“Dude.” Max nudges my knee. “Don’t do it, man, he’ll kill you. You know he will.”
I chuckle. “He’s told me as much.” My eyes flicker from Eden to her brother Zeke.
He’s not paying attention. He’s had a few drinks now – drowning his sorrows it looks like.
Any one of these guys is competition on their best days, but Zeke – he’s competition every day. Maybe that’s why I have so much fun pissing him off.
He makes it too easy to get inside his head – and Eden, she’s his biggest weakness.
One I’m totally willing to exploit. Whether it’s for his benefit or my own.
“Your funeral,” he mutters as he gets to his feet.
I know he’s not messing around. A bunch of the boys had to deal to Fitzy last year because he got a little bit too up close and personal with Max’s sister, Jay.
Personally, I didn’t think it was a problem that he fucked her – she’s a grown woman – but there was no telling Max that.
The ‘baby sisters’ club’ are untouchable out here. Or at least that’s what the boys like to think.
I smirk to myself at their stupid law.
I’ve always enjoyed breaking the rules.
She glances around then, almost as though she can feel my eyes on her.
She eventually finds me, and I don’t even try to hide my stare. I don’t care. It gives me a thrill when she catches me undressing the little she’s got on with my eyes.
She glares at me and turns her head away, her long blonde hair swishing around her shoulders like a little princess.
I chuckle and get to my feet. “Max, wait up!” I call after him as I jog across the sand. “I’ll keep it in my pants tonight, I promise.”
“Just tonight?” he calls back to me.
“Hey, I’m no saint.” I chuckle.
“I’m going for a night surf,” he announces when I reach him. “You in?”
“Hell yeah, I’m in.”
He holds his fist out to me and I bump my knuckles against his.
***
I’ve always found peace out in the water.
No one seems to be able to figure out how I stay so relaxed, so cool under pressure, but it’s because I simply don’t feel the pressure.
I just surf.
Every ride is different than the next and it’s a privilege to be out here on the water.
I’m not about to ruin it by overthinking it or stressing about scores while I’m out here.
I ride every wave like it’s my last, and that seems to be where I find my edge.
I’m the best, I know I am, and if that earns me the cocky reputation that I’ve been dubbed with on the beach, then so be it – because they all know I’m the best too.
That yellow leader’s jersey hasn’t left my side since I first got handed it, and I don’t plan on giving it up any time soon either.
Surfing is my whole life. I can’t imagine going more than a day or two without hitting the water.
I’d lose my mind.
This is my home out here.
Even now, with only the light of the moon to see the incoming sets, and the fire of the beach to use as a landmark, I’ve never been more comfortable.
So many people fear the ocean, and I agree that a healthy amount of fear is a good thing, but it’s respect that you really need to have.
The minute you don’t respect the ocean, you’re screwed.
“Jake! We’re heading in!” one of the boys yells out across the breakers to me.
“One more ride,” I holler back.
I look over my shoulder. There’s a set coming in soon. Third wave from the back is the winner.
I paddle myself into position and wait for the rush of water.
I feel it. I don’t even bother looking, and before I know it, I’m on my feet, surfing all the way back into the shore. Pulling tricks that come as naturally to me as walking.
I pick up my board off the sand and glance up at the fire.
The crowd has thinned out considerably.
I undo my leg rope and I’m just about to follow up the sand after the other guys when I hear yelling.
Screaming would be a better word for that noise, actually.
I look down the beach, and I think I can make out a group of people running towards the water.
“Drunk idiots,” I hiss as I drop my board on the sand and jog down the beach towards the sound.
I don’t know what they’re up to, but if they’ve been drinking, they shouldn’t be near the water.
We all know that.
They’re about twenty metres away when I figure out what’s happening. A group of guys has hold of a girl, and they’re about to toss her in the sea by the looks of things.
Harmless enough I guess, but probably not the smartest move if she’s anywhere near as drunk as they appear to be.
I get a little closer and I notice who it is they’ve got and that she’s screaming and clawing at their arms.
It’s Eden, and she’s terrified.
“Take me back, please, just take me back,” she screams.
I close the gap between myself and them within a second.
It’s only once I’m right behind them that I see her friends are there too, jumping at the guys’ arms, begging them to let her down.
It’s Joe, Steve and Mark.
They’re in waist-deep water, holding her above their heads like she’s some kind of offering to the ocean.
She’s begging them again, and I have no idea why she’s freaking out so much, but she is. She’s petrified.
“Jake, help!” Sierra begs, as she notices me behind her.
“Put her the fuck down,” I say calmly.
The guys’ laughter dies down as they all turn and look at me.
“We’re just having a bit of fun with her, golden boy.”
They’ve still got her above their heads, and when my eyes meet hers, I see nothing but fear shining in the moonlight.
“She’s not having fun. Put her down.”
Joe shrugs. “Down she goes, lads.”
“No!” I hear the girls shriek at the same moment that the guys toss her in the sea.
