Reading Online Novel

Dare You To(16)

 
He wanted that. Wanted to share something meaningful with Dare. "I don't have a board or a wetsuit."
 
"I took care of that already. You always supply the popcorn on Sundays. The least I could do was to be prepared today." Austin didn't reply right away, and Dare added, "Hey, we can be Bodhi and Johnny."
 
Playfully, Austin rolled his eyes. "You know I'd go regardless. I'm going to be pissed at you if I die, though. I'll come back and haunt you. I'll scare every man you ever bring into your apartment." The thought of Dare taking a man home made his stomach knot. Jesus, they were treading on dangerous, unfamiliar ground here.
 
 
 
        
          
        
         
 
"Cool. I've always wanted to encounter a ghost. You won't die, though. I won't let anything happen to you."
 
Austin followed behind Dare as they made their way to his Jeep, two surfboards attached to the roof. He couldn't believe he was doing this, but then he'd wanted something different, hadn't he? Of course Dare would be the one to give it to him again.
 
Austin sat in the passenger seat as Dare headed toward the 101. They passed miles and miles of ocean, beach access and spots where Austin saw surfers unloading their boards and heading for the water.
 
The sun came up, a pink and orange dawn shadowed with palm trees and crisp, blue water. Austin loved dawn. It wasn't as though he made a habit of being up at that hour, but he enjoyed watching a new day begin. Each day was a fresh start and today that feeling was more significant.
 
"Where are we going?" Austin asked after a while.
 
"I know a spot," Dare replied. "It's more private. Not as many people go and it's actually a good place for a beginner to start."
 
To start surfing. As in out on the water. Dare was trying to kill him.
 
It wasn't much longer before Dare pulled off the road. There was no parking lot or sign that read, Beach Access. Leave it to Dare to bring him to an obscure, off-the-beaten-path place that they likely weren't supposed to be.
 
"Are you sure about this?" Austin asked, and Dare winked at him.
 
"Trust me." He did trust Dare. He had never given Austin a reason not to.
 
They got out of the vehicle and unloaded. Carrying their boards and supplies, Dare led Austin to a rocky path that led down a hill. It wasn't too steep, but every now and again, he would misstep and Dare would turn and ask if he was okay.
 
It didn't take them long to work their way down to the sandy beach below. Austin looked around-took in the beach, some seaweed that washed on shore, the splash of waves against the sand, but there were no other people. Dare had been right; he usually was.
 
They set the boards down. Dare opened his bag and tossed a wetsuit to Austin, which he caught. "Put this on."
 
Austin looked around again. "Where?"
 
"Um … here? There's no one here but me. I had your dick in my mouth. That means I've seen it before. I didn't get to check your ass out, though. Why don't you turn around and give me a glimpse?"
 
Austin chuckled. Fucking Dare. "You're ridiculous."
 
"Thank you very much." Dare winked at him, and Austin rolled his eyes. He looked around once more before slipping off his shoes, then shorts and pulling the wetsuit up. Once he had it up to his waist, he removed his T-shirt. "Hey, no fair," Dare added.  
 
"I'm not parading my ass around on a public beach … this is a public beach, right?" If Dare got him arrested, he'd kill him.
 
"Com'ere," Dare told him without answering his question … and that easily, Austin found himself going. He lined their boards up side by side, a few feet of space between them.
 
"Mine's longer than yours. Why is my board longer than yours?"
 
"It's easier to find your balance." Dare walked over to his pink and green board and lay down on it. "I know it feels silly, but we have to practice in the sand first. You'll lie on the board to paddle out, and then you'll need to be able to get up into a crouch, to stand. It's tricky to find that balance point and even trickier on moving water."
 
No shit, Austin thought. Why had he let Dare talk him into this again? Oh, because he was Dare and he could pretty much talk anyone into anything. Plus, Dare said he found himself in the water, so there was a part of Austin who hoped he could find that piece of Dare here too.
 
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER NINE
 
 
 
 
 
Over and over, Dare showed Austin the movements-lying down, jumping up, crouching, bending his knees. He could tell Austin was embarrassed, that he likely found it ridiculous, but he continued to do it. There was laughing and shit-talking and hell … just fun. Dare had always been the guy to look for fun. He looked for it at work and with other men and in surfing and biking and hiking. It was funny because he'd never realized how much of it he had doing simple things with Austin-movies, talking, sharing a meal. Of course he had to have known because he'd always loved spending time with Austin, but he hadn't let himself see it. He hadn't admitted it to himself until recently and he still didn't know what to think about that.