Page 30

Well, that just shit all over our perfect day.

I’m standing here, my eyes wide, my heart slamming in my chest. This is exactly why we said we shouldn’t do this. But I have no one to blame but myself. I decided this was worth the risk, and while it still is, it doesn’t mean I’m not scared shitless. Things are about to blow up because, if there’s anything I’ve learned about Jade in this small amount of time she’s been here, it’s that she loves drama.

I look over at Flynn, blinking a few times as I try to gather my thoughts. And while I’m shocked, he looks anything but.

Rage blankets his face, a redness creeping up his neck, and when he turns to look at me, his jaw tightens painfully.

“That’s not true, you know that, right?” Flynn asks through clenched teeth. Letting out a hard sigh, he tugs a hand through his hair. The frustration I can feel radiating from him is palpable, but his anger bleeds through even stronger.

“What’s not true?” I ask, confused and still caught totally off guard. My brain can’t seem to catch up with what just happened and how the hell we’re going to figure a way out of it.

“You’re not a nobody,” he says, his hand resting on my cheek. He has zero interest in going after Jade, not caring in the least that she just caught us. If anything, he’s more worried about me and the insult she tried to sling at me.

“I don’t give a shit what she said about me. And she’s right, I am a nobody, but that’s not an insult. It’s motivation.” As the words leave my mouth, they encourage me on.

She can think what she wants about me, but she’s going to remember my name after Pipe because I intend on placing.

What I worry about now is Flynn’s job and his ability to get work in the future. He’s put it all on the line for me, someone he just met. This could backfire spectacularly, especially with Jade and her bruised ego.

She’s the kind of person who seeks revenge because she doesn’t understand how life works. There’s this expectation that everything is handed to her, and she gets what she wants, and when it doesn’t happen, the world feels her wrath.

“You should go talk to her,” I tell Flynn, motioning in the direction Jade took off in. That poor little fluffy ball Mochi was being tugged behind her, looking confused and startled by how quickly she took off. “Maybe you can talk some sense into her.”

“Me?” he says incredulously. “She doesn’t listen to me when it’s about surfing. What makes you think she’s going to listen to me about this?”

His voice is raised, and not necessarily at me, but at the situation. Like I said, though, we brought this on ourselves. We knew the risks, and this was one of them.

“I think she likes you, Flynn,” I tell him, my words quiet. “And not just as a person but really likes you. There’s some definite jealousy there.”

“She’s lost her fucking mind if she thinks anything would happen between us,” he barks, his fists now clenched at his sides. “I’ve known her since she was fifteen, and she can have whatever fucked up fantasy she wants about us, but I will never be a part of it.”

“I get that, but you also need to realize she’s still just a spoiled child, even if she is eighteen. She’s not able to see things clearly, and when she walked up on us, she was probably taken aback.”

I’m trying to be diplomatic, trying to help him see her side of this, but he’s so filled with rage that he can’t possibly understand. I’m not even sure why I’m trying to, either, since she’s been nothing but rude to me. I guess in a strange way, my heart breaks for her. That unrequited love, no matter how misguided it is, still stings.

“I don’t fucking care, Alana. I should have quit a long time ago.” Every word that leaves his mouth is bitter, and I need him to calm down so we can talk this through rationally.

I have no idea what Jade is capable of, but I need to make sure I’m prepared for the fact that I could lose my place at Maui Pipe. Flynn could lose his job. He could even be banned from coaching ever again if the commission wants to make an example of him. That is if Jade knows enough to report us.

Something tells me what she lacks in people skills, she makes up for in street smarts, knowing exactly how to fuck up someone’s life.

“Okay, let’s go inside and talk about this,” I say, trying my best to remain calm, but inside my body is screaming, my heart slamming wildly in my chest as I go through every possible scenario.

None of them are good.

This is not the kind of publicity I need, and I can almost bank on Jade going to the media. She’d love that kind of attention, and even more, she’d love to play the victim. Getting her story out there lets her control the narrative. And no matter how we spin it, she will look like she got fucked over.

“How the hell are you so calm right now?” Flynn asks, a desperation to his tone that wasn’t there earlier. “I can’t even think straight, and you’re over there telling me to see things from her point of view. Fuck her point of view. She doesn’t get a say in this.”

I let out a laugh, but I know Flynn doesn’t think this is funny. Of course, I’m worried, but I also know this is the happiest I’ve been in years. Honestly, this is probably the happiest I ever remember being.

We walk into the cottage, and I pull a stool out from the little island, sitting down. I motion for Flynn to do the same, but instead, he paces. His hand dragging through his hair, a nervous habit that seems to come at all different times.

“What’s the worst that can happen, Flynn?” I ask, my brows going up as I wait for him to respond.

“You really want me to answer that?”

“Yes, I do. Tell me. What do you think?” I play back, a smile on my face now.

“You are unable to surf. You lose your place at Pipe, and the world doesn’t get to see how amazing you are.”

He’s so fucking sweet I almost can’t stand it. How the hell did I land a guy like this? He has zero concern for himself or his career. The good news is, we’re both worried about each other rather than ourselves, and I’m willing to go to bat for him.

“Do you want to know what my worst-case scenario is?” I ask. I lean forward, resting my elbows on the counter and Flynn stands across from me, his brows knitted together, his anger starting to recede.