“Go to bed, you little assholes,” I growl at them as they wade back out of the water, high-fiving each other like the absolute idiots they are.
I turn back and see the ‘baby sisters’ club’ is in a panic. They’re madly splashing at the water, and Eden isn’t with them.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
“We can’t find her!” Sierra shrieks, and it’s genuine panic.
I stride towards them, looking desperately for Eden, but they’re right, she’s not there.
“Stop splashing,” I demand before I dive under the water.
I can’t see fuck all, it’s so dark out, and they’ve churned up all the sand with their frantic splashing.
I feel around for her but come up empty.
I don’t know what the fuck is happening here. Did she hit her head? Can she not swim? None of this makes sense. She lives her life surrounded by the sea – of course she can swim.
I push back up to the surface and suck in another breath before going back under. I reach around in the darkness again, and this time I find her.
I drag her above the water with me, and my heart races as she chokes and splutters.
Thank god.
I scoop her up into my arms and carry her back to the shore as she coughs and gasps for air.
I can hear the girls splashing around, following after me.
“Is she okay?” River appears in front of me.
I stop on the wet sand and sit down with her in my lap. “She’s breathing.”
River starts crying – in relief I assume. Sierra and Jay make it up next to her and wrap their arms around River.
All three look shaken as hell.
“Which one of you is going to tell me what the fuck happened here? Why didn’t she just stand up?”
She could have
easily touched the bottom. I know she hasn’t hit her head. She didn’t go in head-first for starters and it’s all sand underfoot out there anyway. There was nothing for her to have hit.
They all look at each other knowingly, but none of them seem willing to speak.
“Can’t she swim?”
I’m about to bark another demand at them when River speaks up and shakes her head. “No… she can’t swim.”
I have a pretty good idea that she’s bullshitting me, but Eden chooses that moment to open her eyes, so I don’t push it. Not right now anyway.
“Hey, precious, are you okay?”
Her eyes widen and she gasps for breath.
“Relax,” I instruct. “Just nice and easy. You swallowed some water.”
She does what I tell her, her wide blue eyes never leaving mine as she breathes slowly in and out.
“Where the fuck is Zeke?” I ask the girls, without looking up.
“He got wasted. Millie took him to bed. Eden wanted to stay,” one of them explains.
Sierra races up the beach and comes back with a bunch of bags in her hands.
I inhale deeply through my nose. Fucking Zeke. He should have had her back.
He’s always keeping tabs on her when she doesn’t need it, and now, when she could have actually benefitted from his protective bullshit, he’s nowhere to be seen.
This might have been all fun and games to those pricks on the beach, but this clearly wasn’t fun for her.
“Where’s Alexi?” I ask the question directed at River. Her older brother would never leave her alone out here for long… pissed or not.
“He just went to put away his board. He was going to walk us home when he got back.”
I nod. “Good. Have him take the three of you. I’ll take care of Eden.”
“I’m okay,” Eden says as she tries and fails to sit up.
“You’re drenched, and I’m pretty sure you’ve been drinking.”
“I’ve been in the water?” she asks, her voice a whisper and that same fear in her eyes again.
I nod my head.
She faints.
“Eden!” Jay shrieks.
“She’s fine,” I say as I roll her on her side in my arms. “She’s just fainted. She’ll be okay.”
“River?!” I hear someone calling from up the beach. “Where are you?”
“That’s Alexi,” River says anxiously. “He’ll come looking if I don’t go.”
“Go,” I tell the three of them. “Tell him Eden went home while he was gone, alright?”
Sierra places a bag on Eden’s lap and looks at me with scared eyes.
They all get to their feet and scamper away without questioning my authority.
“Jake?” River stops and calls back to me. “Look after her, okay? Please?”
I nod at her. I might be an asshole to this woman most of the time, but I’m not too much of a prick that I wouldn’t make sure she was safe after this ordeal – not that I understand what the hell is going on.
I wait for the girls to disappear up the beach before getting to my feet – Eden in my arms.
I carry her along the sand, somehow managing to collect my abandoned board as I go, all the way back to my room.
CHAPTER FOUR
Eden
I wake up with a start.
I dreamed I was under the water… and that I couldn’t find my way back up. I could see the stars in the night sky above me, but no matter how much I wanted to push up, I couldn’t do it, almost as if there was an invisible layer between me and my next breath.
I’m covered in a thin layer of sweat and my breathing is rapid.
I inhale deeply to try and ease my racing heart before opening my eyes.
It’s brighter in here than it has been every other morning.
I roll over and the sight in front of me causes my already speeding pulse to sky rocket further.
It’s the yellow leader’s jersey, tossed over a chair in the corner of the room.
“No, no, no, no, no,” I chant in a whisper.
I can’t be here. In his room.
Where the fuck is Zeke?
This has to be a mistake, but when I find the courage to look around further, it only cements the fact that this is no mistake.
