Page 84 of Under the Waves
“Is there a point to this?”
Imagine my surprise when I looked over to Poppy and found her asking the question that was only mere seconds away from leaving my own lips. I repressed the urge to smile.
That’s my girl.
“Sorry, yes, there is. Meet Saskia Atreya,” he praised, gesturing to the girl.
Why did her name sound so familiar?
She must have sensed my wandering thoughts as she said, “My dad and I run Atreya’s Adventures, the forest adventure rope course near the national park. Oh, and I work as a Camp Hawthorne camp councilor during the summers too! Proud leader of Apollo cabin for the last three years in a row and member since I was five years old.”
Shit. That was probably why she seemed so familiar—Jakson, Lia and I had gone to camp a few years ago when we were kids. That summer had been one of the best summers of my life.
“I remember,” I clicked my tongue, leaning back against the wall, crossing my arms across my chest. “You were our cabins greatest rival in dodgeball.”
She practically beamed at my comment. “What can I say, being competitive is in my blood. You know, you should come down to the rope course sometime. Bring your friends. The more the merrier!”
“Yeah, maybe,” I glanced towards Poppy, who had her head down, pretending to finish her work. Someday soon, I’d take her there.
I’d show her everything in this town she never got to experience.
“Anyways, Daniel offered me the opportunity to be the surf school’s new social media manager, which basically means I’ll be capturing the school in its brightest light and maintaining that family friendly atmosphere to try and attract new customers! I’ll be working with you and Poppy, taking shots of you teaching and the excitement of the little ones, too. I can’t wait to start,” she beamed, smiling widely at us both. “Oh, and please call me Kia, none of that formal nonsense.”
“Sure thing, Kia,” I smiled back, shooting her a double thumbs up to which she did the same back to me. Poppy still hadn’t said anything, pretending as if we were all invisible to her. As Daniel led Saskia through the hallway, I stood up and walked over to the desk where she was sitting at.
“Go away Jasper, I’m busy.”
“The computers turned off, Wellsy,” I mused with a grin.
She rolled her eyes, folding her arms across her chest with a huff. “What do you want?”
“To annoy you.”
“Well, you’ve succeeded, now can you leave?”
I shook my head, still grinning. “What are you doing later? Wanna get a smoothie from Sunny’s hut?”
“Goodbye, Jasper,” she said as she stood up, walking round the desk in an attempt to shoo me off.
“What about the records store? I’m sure they have some Harry’s House vinyls.”
“Jasper,” she frowned, those little dimples appearing as she tried to suppress a smile.
“Poppy,” I mused playfully, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her close to me. Her heartbeat sped up beneath my touch, eliciting an inch of something primal deep within me.
Those big green eyes looked up at me in fear and uncertainty, her breaths coming out in bated patterns. “What are you doing?”
I shrugged at her words.
What was I doing?
I had no idea, but I knew I needed her close. She made the world stop spinning.
“We have classes to teach,” she retorted, trying to slip out of my grip, to which I picked her small frame up and held her close to my chest as I spun us both around. She yelped in surprise before playfully whacking at my chest.
“Jasper Easton Ridge put me down!” she laughed, barely a hint of annoyance in her voice.
“Not until you smile.”