“I’ll see you when we get back.” I squeeze Ian’s upper arm and he smiles like he knew I wasn’t coming.
I grab my bag and shoot into the bathroom, but before I can get to a stall, I hear someone throwing up. All I really wanted was to compose myself, call Teegan, maybe hide out in here until it’s time to go back in the room.
But I recognize the woman on her knees as Sara the judge. I get a paper towel, wet it for her and hand it over. She sits up. “Thanks.”
“Are you okay? Do you want me to call someone?”
She shakes her head. “It’s this pregnancy. I’m constantly sick.” She looks at her watch. “Not sure how I’m going to get through this.”
I hand her another paper towel and she stands up, looking at herself in the mirror. “So far pregnancy isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Thank you so much.” She washes her hands and leaves the room.
I pull out my phone. Whoever called is a number I don’t have stored. They left a message though. Whatever. I’ll listen later. It’s probably a telemarketer
I dial up Teegan.
“Finally. Soph! When I was flagging you down last night, that was the clue to come talk to me.”
“Why?” I ask. “I was leaving.”
“Yes, with a pro surfer. They didn’t tell me until after. Holy shit, Soph!”
“Yeah well I was slow on the uptake. Hold on my phone is going off.” It vibrates in my hand, so I pull it away from my ear seeing the same unknown number from earlier calling once again. I disregard and bring my phone to my ear. “Damn telemarketers. I swear I put my cell on the do not call list.”
She laughs. “I know. I mean that happens all the time to us. Anyway. I want details.” Then there’s some kind of a ruckus behind her. “Oh, stop it, Leo. I don’t want a surfer boy. I have one.” She gets back on lowering her voice. “So? Spill.”
“I just found out that he’s a pro surfer and you’ll never believe how I found out.”
My phone vibrates again.
“Oh my God, I’m going to tell this telemarketer off. Hang on.” I pull my phone out away from me and click over to the other line. “Look, I don’t need anything from you. Please lose this number and stop the repeated calls. It’s called harassment.” I click off and return to Teegan.
“I’m back. I think I was oddly polite there.”
“I doubt that.” Teegan snickers.
“Anyway, where was I?”
“You were saying that you just found out who he is. I’d say that’s a good sign because it’s after eleven in the morning which means he spent the night…”
My phone vibrates again but only once, indicating a text message.
I growl. “Hold up, Tee.”
I pull my phone away from my ear to read the text.
Unknown number: Come out of the bathroom.
I have Ian’s number in my phone so this would be…
I bring my phone back up to my ear. “Tee, I gotta call you back.” She begins to talk but I hang up.
I take a deep breath and let it out. This means he took my number before he left this morning. Teegan’s right. I really need to password protect my phone. But it’s so annoying punching it in every time I pick it up to do something.
I open the door a bit to peak outside. Just as I thought, he’s standing with his hands in his pockets. He nods toward the phone in my hand. “Lucky for me you don’t take your personal privacy seriously.”
So, my one-night stand I thought lived in a hut on the beach is actually a pro surfer who took my number out of my phone so he could contact me later?
Warmth spreads through my chest until the same girl from earlier comes back over to his side, her head buried in her phone. “I need coffee like now.”
She looks up and she doesn’t seem too pleased to see me. Even Trent’s hand pulls on the back of his neck like we’re about to go over another speed bump. Who is this woman to him?
5
Sophie
“Give me a minute, Jen,” Trent says, his eyes never leaving mine.
“I’m heading around the corner. The craft service coffee sucks. Want anything?” she asks, already walking past him.
“No thanks.” His eyes lock on mine. “Do you want a coffee, Sophie?”
The woman turns around. She’s blonde just like Trent except her hair is up in a ponytail she’s somehow managed to make look stylish and not lazy. A few curly tendrils hang down around her face. I have to be misunderstanding their relationship. Surely, he’s not asking his girlfriend to buy his one night stand a coffee.
“I’m good. Thank you.”
Jen nods and disappears down the hall.
“Want to join me for some crappy coffee?” He nods toward craft services.
“I think I’m only supposed to have the crappy coffee in the press room.” I point to the room I just vacated.
“Who cares.” He turns and waits for me to join him at his side before we both walk toward the table. Heidi is chatting it up with Justin in the corner and they both eye us as we approach. Justin’s eyes zeroing on my press necklace.
Trent pours a coffee and places it down. “Sugar or cream?”
“No, I’m a black kind of girl.”
He nods and hands me my coffee, keeping his black as well. His gaze shifts to Justin and Heidi and then his hand presses to my back, walking us over to the corner. Once we’re far enough away, he stands in front of me, so I’m blocked from anyone else’s view. Is this where he says last night was a mistake?
“Sorry for running out this morning. I had to be here early, and Jen was ringing up my phone like a crazy person.” He pulls on the back of his neck again and peeks up with flushed cheeks. “I have a reputation I’m trying to improve.”
“Reputation?” My forehead creases.
He chuckles. “You really have no idea who I am, huh? Last night wasn’t an act?”
“Act?” I feel the crease form between my eyes.
He shrugs. “I don’t mean to sound arrogant, but most women who I approach know who I am. I didn’t know if you were trying to be one of those women who act like they don’t know me and then a picture of me sleeping in their bed gets pinned to the top of their social media page. It’s why I didn’t program my name into your phone. I was going to wait a week to call you. See if anything showed up.”
My shoulders sink imagining what it would be like to deal with that.
I take my pointer finger and cross my heart. “I promise I didn’t know until you were introduced on the show.”
A smile forms on his face and spurs butterflies to take flight in my belly. “I like that you didn’t know and that it wasn’t an act. To these people I might be Calder but I’m really just Trent, surfer bum.”
I shake my head that I ever thought that of him, although even now he’s got the chill-surfer vibe going on.
“I think we have a two hour break after this one. Want to go to lunch?”
“Sure.”
“Great.” He steps forward, his fingers playing with mine at my side, hidden from everyone. “I’ll have Jen make us reservations.”