Page 108 of Between the Boards
Maliah turns to Kairi, grabbing hold of her arm. “Does this mean I need to cancel the firefighter strippers?”
Kairi’s eyes grow so wide, I’m scared they’ll pop out of her head. “You hired strippers?” she hisses in a hushed whisper. “Are you out of your mind? That was one of Eliana’s hard-no’s!”
Maliah flashes her an innocent grin before pulling out her phone and rapidly dialling a number as she walks over to an excluded corner to take her call.
“You guys didn’t hire strippers, did you?” Kairi asks, turning to look at me with narrowed eyes.
I laugh and boop her nose. “No, darlin’. Griffin would kick my ass if I let that happen.”
She breathes a sigh of relief. “Okay, good.”
Jazzi brings over a tray full of drinks for each of us and Eliana begins to clink the side of her glass with her spoon.
“I know tonight is supposed to be about me and Griffin, but before we jump into the celebrations, I wanted to take a moment to congratulate our friends, Kairi and Colton, on winning the qualifiers and earning their spots on the world surf tour next year.”
I pull Kairi close and she rests her hand on my chest while she smiles as the others clap for us. It was no easy feat getting toqualifiers, and to be completely honest we were so neck and neck with The Rip Raiders we would’ve been screwed.
But it turns out that karma is real and the whole team was suspended for the next two years because of the comment Davis Anderson made to Kairi all those months ago. Apparently Gabriel had opened a complaint against him, and somehow got his hands on a copy of camera footage that recorded the whole thing.
That little lifeline opened the gates of qualifiers wide open for us and we gave it our all out on the waves. We deserved to make it onto the tour, and I’m so happy I get to experience it for the first time with Kairi by my side.
“Yes, congrats to the two of you,” Griffin chimes in. “Let’s get another gold for Saltwater Springs.”
“Thank you,” I say, raising my glass alongside Kairi’s. “We’ll do our best.”
“And Kairi,” Eliana pauses, with a proud smile. “Congratulations on your collaboration product project. It has been an absolute privilege to stand by your side and watch you become so passionate about something so meaningful to the surf community, and I know big things are coming your way.”
Kairi quickly swipes at her eyes as they turn glassy. “Thank you,” she sniffles.
"Okay, enough chit-chat. Let's party," Zale interrupts, raising his glass before chugging the whole thing.
A chorus of cheers erupts and within minutes, the music is turned up, chairs are pushed aside, and whatever plans had previously existed for either party are abandoned.
Which feels fitting because nothing about this group has ever gone according to plan. Honestly, I can’t think of a better way for tonight to go.
I lean back against the bar, wrapping an arm around Kairi’s waist as the rest of our friends scatter across the dance floor.
Minutes later, Koa somehow ends up carrying both Eliana and Maliah on his shoulders at the same time while Griffin follows behind them, seconds away from a panic attack.
"Put my fiancée down!" Griffin shouts over the music.
"No," Koa replies.
"That's my answer too," Eliana yells, raising her drink. "You can't tell me what to do."
“What if you get hurt?” he asks. “We get married in two days!”
“I’ll be fine,” she giggles, dangerously teetering on Koa’s shoulder before Griffin grabs ahold of her waist and gently lifts her back to the floor.
Kairi laughs against my shoulder and I glance down at her with a smile of my own. The past five months have been a blur of early morning practices, competitions, sponsorship meetings, road trips, and stolen moments squeezed between all of it. Life has gotten really busy, but no matter what’s happening around us, hearing her laugh is still the highlight of each day.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asks.
I blink. “Like what?”
Her eyes narrow suspiciously. "You've got that look."
"What look?"