This is Jake Carson’s room.
Jake Carson’s bed. And I’m in it.
I look down, and holy shit, I’m wearing a man’s t-shirt. There’s no prizes for guessing who it belongs to.
What have I done?
I slip my hands under the t-shirt and praise the lord, I’ve still got my bikini on.
That’s something at least.
I was wearing a dress last night. I may have had a couple of drinks, but I know that much for certain.
I glance around the room, looking for it, trying my hardest not to move a muscle.
I’m too scared to look to my left, just in case I’m not alone in this bed.
“Hey.”
His voice startles me. It didn’t come from the bed next to me though, so that’s a relief. I scan the room until I see him, lying on the couch.
“Hey,” I reply nervously.
It might only be one word each, but this is the most civilised conversation we’ve ever had.
“You’re awake,” he says, and I don’t know what happened last night, but he’s looking at me with a… softness in his expression. I don’t know what the hell that’s all about, and I instantly am wary of it.
“I am.”
I don’t know what series of events led me to wind up in my enemy’s bed, but it would seem I’m going to have to shame myself by asking the question.
I didn’t think I had more than a couple of beers last night, but everything seems… hazy.
“Did we… um… did we have sex?” I ask with a wince.
He chuckles and sits up. The blanket he had covering him pools around his waist, and damn, he’s deliciously topless, yet again.
He shakes his head, and relief washes over me. “Trust me, you’d remember if we did,” he replies, his tone cocky.
This is the Jake I’m used to. Not the one looking at me with concern.
“Why am I wearing your shirt?” I demand, finding a bit of my confidence now that I know I didn’t sleep with him last night.
He runs his hand through his shaggy hair and yawns. “Your dress was wet.”
He points, and I follow the gesture to an open window in the corner. I see my dress hanging on the window frame.
I scuttle out of bed and grab it. I should probably go into the bathroom to change, but realistically, I’m pretty confident he put me in this shirt – and half the world has seen me in a bikini by now anyway, so I decide to save myself some time and do it right here.
It’s over my head before it registers exactly what he’s said.
“How’d it get wet?” I ask cautiously as I slip my dress into place.
Memories start flooding in before he can even answer me.
It wasn’t just a dream. I was in the water.
Holy shit.
“A couple of the guys tossed you in the sea.”
My blood turns to ice.
“I had to fish you out… can’t you swim?”
I feel like I’m going to hurl.
I was in the ocean.
I was under the water.
He had to pull me out.
It was just like my dream – I wasn’t coming back up on my own.
I cover my mouth and run for the bathroom. I barely make it to the toilet before I throw up noisily.
“Eden? Are you okay?” I hear him ask from the doorway, his voice panicked.
“Just leave me, please, Jake. I’ll be okay.”
“Precious?”
“Please go,” I beg.
I hear him shut the door behind me.
I wipe my mouth and swipe at the hot, angry tears that are rolling down my face.
I take five deep breaths, just like my therapist has told me to do, and with each exhale
, I reassure myself that I’m okay, that I’m safe, that I’m alive.
It hits me then, what I have somehow managed to get myself into… Jake has just seen me at my absolute worst, and with a mouth the size of his, the whole tour is bound to hear all about it by lunch time.
I flush the toilet and squeeze a bit of his toothpaste onto my finger to try and get rid of my bad breath.
I look at my bloodshot eyes and messed-up hair in his mirror.
I look like shit.
I need to talk to River. I need to find out what the fuck happened last night from someone that isn’t him, because right now, it appears I owe my life to this boy, and I’m not sure how I feel about that.
I open the bathroom door slowly, hoping like hell that maybe he’s not going to be in here waiting, but of course he is.
He’s sitting on the edge of his bed, his expression wary as he looks up at me.
I don’t like wary on him. I don’t know how to deal with it. I’d give anything for his usual arrogance right now.
“Are you okay?”
I give him what I hope is a convincing smile. “I’m fine. I must have had too much to drink last night. I’m sorry you had to see that.”
I look around for any sign that I was wearing something on my feet, but find none, so I take a couple of steps in the direction of the door, eager to be as far away from here as humanly possible. I spot my bag on the way and snag it from the floor.
He looks less than convinced by my explanation.
“You’re lying.”
He’s right. I am.
“Really, I’m good. Thank you for helping me out, but you can go back to making my life hell now. I’m fine,” I ramble.
I step towards the door again and stumble on the leg rope of one of his boards.
“Eden.” It’s almost a plea.
I ignore him and make it the rest of the way to the door; I slip out without so much as a backwards glance.
***
I try to turn the key as quietly as possible to my room. I share a suite with Zeke and Millie, and the last thing I need is my big brother on my case about where I spent the night.
“Just leave it, she’s a grown woman,” I hear Millie hiss as I tip toe inside.
I drop my head in defeat.
Mr. May: A Forbidden Love Romance (Calendar Boys Book 5) Page 2
