Over the Falls (Ryder Bay Book 1)

by Jordan Ford

  I’m trying to decide where Skylar might go to lick her wounds, but as I round the corner, I find the one person she’d normally run to in a crisis, and she’s walking down the corridor alone.

  “Hey.” My brow wrinkles as Savannah stops in front of me. “Where’s Sky?”

  Savvy holds up her phone. “She just ditched with a headache. I’ll go check on her after school.”

  “Were you there for the fight?”

  Savannah shakes her head. “I was in the cafeteria with Simon and Michelle. Craig had already warned me that he wanted some alone time with Skylar today and I was to back off during lunchtime.” She rolls her eyes. “I really hate that guy sometimes.”

  I flash her a look of agreement. “I’m glad Skylar stood up to him.”

  “Me too.” Her dimples appear and then disappear.

  I recognize her look as worry and quickly ask, “Do you feel like she’s been acting weird this week?”

  She shrugs. “Maybe. She’s been kind of quiet, not really herself, you know? I think the fact that she lost control at the party has really freaked her out. She’s usually in charge, but she drank way too much and then made out with that stranger.”

  My mood turns icy black as I think about Ripper.

  Stupid asshole.

  “Even she has her boundaries,” Savannah keeps talking. “Saturday night she jumped right over them, and maybe she regrets it.”

  I hate that she did that, but have to concede, “Maybe it’s a good thing. I mean, if she’s dumped Craig because of it.”

  “Yeah.” Savannah sighs. “I don’t know if they’re officially over. I wouldn’t put it past her to fall straight back into his arms next week. You know what she can be like.”

  I match Savannah’s glum smile and grip my bag strap, suddenly feeling awkward when she looks up at me with her sad, puppy dog eyes. “So, you never called me.”

  I cringe. “Yeah, sorry about that. I, uh… I’ve had a lot on my mind this week.”

  “It’s okay.” She pulls in a breath but doesn’t release it.

  It’s hard to know what to do. When we were together, I’d pull her into a hug and kiss the side of her neck. She always loved it when I did that.

  Damn, it’d be so easy.

  I could do it right now and we’d be right back to where we were. But something’s holding me back.

  Not just something.

  I know exactly what’s holding me back. I just don’t know if it should.

  “I know these things take time,” Savannah whispers. “I guess I just miss you, and maybe regret…” Her eyes glass with tears and I reach out, gently squeezing her shoulder before she starts to cry.

  “It’s okay.” I smile at her, scrambling to think of something, anything, to stop the tears. “Hey, um, why don’t we just start the way we did before? You know, last summer? Let’s just be friends and see what it turns into.”

  I’m not sure I mean that, but I’ve said it now and it’s scored me a smile. I grin at her cute dimples but feel like I’ve just jumped into a vat of hot water. I’ll get burned alive trying to swim out of it.

  Savannah is the easiest option. She wants me. I could have her in a heartbeat, but for some reason that doesn’t excite me the way it did a few weeks back. I was pining for this moment, and now that I’ve got it I just…

  The bell rings and a sense of relief washes over me.

  At this point I’d usually offer to walk her to class. We’re in the friend zone again, it’s the right thing to do, but I really have to force the words out. “Want me to walk you to class?”

  She grins, then shakes her head. “No, it’s the opposite direction from where you need to go.”

  Again, relief.

  “But I’ll catch you later, though?” Her voice pitches at the end, so hopeful and sweet.

  I can’t let her down, so I force a smile and say, “Yeah. I’ll see you around.”

  I’m rewarded with her full-beam smile. She does a little spin, then walks away from me. I watch her for a second before turning towards my own class.

  Confusion is a hurricane inside of me, battering my brain and heart.

  What do I want?

  The girl I thought I loved is practically begging me to get back with her.

  But all I can think about is the girl I can’t text.

  32

  A Flashing Yellow Arrow

  HARLEY

  So maybe I’ve been waiting for a text from Aidan.

