Page 29

If someone were to ask me to come up with the perfect twenty-four hours, then without a doubt, this would be it.

Cooking with my girl.

Sex with my girl.

Waking up with my girl.

Hiking with my girl.

And now this, surfing with my girl.

Fucking perfect.

I glance over at where Alana straddles her board beside me, her eyes on the horizon as she takes in the view. We’re sitting out beyond the break, not a single other person out here and all I can think is this is perfection, this is everything I could dream up.

Reaching over, I close my hand around the back of her neck, wordlessly pulling her in for a kiss. My tongue traces her bottom lip, and I smile at the low groan that falls from her mouth before deepening our kiss. I can’t get enough of this girl, and not for the first time do I realize just how perfect she is. How perfect she is for me, and how perfect our life could be here.

“What was that for?” she whispers when I eventually pull back.

I smile, my hand still gripping the back of her neck. “For you,” I whisper. “For all of this,” I add, looking around as though to emphasize my point. Alana tilts her head to the side, an easy smile on her face as she watches me, her blue eyes moving over my face. When she doesn’t say anything, I laugh, squeezing the back of her neck as I say, “What?”

Her smile widens as she slides her hand along my thigh, our boards bobbing side by side on the ocean. “I’m just wondering how it is that you can be so adorably sweet and so totally dirty too.”

I burst out laughing, dropping my hand to her thigh as I pull her in close. “Which one do you prefer?” I murmur, my lips against hers.

“Oh no, I like them both,” she says, grinning. “Like them both a lot.”

I slide my hand higher, my fingers now resting on the inside of her upper thigh. “I like everything about you, Alana,” I whisper, even if like doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Love.

Love everything about her.

But it’s too soon and too...I don’t know, uncertain with everything going on with Jade and what happens after Pipe. I might already know how I feel, but I know I can’t admit these feelings to her yet, not when I have no idea what happens in a couple of weeks.

I mean, could I really just give it all up and stay here with her?

Yeah, a part of me thinks I can. If she’d want me to, anyway. But I know things will change for her after Pipe, when everyone sees the absolute raw talent she possesses. I know people on the island have seen it, hell, she won a comp here that got her into Pipe.

But the Maui Pipe competition is huge and not only does it draw a massive crowd of both spectators and sponsors, it’s broadcast on TV too. Which means when the world gets to see what I already know Alana can do, everything will change.

She leans in to kiss me again as her hand slides higher on my thigh. “I like everything about you too, Flynn.”

I smile against her mouth, kissing her again and again before murmuring, “You wanna catch some more waves and then after I’ll take you home and do very dirty things to you?”

“Promise?” she asks, gently biting my bottom lip.

“Abso-fucking-lutely,” I say.

We spend hours out on the water, catching waves, hanging out beyond the break, the two of us surfing together. Surfing one at a time while the other watches. And every time I watch her pop up on her board, my heart pounds in my chest. Not out of fear or anything but out of excitement. At everything she can do and everything I know she can be. She is going to fucking kill it at Maui Pipe.

“Wanna head in for a bit?” she asks, her breathing heavy.

“Uh huh,” I mutter, tugging her closer as I press a kiss to her shoulder. I wish she was mine to train, that I could share this and so many moments with her. Moments that I know are coming her way.

We paddle in, catching a last wave together before we walk over to where our stuff is, lying on our towels on the sand. It feels like the first time in forever that I feel completely and utterly unplugged and relaxed. I haven’t checked my phone once, leaving it on silent in the glove box of the car. I know Jade has probably texted and rung me a million times, but I don’t give a single shit.

All I want to do is soak up these moments with Alana.

I can’t believe I ever thought I could stay away from her.

“Can I ask you something?” she asks, lying on her stomach, her arms crossed under her head as she looks over at me.

I’m lying on my back, one knee bent and my hand shading my eyes as I turn to her. “You can ask me anything.”

She smiles, biting her bottom lip a little before she says, “Do you ever think about competing again?”

I huff out a laugh, rolling onto my side to face her, my head propped in my hand. I could so easily spout out my stock standard answer to her. The one I give to every reporter or sponsor every time I run into them at a comp with Jade. But I don’t want to do that with Alana. I want to be completely and totally honest with her.

“Yeah,” I breathe out. “All the fucking time.”

She pushes up a little so she’s resting on her elbows, still watching me. “How long has it been?”

I trail my fingers through the sand, my gaze dropping briefly before returning to meet her eyes. There’s no judgment there, no pity either, just genuine curiosity. “A little over three years,” I tell her.

Alana nods, picking up a random shell and turning it over in her fingers, her gaze never leaving mine. “Maybe it’s been long enough,” she says, her words quiet.

“Maybe.”

“I could help you,” she adds. “Not with the surfing part, but with the getting back out there.”

Chuckling, I reach over, trailing a finger along her shoulder and down her arm. “I kinda think you could help me with the surfing part too, beautiful.” She blushes at that, still so unaware of just how good she is. I can’t resist, leaning in to brush a soft kiss against her lips. “I don’t know how to get out of my own head,” I admit. “This, today, it’s so easy, but there’s nothing riding on it. When it’s a comp, fuck...everything changes.”

Alana nods, still watching me. “I know, I get that. But what anyone else thinks or says doesn’t matter, Flynn. None of it matters except for you, out there on the waves.”

“You make it sound so easy,” I say, smiling.

She grins back at me. “Maybe that’s because it is. When’s the next comp after Pipe?” she now asks.

Laughing, I roll toward her, kissing her shoulder, tasting the salt on her skin. “You should know that, it’ll probably be your first event as a pro.”

