“Eew. Bro. Get a room,” Brooke said and Ash just laughed. “Already did. See you lot out there.”
Holo and Maya also made their excuses and in only moments it was just Kai and Brooke left at their table.
“Come to bed?” she asked and he nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
But that night, in the small room that had been hers before the accident, Brooke felt like there was something different between them. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“Sure,” he said almost automatically. “Tired for some reason.”
“Me too. Good tired though. I had a great day in the water,” she said. “Thanks to you.”
“You did. Almost good as new,” he said and whatever it had been shifted and disappeared. He threw an arm over her waist and she sighed, thinking about how well they fit together.
You’ve totally fallen for him, haven’t you? Summer’s words echoed in her head and Brooke took them out and examined them one by one. She felt at peace with herself for the first time in a long time in Kai’s arms. And at the same moment she felt free, like she could do anything she wanted. That was his gift, she realized, the ability to empower her to take on the world without busting it up on the way through. And she also realized she wasn’t ready to let go of it. Wasn’t ready to let go of it , or him.
You are feeling all the feels girl. Looking over at the handsome man next to her she finally admitted that this was well past a client, physio relationship, and was fast turning into something more than a casual affair. There were definitely feels. Shuddery, shivery, glorious feels. But was that enough? He wasn’t part of the surf scene.
Might he be though? “Have you talked to the WSL about joining the medical team?” she asked as casually as she could. “My manager is amazed at my new form. Reckons you’d get a job without even trying.”
Kai shrugged. “I guess it’s not a bad option. It’d be nice to hang with Holo for longer. And see you get back into full form. I’m not a big one for staying in one place for a long time though. We talked about that.”
She couldn’t tell if being around his brother was more important to him than being with her and for a moment her resolve faltered, but she pushed through. “Did we?”
“Yeah. I need to stay unfettered. I work better that way.”
“Right. Sure.” Her heart sank a little. “But you should at least talk to the WSL crew. See what the pay is like. What they’d want from you. Being on tour is hardly settling down is it?”
“Maybe you’re right. I’ll check it out.”
Brooke kissed him on the cheek, lightly, and snuggled into his chest. But even after closing her eyes, Kai still appeared before her. Letting herself drift into sleep, Brooke pictured herself on the circuit full time. She saw herself coming back from a day in the surf. Saw herself showering, and Kai sliding into the cubicle with her. Saw herself at the stove, Kai’s arms around her, nibbling on her ear, talking about the day’s contest. He said he needed freedom but maybe that was something that would change over time. Maybe he hadn’t found the right way to be in one place. Being on the circuit would satisfy that need surely? They were on tour most of the year. It was hardly staying in one place.
She let him run around her head all night with what-ifs and what-thens and when she woke, she was exhausted from the constant activity.
There wasn’t any time for exhaustion the next day, however. Brooke looked out the window at the dawn surf and wooped aloud, waking Kainui. The surf was pumping. She might not have had the luxury beach-front cottage that Holo had, but her small room was on the second floor and she could see a big slice of the beach through a gap in the buildings in front of her one. And right now, she saw set after set of perfect curling waves rushing at the white sandy beach. As the sun rose and cracked open the sky, the water was clear enough that she could see the fish which periodically decided to spin through the waves, catching their own rides around the ocean.
Kainui rose to his elbows, sheet rumpled to his waist, and raised his eyebrows. “Breakfast before you go?”
He looked so good that on any other morning, she would have been tempted to dive back into bed with him. But today she just threw him a kiss and then was off out the door, flying down the beach towards the water.
On the beach with the sand under her toes, she stopped. At first, she just stood there, letting the early morning light coat her skin and the hiss of the water fill up her mind. This was another thing she’d learned from Kai she realized, to pause before she jumped into things. But then she waded into the water. The current caught her straight away. It was strong and true. Lethal in the wrong circumstances, but just right for a surfer who wanted the waves to come in all day.
“Relax your arms, let your core do the work,” Brooke muttered to herself and pushed her board out into the water.
The waves didn’t stop all day and she caught ride after ride. After a particularly gnarly barrel however, she felt a twang in her shoulder. Easy girl. She did need to take it easy. She wasn’t competing, there was no need to put on any flare for points, but none the less, when someone cut her off as she was paddling hard to catch the next wave, Brooke felt her anger flare up and she shouted at him, giving him the finger and poking out her tongue for good measure. The interruption stole her concentration and looking at the sun she realized she’d been out in the water a long time. Her stomach growled. Yep. Better to call it a day for now and refuel.
Showered and changed, she sat in the WSL tent with a plate of scrambled eggs in front of her feeling like she was back. Finally, back. It felt good. More than good, it felt like she’d taken off a blindfold and could see things more clearly. The circuit was a circus. Media, promoters, sponsors, were all focused on keeping themselves afloat. And all the competitors played right into it, for the chance to do what they loved. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be here anymore, quite the opposite. But she felt easier in it, like she knew she was going to get there now. The future had been ripped away from her and she’d gotten it back. It was a gift, one she wasn’t going to take for granted.
