L e l a n i

"Oh my god, you're-" Brodie stutters in front of me, grasping the reality of this newfound revelation. "You're Sergeant Campbell's freaking daughter?"

I quickly reach down, retrieving my dad's lunch bag from off the floor. I frown, taking in it's pitiful and crumpled state. Brodie's already starting to stand up to approach me, but I quickly fling the paper sack of food onto my dad's desk, turning on my heel and booking myself the hell out of this place.

My feet tread fast against the smooth concrete floor beneath me, hoping to make it through the maze of working marines in front of me without being noticed. Dad doesn't like me coming into his work since everything that went down a few years back, and due to my own self-inflicted shame, I wasn't a fan of making appearances myself. I keep my head low, avoiding the eyes around me. Footsteps shuffle quickly behind me, getting louder the closer they start to reach me.

"Lelani," Brodie's voice hisses out behind me.

My instincts involuntarily kick in, and my eyes nervously skim their way through the area around me, checking to make sure that my presence hasn't been noticed. Brodie's body crashes into mine from behind as my feet stop abruptly in front of a towering maze of toolboxes. I reach back, grabbing tightly onto Brodie's wrist, pulling him with me as I weave us through the dimly lit isles. Finding security within the private enclosure the chest-high boxes guarantee us, I turn and press Brodie's back against the shelves. My chin arches up, only meeting his chest as my eyes glare up to him, meeting a mischievous smirk. One of his dimples is covered in a layer of grease, making it hard for me to tackle the straight face I'm trying so hard to keep. My hand grips a tight fist against his oil-stained coveralls, my body fusing up against him as I reprimand, "What the hell, Brodie?! You told me you were good at keeping secrets. I told you that my dad would have my ass if he found out that we somehow knew each other. He doesn't like me hanging around with military boys."

"Well, I'm sorry," Brodie fires back sarcastically, rolling his eyes up to the ceiling above us, "But you forgot to mention that daddy dearest was a damn marine, himself! Sounds a little hypocritical of him to enforce that rule, if you ask me."

I loosen the hold I have on his uniform, dropping my hand away and cutting my gaze away from his, "He has a good reason, Brodie."

"Yeah, and what reason would that be, huh?" His question immediately has my head swarming with humiliation, and I can already feel my chest starting to become heavy as I replay the awful memories. I glance around us once more, paranoid at who may be listening or watching. His fingers graze against my jaw, pulling my stare back onto him. The brown of his irises are too hypnotizing to pull away from, and even though I'm aware of all the sins of my past, he looks at me as though I'm a saint and it helps drown out the guilt and shame that assaults my mind daily.

He keeps his voice quiet as he whispers out, "Last week, at the beach, you asked me what I was running from. Now it's my turn."

Brodie's eyes stay on mine, his head arching down closer to me, "What are you running away from, Lani?"

Right now? A dark-haired and dark-eyed marine, I think. My breath hitches, afraid that he might hear every single thought coursing through my head right now. As much I've tried to deny it, all I can seem to think about lately is Brodie, and that's terrifying- it's also the last thing I want him to know. I can't chase after a boy who has the potential to remind me of all the hurt I've struggled to tuck away for the last three years, so instead, I'll just run away. As much as I want my response to stay trapped inside, I find myself hushing out, "You."

This makes Brodie smile, cracking his lips and showing off his bright teeth. "That's silly," he chuckles, making my eyebrows quirk up in curiosity at what he's going to say next. "You can't outrun me, Lelani. I ran track all throughout high school. I'd be too fast for you.

His shoulders shrug upwards, and now we're both giggling. This must be a specialty of his, making light out of something heavy. I play along, letting the dense conversation soften, playfully shoving him, "You're an idiot."

Brodie stumbles for a moment or two, but I grip onto both of his arms, stabilizing his balance before he makes a fall. He looks me over for a moment, grinning down at my appearance. His hand reaches around me, flicking the long, curly ponytail hanging down my back, "And you're pretty."

The heat starts to make its way back to my cheeks, pulling my eyes down to the floor. "Brodie, you can't keep doing this."

"Doing what? I'm just being friendly."

"Oh," I laugh almost hysterically, "That's what you like to consider friendly?"

"As a matter of fact, yes it is. I call Murphy and Delk pretty all the time." His thumb motions past the rows of toolboxes surrounding us, and I quickly realize that Brodie wasn't the only one who works under my dad.

"Brodie, do they know?" The question comes out in a panicked hurry.

"Know what?"

A sense of annoyance starts to rise in me, and my eyes roll at his carelessness, "Do they know about the lessons, Brodie? About me and you? About my dad?"

"Me and you," he repeats with a cocky smirk on his face, "I like the sound of that."

My jaw tightens, my arms crossing against my chest, "I'm serious."

"They know about our lessons, yes. But considering I just found out about who your dad was myself, I doubt they have any clue about that." He runs a soft, cool knuckle against my cheek, making me aware of how hot they actually were. "Stop worrying so much, Lani."

"Brodie, promise me," I say sternly. "Promise me you won't mention a word to them. Not a single word. My dad will be so disappointed in me." For the first time since we started this conversation, his eyes pull away from me, forcing their attention to the wall behind me. I immediately become aware of the impact of my statement, and I'm quick to correct myself, "I didn't mean that you would be a disappointment. There's nothing wrong with you. This all has to do with me. I fucked up a couple of years back, and I promised I wouldn't do it again. So please, just promise that this stays between us, okay?"

Brodie's eyes return, throwing me a wink and a reassuring smile, "I thought I told you already, Lelani? I'm good at keeping secrets."

