During the time we spent surfing I found out that Meek wasn’t just gay, he was the Student President of his schools chapter of something called Youth-Quest. I had no idea what that was and had to ask. It turned out to be an after school group for gay teens and straight teens with one or more gay parents.
“Yeah well…” I started to say but instead decided to ask a question. “Does your boyfriend mind me hanging with you right now?”
Meek reddened slightly but didn’t answer.
“What?” I asked.
“Well, when I told him who you are he said that he really wanted to meet you but he doesn’t want you to think he is a stalker or something.”
“A stalker?” I laughed and was about to say something else, but there wasn’t time because the next wave was coming, “Strike that! Catch this one so I can see what you got!” I said and I turned my board and got ready to duck-dive under the wave so that I could watch Meek surf it.
Meek took off paddling for all he was worth. I guess he hadn’t had a chance to really prepare himself because as soon as he stood up I knew that he was going into the water.
“Your feet were all wrong,” I said to him as he paddled back up to me.
“Yeah?” he grunted as he coughed up some water he had swallowed.
“You have to point your front foot in the direction you want to go. You also had all your weight on your back leg. You shouldn’t have any weight on that leg at all. It is just for balance.”
Meek looked at me as though he thought I was joking with him.
“You’re not messing with me are you?” Meek asked.
“No way man! I wouldn’t do that.” I said just before sliding off my board.
I flipped my board over so that the fin was up in the air.
“In the early days of surfing, boards didn’t have fins to keep the board going straight. The surfer had to drag his back foot in the water like a rudder.”
“Really?” Meek asked with astonishment.
I popped the fin off my board and then flipped my board back over.
“Watch, I’ll show you.” I said as the next wave was heading toward us.
I rode the wave while dragging my foot through the water and even had to maneuver when some young kid I’d seen earlier, nearly crashed into me.
“Dude! That was righteous!” Meek said when I paddled back to him.
“Here get on my board and give it a try.” I said.
“No way man! I could never do what you just did.” Meek said while holding his hands up as if I were some Wild West bandit.
“Come on. You might eat it but you might not.” I said.
Meek pulled himself up on my board and I got on his, which was one of the park rentals.
“I’m going to ride this next wave with you.” I told him.
I am glad I did because I got to see that much of the problem Meek was having, was due to the cheap rental board he had been using.
“Man this board sucks.” I told him when I came up after wiping out.
“You think so?” He asked.
“I know so! It’s no wonder you keep falling!” I said and then asked, “I didn’t see. How did you do without the fin?”
“It was tough, but not as hard as I thought it was going to be.”
“Did you stay up?”
Meek was beaming, “Amazingly, I did.”