Guiding her to the bed, I let her hazy eyes come back into focus as I hover on my elbows above her. “Everyone’s talking about what you did on Saturday in Vancouver. There was more talk about you and your 720 at the meetings this morning than there was about the collaboration.”
Jordan blinks a few times. “We’re still talking about this?”
“I decided on how I felt about missing out on seeing it in person, and it’s not that I’m mad at you. It’s that I’m jealous of everyone else who got to witness it. They’re all bragging about it on social media, talking about you and your performance like they know you better than I do, and I don’t like it.”
I’m only able to say this aloud because she’s still looking slightly dazed.
“You’re jealous? But Beck, you’ve seen me land a 720, you were the first one to see it. That’s a weird thing to be jealous about,” she murmurs, even as her hands move between us. I can’t hide the hard length bobbing around between our bodies.
“I know. I guess I need to get used to having a famous girlfriend.” She’s figured out how to handle being with me, and now it’s my turn.
Jordan’s eyes widen slightly like it’s finally hitting her this boost in stardom might not be a temporary blip. “I should be the one with mixed feelings about it. A year ago any attention I didn’t ask for was a negative thing. But now? Now it’s different.”
“You asked for it though, didn’t you? And that’s not a bad thing. You knew what the outcome would be if you showed the world what you’re capable of.”
“Yeah, that’s the difference. I wanted to hide it before, but now, I know that if I’m going to be with you…” I can’t hide my glower at the word “if.” Jordan tilts up the side of her mouth, recognizing her poor word choice. “Since I’m with you and that won’t be changing,” she amends, “I will get attention one way or the other. So I want it to be on my terms. I want it to be indisputable that I belong in the pro circuit, not because Griff is doing you a favor, or anything like that, but because I can do tricks no other girls can do.”
She’s wiggling as she explains all this, shifting up on the bed, widening her legs, and now wrapping them around my waist. I’m trying real hard to maintain concentration on the conversation, but as she guides me to her entrance, I give up my efforts. Sliding inside, I tell her one more thing before the sensations wipe out my ability to speak coherently. “You might have the world’s attention now for your skateboarding prowess just like you intended. They might not even care who your boyfriend is anymore. But you were my Hotshot first. And you always will be.”
Chapter Sixteen
Jordan
“Beck! You can’t say that on international television!” I’m sputtering as I jump out of my seat on the couch in our condo.
Zora smacks my leg from her spot on the other couch. “Sit down!” she hisses. “It’s not over yet.” I glance at the rest of my roommates, entranced by Eileen and Beck talking about me on the screen. I can’t decide where to look, and after shooting a glare at the real Beck, who looks way too smug, I turn my attention back to the screen. Eileen says something nice about me, which makes me soften just a tad, but I’m still too wired to sit back down.
Beck just said he wants to marry me! On the Eileen Delarosa Show! It’s a good thing I already embraced my newfound fame on my own terms, because if I hadn’t gotten attention from the 720, I’d be getting it for that statement. In fact, we’ve saved it for viewing until tonight, but this show aired at the same time I landed my 720. I know all the buzz I’ve seen has been about that trick and not Beck’s declaration on television, but still, I can’t fight the unease settling in my stomach. Beck tugs my hand until I stumble backward into his lap.
“Hey, I’m not sorry,” he says quietly. “I had to hide what you meant to me for way too long, I’m not going to walk on eggshells about it anymore.”
“You don’t have to walk on eggshells,” I grit out. “But you don’t have to be so… so…” I can’t think of the word to describe just how jaw dropping his words were: “I’d marry her tomorrow…”
“Honest? Real?”
“Beck, we haven’t even talked about marriage yet, how can you talk about it on television like that?”
“But we have talked about it. Remember?”
I do remember, it was discussed at his dad’s wedding, but we’d been together a month or so at that point, and I didn’t think either of us were seriously discussing it. Wait, back up. “Honest? You’d really marry me tomorrow if I dragged you to the courthouse?”
Beck nods, his eyes boring into mine as the amusement at my outrage fades. “Yeah, but don’t worry, I’ll wait as long as you need me to.” He frowns. “Well, I might start trying to manipulate you into it if you’re still dragging your feet in ten years or so, but I’m confident I’ll have a ring on it by then.”
I hear a camera phone click and swing my eyes to Ellie, who’s grinning with no remorse. “I’m sorry, was that supposed to be a private moment? You two are so damn cute. Do I have your permission to post this and tell the world this is what happened after you heard Beck tell Eileen he’s going to marry you?”
“Cool with me,” Beck says.
“No!” I protest, but I’m laughing now. “I don’t want Beck’s undying love for me to overtake my 720! I need to be known for skateboarding, people!” I throw my fist in the air to make my point.
Ellie just coos. “I can already picture the wedding. Jordan in a wedding dress riding her skateboard. Beck in a tux, dropping into the half pipe.” She sighs.
“Are you going to let us help plan the wedding?” Lucy asks.
“You guys, I just turned nineteen. I’m not planning a wedding.” But man, they do have me thinking… about someday, years from now. Right? I think? No rush.
As if reading my mind, Beck squeezes my hips. “No rush. I’m not going anywhere.”
It’s late and with all of us with class or work in the morning, I let them tease us a little longer about our future wedding before we all head off to bed. Beck heads back to Jay Beach tomorrow for the rest of the week, and I’ve still got a ton of schoolwork to catch up on after being out of town. I thought I might get some done in Vancouver but it didn’t really happen.
“I don’t want to go back to real life,” I complain after we brush our teeth and snuggle in bed.
“Real life? It all seems pretty good to me. I just don’t want to go another couple days without seeing you, but at least we got tonight.”
“It’s just hard to focus on classes and school after the weekend I had. I probably won’t get to really skateboard again until I’m back in Jay Beach on Friday.” All I want to do is keep riding the high from my accomplishment, but instead I need to study the principles of microeconomics.
“Yeah, that’s why it took me seven years to get my degree,” Beck says with a soft laugh. “I’m glad I did though. Not only did buckling down that last semester mean I met you, but I’m more prepared for this position at Brazen. I’m taken more seriously by others in the industry.”