With determination, she sat up…slowly, drank the water, and took the Advil. More details from the night floated back to her. Gia had been there and they’d chatted at the bar. It had been nice. She pushed herself up and headed to her bedroom to see about a shower. But there’d been more with Gia, she reminded herself as she stepped under the hot stream of water. As the heat caressed her skin, waking her up more fully, she froze. No, no, no. The bathroom. The confession. The horror!
Naked, and kissing, and it was really good.
Surely she hadn’t actually said those mortifying words to Gia in real life. This was just something she imagined, or dreamt, not experienced. Except she had experienced it! She placed both hands on the wall of the shower to steady herself as panic and dread threatened to drown her right in her spot.
“Mayday,” she said, as soon as Holly answered.
“Well, look who’s alive!” Holly said gleefully into the phone. “Was just about to call you. Wanna go to breakfast? Pancakes, butter, bacon.”
Elle swallowed the nausea. “You’re a cruel woman.”
“Among other things. But as your bestie, it’s my job in life to make fun of you, and that opportunity comes about so rarely. Let me have this.”
“This might be your lucky day, because I did something really stupid last night.”
“Oh, you did a lot of really stupid things last night. You’re going to have to be more specific.” She could hear the smile coming through the phone. It wasn’t helping.
“I told Gia Malone I had a sex dream about her. I used the word naked and told her it was really good.”
A pause. “I am so goddamn impressed with you right now.”
“Really? Because I want to hurl myself against the rocks in the ocean. I’m mortified.”
“Why? She’s probably flattered. I would be.”
“We didn’t get along a couple weeks ago and now I’m announcing I’m dreaming of her naked?”
“Tell me you really used the word naked.”
“I did!” Elle yelled as she walked circles around her living room, wincing against the throbbing headache. “And honestly, who knows what else I may have said? I should just never leave my house again at this point. I can’t be trusted.”
“Or maybe just fewer margaritas.”
“Yes. Yes! I blame them, and whoever invented them.”
“That seems a little extreme. They were just trying to give the world the gift of tequila in a sugary glass.” Elle could hear Holly shut off the music that played quietly in the background, which meant she was ready for the day and leaving her bedroom. “Want me to come over?”
“No,” Elle said, softening. It was nice to know that she would, though, that she could always count on Holly when things were tough.
“Gonna rest, try not to think about what I’ve done, and salvage what’s left of the day. Maybe I can get it together enough to train this afternoon, at least.”
“See?” Holly said. “All is not lost.”
“Not so sure about that.”
Elle played it low key the rest of the morning, poring over the internet to read about the various bloggers’ speculation about the next tournament on the tour, Swatch Pro at Trestles, which was just a few weeks out at this point. Luckily, she wouldn’t have to travel any farther than San Clemente, which took some of the headache out of the whole thing. While she loved seeing new places, time on the road wasn’t as much fun as it once was. Maybe she was just getting old.
Because she couldn’t seem to stop herself, and she was honestly curious, she clicked through to the gossip section and checked out the stories from the week prior, the ones about her and Gia. The write-up about their rivalry had scored quite a few views, but that paled in comparison to the one about “their flirtatious day out.” While it went against everything she believed in, Elle broke her own rule and scrolled to the bottom of the article for the comments, blinking in surprise at what she saw.
Please tell me this is true—SurfJunkie89
Hottest. Hookup. Ever.—BobbiBoBobbi
Okay, my head just exploded. Can someone confirm this?—WavesToBurn6
It just got wayyyyyy too sexy in here. Can I watch?—YoMammasShred
Wow. People were latching onto their fictitious coupling, which was insane. But apparently, Elle hadn’t been the only one to have a strong reaction to the article. Hers had just been a little less deliberate. Still, reading those comments back now had her stomach tightening in an uncomfortable (okay, but not entirely) sort of way. Her cheeks flashed hot and a commanding shiver moved through her as she remembered, for the briefest of moments, the details of her dream. Slamming her laptop closed and moving away from it with purpose, Elle had yet another reason to never read the comments section again.
Christopher checked in on her that afternoon, and they made plans for dinner later that week. She managed to recover enough to spend ninety minutes on the beach with her coach and trainer, Bruce, who was not thrilled about their canceled morning session. All the while, she remembered Gia at the bar that night. Flashed on it every few minutes or so. She’d seemed carefree and…happy. Elle had stolen glimpses here and there, merely out of curiosity about a girl who’d mystified her (and continued to do so).
“You gonna stand there with your hands on your hips and a faraway look in your eye or are you gonna drop and give me a hundred pushups?” Bruce barked. He was always barking, so it carried less effect.
“Sorry. Got lost for a minute.” She dropped down onto the mat and went to work on those pushups as Bruce paced in front of her.
“Next time you get lost, it might mean Gia Malone finds your title. No more getting lost.”
Elle paused her progress and glanced up. “Can we not talk about her?”
Bruce wasn’t having it. “Why? You scared of her? You should be. She’s getting better by the minute while you stare at swirly clouds.”