  I’m not sure.

  It’s Thursday afternoon, and our Sunday fight feels like a millennium ago.

  I can’t stop thinking about him, which is driving me crazy. I did go kind of savage on the guy, and there’s a strong possibility he’s written me off.

  Maybe that’s fair.

  I pull in a shaky breath as I stare at my phone. The surf report is on the screen, but all I can see is a blurry image of Aidan’s face as he consumes my mind’s eye.

  How much longer can I go like this?

  “Just text him,” I mutter for the hundredth time since Monday.

  But every time I say it, I cringe and recoil at the idea of not one but two apology texts on record.

  “He called you an old hag.” I throw my phone on the bed and assure myself that I don’t want that kind of bullshit in my life. He should be sending an apology text to me!

  Which he hasn’t.

  Probably because he thinks I won’t respond to it.

  I did tell him I didn’t need him.

  “Which I don’t!” I snap, then let out a sigh that seems to deflate my entire body.

  Last time I tried to get all stubborn about this, an overwhelming sadness swamped me. And it’s happening again. I don’t want to be without anymore. Maybe trying to be everything I need all by myself just isn’t working.

  “But it has to work,” I whisper, my throat thick and aching. “It’s the only way.”

  Jed will roll his eyes at me. Accuse me of being a scaredy-cat.

  He’s right.

  I am scared.

  I’m hella scared.

  What if I put myself out there and he turns into…“that guy”?

  “What if he doesn’t?” I whisper, liking the sound of the question. Liking the way it feels inside my chest when I imagine me with Aidan, Aidan with me, neither of us being anything but exactly who we are.

  Jerking off the bed before I can stop myself, I walk away from my phone and head through the house.

  Mom is in the kitchen, a cigarette teetering between her lips while she makes herself a PB & J. Smoke swirls around her head as she pulls the ciggy out and releases that stinky white cloud from the side of her mouth.

  I wrinkle my nose and stay back in the clear, breathable air. “I’m out. Not sure what time I’ll get home.”

  “’Kay,” she mumbles.

  “You working tonight?”

  She looks at the clock above the stove. “Doing the late shift. Won’t be home ’til around two, so don’t wake me in the morning. Got it?” She points a red nail at me and I nod.

  “See ya.”

  She gives me a halfhearted wave and I slip out the door. My nerves are on fire right now. I purposely left my phone behind so I’d be forced to do this face-to-face. I wouldn’t be able to cower behind some text message that could be ignored.

  It’s a little insane, skating to the north beach and just looking around.

  Who knows what I’ll encounter up there?

  But it’s Aidan’s turf, and if there’s even a chance of bumping into him, then I have to take it.

  “He’s probably not going to be there,” I mutter, already doubting myself as I hit the sidewalk and start to skate.

  It’ll take me a while, but maybe that’s a good thing.

  I need time to figure out what I’m going to say to him.

  Why am I doing this again?

  I shake my head, annoyed with my lame self, but I don’t turn back.

  By the time I reach the north end, my nerves
are like frayed rope. The only way to stop my head from literally exploding is to give myself an ultimatum—if I see Aidan on the beach, it’s a sign to go for it. If he’s not there, then I just need to forget the whole thing, rip him from my mind and pretend like I never met him.

  That resolve feels good. Like it takes the pressure off me having to make a decision and leaves it up to the universe.

  I glide down the hill, smiling as the wind whips the hair off my shoulders. Leaning into the curve, I bend my knees and enjoy the ride, momentarily forgetting about my palpitating heart and sweaty palms.

  Putting pressure on my back foot, I slow the board down when I hit the bottom of the hill and kick my board up. It’s tucked under my arm as I amble along the grassy stretch before I hit the stairs.

  The beach isn’t overly crowded. There’s a father playing Frisbee with his daughter and their dog, an older woman strolling along the shore, her feet splashing in the water as she looks out towards the sun. It’ll be setting soon enough.

