“No, that was a punch!”
He shrugs, picking his board back up. “I told him to stay away from you.”
My jaw drops. “Colton, the whole point of this fake relationship is to make himnotstay away from me,” I whisper urgently, grabbing his arm again.
He leans forward until we’re eye level, his expression frustratingly calm.
“Zale chases what hethinkshe can’t have, Kairi,” he says. “Trust me, this just made things more interesting for him.”
I stare at Colton, not quite convinced.
“You’re welcome,” he adds before straightening.
Gabriel blows the whistle to signal the start of our practice. Colton bends down and grabs both of our boards, handing me mine before running toward the water with the rest of the team while I’m left watching him, wondering if he just helped me or made everything infinitely more complicated.
FOURTEEN
COLTON
“Too slow on the pop-up!”Gabriel yells from the shore as I push to my feet on my board.
I bite back a curse and adjust instinctively, dropping into the wave anyway. The face is clean and I drive hard into a deep bottom turn, loading my weight through my back foot before snapping off the lip and causing spray to kick up into the wind.
I land heavier than I want to, the board chattering under my feet as the wave starts to flatten out under me, but I still ride it through, letting what’s left of the energy carry me toward the shore before stepping off into the shallows as cold water rushes around my calves.
“You were too wide on that bottom turn!” Gabriel calls, closing the distance. “Tighten it up! And that snap was also too flat. Get it more vertical!”
“Got it, Coach,” I reply, already turning away.
I swing back onto my board and paddle out hard, ducking under the next incoming wave and pushing through the break. By the time I make it back to the lineup, the team’s already spread out. And of course, the only open space left is right beside Zale.
He looks over, a smug grin pulling at the corners of his mouth. “I take it Gabriel is still not impressed with your mediocre technique?” he asks.
I exhale through my nose and keep my eyes forward, scanning the sets rolling in as Kairi paddles for the next one.
“I’m working on it,” I mutter.
“Don’t work too hard,” Zale says, still watching me. “Wouldn’t want you running off again when it gets too tough for you to handle.”
My grip tightens on the rails of my board, and for a second I consider letting it go—letting him keep talking until he gets bored. But I already know how that’ll end.
“You done,” I say flatly, “or do you have more recycled lines?”
He lets out a humourless laugh. “I’m just stating the facts, Colton. You’ve already proved yourself to be a flight risk.”
I force my shoulders to stay loose, even as hot anger twists in my chest.
“If I was going to run, I wouldn’t have come back,” I say, turning to meet his gaze, “and I sure as hell wouldn’t have stuck around for the last year as a sub. So, how about you focus on your own shitty problems.”
His eyes narrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I glance past him, tracking Kairi as she pops up clean and drives down the line effortlessly.
“Come on, Zale,” I say, a faint smirk tugging at my mouth. “It’s obvious you’re bothered she moved on from the schoolgirl crush she had on you.”
“I’m not bothered” he snaps. “I could care less. I’m busy with Alessia.”
“Yeah?” I tilt my head slightly, still watching Kairi perfectly carve through the section. “Where is Alessia, anyway?”
