Page 33

I smile as I walk up the front steps to Alana’s house. Sloane is sitting on the front porch, Mochi in her lap, looking extremely pleased with himself.

“Hey, Sloane,” I say. “Got yourself a friend there, huh?”

She smiles, glancing down at the dog as she pats it. “He’s so freaking cute,” she says, looking up at me. “Jade isn’t going to want him back, is she?”

I laugh, leaning against the side of the house. “I’m pretty sure Alana has vetoed that happening, so I think you’re good. You sure you guys want to look after him?”

“Absolutely,” she says, hugging the dog to her chest. Mochi licks her neck, actually snuggling in closer to her.

“Yeah, so he’s totally living his best life right now,” I say, gesturing to the dog.

She smirks, patting him again as she looks over at me. “So, you and Alana, huh?”

“Me and Alana,” I confirm, crossing my arms over my chest as I wonder where this is going.

“I like it,” she says with a nod.

I chuckle. “Me too,” I reply. “I like it a lot.”

Sloane laughs now, waving a hand at the front door. “She’s inside, in her room,” she tells me. “And Flynn,” she adds, pausing as she looks up at me. “It’s cool if you stay the night. You don’t need to go or whatever.”

“Thanks, Sloane,” I say, knowing from Alana how hard that is for her. “Enjoy your new pet,” I add, laughing when she hugs Mochi to her again.

Inside, the house is empty, so I head down to Alana’s room. She’d texted me to say she was done with her interview, and I’d told her I would come over, preferring to be with her when she told me all about it.

Mine had pretty much been a non-event. Just a bunch of questions before the dude looked through my phone and laptop. I still don’t know where we stand with everything though, but I’m hopeful the ISA can see this for what it really is and not whatever delusional idea Jade was pushing on them.

“Hey,” I say, pushing open the door.

Alana looks up from where she lies on her bed. “Hey,” she replies as I close the door behind me, kicking off my thongs before I walk over.

Crawling my way up her body, I lie down beside her, kissing her lips and neck. “You okay?” I ask.

Alana nods, wrapping her arms around me as she pulls me in for another kiss. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Wanna tell me how it went?” I ask.

She blows out a breath. “The same as yours, I think. Asked me a bunch of questions, didn’t want my opinion on things and then asked me all about my training program and what I knew about Jade’s.”

“So basic shit and nothing that implicates us in anything.”

“Nope,” she replies. “Said we’d probably find out soon because they wanted to sort it out before Pipe.”

I lean in and press another kiss to her lips. “Yeah, that makes sense. It’s gonna be okay, beautiful. Sounds like you and I said all the same things and there’s no way Jade is going to be able to contradict that.”

“Unless she convinces them we’re lying,” Alana says.

“Babe, we’re not lying, and they’re going to know that,” I say, running my hands through her hair, tucking it behind her ear. “It’s going to be okay, and in a week, you’ll be slaying it at Pipe and really showing Jade what you’re made of.”

“I hope you’re right,” she says, sadness in her eyes.

Smiling, I lean in and give her another kiss. “I know I am,” I tell her. “Now how about we forget about all of this shit and get some dinner?”

She smiles, her fingers brushing across my cheekbone. “You wanna go to your place?”

“Actually,” I say, grinning. “Sloane said it was cool if I stayed here tonight.”

Alana’s eyes widen as she says, “She did? Wow.”

“Uh huh,” I reply with a nod. “You good with that?”

“Yeah, of course I am,” she says, her finger tracing my bottom lip, a half smile on her face as she watches me.

I know she’s worried and scared, and I want so badly to tell her how I feel about this and her and everything that’s happening between us. That I don’t want to leave Hawaii after Pipe, nor do I want Jade to come between us. But I know now is not the time to admit these things, not with this investigation hanging over us.

“Okay then,” I say, giving her another quick kiss before I roll off the bed. Holding a hand out to her, I pull her up and into my arms. “How about I whip up my world-famous burritos for you ladies then?”

“World-famous?” she teases, a gorgeous smirk on her face.

“World-famous, babe, just you wait,” I say, grabbing her arse as I haul her against me.

The next morning, I wake early, my arms wrapped around Alana who lies with her back to my chest, our bodies pressed together. Glancing at the clock, I can see it’s earlier than usual, the sun barely above the horizon.

