time different, I thought, much like my life.
I cast my mind back again, for the millionth time at least, to that day on the snow as I watched the love of my life end his. I suppressed the teary sensation that arose within me yet again; life had moved on, it was no use crying over spilt milk, as the saying went; live each day to the fullest because you never know when today may be the last day you have.
A young, stereotypical surfie guy walked from the shore towards me. I watched as he approached, knowing that he was returning the board he'd hired, wondering if he had a partner to share his bed with tonight. So far, I didn't have, but there was plenty of time.
"All good?" I greeted him as he leant the board against the trailer.
"Yeah, cool, thanks. For a hire board it's great. So many of them are simply crap but yours are excellent," he replied, grinning.
"Thanks, I sure try to keep them, in good condition. The guy I bought the business from a few months ago taught me lots before he left, and not only about boards either," I grinned, remembering the many shared nights in his bed where we made love and he held me afterward as I sobbed for Alex.
The surfie grinned, probably guessing at least part of what I meant. "I'm Marty," he said, holding out his hand.
"I'm Evie," I replied, ignoring his hand and giving him a close hug, feeling the strength and self-assurance of his body against mine.
"You wanna coffee?" he asked.
"Sure. I've no boards coming back in the next little while, business is quiet, where do you recommend?"
"You'll see," he replied mysteriously as he took my hand in his and we headed for the shops across the busy road.
He bought me a coffee and we chatted for a while about life and ourselves. He was at a loose end, relaxing between construction jobs, no attachments; I told him a brief and practised version of my story, managing to complete it without allowing the emotions out. He expressed sympathy for my lost love.
"So, have you found another partner yet?" he asked.
"No, and I'm not looking for one. If you share love with a person you make yourself vulnerable to loss, and I'm not ready to face that possibility yet. But I do enjoy sex, so if you want to share that, I'm yours for the night."
I'd found that this line rarely failed. Very few unattached young males wanted to pass up the opportunity to spend a sexy night with a gorgeous gal with no strings attached.
"You're serious?"
I nodded silently.
"Right, you're on, Evie, I'll collect you from your van and trailer at sunset. Where d'you park at night?"
I told him, then we walked back across the road and he relaxed beside my trailer as I checked boards back in and hired some out again. Every time I looked at him he was watching me, devouring me with his eyes, it seemed, a broad grin on his face as he imagined what was beneath the scraps of fabric which were all that covered vital parts of my body. After a while, when business was quiet and I was sitting on a folding chair eating a sandwich, he stood and came close.
"So, sunset then? Enjoy your afternoon."
I stood and embraced him, pressing my almost naked body against his, feeling a stirring in his loins as I gave him an open-mouthed kiss.
"That's just to keep you interested," I told him after the kiss ended.
"Oh yes, am I ever interested," he replied, then he turned away, grinning widely.
As the sun dropped towards the western horizon, Marty returned, a couple of beers in his hand.
"Thought you might like a sundowner," he grinned as he sat beside me on the warm sand.
"Thanks. I love this time of day, don't you? The sun going down, the cool sea breeze dropping as the land cools ready for night."
Marty caught my romantic mood quickly and shuffled a little closer, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as we watched several gulls squabble over a fish head that had washed up on the beach.
"Feel like supper first?" he asked, as the golden orb of the sun finally vanished beneath the waves.