Surfer - Catching a New Wave

Lewis walked along the beach, the wet sand compacting and crunching underneath his bare feet. When he was younger, the beach was always a place of fun and relaxation, but now all that the golden sands and shimmering water were capable of was making him nostalgic for that time. As he walked, he remembered swimming here as a child, racing friends along the beach as their feet stung from the hot sand. In his teens, the beach was a social hotspot, a place to relax with friends long into the night as they mused on relationships, life, and everything they were too young to understand. Now that he was seeing the beach through the lens of his bitter, jaded twenties, there was nothing about the beach that was as magical as he had once imagined.

Having moved to the city for work, Lewis had found that he longed to return to his childhood haven, if only for an escape from it all. Recently, he had had a health scare, a massive allergy flare up that made the young man revaluate his position in life. He had been advised to take time off and try to relax before coming back into work. Months prior, Lewis had felt invulnerable, with a steady if boring job and a career he could progress in comfortably. Now, he felt acutely aware of his own age and mortality. He looked at a group of children running and playing, further down the beach, and it felt like only yesterday that that was him, without a care in the world.

He’d decided to dress for the scorching weather, wearing nothing more than his swimming trunks. It was mostly in an attempt to trick himself into diving into the water, but he couldn’t muster up the enthusiasm like he had done so only a decade before. The beach had stayed the same, and he had moved away from it. He stopped his walk, staring out across the water. The sun was high in the sky above him, beating down on his pale skin. The beach was just another disappointment in a life that had recently been full of them. Lewis thought about where he could go instead to try and rekindle some sense of purpose or childhood joy, but he couldn’t think of anywhere. Yet the prospect of getting back into his car and driving back to the bustle of the city seemed just as undesirable. Silently, he wished that something would change, that he would be able to find the joy and passion he had once felt. He was just about to turn away and walk back to the car park, when a woman’s voice came from behind him.

“Oh my God, Lewis? Is that you?” Lewis turned, to find someone he hadn’t seen for years.

“Hi Cassidy”, he said, managing a weak smile.

“I can’t believe you’re here! It’s been years since I’ve seen you!” she said, coming over to him with a grin. The woman was dressed in a tight wetsuit, already slick from the sea. The last time Lewis had seen her, they were both in the throes of puberty. Cassidy was one of the few girls that had hung out with his friendship group, and naturally he had developed a crush on her. Whether he had been actually interested in her, or if it was simply that Cassidy was the first girl of his age that had paid attention to Lewis, he couldn’t say. Still, the crush had formed rapidly, but Lewis had never had the courage to actually make any attempt at asking her out. As time went on, the memory of Cassidy had faded, becoming a boyhood dream that was half-remembered as he imagined where his old friends had ended up.

“What are you doing back at the beach? I thought you moved away?” she asked. Lewis stared at her, slightly taken aback. In his mind, she had never developed beyond the girl he had a crush on as a teen. Now, she was much the same, just having grown into beautiful womanhood. The same smattering of freckles played across her face and her curly red head still bounced despite the spray of the sea that clung to it, but Lewis quietly cursed his former self for never making any moves. The woman was beautiful. For a moment he looked down at his own body, feeling suddenly exposed. Whereas Cassidy had grown far more attractive in the time he hadn’t seen her, he knew that for him, it was likely the complete opposite.

“I needed some time off work. I wanted to try and remember how things were back in the day, you know?” he said, laughing slightly.

“And are they?” Cassidy asked, one hand going to her hip.

“Well, you’re still here. That’s a surprise!”, he said, grinning. Lewis had assumed that everyone would be like him and would go off to pursue careers elsewhere. There was something reassuring in the presence of his old friend on the beach.

“I went where the work is, just like you”, she said with a smile. “It just so happens that my work is here.”

“What do you do?” Lewis asked. Cassidy had always been a bit of a free spirit. He couldn’t imagine her slaving away in an office like had done.

“I teach swim lessons at one of the local pools. I decided to stay here by the coast – it means I can surf every chance I get”, she said, gesturing over to one of the many beach huts set off on the edge of the beach. Something felt heavy in Lewis’ chest as he saw Cassidy’s beaming smile. Was this the happiness he had been missing all this time? She didn’t have the great career he was working towards, but she seemed far happier than he had ever been in his corporate job.

“I was just about finished for the day”, she said, continuing. “I never thought I’d bump into you!”

“Crazy, right?” Lewis said. He knew he couldn’t let the opportunity to say something to Cassidy get away from him again, but as he tried to think of something to say, his mouth went dry and nothing came out.

“Anyway”, she said, turning away from him and back towards the beach huts. “I should get going, good seeing you again Lew-“

“Do you want to do something together? Like, surfing, or swimming, or something. Would that be okay?” he said nervously, the words tumbling out in a mess of stutters. Cassidy chuckled softly as she turned back to him.