Closing my eyes, I pull her even closer, burying my face in the back of her neck as I inhale her scent, an addictive mix of the ocean and coconut and strawberry surf wax. Inhaling deeply, a feeling of calm washes over me, knowing this is exactly where I am supposed to be.

Alana snuggles against me, and already my dick is up and raring to go, but I don’t try anything, knowing she needs to sleep and that I am happy to just lie here and hold her.

My phone buzzing on the nightstand kills that idea, and I carefully reach over and grab it, trying not to wake her. Blinking as I try to focus on the screen, I can see it’s a text from Danielle.

Danielle Thornton: Just sent you the final report and findings. Hope all goes well at Pipe.

“Fuck,” I say, louder than I intend to as I fall onto my back, clicking through to my email.

“What’s wrong?” Alana asks, rolling over, her eyes still closed and probably half asleep.

“They’ve made their decision,” I say, my eyes scanning the email, my heart pounding in my chest.

“Shit,” Alana says, scrambling beneath the sheet as she reaches across me for her phone.

“Babe, wait,” I say, wrapping an arm around her as I hold her against me. “Look,” I say, turning my phone to her so she can see the report that’s been sent to both of us.

I watch as Alana reads it, her mouth moving slightly as though she’s saying the words, like she’s willing them to be true. When she’s done, she looks over at me, her eyes wide and her cheeks a little flushed. “They cleared us,” she whispers, almost like she doesn’t believe it.

“They did,” I say, taking my phone and dropping it on the nightstand. “And you, beautiful, are still surfing Maui Pipe.”

“Oh my god,” she breathes out and I can’t help but laugh as I pull her against me.

“I think we need to celebrate,” I whisper, my mouth at her ear, my arms wrapped around her.

“Flynn, this...this is?—”

“I told you it was going to be okay,” I whisper, kissing her.

“It’s really going to be okay?”

Smiling, I pull her to me again. “It really is. Now, let’s celebrate and then there’s something I need to take care of.”

A couple of hours later, I am in my car and on the way to Jade’s hotel. Alana had asked me where I was going, but I hadn’t told her, not wanting to ruin the surprise before I knew it was a certainty. Even though I’m pretty sure this meeting isn’t going to go well, I’m not backing down from this. Jade needs to be put in her place once and for all because what she did is inexcusable.

I pound on her hotel room door, knowing she’s probably still in bed even though she should be on the water by now. My suspicions are confirmed when she opens the door, dressed in nothing but a tank and a pair of undies, a scowl on her face that immediately turns to a smile when she sees me.

“Flynn,” she purrs, opening the door wider. “Come in.”

“Get dressed first,” I say, staying in the hall. “Then we can talk.”

Jade huffs out a breath but does what I ask, leaving the door open. When she’s pulled on a pair of shorts and a hoodie, I step into the room, leaving the door open.

“You want me to order us some breakfast?” she asks, like this is some kind of social call.

“No, I don’t want you to order us some fucking breakfast, Jade,” I spit out. “I want you to explain to me why you pulled that stunt with the ISA?”

She pouts at that, something I know she does when she knows she’s in the wrong but is trying to get away with it. “What did you expect me to do?” she whines. “You were all over each other!”

I blow out a breath. “Okay, well first of all, you could’ve tried fucking talking to me, Jade, like an adult ,” I add, emphasizing the word. “You had no idea what was going on, and you just went and made an accusation with no proof. Worse than that, you leaked it to the media and god knows who else. I mean, what the actual fuck, Jade?”

I can feel the anger coursing through my veins, and I know I need to stay calm. The last thing I need is for me to lose my shit at her and for us to be back where we started, with Jade making a complaint against me. Again.

“You wasted the ISA’s time, as well as mine and Alana’s time. Worse still, you jeopardized her chance to surf at Pipe,” I continue.

“She doesn’t deserve to be there,” she shouts, her cheeks red. “And she doesn’t deserve you.”

My eyes close as I suck in a long, deep breath, letting it out slowly. Opening my eyes, I hit Jade with a hard stare. “First of all, Alana very much deserves to be surfing Pipe, and if you took just a second to get to know her instead of carrying on with this bullshit, then you’d realize that.”

“But, Flynn, she?—”

“Not finished,” I say, cutting her off. “And secondly, who or what I deserve has nothing to do with you, Jade. I wasn’t training Alana, just like I wasn’t telling her any of your secrets. That’s not who I am, and you know it.”

