Can't Get Enough [Wattpad Featured Story]

Prologue

All dedications are to people who have kindly taken the time to read, vote, comment, and show support for this story. I am so thankful for my readers, and without them this novel probably wouldn't be complete.

Surfing isn't just a sport.

To me, it's much more than that. It's a way of life. It's the sand behind your ears, the saltwater on your skin, and the sea breeze in your hair. It's the way the sunlight dances on the water and glints off whitecaps. It's the way a surfer trails his hand across the glassy surface of a wave, conveying a beautiful feeling of connection—a connection that runs deeper with its surrounding environment unlike any other sport.

Just think about all the different types of waves in the universe—light waves, seismic waves, sound waves—yet ocean waves are the only kind humans can ride. They happen to move at just the right speed, with the right amount of force and height, so that surfers have no problem catching and riding them.

Gliding across the face of a shimmering wave expresses a feeling like no other. You can feel the cool spray when the lip curls over, sometimes encasing you in a roaring turquoise barrel before spitting you out onto the shoulder. You can dig your hand into the water and make a strong bottom turn. You can make beautiful lines across the surface of the ocean as you carve up and down a wave. Surfing gives you a rush of adrenaline and exhilaration like no other sport.

And once you start surfing, you're hooked. You might as well kiss your old life goodbye, because now you have a new one—one that revolves around the ocean. Dedicated surfing requires checking all the surf cams, memorizing the long-term swell forecasts, and verifying which beaches have the best conditions—not to mention waking up for dawn patrol. The waves wait for no one. If a swell hits, you drop everything and head to your home break. That's just the way it is.

Why else do surfers get up at the crack of dawn? Why else do we stay and ride waves long after sunset, when we can hardly see the water? Why else do we endure reef cuts, sunburns, sore muscles, and wipeouts so brutal that our boards get snapped in two?

It's not just to surf, I can tell you that much. It's to ride a wave. It's to enjoy that beautiful, inexpressible feeling that comes from gliding across the glassy water with nothing between your bare feet and the crashing wave except a piece of fiberglass.

So why has surfing become my way of life? There isn't really one answer that can satisfy. I guess I'd have to say this: I can't get enough of it.

Note: I've compiled a surfing glossary at the end of the story if you get confused by any of the lingo.