Mumbled chatter starts to fill my ears, sending my defenses into overdrive and causing my feet to start moving their way back out of the isles and away from him. His voice stops me one last time, "Do I get to see you again today?"

Our lesson, right.

I grin back at him, pulling a finger up to my lips and symbolizing the secret between the two of us, "Same place, same time."

Brodie nods, his lips pulling upward as he brings his own finger up to his lips, "I'll be there."

༄༄༄

I dig my toes into the sand, wiggling them in anticipation as I stand on the shore, watching Brodie paddle hard in front of the movements of the white water surrounding him. The crest of a wave starts to rise higher behind him and my adrenaline kicks in, knowing that if his arms didn't start digging more into the surface of the water, he would completely miss the chance of catching his first wave. "Harder, Maverick! Paddle harder!"

Brodie's eyes glance up to me through the distance, peeking through the wet strands of hair hanging across his forehead. A look of determination takes over his face, and he starts winding his arms faster and stronger into the ocean on each side of his board. The edge of the wave reaches the tail of the floral deck, and I immediately sprint towards the water, cheering him on. "That's it," I shout, ignoring the other surfers behind him, "Pop-up! Pop-up!"

Brodie's arms push his chest up off the board, giving his legs and feet room to pull through. In perfect form, his hips twist forward, sliding his lower limbs underneath of him and landing perfectly onto the soles of his feet. The wave carries him and his surfboard along with it, his arms holding his balance as he finally experiences the thrill of surfing. "Lelani," he nearly squeals out, pumping his fists in the air, "I'm doing it! I'm fucking do it!"

"You're fucking doing it, Maverick!!!" The biggest ripple of accomplishment travels its way through my limbs, sending goosebumps spreading across my skin. I didn't think there could be a happier feeling than catching a wave yourself, but now I know that's just not true. Teaching someone else how to do it and watching the happiness it brings them is just as exhilarating.

Brodie rides the wave for a moment longer before vaulting himself off of the board and treading through the knee-deep water towards me, the sun behind him tracing out his silhouette. Joy and enthusiasm light up his whole face, matching my own, as he finally reaches me. We both embrace each other with elation, soaking ourselves more as our bodies jump up and down together on the shoreline. Brodie's skin feels so warm against mine, instantly making me become aware of the feeling of his toned chest. Our movements slow at the same time, his arms still hugging me as he swings me back and forth, skidding my toes on the surface of the water.

"You just caught your first wave," I beam up at him, pulling my head back.

"All thanks to you," he chimes, catching a drop of saltwater with the tip of his tongue as it hits the edge of his lips. "That almost felt as good as sex!"

I can't keep myself from laughing, and I pretend to know the comparison as I quip back, "Catching a wave is way better than sex."

Brodie sucks in his bottom lip, studying me. Drawing his words out smooth and slow, he shrugs, "He must not have been doing it right, then."

Or he might not have been doing it at all, but I don't feel like explaining my virgin chronicles to him, so I stay silent. Once again, the air around us is still and quiet, even with the large crowd present on the beach this evening.

Despite how much my internal dialogue is telling me to pull away and put an end to the tension building between us, I don't. I stay completely still in his hold, enjoying the thrill of having his hands on me. "I guess not," I quip back. "You know, this right now doesn't feel so friendly," I say, cocking my head up to him.

"It doesn't?" Brodie teases back, dubiously.

"No, it doesn't," I say, feeling my chest ache with eagerness, "It feels like a lot more."

"Well, that's all up to you, now isn't it? Don't you ever take any risks, Lelani? What's the worst your Dad could do if he found out you were spending time with me?"

I step away from him, feeling a lump start to form in my throat as my defenses start to go back up. "You have no clue what you're talking about. I take risks all the time, but I'm smart enough to not take this one."

I start to storm away from him, feeling the dry sand stick to my wet feet as I make my way to gather up my belongings. "I don't believe it for a second," he argues back, following after me, "I think you've made yourself scared to risk anything. Especially things that make you feel even the slightest bit of excitement. You're too worried about feeling it one minute and totally losing it the next. You like to be in control of everything, even your emotions. I can see it."

"That's not true," I bite back, knowing that everything he was saying was absolutely the truth, but also not wanting to admit it. I yank up my surfboard and bag, darting straight towards my car and trying my best to distance myself away from Brodie as quickly as I can.

He accompanies me all the way to the Jeep, silently watching me as I angrily hoist my surfboard onto its roof. I jerk the daisy-covered board away from his arms, tossing it over top of mine before strapping them both down securely. When I'm finally done tugging against the straps, I jump to the ground, quickly climbing into the driver's seat and slamming my door shut. The car cranks alive, and Brodie stands with his arms crossed outside of the passenger window. "Take no risks, get no experience."

Feeling a wave of pride wash over me, I reach over the middle console, pulling on the handle of the passenger door and pushing it open. "Get in," I command.

Brodie's eyes squint over to me with uncertainty, "What?"

"I said, get in," I repeat once more, gripping my fingers tightly around the steering wheel as he carefully climbs in.

"I don't understand."

I nod over to his seat belt, instructing, "Buckle up."

"You can at least tell me where we're going," he says, his wet swim trunks already beginning to soak the fabric of the seat underneath him.

"I'm going to show you that I can take a risk, Brodie. That's all you need to know."

༄༄༄

A/N: WHO IS SO DANG EXCITED FOR WHAT LELANI HAS IN STORE FOR THE BOTH OF THEM??? Chapter 11 is going to be an exciting one!!

This song was on repeat as I was writing this whole chapter, I love it so much 😂🥰

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⭐️Thank you guys so much for your reads, comments, and votes! They mean so so much to me! I'll see you guys next week! I hope you guys are as excited about this story as I am to write it! ⭐️