“Oh.” Her eyes widen and flick to mine. “No. I’m not his . . . we’re not . . .”
My stomach uncoils in relief. “Sorry. I just assumed—”
“We’re just friends, that’s all. We went to high school together.”
“Oh.” I guess she isn’t a bunny. “Do you go to UM, too?”
“I’m taking the semester off,” she says, darting her eyes to Trent a time or two, which makes me wonder if she’s crushing on him as badly as I am. Who could blame her? He’s hot.
“Hey, what’re you doing?” Micah calls out as he jogs over to where Ady and I are standing before turning his attention to me. “Kate. I didn’t know you were coming.”
“Yeah. So, when are you competing?”
“Later today. Did you enter?”
“No, I just came to watch.”
“Sweet.” He then turns to Ady. “I’m going to run up to the room and lie low for a while before my heat.”
“I’ll come with you,” she tells him.
“You sure?”
She gives him a nod, and I figure it’s Micah she’s seeing instead of Trent.
“It was good meeting you, Kate,” she says.
“You, too. I’ll catch you later.”
I watch them walk back up the beach hand in hand, confused as to why both guys are affectionate with her. Then I’m confused as to why I even care.
After a while, the group disperses and gets ready to hit the water. Since Trent and I are here as spectators, we find a spot to sit and watch. Despite the fact that I’m a super relaxed person, being with Trent when no one else is around makes me super uneasy, but I’m not about to show that, so I feign coolness.
“So, why aren’t you out there?” I ask as the foghorn blows, signaling the end of the heat.
“Because I don’t want to turn what I love into a chore.”
I stifle a smile because I pretty much said the same thing to Brody earlier. Most want the sponsorships, the titles, the fame, and the money. Not me. Well, aside from a sponsorship. I’d take that any day.
“What about you?”
“Same reason.”
He laughs under his breath, and I turn curious eyes to him.
“What’s so funny?”
“Sure you’re not scared of looking like a poser?”
I slug him in the arm.
“Dude!” he whines, rubbing the sore spot. “Treat your boy a little more delicately.”
“Delicately?” I laugh. “And you are not my boy.”
“That hurts worse than your beating.”
“I’m sure.”
As the next group of guys paddle out, I lean back on to my elbows in the warm sand. Even though it’s overcast, the heat from the hidden sun radiates off my skin.
A faint tapping draws my attention, and when I glance over at Trent, he’s clicking a vape pen to turn it on.
When he slips the pen between his lips, he catches me staring and lowers it. “Pardon my manners,” he quips before holding it out to me. “Ladies first.”
My eyes narrow.
“What?” he defends. “I don’t need you accusing me of being sexist again.”
“You’re a shit, you know that?”
He nods. “Yep.”
I grab the pen and take a pull. As I hand it back, I hold the fumes in my lungs long enough to feel the initial hint of the impending high.
“So,” he says after he takes a hit, “you’re a Palm Beach snob.”
“West Palm Beach.”
“As if that makes much of a difference.”
“Tell me something . . . are you capable of having a normal conversation without being insulting?”
“Are you insulted because it’s the truth?”
There’s no controlling my rolling eyes. “You’re annoying.”
The corner of his lips lift.
“And obnoxious.”
“Look at who’s being insulting now.” He takes another pull from his pen.
“Just calling it as I see it.”
“Same here,” he says as he blows out the remaining fumes. “That being said, you should come out to dinner with us later.”
Trying not to expose my slight elation, I give him a glare. “You’re inviting me out to dinner five seconds after calling me a snob?”
“No, I’m inviting the guys, which you happen to be a part of. Unless you’d rather it just be you and me.” He wags his brows, and the foolish love-struck girl inside me is jumping up and down, but I stifle my excitement and fight back the smile that’s tugging on my lips. No way do I want him to know just how eager I am to spend more time with him, even if that time includes everyone else.
“An evening alone with you throwing jabs at me? No thanks.”
“For the record, you’re the only one who’s thrown a jab.” The guy actually rubs his arm to emphasize his point, but I shake my head and go back to watching the surfers.
The next handful of hours pass as Trent and I watch the guys throw down their best in the water. Micah ranks impressively high, coming in fourth while Brody places a respectable twelfth. After taking a quick break to clean up, we do, in fact, join Trent and his friends for dinner. While the rest of us talk enthusiastically about the competition, Ady sits quietly, barely saying a word and hardly eating anything. After five minutes of watching her push food around her plate, I settle back in my chair.
“You not into all the surf talk?” I ask, not wanting her to feel left out.
She shrugs. “It’s okay, I guess. Between Micah and Trent, I’m used to it.”
“Have you known them long?”
“A couple of years. I met them when I moved to Tampa during my junior year.”
“That must’ve sucked, having to change schools like that. Where did you move from?”
“Texas.” She stabs a piece of broccoli with her fork. “What about you?”
“She’s a Palm Beach snob,” Trent responds, butting into our conversation.
“West,” I correct pointedly before turning back to Ady. “West Palm Beach. Your friend doesn’t seem to know the difference.”
“Just ignore him,” she tells me, and when I look over at him, he shoots me a wink.
“Is he always this charming?”
“Sometimes he can be a pest.”
“You mean this is him not being a pest?”
“Don’t throw me under the bus, girl,” he playfully warns Ady, which causes her to laugh.
She waves her fork at him. “You do that just fine on your own.”
“So, what are you doing in Miami if you aren’t going to school?”
Her gaze drops to her uneaten food, and she avoids eye contact with me as she answers, “I’m not sure what I want to study, so I’m just taking some time for myself right now.”
Voices grow at the other end of the table, catching our attention before Brody announces, “Who’s down for going out?”
Trent tosses his napkin onto the table. “I’m in.”
“Where are we going?” another one of the guys asks.
“We’re in Boca. Let’s find a club or something and celebrate.”