  I glance left and notice a young couple walking through the sand, their fingers interlaced. She’s pregnant, her hand rubbing her belly as she talks to her partner. He’s smiling at whatever she’s saying, and then he lifts their joined hands and kisses her knuckles. This makes her giggle.

  A yearning I don’t understand rockets through me. I frown. I don’t want that. Those two look super young, and they’re about to have a kid. No thank you!

  But it’s not the round belly that’s getting to me.

  I think it’s the hand-holding, the sweet intimacy of laced fingers. The idle chatter as they stroll along the beach together, oblivious to everything but each other.

  Will I ever get that?

  Will I ever be special enough to be someone’s number one?

  “That guy” doesn’t count. I was never his number one. Not really.

  But could I be Aidan’s?

  Turning away from the couple, I look right, and that’s when my heart stops beating for a second. Time slows around me as the universe flashes a bright yellow arrow at the water’s edge. It’s blinking on and off, shouting, “Here! Over here!”

  I swallow, my fiery nerves now feeling like ice in my veins.

  Aidan is standing in the shallow waves, his hands in his pockets and his eyes looking right at me.

  33

  Disco Parties & Olive Branches

  AIDAN

  I didn’t know I could get butterflies this bad, but the second I spotted Harley at the top of the stairs, my stomach started dancing stronger than it ever has before. We’re talking full-blown disco.

  Rubbing a hand across my belly, I start to walk up the beach, wondering if this was the reason I was so compelled to stop here on my way home from work.

  Usually after swim class I’m starving, and I head home for a shower and some chow. Tonight, though, I wanted to wash the chlorine off my skin with salt. I wanted those grains of sand between my toes and that fresh breeze in my face.

  Or maybe I didn’t.

  Because now there’s Harley, and the ocean can wait.

  I’m not sure I’ll ever get this moment again, so I turn my back on the horizon and make a beeline for her.

  We meet in the middle of the sand just as a young couple walks past us. She giggles and rests her head on his shoulder for a second, her shiny black hair draping down his back. They look kind of young to be having a baby, but it’s not my place to judge.

  I turn my focus to Harley, who is standing in front of me now, her expression puckering as she blurts, “Why didn’t you text me?”

  “Uh…” I cringe, then hedge. “Why didn’t you text me?”

  “Because I didn’t think you’d reply,” she murmurs.

  I look to the sand, drawing a circle with my big toe. “I would have.”

  An awkward silence wedges itself between us, and I’m not sure how to break it. The dance party in my stomach is kind of making me nauseous. Or maybe I’m just hungry.

  Harley sighs and hugs the skateboard to her chest. “So, I know things didn’t end great on Sunday, but I didn’t mean for us to stop hanging out. I get it if you don’t want to anymore. You know, me being an old hag and everything.”

  I slap a hand over my eyes and groan. “I never should have said that. I was going to apologize but you told me to shut up.”

  “I wasn’t ready to hear it then.” She moves her board so it’s resting against her thighs. “But I’m ready now.”

  My lips twitch with a grin as I gaze down at her. “I didn’t mean it, and I’m sorry.”

  A small smile flashes across her face. “Your car getting scratched wasn’t your fault. And maybe I do need you…just a little bit.” Her cute nose wrinkles as she holds her finger and thumb apart by like a quarter-inch.

  I grab her hand and squeeze it into a ball, which makes her laugh. And just like that, the tension that has consumed me for the last four days is severed. My shoulders relax as I drop her hand and smile down at her.

  “It’s good to see you.” My words come out softly, my voice suddenly husky as I drink in her freckles and wispy blonde hair, the way it dances around her face in the breeze.

  I want to reach out and tuck it behind her ears, but she beats me to it. “Thanks for your help on Sunday.”

  Say what?

  I did not expect that. The fact that she admitted to needing me just a little bit felt huge. But now she’s thanking me for my help?

  My lips part in surprise before rising into a slow smile. “Excuse me?”