He was the worst kind of drill sergeant, but that’s why she paid him what she did. “Tomorrow we take the Jet Ski out and get you some big wave time. For now, I want you eating, drinking, and living Gia Malone. You hear me?”
Unfortunately for Elle, she didn’t really foresee that being too big a problem.
Chapter Seven
Gia pushed open the door to the Cat’s Pajamas at 7:45 sharp to see that her friends had already beaten her there. Wait. Most of them, anyway. Instead of Autumn behind the counter, she saw that Kate was on register as Steve prepared drinks.
“Well, this is new,” Gia said with a grin. “You taking over the business, Carpenter?”
Kate laughed. “No way. Counter help at best. Autumn’s extra uncomfortable today, so I told her I’d fill in while she took the morning to rest. I have the next two days off, so I don’t mind. And hey, I’m not as bad as I used to be.”
“Well, you look sharp back there.”
“Thanks,” Kate said, and dropped her gaze to the register. She was never one for much attention, always moving out of the spotlight, which Gia found endearing. Kate was good people, and she’d been an amazing partner for Autumn.
“I should check in on her later,” Hadley said from her chair at their table. “I could read to her like I do the kiddos at the hospital.”
“Autumn would probs love to be read to. Please promise me you’ll do that,” Isabel said, with a mischievous smile, because in truth, they knew Autumn would have little patience for inactivity and was likely doing everything in her power to claw her way back to her prized coffee roaster.
“On second thought, maybe not such a good idea.” Hadley brightened. “I can’t help but remember when my dads would read to me when I was sick. We would go through book after book. It’s where I developed an appreciation for the written word.”
Isabel regarded her. “You really did grow up in a gay fairy tale, didn’t you? Two dads with an eye for decorating, copious milkshakes, and probably a damn pet unicorn.”
Hadley sipped her mocha. “And proud of it.”
“I
have to head to work early,” Isabel said, standing. “I’m taking Fat Tony to the office with me. He and Raisin have signed a temporary peace treaty and I thought what better way for them to practice their manners than in my place of employment. Sounds like the perfect plan to me.”
“Good luck with that,” Gia said. “My money’s on my man Tony.”
“I could take bets,” Hadley offered.
Gia looked at her. “Vegas theme night has changed you forever. You know that?”
“Iz, wait!” Kate said, racing over with two to-go cups. “I’m supposed to send these for you and Taylor. It’s on the list she gave me.”
“You’re the best substitute Autumn ever, and I would never just say that to you either, because those stakes are fucking high. Ms. Pac-Man tonight?”
“Done.”
“Hey!” Gia said. “I’m sitting right here.”
“You’re invited, too, Surf Queen. You know the invite is standing. All right. Me and my asshole cat are out. Peace, bitches.”
Hadley stared after Isabel. “She always has the best exits, wouldn’t you say? I need to work on mine.” She finished the last bit of her mocha, returned the cup to the counter, and regarded them. “Well, everyone here in the coffee shop, I’m off to take Rodeo Drive by storm.” With that, she flipped her blond hair and sauntered to the door. “How was that?” she asked meekly, glancing back.
Kate squinted. “That was pretty good.”
Gia nodded at Kate. “I’d give it a solid seven.”
“Seven sounds about right,” Kate said, nodding back.
“A seven?” Hadley sighed sadly. She shook her head as if she just couldn’t quite believe her failure. “I’ll work on it.”
Once they were on their own, Gia followed Kate back to the counter and kept her company while she took orders. “How’s station life?” Gia asked, in between customers. Kate’s job as a firefighter had always impressed her, as had Kate herself. To say she had a little bit of hero worship where Kate was concerned wouldn’t be inaccurate.
“Nothing to complain about. My ladder’s a good one, and there’s way more action out here than back home. That’s for sure. Handful of vehicle fires and one structure just yesterday alone.” Kate had only recently made the move from a small town in Oregon, where she’d been a lieutenant. She’d had to take a lesser role at the larger company, but it was apparently paying off. “Office building went up earlier this week, and we were able to contain the blaze and slow its progress. By nightfall, the burn was totally under control. It’s a solid group.”
“And I play in the waves all day,” Gia said, only half joking. There were times when she wished her job came with a greater good like Kate’s. Her life was fun, but that was about it. Shouldn’t there be more?
“Don’t sell yourself short. I don’t have throngs of fans fawning all over me, asking me for autographs. Girls swooning.”
“That part’s not so bad,” Gia said, feeling a hint better. She gestured to the counter Kate was wiping down. “You got this under control? I’m supposed to watch film with my coach before a press junket later today to promote the tour.”
“Watching film, how does that work? That’s film of you?”
“Unfortunately, yes. So I can see all the ways I suck and hopefully get better. Part of the job. Just the tedious part.”
“And you have a coach?”
“Part-time. Katrina McAllister, who was a former pro herself. We met through Billabong, when they used to sponsor her. I was an up-and-coming nobody on the Qualifying Tour, longing to play with the big kids and be like Katrina someday.”
Kate took a moment to wait on a customer, passing them her understated but incredibly effective grin and gaze. Gia wouldn’t know how to duplicate that kind of quiet charm if she wanted to. She was fairly sure Kate had no clue the effect she had on women, which was probably why it worked.