“Sure, I don’t mind doing some more surfing. You can surf, right?” she said teasingly, beginning to run over to the beach hut. “Let’s go now!”

Lewis flushed red with embarrassment, making the heat of the beach all the worse. As he ran to keep up with the woman, the thoughts were racing through his mind. Why had he said it like that? God, he was embarrassing himself. He quietly promised himself that he would try and ask her out again later – properly this time.

Cassidy slid a dark red board over the sand towards him. “Here!” she said. “You can use this one. I’ll race you!” she said with a laugh, heading off with renewed enthusiasm over towards the sea. Lewis struggled behind her, the board feeling too large and unwieldy in his hands. Where Cassidy got this boundless energy from, he wasn’t sure. Was this what it was like to have a hobby you were genuinely passionate about?

Soon, his feet were splashing in the salty water as he ran into the waves, Cassidy’s red curls some distance ahead of him. The woman was a natural in the water and compared to her he felt like a complete amateur. Lewis had surfed before, but hadn’t used a board for many years, especially with the added pressure of Cassidy watching him. Awkwardly, he mounted the board, fastening his foot onto it. Face down, he began to paddle out to her. The woman was sat up and watching him with her arms crossed across her chest.

“You okay, Lewis?” she asked with a teasing edge of sarcasm. “You were the one that wanted to come and surf, remember?”

“I’m fine!” he said, trying to smile as saltwater splashed into his mouth. “Just a bit out of practise, that’s all”.

“Follow me”, Cassidy said, paddling on her board away from him once more. “I know the best spot for the biggest waves!” The prospect of throwing himself into a massive wave was daunting for Lewis, but with Cassidy so keen and eager not to disappoint her, he felt as though his hand was forced. They were some distance from the shore now, the familiar sounds of playing children lost behind the road of the wind in Lewis’ ears. Ahead of him, Cassidy had turned her board around, waiting for the next wave.

“Hurry up, Lewis!” she said, looking over her shoulder. “I think one is coming!”

Lewis paddled up next to her. He already felt out of breath, his pale chest heaving with the effort needed to get out this far. Cassidy seemed to have no such issue, her face as cherubic as when she had first come over to him back on the beach. “You ready to surf?” she asked Lewis as he steadied himself. “I’ll let you catch this one – you can show me what you remember!”

“No problem!” Lewis said unconvincingly. Was Cassidy doing this to mock him? He couldn’t imagine her doing that, she had always been kind-hearted. He followed where Cassidy was watching, and could see the surge of water behind her, soon to wash over both of them. He began to paddle, trying to catch it.

“You can do it!” came Cassidy’s voice behind him, encouraging him. Slowly, he got to his feet as he matched the wave’s momentum. He could feel his legs shaking beneath him and hoped that she wouldn’t notice. Lewis took a deep breath and tried to keep his balance.

He found it easier than he had expected, his feet had felt unstable when he first stood up, but now he was standing he felt as though his whole sense of balance had shifted. As if by instinct, his feet fitted more comfortably on the board, gripping onto the wax. Lewis was too busy watching the beach to notice that his feet had slimmed down, losing their broad soles and becoming smaller and nimbler. The water sprayed at his leg, and the changes continued. Where once his legs had been bulky and hairy, with the sea spray his body hair was brushed away as if it was never there. The muscles in his legs redistributed, giving him the dexterous, toned legs of an athlete.

Lewis continued riding the wave, Cassidy’s enthusiastic voice now far behind him. Just then, he felt a sudden tightness across his groin, the feeling causing him to momentarily lose focus and wobble on the board. He stole a look down and saw that his swimming shorts had changed. His loose, relaxed shorts were gone, replaced by a tight speedo that clung onto his manhood, the black fabric slick and wet in the sunshine. A wave of panic rose in him as he tried to rationalise what was happening to his body. Looking down again, Lewis noticed his legs had changed: his familiar, broad legs now nimble, unconsciously adjusting to the water’s flow. He caught a sudden bubble of fat moving up his leg ands settling comfortably into his rear. His swimwear was pressed tight between his now exposed cheeks, feeling the salty spray of the sea on them as he sped along the wave. He was relieved that there was no pain, whatever was happening to him.

Beneath the clear water, Lewis spotted something – jagged rocks, sharp and precarious underneath the waves. He tried to focus, to steady himself on the board. Regardless of what was happening to his body, he wouldn’t be able to see it if he fell off. Trying not to look, he felt something ripple in his stomach as more fat redistributed. The small gut that had grown from his sedentary lifestyle vanished, leaving him with a thin, tapering waistline. He could feel the swimwear shifting and growing, the hem slowly creeping up along his changing body. The skin beneath was left soft and unblemished, with a healthy tan from hours spent enjoying the sunshine. Lewis took a deep breath as he tried to refocus. No matter what was happening, he knew he wouldn’t let himself disappoint Cassidy. He was tempted to glance over his shoulder and see if she was watching with as much interest as he hoped, but he couldn’t risk it, not with his surfing skills still developing. As the wave grew closer to the shore, his transformation continued.