Alana scoffs, waving a hand. “Whatever,” she says, but she’s smiling, and I can tell she likes the idea. “But seriously, where is it? I assume Jade’s going?”

I blow out a breath, falling onto my back as I stare up at the blue sky. “Pipe Masters on Oahu and then California.”

Alana shuffles around beside me before she’s suddenly hovering over me, a smile on her face as she pushes the wet hair back off my forehead. She doesn’t say anything at first, just leans in and kisses me, her body pressed against mine.

I curl my arm around her waist, holding her close as her lips move against mine in a kiss that feels different from all the other ones we’ve shared. More intimate and real, like there’s a deeper meaning behind it.

“Would you try again if I said I’d come with you to Oahu?” she asks, pulling back a little. “I bet they’d give you a wildcard entry.”

My hand rests against the small of her back, our eyes locked. “You’d do that?” I whisper, not knowing what else to say. No one else has ever offered to help me get back on a board after my accident. My parents and brother did, but they weren’t as much a part of the scene like others.

My coach and my girlfriend at the time both ditched me quicker than I’d have thought possible, clearly no longer giving a shit when I wasn’t bringing either of them the fame and attention I had before. My girlfriend had been a semi-pro surfer, and it took me a while to realize that she saw me as her ticket to full-blown pro.

But this, right here with this girl, who has no hidden agenda and only wants to see me try, is fucking everything.

“Yeah,” she replies, smiling as her finger traces the line of my brow. “I would. I will.”

“You’ll be surfing there,” I tell her.

Alana chuckles a little. “Maybe, but either way, I’d like to see you surf there too.”

I swallow, trying to picture what that would be like, whether I’d actually be able to get on a board and compete again, or would I just embarrass myself all over again? It would be worse this time too, because I’d be coming back after so long that I’m sure people will already be thinking of me as a washed-up has-been.

“Flynn,” she prompts when I don’t respond.

Exhaling, I pull her closer, my other hand moving to cup her jaw. “Have I told you how fucking amazing you are,” I whisper against her lips.

“Mmmm, yes, but you’re still not answering my question,” she teases.

I let out a laugh, kissing her again. “How about this. You let me take you home so I can make good on my promise to do dirty things to you...”

“And?” she asks, grinning when I don’t continue.

“I promise to think about your suggestion.”

Alana huffs out a laugh, clearly not impressed with my answer. Chuckling, I pull her in so she’s lying on top of me, my hands on her sides, gripping her hips.

“Thank you,” I say, staring up at her. “I love that you’re this invested.”

She rests her arms across my chest. “You say that I’m an amazing surfer, but you are too, Flynn. You’ve still got it, you just need to believe in yourself again.”

Chuckling, I slide my hands down to her arse. “You my girlfriend or my therapist here?” The shock on Alana’s face at my words has me laughing harder as I slide my hands up her back and pull her in for another kiss. “Not what you were expecting?” I murmur against her mouth.

“I don’t know,” she whispers. “You really think of me as your girlfriend?”

“Uh huh,” I reply. “What did you think we were doing?”

She swallows hard, blinking once as she whispers, “I don’t know.”

I tuck some loose strands of hair behind her ear, smiling up at her as I ask, “Do you wanna be my girlfriend?”

Alana stares at me, an unreadable expression on her face that slowly morphs into quite possibly the most beautiful smile I have ever seen her give me. “Yes,” she breathes out.

With a grin, I pull her in for a hard kiss. “Right, let’s go home and do dirty things then.”

It’s late afternoon by the time we pull into the parking area beside The Pipe Dream. The shop is still open, and as much as we should be careful about who sees us together, in this moment, I kind of don’t really care.

Jade doesn’t know where I’m staying so it’s not like she’s going to just rock up here without me knowing about it. She made enough shitty comments about how rundown and quaint she thought the shop was when she came here for the signing. Comments I know translate to something much worse in Jade speak.

“You want to grab some dinner?” Alana says, smiling as she walks around the car to where I stand waiting for her.

With a grin, I pull her into my arms, kissing her hard and deep. “I think I wanna have my dessert first,” I whisper against her lips.

Alana smiles, looping her arms around my neck as we totally make out beside my car, neither of us giving a shit about anyone or anything else. It’s so easy to get lost in this woman, to drown in everything she has to give me, and I find myself wanting to give her fucking everything. Everything, all the fucking time.

“Let’s go inside,” I whisper, slipping my arm around her shoulders.

But when we turn to go, we both freeze as we come face to face with Jade.

“Oh fuck,” Alana breathes out, moving to step away from me.

I tighten my arm, not letting her go because whatever this is right now, I am not letting Jade go after Alana. “Jade,” I say, her name like acid on my tongue. “What are you doing here?”

She winds her dog’s lead around her hand as she shoots daggers at us, her hard gaze moving from me to Alana and back to me again. “I think the bigger question is, what the fuck are you doing?”

I exhale, shoving my free hand through my hair as I pull Alana into my side. “What I’m doing is none of your business.”

Jade laughs at that, the sound so high and screechy that her dog lets out a surprised yelp at her feet. “That’s bullshit and you know it, Flynn,” she spits out. “You’re my coach, not hers. MINE!”

Her words are loud, and I need to diffuse this conversation before it gets out of control. Nate and Sage live and work here, and I don’t want to cause a scene for either of them.

“You need to go back to your hotel, Jade,” I say, my words measured and calm. “We’re not training until Monday, so until then, get back to your program.”

She laughs again, rolling her eyes as she casts a death stare at Alana. “Fuck you, Flynn,” she says, her words like ice. “And you,” she adds, turning back to Alana. “You’re gonna pay for this, you amateur nobody.”

And with that, she turns and walks away, dragging her poor dog with her.