How was it possible? Was he really a spirit, or was I having a full-blown psychotic break?
I wasn’t sure, but all I knew was he was so real to me, and knowing that he wasn’t an actual tangible, breathing human being was so fucked up I couldn’t begin to process what was happening.
“Morning ba—Finn,” he whispered, and my already tense shoulders shot up to my ears. I didn’t respond; I simply made my way to the door to let Jet in.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about the guy, but I was grateful that fate seemed to have dropped an alternative to Riddick directly in my lap.
I knew I would have to talk to Riddick and decide what I was going to do about our relationship at some point. I just needed a second to work through what I was feeling.
I also still needed to train, and I didn’t think there was any way I could continue training with Riddick while feeling the way I was at the moment.
So, Jet, with his playful smile and easy attitude, would have todo for now.
I think if I wasn’t using every scrap of energy I had to just stay upright, I might have liked Jet. As it was, I could barely put one foot in front of the other, let alone put any effort into a new friendship.
I opened the door to find Jet leaning against the frame with a pair of charcoal Oakleys and a plain black T-shirt.
He gave me one of those handsome, easy grins and snapped the gum he was chewing as he straightened.
“Morning, surf star. You’re looking rested.”He smirked, giving me an up and down over the rims of his shades as he brushed past me.
“Ah, you made breakfast, dope,” he said, slipping into one of my kitchen chairs and digging into the pancakes Riddick had made me.
“Uh. Yeah, help yourself,” I mumbled, though Jet’s mouth was already full. He patted the chair next to me, indicating that he wanted me to join him.
“Eat up. Gotta get these carbs in and digest a bit before we hit the waves.”
I slid into the chair next to him, ignoring the angry burn of Riddick’s eyes on me from where he was sitting silently in the living room.
“So, how’d you hear about Leviathans in the first place?” Jet asked me casually, taking a big gulp from a cup of orange juice Riddick had poured for me.
“I was surfing with Turtle on the East Coast, and someone said they heard a rumor that you could hit up twenty footers here, so we came to check it out.”
Jet raised an eyebrow at me and put his fork down, turning to face me.
His knee brushed against mine, and I noticed he didn’t make any move to pull away. I frowned, wondering if that was intentional or if I was just imagining it.
I was still staring at where his knee was pressed against mine when he spoke.
“The waves at Leviathans get way higher than that. It’s late enough in the season that we might catch some twenties today. Over the next few weeks, they’re going to get even bigger.”
I nodded, sliding my chair back slightly so I could sit next to him without touching him.
“I know.”
He was watching me carefully, and I felt weirdly exposed.
“How do youknow? Only Kai, Riddick, and I really know Leviathan’s patterns. Or thatwasthe case before Kai and I left. As far as I know, no one has tried to surf the beach since Jake died.”
This easy flip back and forth from Riddick to Jake triggered me for some reason. This was how I’d ended up so fucking blindsided.
“Call him Jake or Riddick. Fucking pick one,” I snapped and immediately regretted my outburst. Jet looked surprised for a minute, then nodded.
“Alright. Jake then. His fans called him Riddick, but the people closest to him always knew him as Jake.”
“Why Riddick? Where’d that name come from?”
A sad smile spread across Jet’s face, and he leaned back in his chair, sliding down slightly. His knee brushed mine again, but I didn’t think he even noticed. He had this far-away look like he was remembering something that somehow both made him happy and sad at the same time.
