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had on the beach. Instead of chastising herself, she wondered how she’d been blind to Justin all those years. Sure, they’d been good friends, talking about his woman woes, or who served the best cheese fries in Corpus Christi, but she’d never considered him as anything more than a pal. The way her body vibrated where their skin touched made her question why. She shook her head at her overstimulated hormones. She was here to catch a ride, not ogle the teacher. Trying to be a good girl, she looked back toward the beach where the waves broke on the sand. “We’ll never snag a wave out here.”
    “I know, but deep water gives me an excuse to get close to you.”
    She flushed. He wasn’t making her good-girl status easy.
    He grabbed her hands and unwrapped her arms from his neck. “You can touch now.” She pushed her legs down and, sure enough, they’d reached a sandbar. Waves broke on the other side, leading toward the sea. “Now, we can hit two waves with one ride.”
    Twice the fun for the effort of one. The man was a genius.
    He pushed her to just past where the waves broke. “Remember what I told you?”
    She nodded.
    “Start paddling.”
    The water ebbed. She thrust off the bottom with all her strength, jumped on top of her board, and paddled until her arms sizzled. Just when she wanted to give up, the wave caught her and zipped her through the water as if she were riding a roller coaster. The air whipped against her face, the salty ocean sprayed her neck and chest, and the sea whizzed by as if from a flowing spigot. For a joyous moment, she was a part of the sea, harnessing its energy, pulling from its endless supply of motion.
    Reaching deeper water, the wave turned into a swell. She paddled forward, following the rising crest. She couldn’t keep up and soon landed in a small trough. But she didn’t give up. If Justin was right, there should be a second wave coming behind the first. She watched her first wave crash on the beach ahead. The water ebbed as the second wave gained on her. She paddled, harder and harder, determined to feel the freedom again.
    The wave caught her, enveloping her feet and lifting her body on its crest. She propelled forward, faster and faster, freer and freer, the beach coming closer and closer. In an abrupt release, the wave crashed on the beach, and her knees dug into the silky sand.
    She giggled like a preschooler on a playground as she stood. “That was amazing !” Smiling so wide her face hurt, she glanced over her shoulder. Justin had just caught his second wave and was quickly gaining on her. When the wave crashed, he went under but popped back up with a grin as huge as hers. The water seemed to swirl around him in opposition to the waves and currents tugging at her, as if the surf sensed his presence and parted to make room for him out of respect.
    “Sure you don’t want to stay longer than an hour?” he asked.
    “I could do this all day.”
    “Then, why don’t we?”
    In response, she dove under the water with her boogie board attached to her wrist and headed for the sandbar.
     
    * * *
     
    Justin lugged the cooler to their towel on the beach. His stomach growled as he set it down. After four hours of using his powers to create larger waves for Mandy, he had been ready to start gnawing on seashells when he forced her out of the water for sustenance.
    “Glad you thought ahead,” Mandy said, as she lunged forward. “What’d you bring?”
    He blocked her attack on the cooler with his body and opened the lid. “Hungry?” He reached inside, fiddled around until he found an apple, and handed it to her.
    Mandy stared at the piece of fruit as if she held a rotting flounder. “Are you kidding me?” She glared at him. “This ain’t gonna cut it.”
    He chuckled and pulled out something he knew she’d enjoy—a pastrami sub.
    Her expression lit up. She didn’t look like the same woman he’d seen at the hospital the day before. Her cheeks were a rosy pink from