Ian slides his sand-dusted feet into his moccasins and crosses the boardwalk. He pauses at the sign for Sarah’s Surf Shop.
“Ian?” A male voice calls to him. He turns to his left. “Ian-tertainment?” A wide-eyed young man with brown skin, sponge curl hair and a sleeve tattoo covering his right arm approaches him. “Oh, man, your channel’s fire, bro!” He says in a slight accent.
“Thanks, man!” Ian bumps fists with him.
“I’m Jair.”
“Ian.”
“Yeah, no cap.” Jair chuckles. He gestures toward the store. “Hey, do you wanna come in? I’ll get you a bubble tea on the house.”
The door chimes as Jair leads him inside. Ian surveys the rows of colorful surfboards standing in racks along the wall. He slowly follows a bamboo walkway, noting the racks of Hawaiian shirts, shorts, vests, and body suits on either side. A wooden shelf of handmade crafts stands beside a ‘Skate Shop’ sign hung above an open doorway.
“Sare?” Jair calls. “Zo’?”
A young woman with olive skin, blue-tipped hair, and a nose ring emerges from a sea of surf gear. “Hey.” She says to Jair before she notices Ian. “Hey!” She says excitedly. “Is that—are you?” She gestures back and forth.
“Zoey, this is Ian.” Jair confirms. “Ian-ter-tainment.”
“Stellar.” Zoey and Ian shake hands. “Love your stuff, dude.”
“Thanks.” Ian smiles graciously.
“Go get Sarah.” Jair says to Zoey, before turning to Ian. “I’ll get you that tea.” She scurries to the counter at the back of the shop while Jair pours blueberry bubble tea into a tall plastic cup.
A young woman with caramel-colored hair crouches behind the counter. Zoey leans her torso over the glass countertop. “Prepare the wall of fame!” She exclaims. “Celebrity in the house.”
The young woman rises to her feet. She turns to Zoey with bewilderment. Zoey pushes her small frame off the counter and stands aside, presenting Ian.
Sarah tucks her hair behind her ears, adjusts her Rip Curl hoodie, and approaches the guys.
“Oh, Sarah!” Jair waves her over. “I want you to meet—“
“Hi.” She smiles.
“Hi.” Ian returns her knowing smile.
“You’re famous?”
He shrugs. “Some people think so.”
Jair hands him a blueberry tea. “Don’t sweat it, bro. Sarah didn’t know Jamie McCoogan, either.” He pats Ian on the back.
Sarah explains that they maintain a small section of celebrities who have visited the store. She leads him to a group of four photos under a banner that reads “Wall of Fame” in glittering seashells. The notable patrons include a bass player in a local band, a professional lacrosse player, an Instagram model, and an actor who had a small role in a short-lived TV series.
“Which one is he... she?” Ian wonders aloud. Jair gasps and waves a hand at him as he struts away.
Zoey approaches Ian, phone in hand. “The actor.” She answers, then holds up the phone. “Can I?” He nods, and she takes his picture.
Sarah accompanies Ian as he sips his tea and meanders around the merchandise. “Cool shop.” He says to her.
“Thanks.”
“You own it?”
“Yep.” She proudly oversees the expanse of the store. “It’s my baby.”
Ian brushes past a wooden display shelf with handmade crafts. He backtracks to make sure nothing is broken when his eyes linger on a nearby sign offering surfing lessons.
Sarah observes his interest. “You surf?”
Ian shakes his head. “I tried once, years ago. Didn’t go well.”
“Give it another shot.” She urges him. “Jair and Zoey are both certified surfing instructors. Or you could go out with me.” She bites her lip, waves her hand, and points out the door. “In the water.”
He strokes his chin and considers the per-session fee of $100. “How about we make a deal?”
“Our fees are non-negotiable.” Sarah replies with a friendly but firm tone.
“Understood,” Ian nods. “But what if I pay you in promotion instead of cash?”
She drifts away from Ian, carefully inspecting her inventory. “I’m listening.”
