Page 64 of Keeping Mr. Right Now
And now she was talking to herself.
Her cell phone rang and she glanced at the screen. Leave it to her mother to cool her off quicker than she could blink. Since the few seats next to her were empty, she stayed put and answered it with a low voice. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, sweetie. You didn’t text me back, so I wanted to be sure everything was okay.”
“It’s been a really busy day.” Her mother texted her her horoscope every day, even though Sophie didn’t believe in horoscopes and had told her so numerous times.
“Did you see who posted on your Facebook page?”
Why she accepted her mother’s friend request she had no idea. Oh wait, yes she did. If she hadn’t, her mom would have been heartbroken, not understanding about her daughter wanting a little privacy. “No, I didn’t. I haven’t had time to be online this week.”
“Your cousin Amy. She’s moving back home and wants to get together. Why don’t you call your dad and ask him to take us all to dinner?”
This was another thing her mom did a lot. No doubt her dad was sitting right there next to her mom engrossed inHawaii Five-0, since it was Friday night, but her mom believed he’d be more likely to say yes to a night out if Sophie asked instead.
“I’ll ask him when I get back.”
“I miss you,” her mom said, warmth in her voice. Despite her little annoyances, she did love Sophie, and if she stopped all her habits, no doubt Sophie would miss them.
“I’ll see you soon.”
“You haven’t fallen for any of those surfers, have you? Decided to become one of those groupies I see on TV? Did I tell you I ran into Brendan? He asked about you. Said if you ever wanted to come back to—”
“Mom.” Sophie squeezed the phone. Brendan was her old boss. “I’ve told you I have no plans to go back to doing research. I love my new job.”
Her mom’s belabored sigh stirred the usual ache in Sophie’s stomach. She knew her mom only wanted the best for her.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. And I’m sure you’ve done an outstanding job this week.”
“Hey,” said a deep, sexy voice in her ear.
Sophie startled and looked over her shoulder at Zane. “Mom, I’ve got to go.”
“Okay, honey. Be safe.”
“Uh-huh. Bye.” She was far from safe with Zane’s warm breath on her neck.
He scooted around her and took the seat to her right. “Thought I’d sneak back here for a few minutes. I’m much more a back row kind of guy.”
She’d just bet he was. Probably made out all the time in back rows with countless different women. The cautious voice in her head that always made an appearance after talking to her mom warned her to question Zane’s motives. She wanted to believe his intentions were pure, but as she’d looked around this evening at all the tan, curvy, gorgeous women in attendance, she couldn’t help but think he was much better suited for one of them.
“Something wrong?” he asked when she’d yet to say anything to him.
“No. Sorry. But you really should be with your crew, not slumming it back here.” She tried to sound carefree and relaxed but wasn’t sure she succeeded.
Especially when he looked at her quizzically.
She turned her attention to the screen. Zane was in the middle of a humongous wave, and as soon as he came out of it, he raised a fist in success.
“I remember that day vividly,” he half whispered, bending closer. “The wave was long, so as I transitioned out of the turn and onto the face, I needed to rely on a series of integrated movements melded together. I pumped to generate speed, bottom turned, drove through a cutback.”
“You make every ride look seamless,” Sophie said. “You’ve definitely got an unnameable thread in your DNA that sets you apart from everyone else. I bet you could do it with your eyes closed. Human physiology has wired you to perform that symphony of motion without thought. It’s called a discrete task. You’ve mastered a skill that contains a single unit of activity with a definite beginning and ending. Like a tennis serve or golf swing.”
“You’re right.” Awe sounded in his voice and Sophie inwardly smiled. “When I’m out there, I’m not thinking that hard.”
“It’s like Zane Hollander and the ocean just go together.” She wondered if anything else would ever mean as much to him as the sea.
“A good thing, since I suck at tennis and golf.”
