Page 52 of Between the Boards
“What?” I frown. “But wasn’t she supposed to stay for the summer?”
“Yeah.” He lets out a short laugh but it sounds forced. “Guess Saltwater Springs was a little too different from Italy.”
I open my mouth to ask another question, but footsteps cut me off.
“Got a minute to talk?” Gabriel asks as he approaches us.
His expression is carefully controlled in a way that tells me he’s far angrier and stressed than he’s letting on.
I nod immediately. “Can you put this away for me?” I ask Zale, handing my board back to him.
“Yeah, of course.”
His fingers briefly brush mine as he takes it, leaving a gentle tingle on skin. Gabriel turns toward the house and I follow closely until we’re inside the team meeting room. The space smells like coffee and whiteboard markers.
Gabriel leans against the edge of the long table, crossing his arms over his chest as he studies me carefully.
“What Colton said in the car,” he begins, voice calm but clipped, “is serious. And I’m treating it seriously.”
I swallow and nod.
“Do you feel like the judges are playing favourites?”
“I…” I rub my arm awkwardly, wishing I could walk away without answering him.
His expression tightens slightly and my heart rate picks up as I stand straighter.
“I know that I wasn’t scored fairly,” I admit quietly. “But calling it favouritism feels…” I exhale shakily. “I don’t know. It doesn’t feel like that’s what it is. I feel like there’s a judge on the panel that definitely doesn’t like me though.”
Gabriel’s jaw flexes.
“What about what happened with the Rip Raiders?” he asks carefully. “Colton mentioned that one of them said something inappropriate.”
I stare down at the floorboards for a second before answering.
“One of them called me a bitch,” I say quietly. “And a half-breed.”
The room goes still and Gabriel uncrosses his arms, gripping the edge of the table so hard that his knuckles turn pale.
“I’ll deal with him,” he says through clenched teeth.
But instead of feeling relieved, anxiety courses through me because the last time someone fought for me, things escalated too quickly.
Gabriel shuts his eyes and drags in a slow breath through his nose before looking back at me.
“As for the judges, I’m assuming Stephen is the judge you feel targeted by,” he says. “I’ve been trying to get him removed from the judging panel for years now.”
My head snaps up. “What?”
“I noticed his scoring patterns a while ago.” His mouth presses into a grim line. “Especially when it comes to minorities.”
I stare at him in disbelief. “You noticed?”
“Of course I noticed.” His voice softens slightly. “I’m sorry we never talked about it before. I didn’t want to make it feel more real than it already does.”
My throat tightens because he’s right. As long as nobody acknowledged it, I could keep pretending it was all in my head; maybe I just wasn’t surfing well enough. But today destroyed that illusion completely.
“The sponsorship deals too,” he continues carefully. “I promise I’m working on getting you more opportunities.”