He gives her a brief pitch about his YouTube channel’s sports and gaming content, and how surfing is a natural fit for his audience of over four million subscribers. “I’ll introduce you, plug your store, and I’ll tag it across all my social media.” Jair overhears this and cautiously approaches as Ian continues. “You’ll have a thousand new customers here within two weeks.”
Sarah surveys her store again. She notes the fully stocked shelves and the absence of customers. Then she notices Jair, skulking within earshot. “Eu devo?” She asks him in Portuguese.
Jair nods. “Sim.”
She turns toward Ian and extends her hand. “Deal.” They shake hands.
Four days later
Three young men and two women set up cameras and sound equipment on a beach. Brayden approaches Ian and Sarah, both wearing latex body suits and holding surf boards. “You ready?”
Ian nods. “Let’s get it.” They bump fists. Brayden leads them to their marks at the water’s edge.
“What’s up Ian nation?” Ian confidently declares on camera. “I’m here with my friend Sarah Solandsky of Sarah’s Surf Shop on the Crystal Bay Boardwalk.” Sarah waves and smiles radiantly. Brayden gives them a thumbs-up from behind the camera. “And she is gonna teach me how to ride the waves—” Ian raises both arms and gestures emphatically. “—Like a boss!”
Sarah leads Ian through the cove’s deep water until they reach a cascade of small waves. As they rise to their feet she starts to coach him on proper stance and technique but stops herself. “You got it! That’s perfect.”
“I’ve stood on a board a time or two.” He winks toward the camera.
Sarah casually navigates the waves. “So why haven’t you surfed before?” She shouts to him.
“Uh…” He tries to follow her. “I kind of panic when I fall in water.”
She bites her lip to stifle a grin. “Okay, just picture the waves like a half-pipe.”
Ian tries to psych himself up as he approaches bigger waves, but he quickly falls. After his first two wipeouts he is visibly frustrated. Sarah encourages him on every subsequent attempt. He keeps falling but starts to ham it up, embracing his pratfalls. Eventually he hangs on and catches a wave.
“There you go. You got this!” Sarah cheers him on.
Ian falls a second later and stays underwater for a few seconds. She cranes her neck to check on him. He resurfaces dramatically. “You jinxed me!” He playfully splashes some water toward her. She splashes him back.
They pause for a break on the edge of a jetty. On camera, Ian turns to face Sarah. “Now show us how an expert rides the waves—” Ian raises both arms and gestures emphatically. “—Like a boss!”
Sarah obliges, seamlessly riding waves of all sizes, as Ian and his crew loudly cheer her on. At the conclusion of their session, Ian and Sarah stand on the beach for an on-camera sign-off.
“That was awesome! I had a blast; I hope you guys did, too.” Ian declares. He leans toward Sarah, continuing to face forward. “Sarah, where can my people find you?”
“I’m at surfer girl Sarah.” She says to the camera.
“Surfer girl Sarah.” Ian repeats.
“That’s surfer with three R’s in the middle and three R’s at the end, girl with three R’s and no I, and Sarah... with one R.” The social media handle @surrrferrrgrrrlsarah appears on screen in the final cut.
“Right on.” Ian nods. “Surfer girl Sarah.” He gestures toward her. “Sarah’s Surf Shop, Crystal Bay, California.” Ian taps himself on the chest. “Ian-tertainment.” He extends his fingers from a peace sign to a shaka sign. “Out!” Sarah leans toward him and makes the same gesture.
“And… cut.” Brayden announces.
Ian turns to Sarah. “That was perfect!” He declares.
“Thanks.” She beams.
He extends a fist toward her. She makes a fist and gently taps his. “Clap it up for Sarah, y’all!”
The Ian-tertainment crew vigorously claps and shouts for her. She blushes and takes a slight bow.