“Pretty awesome that she’s now your coach.”
“Sometimes I still can’t believe it.” Gia finished her drink. “I better head over to her place. You guys got this?” she asked Steve and Kate.
Steven grinned. “Yeah. We have a new employee starting in about an hour, so we’ll have extra hands.”
“Cool. Say hi to Autumn for me. I’ll check in with you guys after the junket about a little Ms. Pac-Man action.”
“Deal.”
When Gia arrived at Katrina’s house on the beach, she found her coach already watching the footage of the most recent tournament in Fiji. Katrina didn’t take her eyes from the screen when Gia entered. “Ten tournaments a year and five of them are already gone. What are you going to do about that?”
“Well, hello to you, too.”
Katrina relaxed into her leather couch and stared at Gia in that no-nonsense way she had. Her blond hair was cropped short and sun bleached. Retired or not, she still sported a surfer’s physique because she hit the waves and the gym daily. Katrina didn’t mess around. “We have a lot of work to do. Look at this.” She rewound the footage and Gia took a seat. “See the way you overcorrect on that turn? That’s what caused you to lose your balance, or that ride would have pulled in a killer score.”
Gia shook her head. “I anticipate too much.”
“Then stop.”
“It’s not that easy.”
“Well, it is for your competition.” Katrina fired up the next clip, only this one was of Elle, tearing into a wave, carving the pocket like she was made to do so. Gia both cringed and applauded the finesse. “Check it. She’s not anticipating anything. She’s living that wave, and if you want to take number one, you have to learn to do the same.”
“If it were that easy, I’d be doing it already.”
“You think too much. You need to learn to feel your way through those waves.”
Gia laughed. “The only time thinking too much is a bad thing.”
“Tons of times it’s better not to think,” Katrina said, moving to the kitchen and taking out the ingredients for protein shakes for the two of them. “Dancing is one example. Sex is another. Falling in love is best served without a side of overanalyzation.”
“If you say so.”
“What? You’ve never fallen head over heels for someone?”
“Nope. I had a girlfriend in my early twenties. We lived together for four months and I started to think it was love. It wasn’t. It was more about convenience for both of us.” She pointed to the blender. “No strawberries in mine.”
Katrina nodded, and tossed the extra strawberries into her own pile. “Interesting glimpse into your sad little love life, Malone.”
“Hey!” Gia said, but was drowned out by the sound of the blender roaring to life.
Moments later, the room returned to silence. Katrina studied her. “You know? Maybe this whole in-your-head thing is symptomatic of all aspects of your life, ever thought about it?”
“Of course. I think about everything, remember?”
Katrina laughed. “My bad. Maybe if you worked on thinking a little less, feeling a little more, it would transfer to your surfing.”
Gia scrunched up her face. “Seems like a leap.”
“Well, consider that leap your homework assignment. Now c’mon. Let’s watch some film of you falling on your ass like an idiot and see if we can’t find out why.”
Gia forced a smile. “My favorite pastime.”
* * *
“Tell me what’s about to take place here,” Jordan Tuscana asked. “And remember to direct your answer to me, not the camera.”
Elle nodded. She knew the drill. Jordan had been shooting a documentary chronicling the lives of several of the female surfers on the Championship Tour for the past two years now. As one of the subjects, Elle answered questions for Jordan on occasion or allowed cameras to follow her here or there. She was actually thrilled about the project and the attention it would bring to the tour and the sport overall. Plus, Jordan was a fantastic director and made the process easy.
Elle smiled widely at Jo
rdan as the camera rolled. “Today’s a pretty standard junket, giving members of the press the opportunity to sit with athletes from the tour and ask whatever questions they have. We do these kinds of things between tournaments, and it’s a great way to talk to a variety of media outlets all in one place. The downside? The afternoon always feels ridiculously long, and by the end of it, you’re sick of hearing your own voice.”
“Talk about what it’s like sitting alongside your competitors,” Jordan said from off camera.
Elle didn’t miss a beat. She liked this question. “I’m one of the surfers who doesn’t mind sitting next to a competitor at a press event. It gives me a chance to see them up close and personal for a change, and not just on their board. Call me calculating, but once you know more about them, it’s all the easier to take them down.” She beamed at Jordan, knowing she’d be able to use that little nugget as a lead into the footage she’d get that day.
“Perfect,” Jordan said. “We’ll be shooting B-roll of the junket throughout the afternoon, but I’ll find you if I need more.”
“I’ll be around,” Elle said. “And say hi to Molly for me. Those truffles you brought last time knocked me over. In a very good way.”
Jordan laughed. “I’ll be sure to tell her. I’m trying to get her to come out here with me next time. She needs some time off.”
“If she does, we’re going to dinner on me. I need to meet this chocolate wizard.”
“Well, now she definitely has to come. Free dinner.”
As Jordan departed, a young man, Andrew, took her place at Elle’s side. “Ms. Britton?”
“Elle, please.” She extended her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
He shook her hand. “Likewise. I’m Andrew. I’ll be your escort today. I’m here if you need a break or some water. Just say the word.”
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