  “Don’t make me say it again, okay?” I love that pointed look of hers, the way her blue eyes spark. It excites something inside of me that I didn’t even know existed.

  Laughter bubbles out of my mouth as I tease her, “You gonna let me help you again sometime?”

  Her lips purse to the side, her nose wrinkling like she’s about to say no, but then she nods. “Actually, I kind of need your help right now.”

  “Oh yeah?” I take a step closer.

  “Yeah, a friend of mine is looking for a surfboard. I thought maybe you could help me look online, see if we can figure out the best kind of board so that when we go shopping, he’ll know exactly what he’s looking for.”

  I give her a dry look. It’s not exactly me helping her, but I’ll take the olive branch and hold it like a precious gift. A smile grows on my face as I tip my head up to the parking lot. “Let’s go.”

  34

  A White Mansion with an Ocean View

  HARLEY

  Okay, when I hopped into Aidan’s car, I expected to do some surfboard searching on his phone, not drive to his house! He told me as soon as he started the engine and I didn’t know how to politely decline, not when we’d just made up. I still felt like we were standing on a glass decking that could splinter and give way at any minute.

  Tucking my hands beneath my legs, my knees bob as he drives me into the land of the big white houses. I’ve never ventured into Clifton Terrace before. This suburb is kind of terrifying for a plebe like me.

  “Here we are.” He pulls into his driveway, the car angling steeply as it dips beneath the level of the house. He parks in front of a white concrete wall, then waits for me to get out of the car before walking for the steps leading up to his front door. “You coming?”

  I shuffle up behind him, my mouth agape as I take in the size of his house. I live in a two-bedroom box. This house is like an apartment block on its own. Crap, I can’t believe Aidan has seen my place. It’s so tiny compared to his mansion.

  He’s punching in a code to open the huge double doors. A code! My crappy door has a key that sticks so bad sometimes I don’t even bother locking the house. We used to have a screen door, which locked, but the hinges rusted and it fell off last year. Mom’s never bothered replacing it.

  “Come on in.” Aidan holds one of the doors open for me and I step into the entrance, awed—and maybe a little intimidated—by the height of the room.

  I still haven’t said anything. I�
��m not sure I’ll be capable of words in this house. It’s so big, they’ll probably echo off all the shiny surfaces.

  Aidan trots down some stairs and into an open-plan living area. I follow him, and if I thought my jaw couldn’t drop any further, I was wrong.

  “Wow,” I rasp, my gaze transfixed as I walk up to the glass walls and look out at the ocean.

  “Yeah, it’s pretty spectacular. It’s the reason Mom fell in love with this place.”

  “I can understand why,” I whisper, lightly touching the glass and feeling as if I could fly straight through it and out over the water.

  Aidan stands just behind me. I can feel his warmth, and tingles scuttle up my spine. I stiffen my shoulders to counter the sensation.

  Maybe Aidan notices, because he takes a step back. “So, uh, yeah. I’ll grab my laptop and we can start surfing the web.”

  I glance over my shoulder in time to see his smile and wink.

  Crap, he really is gorgeous.

  Scratching my forehead, I keep my eyes on the view while he gets his stuff, almost reluctant to turn my back on it when he pulls out a dining room chair and beckons me to sit.

  But I’m here to help him. To mend this bridge. And so I sit beside him and guide him to some of my favorite surf shop sites.

  Time disappears as we absorb ourselves in surf talk. We get distracted a couple of times watching YouTube videos, and that soon turns into complete absorption as one video leads to another. I show Aidan some of the pros surfing pipes and the big waves.

  He’s in awe of their skill.

  “You could get that good one day, if you really wanted to.” I grin at the adorable expression on his face.

  “I don’t know.” He gives me a rueful smile. “You ever thought about going pro?”

  I wrinkle my nose and shake my head. “Don’t think that’s the life for me. I love surfing. It’s fun, but I wouldn’t want the pressure of having to compete.”