Ten days later
Ian, wearing a bucket hat and sunglasses, approaches Sarah’s shop. The door chimes as he enters. A healthy crowd of customers roam the store. Zoey and Jair attend to some of them; Jair waves to Ian from across the room. Ian subtly waves back. He notices the shoppers on his way to the counter and glances up at the Wall of Fame – which now features a fifth photo.
 |
| YouTube Content Creator |
He makes his way to the back counter and stands in line behind a couple who place several shirts and crafts on the counter. Sarah happily rings them up and thanks them.
She smiles at the sight of Ian and greets him with a hearty “Heyy!” as he approaches.
“What did I tell ya?” He gestures, indicating the crowd.
“I don’t know if we’ve hit a thousand yet, but its close.” Sarah leans toward him. “Thank you.”
“It’s my pleasure.” He nods. “My guys are getting set up, so… whenever you’re ready.”
Ian and Sarah hit the waves for another lesson. His surfing slightly improves. The video surpasses a half million views within 48 hours. He posts short clips on Twitter and Instagram, with the hashtag #sarahssurfshop – bringing her scores of new social media followers.
Later that afternoon, Ian and Sarah take a walk to a nearby taco truck.
“Why did you want to become a YouTuber?” She asks him.
“I didn’t really.” He explains. “When I was in school, my friends and I used to film a bunch of skits and short films. We uploaded a few just for the hell of it. One went viral, and… here I am.”
“Lucky you.” She replies with a hint of resentment.
Ian glances over at her. “Yeah.” He replies sincerely. “What made you want to open a surf shop?”
“My parents divorced when I was 15.” She takes a thoughtful pause. “I took it pretty hard. Skipped school a lot. Ran away from home a couple times. Did some things I’m not proud of.” She turns toward the ocean. “Surfing saved me. It gave me a goal, a distraction, a reason to get up in the morning.” She looks ahead. “Once I finished college and got a job, I saved every penny I could to pay it forward.” She faces Ian. “And to ditch that corporate bullshit.”
They arrive at the truck, place an order for Zoey, Jair, and themselves, then stand a few feet away.
“What do you do outside the store?” Ian asks her. “Like, after you close for the day?”
“I go home, make dinner, do yoga… worry about my balance sheet, and go to bed.”
Ian regards her intently. “Go on a date with me.”
A loud cackle bursts out of Sarah.
“Why is that funny?”
“It’s not funny. It’s sweet.” She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “But I don’t date customers. I’m sorry.”
“Understood,” He replies. “But technically, I haven’t paid you a dime. So am I really a customer?”
“You want to date me on a technicality?”
“Yes.” He frankly affirms. “I want to date you.”
She considers his offer. They return to the taco cart. Ian takes the bag of food while Sarah carries large cups of lemonade in each hand.
“I’ll cover it, Sarah.”
“That’s what I mean.” She replies. “I don’t want you to spend a lot of money on me.”
She tells Ian about her last boyfriend, Aldo, a man several years her senior who wrote computer code and freelanced as a hacker-for-hire to find flaws in cyber security. “It was a fun, foolish kind of fling.” She recounts. “He was very smart, very charming and generous. But he crossed a line.”
“Did he hit you?” Ian turns to her with concern.
“Nooo!” Sarah shakes her head. “No.” She explains that he bought her gifts she appreciated but didn’t need, and planned extravagant getaways for the two of them – which would have pulled her away from the store for several days. “And when I told him I didn’t have enough employees to cover that much time, he showed me his CashApp balance and said ‘How much do you need?’”
“He wanted to be your sugar daddy.”
“He wanted to control me.” Sarah returns. “Flowers, jewelry… that’s one thing. But he tried to influence the way I run my store.” She stops outside the front door. “I sink or swim on my terms.” She declares.
“Hell yeah.” Ian emphatically nods in solidarity. He holds the door open for her.
“Funny thing is,” She looks him over as she passes. “You probably make more money than he does.”
“I’m not showing you my bank balance.” He smirks as they enter her store.
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part 3 Saturday
Shaka brah. Nice.
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