Page 41 of Between the Boards
I’m met with silence, and my smirk widens just a fraction before I finally glance at him again.
“You should worry less about me leaving the team,” I say, voice dropping low, “and worry more about why people don’t want to stay around you.”
A dark expression flashes on his face and his jaw tightens as the corner of my mouth twitches with a faint smile.
“You ladies done chatting back there,” Gabriel calls from the shore, arms crossed, “or do I need to split you up?”
“You’re up,” I say, jerking my chin toward the incoming set.
He bares his teeth at me before dropping flat onto his board and paddling out hard just as Kairi glides past him. Her brow quirks as she comes to a stop next to me.
“Why does he look like he’s about to do something dangerously stupid?”
I shrug. “Doesn’t he always?”
She huffs a quiet laugh, pushing damp curls out of her face.
“Nice ride by the way,” I add, nodding toward where she came from. “Gabriel looked impressed.”
“Thanks,” she says, but it’s softer than usual. “I just…hope it’s enough for the comp.”
I study her, catching the slight hesitation. “You’re one of the best surfers on this coast, Kai,” I say, holding her gaze. “That gold is already yours.”
She smiles, but it doesn’t quite stick. “Yeah,” she says lightly. “We’ll see.”
Something about the way she says it doesn’t sit right with me, and then I remember what she told me all those days ago, about the comments and different treatment she gets at competitions. My jaw tightens as I think about what she must go through, and I swear to myself I’ll be watching this time.
“Zale! You’re muscling it!” Gabriel shouts. “Smooth it out!”
We both look in Zale’s direction just as he wipes out on his landing and doesn’t even try to recover. Once he’s back on his board, he turns and paddles straight for shore until he’s out ofthe water, planting his board in the sand and dropping down beside it.
Gabriel watches him for a beat, then looks toward me. “Colton, you’re up!”
I slide forward on my board, then glance back at Kairi. “Duty calls, beautiful.”
A subtle but pretty blush crawls along her cheeks, and she tries to hide it with an eye roll as a small smile tugs at her lips. “Go get ‘em, cowboy.”
“We could’ve just driven over together,”Zale says when he steps onto Griffin’s boat.
The deck rocks slightly under his weight, the low hum of the engine vibrating through the soles of my feet.
“I had more fun driving past you on your little tricycle,” I shoot back.
“It’s a bicycle,” he snaps.
“I don’t know about that,” I murmur, loud enough for him to hear. “I saw training wheels.”
Koa snorts from where he sits, one arm slung over the backrest. “You two are still at it?”
“Not even a question,” Zale mutters, cracking open a beer. “This is a permanent feud.”
“Seems that way,” I say under my breath, crouching to grab a can from the cooler. It hisses as I pop it open, condensation already slick against my fingers. “Any idea why Fin wanted us out here?”
Koa shrugs. “Figured he just needed a break from everything going on with his parents, he probably just wants a distraction.”
I nod and take a seat, stretching my legs out in front of me. I almost didn’t come tonight, especially after I saw that Zale confirmed in the group chat that he’d be here, because every instinct in my body told me to stay the hell home.
But Griffin needs us, and that was enough to override everything else—so here I am.
