The kayak slid easily across the smooth mixture of silt and sand by the banks. I yanked my shirt over my head and tossed it behind me, stepping into the cool shallows. I stood for a moment to get my body used to the drop in temperature, turning back towards Xander.

Shock hit first.

He… he has...

An uncontrollable wave of laughter bubbled up from my chest.

I gasped between spasms of raucous laughter. “You… you have a… oh… my god...”

I managed a deep breath. “A little pudge! Right there!”

Xander stared at me, a mixture of confusion and amusement on his face.

Taking a steadying breath, I fought through the giggles. “I am so sorry. I’m not trying to make fun of you... I just had this image in my head of you as… kind of this perfect person, and I just really did not expect that. I do this thing where I say exactly what I’m thinking without taking a second to realize how it sounds and…” I felt my face turning red again.

I swear I’ve blushed more this week than I have my entire life, why does he always throw me off my rhythm so hard?

“I… I’m just going to go die now, don’t mind me.” I stuttered out.

Staring at the rippling water around my waist, I mentally berated myself.

What the fuck, Kyle? Did you just seriously make fun of him for having a little belly? Now this whole day will be awkward, and you’ve probably made him feel like shit…

A low chuckle hit my ears, followed by even deeper laughter, as I looked back towards Xander in surprise.

He’s… laughing?

“Oh man, you really are an interesting guy, you know that?” He grinned at me as he started taking off his watch. “This…” He put both hands on his belly for emphasis.

“Is exactly why I asked if you’d teach me how to kayak. I hate jogging, so I’ve been looking for a way to get out of the house and work out. When you mentioned kayaking at the clinic the other day it sounded like a fun way to accomplish that goal.”

He walked up to the bank, looking hesitantly at the water. “Do I need to get in? It looks cold…”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Yup, hop on in. Gotta get used to it first. So, first… well I guess I’ll start with explaining the kayak itself.”

I waited for him to lower himself into the water before I continued. “So, these are ocean kayaks. The difference is that you sit on top of the boat, instead of encased inside of it like with river kayaks. It has holes through the seat area to allow water to filter through and out, but the shell of the boat is sealed completely so it’s full of air. That keeps you on top of the water, so even if a wave takes you under, the boat will bob right back up since there’s nowhere for water to flow in and weigh it down unless the hull is breached.”

I paused. “I’m sorry, I’m going way too deep into this, you don’t care about all this crap.”

I laughed nervously and ran a hand through my hair.

“No, please continue. I don’t mind learning... You know a lot about this.” He smiled encouragingly. “So does it matter that we’re using an ocean kayak on the river right now?”

“Oh uh, okay… well… no, ocean kayaks are fine on rivers for casual paddling, you just can’t take them through rapids like you can with river kayaks...” I nervously continued explaining the differences and basics while we got used to the chilly water.