Her mouth snaps shut, a furious look on her face as she stares across the room at me. Neither of us has sat down, and the room is now filled with a thick tension.

“Why does she get to have you?” she suddenly whines, her voice like a petulant child. “You know how I feel about you, Flynn. Why don’t I get you?”

“Fuck me,” I mutter, scrubbing a hand over my face. As much as I didn’t want to believe this was the real reason for why Jade did what she did, it seems Alana was right. She is jealous. Not because of Alana’s surfing or anything, but because I chose Alana.

“Jade,” I start, shoving my hand through my hair. “I’ve known you since you were fifteen. I have never, ever given you the impression that this,” I pause, waving a finger between us, “is anything more than a coaching relationship. It’s never going to be more than that.”

“But why?” she asks, her eyes filling with tears as she steps toward me, only stopping when I hold both hands up. “Why can’t we, Flynn?” she now pleads. “It could be so good, us touring together, you training me, us together each night?—”

“Stop!” I shout, my hand up. “Stop it, Jade. Grow up and accept it’s never going to happen. And what’s more,” I say, swallowing hard, my heart pounding in my chest as I prepare to tell her the real reason I came over here. “I quit. I’m done coaching you, effective immediately.”

Jade’s mouth opens and closes several times, her eyes wide as shock and confusion fill her face. I don’t know if this is something she never expected me to say, but I’m saying it. And more than that, I fucking mean it. I am done with her bullshit.

“You can’t...I’ve...what about Pipe?”

I shrug. “I don’t know, Jade. I guess you’ll have to give it your best shot,” I say, my voice firm.

I turn to go, but she’s by my side, grabbing my arm. “Flynn, wait, don’t go, you can’t go.”

Stopping, I turn to look at her, waiting for her to let go of me. When she does, I say, “Goodbye, Jade, best of luck with everything.”

“No, no, no,” she cries, shaking her head. “You can’t just leave me. What about notice? What about your contract?”

I huff out a laugh, knowing Jade has no fucking clue about the contract she signed with me. “There’s a clause in the contract, Jade,” I start. “If either of us does anything to harm the other’s reputation, it’s a get-out-of-jail-free card, effective immediately.” Her mouth snaps shut at that, and I continue. “I’d say filing a baseless complaint against me that questioned my integrity fits the bill, wouldn’t you?”

My question is rhetorical, and thankfully she doesn’t say anything as I turn and make my way to the still-open door. Just as I reach it, she says, “Flynn?”

“What?” I say, glancing over my shoulder.

Her face hardens, her body going rigid as she stares at me. “This isn’t over. You wait till I speak to?—”

“I’ve already told your dad,” I tell her, having called him on the way over here to give him an update and explain what was going on. “He supports my decision,” I add, before I turn and walk out the door, breathing a huge sigh of relief at everything.

On the elevator ride down, I text Alana.

Me: Meet me at the beach, the one where we first met

Alana: Ok...now?

Me: Yep, I’ll be there in 10.

Alana is standing on the sand when I get there, her back to me, as she stares out at the surfers. I recognize Owen and Miles out on the waves, but my focus is on the woman in front of me. The woman who means the world to me.

“Hey, beautiful,” I say, wrapping my arms around her from behind as I press a kiss to her neck.

She turns, smiling up at me. “Okay, you going to tell me what this is all about now?” she asks, looping her arms around my neck.

Grinning, I lean in and give her a long, deep kiss. “Uh huh,” I murmur when I pull back.

“Well?” she prompts.

Chuckling, I lift my head, my gaze meeting hers as I say, “I am no longer Jade’s coach.”

“She fired you?” Alana half-shouts.

“No,” I reply, shaking my head with a laugh. “I quit.”

She blinks up at me, a look of disbelief on her face. “You quit?” she repeats, and I nod. “But how? Why? Can you even do that?”

Grinning, I lean down and kiss her again. “I told her I quit because I don’t want to coach her anymore, and yeah, I can,” I say, answering each of her questions.

“Why don’t you want to coach her anymore?” she whispers. “This is because of me, isn’t it?”

“It is, yeah, but not for the reason you think.”

“Why then?”

I kiss her again, unable to get enough. Pulling her closer, I whisper, “I quit because I love you, Alana, and I don’t want to coach her, I want to surf with you.”