“Got it. I’m so fucking ready!”
She smiled at me, chuckling.
“Alright. Good luck, Summers. Make us proud.”
I winked at her.
“You bet!”
Another Goliath rep called her name, and she left me to strap on my tether and get in the water.
“Hey, baby.” I glanced up from fucking around with my ankle strap to see Jake standing next to me.
He had his teal board with him and was in his swim trunks. He never wore a wetsuit, and I assumed it was because the dead didn’t get cold.
Suddenly, the world fell away, and it was just me and Jake.
“Hey,” I breathed, smiling at him so big I felt like my face was going to split in half. “You coming out there with me?” I asked.
He gave me a soft smile that was a little too sad for my liking.
“Of course I am.”
“Really?” My eyes pricked, and for a second, I felt weirdly lucky that no one but me could see my boyfriend. It was fucking sick that he could come out to the lineup with me and see me off before I started my heat.
“Yeah, baby. Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“Fuck, I love you.”
He grabbed my chin and pressed a soft kiss to my mouth. I closed my eyes and inhaled his coconut scent.
“Mmm. That’s all the luck I need, babe,” I hummed against his lips, and he chuckled.
“You’re going to need more than luck.” He pulled away and turned his gaze out to the ocean.
The violent peaks crashed and roared in the distance, white eruptions of seafoam rupturing in deadly bursts.
It was easy to imagine the barrels of each wave as hungry mouths, looking to devour those of us foolish enough to venture out.
Fucking sick.
“The double-ups are savage today,” Jake commented, his tone level but dark.
“Yeah, no kidding.”
He shot me a loaded glance.
“Remember your training. When in doubt, don’t paddle out. Even if you only catch one wave during the heat, it’s better to catch one perfect swell and execute it well than risk a wipeout trying for multiples that are high risk.”
I nodded. “Yeah, got it.”
“Alright. Let’s go, shark bait,” he grunted, adjusting his board under his arm.
“Let’s go slay some Leviathans.” I grinned, and together, we paddled out into the chop.
Alexa Play: Golden by Harry Styles
The clouds rolled overhead in tandem with the nearly black walls of water that surged before us.