The TV in the corner showed constant footage of the competitions, sponsors advertisements, and reports on the circuit. The image caught Brooke’s eye and she realized with a start that Summer was on the screen. Grabbing her plate of eggs, she went to sit closer so she could hear what her friend was saying.
Two men talked between themselves initially, with Summer to the side of one of them.
A man with sun bleached hair but without the sun-scratched face of someone who was out in the surf day in and day out started. “It’s been a crazy ride over the last few weeks. A lot of upsets.”
The other man nodded. “It was a crushing blow to relative newcomer Brooke Evans who was causing such a stir this season only to get taken out by a shoulder injury.” “Indeed. But with one less player in the game we’ve been lucky to see the rise of Summer Roberts in this last contest. Summer, how has it been for you?”
Brooke watched her friend lean closer to the microphone. “This last round has really allowed me to get my eye in. The break here has been amazing, we’ve been so lucky.”
“You certainly have,” bleached-blond man said. “I watched you take out that last round without even breaking a sweat. Congratulations.”
“Thanks.” Summer smiled at the camera and Brooke tried hard to push down the jealousy that flared up inside her and threatened to cut off her oxygen supply. She’s your friend, be happy for her. She was, she reasoned, happy for Summer. But she could still be torn: split between feeling bitter about the opportunities she’d lost, and knowing that being tumbled out of the running at this point might have been something she later looked back on with gratitude. Would she ever have stopped and given herself time to re-examine her body if she hadn’t been forced to? And would she have met Kainui? The smile started small, but it stole across her face till she felt warmed by it.
“What about the open competition next week?” Bleached-blond man insisted. �
�You crushed it last time you were allowed entry, despite being the only woman.”
“I don’t think my crushing it was despite my being a woman,” Summer said
Brooke’s smile turned to a smirk. “You tell him sister.”
“Of course, of course. But you’re back in a male-only field again. Is that something you enjoy? Has Ashton been urging you on now the two of you are official?” “Oh, I’m looking forward to it for sure,” Summer said, and Brooke saw her fighting the urge to tell the guy to back off for asking about what her boyfriend thought rather than what she thought.
“Great.” It was the other man’s turn now. “And what are your plans going forward?”
“Same as anyone else’s, crush this contest, then the next. Stay on top of the waves. Live the dream.” Summer said smoothly, but with a flash in her eyes Brooke could tell meant she was ready for the guy to change the topic.
Brooke snorted. “Patronizing dick deserved that,” she said to the screen.
“And what about Ashton’s sister, Brooke? She’s a good friend of yours, isn’t she? How’s she doing?”
“She’s been working through her injury. Mending in record time.”
“Good to hear. It must be heartbreaking for Ashton to watch his sister get injured just like he did. I hear she won’t be back this year though. Might not ever get her old form back. Real shame.”
“I guess not,” said Summer. “You have to be careful with an injury like that. Push it too far too fast and you’re back to square one. Brooke is a powerhouse of positivity and perseverance, but this is something there isn’t a quick fix for, not even with her level of determination.”
“Wait, what?” Brooke said it out loud then had to look around to check no one else was listening. They weren’t. Everyone else was on the water or the beach. Brooke took in the almost empty space. Giving herself pep talks about how it was good that she’d got injured now instead of later…? Bullshit.
She took a mouthful of eggs to try and make herself focus on something else, but they suddenly tasted like ash. Sitting alone in an empty bar was one thing, knowing you were all alone was another. She couldn’t really hold it against her, but hearing her best friend say that she wasn’t going to be back this year…Brooke pushed the rest of her eggs aside and slid off her stool. She needed air, or maybe a stiff drink.
She stalked along the sand, hardly seeing where she was walking as she replayed the interview over and over in her head. Here she was again: not really under her brother’s shadow, but somehow tied up in people’s views on him via her best friend. The sun beat down, oblivious to her anger, her hurt, her confusion. Just when she was feeling better, just when she thought she might have a chance at breaking out on her own, she injured her shoulder, and then, when she felt like it might be okay, she hears from her best friend that it’s not. That it might never be okay. “How am I supposed to get back on the circuit if no one believes I can?”
“And here I was thinking you were looking great out there this morning.” Kainui’s voice came from behind her. She’d been so involved in her thoughts, she hadn’t even heard him approach.
Brooke turned to him and found herself spilling out the whole sorry mess. Finishing it off with a despondent, “Screw it. Screw them. All of them.”
Kai waited until he was sure she was finished. “Feel better?”
Brooke examined herself. Her breathing was ragged and shallow, and her heart was beating fast. But her shoulders were less hunched and with all her anger and frustration and hate out in the air, it wasn’t threatening to crush or blind her anymore. “A bit better.”
“Good. Want to hear my news?”
“Oh, shit. Shit, I’m sorry.” She took his hand and inhaled deeply. “Tell me.”
“I got a job on the medical team.”
It took a while for what he’d said to sink in. “The medical team? Here?”
“With the WSL. Yes. I’m working for them for the next month to see how it goes.”
Suddenly everything that the stupid reporters had said faded away and the sun turned from scalding to being warming, and bright and delicious. “You’re staying?”