He smirks now, winking at me. “I’m pretty sure I have a solid idea, and it has nothing to do with you, does it?”

“It doesn’t,” I confirm, and he chuckles.

“I’m going to go talk to her. You stay here. Don’t leave because I want to fuck this anger out of me when I get back.” He points at me, waiting for me to echo my approval. He smiles when I nod, like I would be able to turn him down.

Walking over to where I’m sitting, he leans down to kiss me. His lips brushing mine, a simple smile as his eyes fall closed.

“Thank you for being the voice of reason. I will fix this, babe,” he says. “Even if I have to grovel. You’re the only person I’ll grovel for.”

He kisses me again, and I pull him to me, holding him. I don’t want to let go, knowing he’s walking into the lion’s den. This could change everything, and as much as he says he’s thinking about me, he also has to be thinking about his career.

“Good luck,” I tell him, taking his face in my hands. “No matter what happens, I’m not going anywhere.” My eyes are focused on his, hoping he hears me, hoping he understands what my words mean without me coming out and saying what I really feel.

I love him.

He kisses me goodbye, and the second the door closes, I’m overwhelmed, and the tears begin to pool in my eyes.

I don’t want to cry about this. I’ve done enough crying, and thinking I’d finally reached that happy place, I’m now met with this bullshit. Jade isn’t going to give in easily. If anything, she’s going to demand Flynn stop seeing me, and he might agree to it.

I have to be open to the idea that he may put his job before me, and as much as that sucks, it’s probably the right call for him. At least until he can find something else.

He needs to smooth things over, and I hope he can.

Two hours later, and a lot of me worrying and pacing, Flynn walks through the door, and he’s holding Mochi.

“Why do you have the dog?” I immediately ask. The little ball of fur is tucked under Flynn’s arm, just relaxed and letting him carry him around.

He sets Mochi down, and he instantly scampers over to me, his fluffy tail fanning around wildly as he does this adorable little happy dance.

“She said she couldn’t take care of the dog any longer because of what I did,” Flynn says, and I don’t mean to laugh, but I do.

It sounds completely ridiculous but very accurate.

“So you took the dog?”

“I took the dog to allow her time to heal,” he tells me, rolling his eyes. “She’s still pissed. Basically, she spent the entire time screaming at me and telling me how her contract says I can’t date another surfer.”

“Is that true?” I question, my tone laced with complete shock.

“Fuck no,” he replies. “It states I’m not allowed to train or coach other surfers while under contract with her. And that’s not what we’re doing, but she’s…ugh…she’s Jade.”

He doesn’t need to say much more. Just saying her name is an explanation enough.

“And now you own a dog,” I add, again laughing.

“No, you own a dog,” he corrects. Mochi’s still dancing at my feet, his little tongue poking out to lick my bare leg every so often. “I can’t keep the dog here. Nate and Sage’s listing said no pets. Any chance you can keep him at your house?”

“You’re lucky, my house is pet-friendly, but I gotta check with the girls,” I reply, looking down at Mochi, knowing Sloane is going to lose her mind.

She’s always wanted a dog. It was something she talked about when she first moved in, telling me she can’t wait to have her own place so she could get one. Holding out until she finished school so she could be home more often. But Mochi is seriously so damn cute, and Jade would have lost interest in him anyway. We can give him a better home with the three of us living there.

Flynn’s phone starts to ring, and he takes it from his pocket, tossing it onto the island. Jade’s name is lighting up the screen, and he lets it ring, watching it, waiting for it to stop.

And when it does, it only takes a few seconds before it chimes with a notification of a voicemail.

“You ready for this?” Flynn asks me, a humorless smile on his face as he picks up the phone.

Scrolling to the voicemail, he hits play, and it’s Jade crying, begging him to call her back and how sorry she is.

He looks over at me, shaking his head. This child is unhinged. That’s what she is, a child, and I have no idea how we’re going to get away from this. She isn’t going to let it go.

“That’s a voicemail from when I was driving back from her hotel,” he clarifies. “There are six more, and I can tell you exactly how they go.”

He lets out a hard sigh. Leaning back against the counter, he chews on his bottom lip, mulling over everything. I want to tell him to let me go. It will make things easier, but I can’t bring myself to do it.

“I’m sorry I dragged you into this,” he now says, a sadness to his tone, and it breaks my heart.

“You didn’t drag me into anything. I want to be here with you.”

He presses play on the next voicemail, and this one is nothing like the first one. Jade is screaming at him, swearing like a trucker, and calling him every name under the sun. The message gets cut off, and there are still more, but he holds the button down, turning the phone off.

“It’s just going to be more of the same, back and forth, her crying, and then her pissed off. She’s already called her lawyer for advice. That seems over the top,” he mutters, and I watch his throat, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows. “I have no idea what’s going to happen, and I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to be. You have no control over what she does, and maybe once she sleeps on it, she’ll settle down.”

He laughs now, shaking his head as I walk over to him. His arms open, and I step closer, filling the space, letting him hold me. His embrace is warm and comforting, and I burrow my face into his T-shirt.

I love the way he smells—like surf wax and the ocean. It’s everything that I love, everything that brings me peace, and everything I can’t live without.

“She’s not getting the dog back,” I now say, cutting through a bit of the seriousness as I look down at the little ball of fluff, all excited and sweet.

“He is pretty damn cute.”