Page 51 of Chasing Riddick

I was swarmed by a crowd of people once I made it to the beach. Turtle launched himself at me with the biggest smile I’d ever seen painted across his face.

“Finn Man! That was gnarly as fuck, dude! You didn’t just surf that wave; you slaughtered it!”

I beamed at him as hands grabbed at me from all sides. The Finnatics were going absolutely bonkers.

Quinn was suddenly with us, jumping up and down with excitement, and Blake appeared too, her blue eyes glistening with tears.

“I can’t believe you did it!” Blake cried, pulling me away from Turtle into a big hug. “I’m so sorry I doubted you. That was incredible, Finn!”

Turtle spun around and addressed the crowd, still smiling so big he could have melted someone with how bright his grin was.

“Yo! Three cheers for Finn, the Leviathan Slayer! ”

Oh my god. My face went beet red as the crowd lost their shit.

Finn! Finn! Finn! Finn!

Makoa and Kai were approaching as I did my best to scoot away from the mob of surf fans, my cheeks so hot they were competing with the glare of the sun.

“Way to go, surf star.” Jet clapped me affectionately on the shoulder, and even Kai gave me a small smile.

“Killed it, kid,” Kai grunted, his dark eyes shining with approval.

“When you’re done celebrating with your fans, come over here. There’s someone I want you to meet,” Jet hummed close to my ear, and I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Oh yeah?”

He nodded. “Yeah, man. I’m gonna help Kai load up the Jet Ski; come find me after.”

I nodded and turned back to the rabid crowd of people still cheering my name.

Kids were literally pushing papers up to me, asking for my autograph, and I felt so flattered and awkward that my face flushed red again.

Jake appeared at my side, and he pressed a soft kiss to my temple and rested a casual hand on my hip.

“You did amazing, baby,” he hummed, brushing his thumb over my hip bone as I signed autographs like some sort of celebrity. “I’m so proud of you .”

I shot him a pleased look, and he smiled at me in a carefree way I’d never seen on his face before.

The tightness around his eyes had disappeared, and he looked so much younger.

I could see the version of him that Jet had told me about.

The laid-back, easygoing version of Jake that had died the day he’d drowned.

My heart squeezed in my chest at how much happier he seemed now that I’d successfully conquered Leviathans, and I felt a small twinge of guilt in my chest for how much he must have been worried about me .

“You’re gonna make me choke up in front of all these people, babe,” I murmured, doing my best not to let the crowd see I was talking to thin air.

He chuckled warmly and leaned in, nipping my earlobe gently, causing me to shiver.

“I’ll see you at home. We can celebrate in private when you’re done with your fans.” He winked before sauntering off toward the cliff face that led back to our shack.

Once the excitement had died down, I made my way over to Jet and Kai, who had been busy winching the Jet Ski onto a trailer Jet had attached to his new truck.

They’d decided to extend their stay to help me train, and Jet had leased the pickup a few days prior after Blake had given him shit for always wanting to borrow her car.

I smiled as I approached, noticing that they weren’t alone.

Standing with them was a woman dressed in simple but obviously expensive athleisure.

Jet beamed at me as I approached.

“There he is.” He glanced at the woman, who turned to greet me.

She was tanned with blonde hair slicked back in a no-nonsense bun. The clipboard she was clutching had a logo for ‘Goliath Energy Drinks’ on it.

She gave me a smile and held out her hand.

“Ah, you must be Finn Summers. That was an impressive ride.”

I smiled back and shook her hand politely, sending Jet a curious look. He was smiling at me with this strangely excited twinkle in his eye.

“Finn, this is Sylvia Knott. She’s a sponsorship recruiter for Goliath.”

My brain was whirling as I put the puzzle pieces together.

Goliath was known for sponsoring extreme sports athletes. It was their entire marketing strategy. The fact that a rep from the brand was here, talking to me, meant that… I was being scouted?

Sylvia smiled at Jet, nodding .

“Jet informed me that he had some promising new talent and that I wouldn’t want to miss your run today. As usual, he was right.”

Jet winked at her. “I’m always right, sweetheart.”

She chuckled. “That you are.”

She turned to face me, “Anyway, Jet’s timing was also impeccable. I was in town for Taming Leviathans. We were representing Mike Gurallo for the competition, but he’s recently suffered a minor injury, and his sports therapist has advised him to sit this one out.”

My eyes widened.

“ The Mike Gurallo?” I glanced around the beach to make sure he wasn’t there. If surf god Mike Gurallo was here, I was going to shit my pants.

She laughed again. “The one and only.”

“Oh my god! I watch him all the time on Goliath TV! He’s a fucking legend!”

She nodded. “Yes… Well. Anyway, we were going to cut our losses and pull out, but then Jet messaged me. After watching you surf, I was wondering if you would be willing to discuss signing onto the Goliath team on a trial basis.”

It took a minute for my brain to catch up to what she had just said.

“Wait… what?”

“Do you currently have representation?” she asked, frowning.

“He doesn’t.” Jet answered for me since, for the first time in my life, I couldn’t seem to get my mouth to make words.

She beamed.

“ Wonderful! So, what do you think? I know this offer is sudden, but we would rather not pull out on such short notice. I can have a contract sent over to you by the end of the day for review.”

“Hold up, hold up… you… as in Goliath Energy Drinks, want to sponsor me Finn Summers… this weekend?”

“Yes. And maybe for longer, depending on how things work out during the trial period.”

Again .

Mouth…words… broken…

Jet jumped in and clapped Sylvia on the shoulder, grinning at me with that sly, wicked smirk on his face.

“Send over the contract, Sylv. I’ll look it over with him, and we’ll get back to you.”

“Great,” Sylvia quipped, her eyes no doubt twinkling at the fact that my jaw was literally in the sand.

“Looking forward to hearing back from you, Finn. Jet, Kai… always nice to see you both.” Then, she walked away, the wind whipping against her four hundred-dollar windbreaker as she went.

“Well, kid. Guess you really are a surf star, after all.” Jet beamed at me, and I launched myself at him, whooping like a madman.

“Holy fuck! What the shiz! Did that really happen?”

He was laughing, and even Kai had a smile on his face.

“Yeah, surf star. That really happened. Hope you didn’t love bussing tables. Looks like your Sharkies career might be over,” he said, rubbing his knuckles into my hair affectionately.

“Congrats, kid,” Kai huffed, and I beamed at him.

I couldn’t wait to tell Jake.