The wetsuit crept up across his chest, and Lewis felt his whole torso slowly compress. He took a deep breath, soon adjusting to his new lung capacity. He felt smaller and slimmer, but no less strong. Keeping steady, he made sure to extend his arms, maintaining his now impeccable balance. The wetsuit wrapped over his shoulders, quickly forming a whole garment, and with a painless pop they too slimmed down. It came in tight around his neck, and slowly his Adam’s apple vanished. He watched in curiosity as the thin, tight material crawled down his arms. The excess fat faded away, leaving him with the powerful arms of a capable swimmer. The sleeves of the new wetsuit finished at his slim wrists, and a sense of peace washed over him as he watched his fingers elongate, his hands thinning.

Lewis began to smile. He knew he should have found it strange that he was losing weight and bulk, but he didn’t care. No matter what was happening to him, in this moment at least he was enjoying himself. He realised that it was this that he had been craving when working in the office. No matter how much money he earnt or how successful he felt, he knew he would never be as happy as when he was riding a wave, his friends nearby, and the wind in his hair.

With that thought, another gust of wind blew through him, but Lewis deftly kept his balance. Once it had passed, he realised that his hair had grown much longer. It was already wet and heavy, but Lewis tossed it over a shoulder and continued as if it always been that length. A sudden errant splash of water left that same salty taste in his mouth, and Lewis instinctively spat it away. When he opened his eyes, he knew that something had changed. With a quick look at his blurred reflection, speeding through the water, he was certain that his face had shifted. In an instant, the masculinity in it had faded. His jaw had risen and his head shrunk, giving an oval, feminine touch to his face. His nose, once broad and long, had reduced in size. As he ran a small tongue across his lips, he realised they had become poutier.

He had thought the strange changes surging through his body were over, but then he felt a tingling in his chest that almost distracted him from his perfect position atop the wave. He could feel his nipples grow suddenly erect, rubbing against the stretchy fabric of the wetsuit. Lewis knew now what was to come. A part of him was scared – scared to leave behind the familiar body and life he knew, but as he stared at the gorgeous beach ahead of him growing steadily closer, he knew that this was right. The life in the city wasn’t for him. This was who he was. Two mounds of fat slowly emerged from beneath the hard nipples, pushing and stretching the wetsuit. Lewis gasped as the sun shone across his nascent breasts, soon swelling in size and being squeezed by the suit. Carefully, he slowly moved one of his balancing hands and prodded the tissue, feeling how soft and pliable it was. He was curious, but he knew it would have to wait – Cassidy was watching.

Between his toned legs, his manhood throbbed. Lewis knew that it was all that was separating him from complete femininity, but he welcomed the change. In his heart of hearts, he knew that this was for the best. His place was here, on the beach, no matter what his body looked like. Slowly, Lewis felt his manhood inverse, sliding up into his body with a pleasurable fill. His testes moved into him, bursting out into ovaries. The bulge of his manhood was gone from the suit – nothing remained of Lewis.

The surfer felt the wave die down, flicking their board across the surf with an expert’s skill. They had forgotten how good it felt to ride a wave for that long. From behind them, they heard someone calling something, and the surfer strained their ears to work out what it was.

“Louisa!” Cassidy yelled, bringing her board nearby. Louisa smiled upon hearing the name, like a warm blanket settling over her. It felt right. “Louisa, that was incredible!” Cassidy said, grinning. Louisa sat down on her board, turning back to Cassidy. There was no hint of surprise or confusion in her expression, just pure, thrilled excitement at her fellow surfer. Louisa breathed a long sigh, relieved. It seemed that everything had adjusted around her, and as far as anyone knew, she had always been Louisa.

“You okay Louisa?” Cassidy said, paddling closer. “Letting the adrenaline wear off?” Louisa laughed, her voice higher and gentler than when she first waded into the sea earlier that day.

“Something like that!” she said, smiling.

“Well, we’ve got no time to waste! Let’s get back out there!” Cassidy said, about to begin paddling back away from the shore.

“Cassidy-“ Louisa said, steeling herself. “After we’re done today, do you think we could do something?”

“Like what?” she asked.

“Maybe go for coffee? As a date?” Louisa said with confidence. If this was her life now, she was going to live it how she wanted. Cassidy took a moment to think.

“Sure! I’d like that!” she said, smiling at the other woman. “Now come on, we’ve got a lot more surfing to do before I’ll let you buy me that coffee!”

“Who said I’m buying the first one?” Louisa said with a laugh, paddling out behind her.

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