He nodded. She threw her hands around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. He responded instantly, putting his hands around her waist and pulling her hard against his body.
It would all be okay. She would heal and Kai would build up his practice and they could be one of the power couples interviewed on that stupid show. Or even better, Kai would be on her arm, being all calm and amazing while those two dickwads from the show interviewed her about her latest competition win.
Brooke let Kai take her hand and kiss it. She exhaled the breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding. And they walked, hand in hand, down the beach towards the sun.
Chapter Thirteen
Flying! She was flying! Brooke grinned as she sailed through yet another perfect ride. The left-hand break at the other end of the beach, the one that had almost destroyed her career, was pumping, and anyone who wasn’t competing was down there as the ocean laid out set after set of clear, curling, waves.
If it hadn’t been happening, right there and then, she might not have believed it, yet her form felt better than it ever had. She was careful not to push it too hard, but her shoulder was solid. Achy, but solid. There were no tweaks as she moved through the waves, no niggling sensations in the joint even after holding her arms out for the past hour. Moreover, because she’d had time to think about how her body fit together with every movement, she knew that if she released the tension in one place, she could let it go in another. Every time she felt the ache starting to build, she adjusted, and it worked. Kai’s program of repetition had done just what he’d intended: he’d put a new way of moving, the theory, the insight, into her body without her having to think too hard about it.
The wave started barreling and Brooke let her hand touch the glistening edge of the water. For a split second she felt the flash of terror she’d experienced in the pool with Kai wash over her. Right underneath her were rocks ready to take a bite and spit her out bleeding. But Brooke took a deep breath and let the image pass. That was not her reality. Right here, right now, the ocean was her friend, her lover. Neither of them wanted to hurt each other.
The wave must have heard her and let her inside. Clear, cool water spilled over her finger tips leaving a white trail in the waves side as it closed over her. Inside the green room, the noise of the water was all encompassing. It rushed along with her, propelling her ever onwards, holding her up, setting her free. This was what life was. This, right here. Freedom, flight, perfect harmony with the ocean.
The wave spat her out just as it started to close in and Brooke shot across the water with the white wash crumbling behind her. Letting the momentum of her ride propel her, she rode all the way into shore and stepped off her board lightly in the shallows. She was done. Time to break. But before she left, she turned back to the water and uttered a silent thank you. It hadn’t rejected her after all. If anything, the welcome back had been more rich and fulfilling than her time constantly struggling to make her way to this point.
She had Kai to thank for that too, she figured. He might not be a pro surfer, but he understood the ocean. Understood her tides and her currents. Brooke smiled. Just like the ocean, he understood her too.
When she’d come out this morning and seen the break in such amazing form, she’d wondered if she had it in her to get back out into it. Wondered if the image that had flashed at her only minutes ago would overwhelm her. But she’d refused to let the fear sit too heavily in her. A few weeks ago she would have pushed the fear away and hoped she’d be able to hold it off with sheer will power but today she’d seen it, acknowledged it and let it go. Brooke clenched her fists at that extra victory. This was good. This was real good.
Turning, she headed back up the beach. Today she wasn’t going to eat dry eggs alone. Kai met her and took her down the beach, away from the throng of the competition to
a tiny restaurant full of locals.
“What is this place?”
“Heaven,” he said simply. “Taste this.” Forking a scoop of the noodles from his plate, he put them in her mouth. The taste of chili, fresh lime, and lemon grass filled her mouth. It was sweet and savory at the same time, spicy but not too hot. And even though the noodles weren’t coated in a thick sauce, they felt silky, almost creamy on her tongue.
“Oh man, what is that?” she asked.
“They’re rice noodles. I don’t know what they do to them, but they’re the best noodles I’ve ever eaten,” he said. “I brought my brother here and now he doesn’t eat anywhere else.”
Brooke laughed. She could see why. “This is nice.” She reached out to take his hand across the table.
“Isn’t it.” He brushed his thumb across the top of her fingers. “I saw you out there today. Everyone did. Your form is looking really good.”
She beamed. “I was a bit nervous about taking on that break again. But it was so perfect today.”
“You couldn’t resist.” He laughed. “I know.”
“I hope that commentator saw,” she said rolling her eyes. “Maybe he’ll shut up about me being done for the season now.”
Kai looked at her sharply. “You don’t have anything to prove.” He said it carefully but with some force.
Brooke sighed. “I know. Except I sort of do. If people start believing I’m out, then I’ll be out. I’ve seen it before.”
He held up his hands. “You’re a big girl, just be careful okay?”
“I always am,” she said grabbing her fork and stabbing another lot of noodles from his plate.
“What’s mine is yours, is it?” He said with a smirk.
“No. I’m just hungry and this is so good.”
“You’re just like Holo. No wonder the two of you never ended up together. You’d annoy the crap out of each other.”
“Really?” she said, genuinely surprised.
“Really. He might seem all chill and focused, but he wasn’t always like that. He had a hell of a temper on him when we were kids.”
The Wrong Brother for Brooke (Hot Tide Book 3) Page 11