“People declare that shit this early?”
I chuckle. “Um, yeah.”
“Nah, man.” He shakes his head at the idea. “I try not to plan the future.”
“Isn’t that the whole point of college?”
“Maybe for people like you.”
“You say that like you know me.”
Sitting to my side with his arms resting on his bent knees, he wears a cocky smirk. “Are you some sort of an enigma?”
I quirk a brow. “No.”
“Then I pretty much know you.”
In a snap, my gaze turns into a glare. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You girls are all the same. You want to believe that you’re different, but you’re not.”
“That’s fucking sexist.”
“It’s the truth,” he defends. “Humans are simple creatures, but for some reason, women think it’s a bad thing to be simple, so they purposely complicate everything because, in a weird way, it makes them feel special.”
“You must be quite the charmer.”
He winks, and I hate that it comes across as sexy when it should irritate me. “You know it!”
“What the fuck are you doing?” Micah shouts from the water. “You look like you need a carrot.”
“Eat dick!” Trent hollers back at the insinuation that he looks like a bunny sitting in the sand.
Without another word, he grabs his board and jogs into the water. I’m unable to pull my eyes away from him as he lies on his board and digs his arms into the water. The fluttering returns, and I silently scold myself for staring like a schoolgirl. The beaches are crawling with charming and carefree guys just like him. I bet he also trolls the shore to pick up unsuspecting girls who are here on vacation. I’m sure he gets a kick out of being the summertime fling story they go home and tell their friends about.
I roll my eyes, feeling a tad jealous as I do.
What is wrong with me?
KATE
“Hey, thanks for letting me tag along.”
“Yeah, no problem,” Brody responds as we make the drive to Deerfield Beach. He then reaches over and turns down the volume to the music. “So, any reason why you didn’t register? It isn’t like you aren’t good enough.”
“I love surfing, but it’s really only a hobby. It’s the one part of my life that holds zero stress for me. The last thing I want to do is suck the fun out of it by turning it into a job.”
“I get that. But, still, it’d be a killer job.”
“Is that what you want to do? Surf professionally?”
He exits the highway as we near the hotel. “Yeah. Micah and I were talking about it a couple of months back. Even if I never make it to the pro level, just to snag a sponsorship would be cool.”
“I’d be down with taking a sponsorship. Being paid to wear someone’s clothes or use their gear . . . sign me up.”
“Not going to happen unless you get your ass registered in some of these comps.”
Comps aren’t my thing. I would never admit this to anyone, but the only reason I asked Brody to let me tag along is because Trent is going to be here.
God, I am so lame. I’m an embarrassment to myself.
I haven’t seen him since we met at the beach last week. And because our paths haven’t crossed on campus, I figured I could make them cross this weekend.
“Shit, this place is packed,” Brody complains when he turns into the hotel parking lot.
I’m not sure why he’s surprised. This competition is one of the largest qualifiers in Florida.
When he manages to find a parking spot, he unfastens his seatbelt and asks, “Would you mind grabbing my boards while I check in? I don’t want to leave them out here, and I definitely don’t want to drag them around with me in the lobby.”
“No worries. I’ll take my time. I need to call my dad anyway.”
“Cool. I’ll catch you inside.”
He combs back his long brown hair with his hand, slips on his baseball hat, and hops out of the car, tossing me his keys through the open window.
I’m already on the phone when I respond with a simple, “Okay.”
“Kate,” my father answers enthusiastically. “How’s the competition going?”
“We just got here. Brody is checking in, but I wanted to call you before this weekend got too busy.”
“It’s too bad you aren’t competing.”
“Dad . . .”
“You’d put the men’s division to shame,” he dotes before adding, “I remember the day I got you on the board.”
I smile, and even though I can’t actually recall the first time he put me on a board, I know the story by heart.
“You were a natural, giggling when you actually stood up and caught your first wave. Your mother was so excited, I could hear her cheering from the shore.”
My father has always been one of my biggest cheerleaders, and there was a point in high school when I did want to take the sport to the next level, but that all changed a couple of years ago. It isn’t something my dad likes to talk about because deep down the accident really scared him.
“You know, you could enter a competition just for fun. It doesn’t have to be anything serious.”
“I’ll pass.” I try to brush off the conversation, but he doesn’t take the hint.
“You have a gift.”
“What’s Mom doing today?”
“Always quick to dodge conversations.” He chuckles. “She’s out shopping with your sister for a dress for the Sadie Hawkins dance.”
Audrina is a sophomore in high school, and the girl is boy crazy, like crazy, crazy.
“Who did she ask?”
“Some kid she can’t stop talking about. He plays lacrosse and is on student council.”
“You’re going to give him hell, right?”
“You know it!” He laughs.
“Dad, I have to run. Tell everyone that I miss them.”
“I will. You have fun this weekend.”
We say our I love yous before I shove my cell into my pocket, hop out of the car, and unstrap the boards from the roof.
After I meet back up with Brody and we dump everything off in the room we’re sharing, we pick up his heat pack and head down to the water.
Another age division is already in progress, and we have a few hours to kill before Micah goes out.
“I see the guys on the other side of the media tent.”
We head over to where our friends are hanging out and discuss heat times. Eventually, Trent walks up with his arm around some blonde. There’s a coiling in my stomach when I see them together.
“What’s up?” he says, clapping hands with each of the guys.
“Who’s this?” Brody asks of the girl.
“This is Ady.”
Everyone introduces themselves to her before she takes a step away and they go back to talking about surfing. She appears uncomfortable. Even though I have no desire to talk to a bunny, I’m not a bitch.
“So, you’re here with Trent?” I ask as I sidle up next to her.
She gives a nod.
“I didn’t know he had a girlfriend.”