“Your face, Beck!” Ellie squeals as we watch the supposed love affair snippets. “I didn’t see that the first time!”
“Wait, wait,” Zora says between gasps of laugher. “Did you just roll your eyes?”
“Oh! I missed that. Pause it and go back!” Lucy says.
I guess I can understand how this footage would look to someone who didn’t know it was coming, but to me, it’s not half as bad as I thought it could be. Maybe it’s because I have the girls here cracking up next to me, or maybe it’s simply because I know Beck, and trust him.
“Oh! Did you watch Bikini Girl’s wipe-out?” Zora asks when the season finale ends. “What episode was that?” She starts clicking through my computer to find it.
“Oh man, I can’t watch anymore. I just watched ten episodes in a row, you guys.”
“But it was so satisfying! And the road rash. That was just nasty!”
“You’re kind of sick, Zora,” Lucy tells her.
“She’s got an evil streak,” Ellie confirms. “We know this.”
Beck’s phone rings with a call from Griff. It’s late and he knows we’re together so it must be important. “What’s up?” Beck answers.
I can’t hear what Griff says but Beck puts it on speaker a moment later. “Here she is.”
“Hey Griff,” I tell him.
“I have an idea.”
“Yeah?”
“You know Southskate Fest?”
It’s a rhetorical question because duh, of course I know it.
“I know it.”
“A spot just opened up in the women’s lineup. Edna Martin dropped out with a broken ankle.”
I can feel four sets of eyes on me, but I keep staring at the phone in Beck’s hand.
“Okay.”
“Do you want to take the spot?”
“Uh, isn’t that in two weeks?”
“Yeah, but it’s only a drive away. And school hasn’t even started yet.”
“When I said I wanted to compete again I meant like next year. You know, six months from now.” Okay, I’ve dreamed about competing sooner than that, but I knew it was unrealistic. “I’m not ready, Griff.”
“I saw you skate yesterday, Jordan. You’re ready.”
“But that was one day. One good day. Four months ago I couldn’t even get on my skateboard.”
“I didn’t say you have to win. It will just be a chance to get back in the game. You’ll have fun.”
“But it’s Southskate Fest, Griff. That’s one of the most competitive contests in the world. Can’t I start with something smaller, like the charity event I did at Riptide that first time? Except not at Riptide,” I add quickly.
“Beck will be there too. Competing,” Griff adds.
My eyes move to Beck and he nods. “So you’ll be there anyway, hopefully. You really want to watch from the sideline?”
“Are you sure you can even get me in?” I have to wonder.
“Probably. As of right now, they reached out to Brie and gave her twenty-four hours to decide. She asked if you might want to do it instead so I’m checking with you before I respond to the director. I’m sure they’ll let you in though.”
“That was nice of Brie.”
“She watched the Shred Live season finale. Thought you might want a chance to go head to head with Camila and Sarah.”
My heart kickstarts with this news, even if it shouldn’t surprise me they’ll be there. I want to protest, say I’m definitely not ready to go head to head with either of them yet, but no one in this room is going to let me get away with that.
Zora is already jumping up. “Yes! Camila will be there? Jordan, you have to go!”
Ellie pounds a fist into her palm. “We can go too since it’s not that far away, then beat her up afterward.”
Zora raises an eyebrow. “Who’s the one with the evil streak?”
Lucy taps her finger on her chin. “Beck, when does the Shred Live contract end for the relationship clause?
My head swings to Beck, but Griff answers before he can open his mouth. “The same Friday Southskate starts.”
Beck’s face breaks into a smile. “We can make out in front of everyone after we compete instead of making a statement.”
Zora cheers. “Yes! That will show Camila!”
“I just don’t want the added pressure of having to beat her. You guys are going to be all bummed if I don’t beat her and honestly unless Sarah Kase falls a lot I’m definitely not in a position to beat her.”
Ellie raises her hand. “By the way, how did Camila even make the finals on Shred Live? That’s bullshit.”
“It was rigged,” Griff says from the phone.
Lucy pats my arm. “No, Jordan, there’s no way we’d be disappointed. We just want to see you have fun out there. Besides, if you don’t beat her, you can stick it to her when you make out with Beck.”
I can feel the excitement from everyone, and there’s energy vibrating through me too, but not all of it is good. There’s anxiety too.
“What if I have a panic attack?”
“Then we’ll all be there for you,” Ellie says in a reassuring tone before adding, “And you can still make out with Beck in front of everyone.”
“You won’t have a panic attack,” Zora says with so much confidence I almost believe her.
“When do I have to decide by?” I ask Griff.
“Tomorrow. Brie’s supposed to get back to them by tomorrow afternoon.”
Beck rubs my back, and I look at him. “What do you think I should do?” He’s the only one who witnessed me unable to skate. He knows just how far I’ve come and how far I have to go.
“I want you to do it. For you. Not for me, or Griff, or even your friends. Sorry,” he adds, shooting them a little smile. “If it helps to motivate you, you can try to beat Camila, because I know you will anyway, but don’t do it just for that either. Do it because you want to compete and it’ll be fun.”
“Do it!” Ellie whisper-shouts.
Zora starts chanting, “Do it! Do it! Do it!” And everyone chimes in, even Griff.
Beck, however, whispers in my ear, “But you can always come just to watch me and I’ll still grab your ass in front of everyone and stick my tongue down your throat. It’s up to you.”
“It’s street and park, right?” I confirm. Even though I already know Southskate has a contest for both styles, that doesn’t mean both spots are open. I’m better at park, but someday I want to try competing in street too.
“Yeah, you could probably just do one and Brie could do the other, but I think you should just do both,” Griff answers.
“I know I should sleep on it first,” I finally cut off my little fan club. “But I don’t want to overthink it. I’ll do it.” I rush out the words and a wave of excitement and anxiety hits me all at once.
“And tomorrow, I’ll open a social media account again.”
I figure why not go all in while I’m at it?
Chapter Twenty-Three