Page 69 of The Time It Takes
“Well, I’m not sitting here having a conversation with you for fun,” I yelled back bluntly.
I heard his laugh just before I saw his face change into a masked expression. It was the same face he used at competitions to try and intimidate his opponents. “Prove it then.”
As if on cue, I felt the tide pull me out slightly. “You ever heard of the surfer they called Juice?” I asked him, the smirk still glued to my face.
He scoffed at me. “Who hasn’t? Dude was a legend. Won nationals four years in a row before he—” He stopped himself before asking, “Did you need a history lesson, princess?”
I nodded. “Remind me what his name was again?” I asked, placing my hands on my board and dropping onto my stomach.
“Bennett…” His voice trailed off, his eyes narrowing. “Vensling,” he finished. He cast me a confused look that pleased me far too much.
I let out a long sigh.
“My father,” I clarified. I saw his mouth open and close just before I started paddling toward my eternal damnation.
The wave rushed toward me, and I welcomed it with open arms as it built. My heart pounded just as hard as the tide. The adrenaline rushed through my veins, and I rode the wave smooth like silk. When the wave’s lip curled, my knees bent, and I felt as if I was floating through the tube. My hand traced the surface of the water as I went.
It felt like glass against my fingertips.
When I reached the final moments of the wave, I picked up speed and caught air, grabbing my board in the middle of a backflip. It took me years to master the trick, but it paid off then. I didn’t glance back to catch Scott’s reaction. I only smiled to myself in victory.
I was still high from the surf when I reached the shore.
My light mood was smothered when I heard yelling from a distance. I was unstrapping my leash when I realized who it was. Ben looked like he was in some guy’s face. My voice lost itself somewhere in my throat when I saw that it was Tucker’s.
Despite the weakness in my legs, I managed to jog toward the scene.
I saw Dylan and Phoebe trying to dismantle the situation but getting nowhere. Dean and Taylor had their hand on each of Ben’s shoulders, trying to pull him back but he wasn’t budging.
Oliver—well, he looked like he wanted to punch someone in the face. His fists were clenched so hard that his knuckles were white with unleashed rage.
“What the hell is going on?” I barked, but my voice wasn't as strong as I would have liked it to be.
Ben whipped his head around and stalked toward me, shaking off the hands of my friends. Tucker stared at me with a smile on his face and not a nice one.
“I wouldn’t have tried to treat you like a lady if I knew you were fucking around,” Tucker spat.
His words were like a punch to the gut, but my head pulled back in confusion.
Ben went to stand in front of me, but I maneuvered around him. “What are you talking about?” I asked, my voice straining to rise. When Tucker only offered me a disgusted look, I turned to each of my friends. “Anyone care to fill me in?”
They all remained silent, but I noticed the glances at Oliver who looked like he was going to explode. I was right there with him.
“Ollie?” I asked.
He slowly looked over at me and he appeared as nothing of the guy I grew up with. There was something twisted in his eyes. I had never seen him so pissed off. I stared at him, planting a question in my gaze. He didn’t attempt to answer.
I turned my attention to Dylan and Phoebe, the latter looking as if she had an apology in her eyes. For a moment it looked as if she might faint.
Her lips moved as she mouthed the words,I’m sorry, before darting her eyes between me and Oliver. It sunk in that I was being slut shamed by a guy I had started to think differently of. I should have trusted my instinct to stay the hell away from Tucker. I’d never even kissed anyone, and I was being called a slut—publicly. Jesus. What in the hell did she tell him?
Despite the situation, I couldn’t help the laugh that burst out of me. “Alright, let me get this straight,” I stated, stepping forward so that I was in direct line of sight to Tucker. “What exactly is going on?”
Tucker glanced over at Phoebe and my stomach lurched. “I know,” is all he said.
“Know what?” I bit out.
He looked at Oliver with venomous eyes. “She’s leading us both on man and honestly she’s just not that fucking worth it.”
