“Well, kid. Guess you reallyarea 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’twaitto tell Jake.
Alexa Play: everything i wanted by Billie Eilish
I’d grilled up a steak for Finn while he was celebrating with his friends on the beach.
He did it.
It was over…
He’d survived.
It felt like a rhino had been sitting on my chest since he’d first told me he planned on surfing that beach. When he’d successfully shredded that massive wave and made it to the shore in one piece, I finally felt the enormous, lumbering thing get off and wander into the distance.
Setting the table for my man, I sat down and waited for him to come home. He busted into the shack, predictably full of excitement and energy, and I grinned at him.
“Hey, baby… you hungry?” I asked, and he launched himself at me, straddling me in the chair and showering my face with kisses.
I laughed and wrapped my arms around him, not caring that he was still in his cold, damp wetsuit.
“You’ll never believe what happened!” he chirped, and I leaned back, taking in his megawatt smile and adorable dimples.
“What? What happened?” I asked, unable to keep myself from grinning. When he was like this, his energy was infectious. It was almost impossible not to feel excited when he was this pumped about something.
“Jet told this lady from Goliath Energy Drinks that I was riding today, and she wants tosponsor mein Tully’s surf competition this weekend!”
The smile dropped right off my face.
“What?”
“I’m serious! She’s sending the contract over tonight! Wait… why don’t you look excited?” He pulled back, frowning at me. I watched his dimples disappear, and I hated myself for being the reason they went away.
I took a moment to sort through the war of emotions that were exploding through my chest.
On the one hand,Goliath Energy Drinkswashuge.Like,massive.It was every surfer’s dream to be picked up for a sponsorship with them. It was pretty much a career-launching opportunity for Finn.
It was a dream come true for someone like him. I knew because it would have been a dream come true for me when I was his age.
But, on the other hand, the idea of him surfing Leviathans again – so soon after he’djustrecently survived it – made that asshole rhino come lumbering right back to sit on my chest again.
“I’m excited,” I forced myself to choke out. I reached up and cupped his perfect face, running my thumb over his jawline.
He was so amped I could see his pulse jumping in his throat.
Thump.Alive. Thump.Breathing. Thump.Not. Fucking.Dead.
“Really? You seemupset.”
“No, baby. I’m not, this is… you deserve this. They’re so lucky to have you.”
