The Uneventful Life of Harvey Mackler

c h a p t e r | t w e n t y

"YOU ARE FAR too excited about this," Finn tells me in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Sorry," I reply unapologetically, "everything you said in the last 10 minutes totally flew over my head. What was that again?"

Finn looks at me like I'm hopeless. But the half grin that forces its way onto his lips when I giddily grab the new GoPro out of his hands tells a different story: he is just as excited as I am.

"I was saying earlier that it was my parents that got it. Well, my dad actually," Finn says. "They seemed chuffed that I made it through to the next round of the competitions. They even promised to be there next time — which I find crazy, they always seem so busy with work these days..."

I look up. "That's great, Finn," I say earnestly. "I'm glad your family are supportive of your surfing. But... do you have the locking plug on you?"

Finn sighs. "It should be in the box over there, I'll get it."

I readjust my position on Finn's board to allow him to shuffle past. The sound of paper packaging and plastic wrappers rustling fills the air, and I put out my hand, waiting expectantly for the warm, tingling sensation of Finn's hand brushing mine. He places the surfboard mount component in my palm.

"I attached the adhesive mounts yesterday, but I had a feeling I didn't do the camera part right," Finn admits. He feels closer than he was a minute ago. I can sense him hovering right behind me. "Is that the part I forgot last time?"

"Mm," I reply. I cast a glimpse sideways to see Finn peering down at his surfboard from behind me, his head all but rested on my shoulder. "Pass me the thumbscrew."

Finn holds up the piece to confirm it's right before passing it to me. As I am feeding the thumbscrew through the hole in the locking plug, I feel my hair tie come undone. My hair tumbles out of the loose bun like a curtain of dark brown tresses, forming a veil around my face.

I pause. With a frown, I look around for the missing hair tie, but my vision is obstructed by my hair and both my hands are currently occupied.

"Need help?" Finn offers.

"Can you see my hair tie?"

"Don't worry, I've got it," he replies. "Stay still."

Before I know it, Finn's hands are sweeping my bare shoulders, gathering my hair into his palm and loosely twisting it into a low ponytail with my hair elastic.

"Should I be trusting you with my hair?"

"I've got a younger sister. I'm not completely clueless."

I slowly go back to attaching the last component of the GoPro. "I've known Hayden all my life and I wouldn't trust him within five feet of my hair."

I can sense the smile on Finn's face when he leans in to whisper, "Good thing I'm a trustworthy person."

"Wow, I never knew setting up a GoPro surfboard mount could be a two-person job."

The sudden addition of a third voice to our conversation nearly sends me into cardiac arrest. At the sight of Hunter standing above us with his arms folded across his chest, Finn springs up, scrambling as far as possible away from me.