Gianna finds us, first, pulling Chase along and handing us two cups of beer.
"Perfect timing," she says. "Fresh beers all around."
We take them. We drink. We stand around the fire, mingling with people until the heat's too much to take in the already muggy July night air.
"Let's go down by the water," Sawyer says. "It'll be cooler."
He's right. There's a breeze flowing by the water's edge. I enjoy it, watching the moon's reflection as it bobs and weaves over the dark waves; it's a little mesmerizing.
"Did you guys know Sawyer owns half of the Surf Spot?" I ask, splashing my toes through the lazy layer of foam rolling at my feet, unable to keep pride from my voice. Not even trying, really.
"That's awesome, man," Chase says.
"Gonna sell it to Rajesh, someday." Sawyer lifts a shoulder, lets it drop. He told me Rajesh is discovering how much he enjoys working the shop and surfing and wants a break from anything engineering-related. Sawyer, though, doesn't want a break at all.
He's got big plans. He's tried to explain them to me, about designing new solar power source renewal systems with plant leaves, which you'd think I'd better understand, given my love of flowers—but the part I've been able to grasp the best so far is the part where he told me he can work on them from almost anywhere. He wants to go back to school eventually, but we'll decide that location together when that day comes—and until then, he'll go wherever I want to when I graduate, even if it's not here at the beach. He says he'll find work wherever I decide to build my arts center, and thinking about it makes my heart swell so much it might break a rib.
I grab his hand, squeezing. He squeezes right back.
"I guess if I'm going to be part of this group, I'll need to learn how to surf," Chase says.
"How did you grow up here without learning?" I ask. "How did I not know that?"
"Told you you need to learn," Gianna says to him. "Plus, I'll teach you, baby."
And I start to laugh because, "Chase, you'll have better luck learning from sharks."
"Hey." Gianna mock-glares at me, but I shake my head.
"Please. You have zero patience for people who don't pick up on things immediately." I watch her, smugly, over the rim of my cup as I drink. "Remember teaching me how to play beer pong? You dumped an entire cup of beer on me because I couldn't make a single shot. On my first time playing." I act like I'm going to toss mine on her in a long-due retaliation, and she ducks away from me.
"Um, we were sixteen. I'm not that same girl." Then, when I laugh even harder, she laughs, too. "Fine. I am."
"You're not a very nice learner, either," Sawyer says. "Remember when I tried to teach you to drive stick?"
"No." But clearly she does because she's fighting another laugh.
"I almost lost an eye when you jabbed me with the keys." He looks like he's going to say more, a huge grin across his mouth, but instead he waves over her shoulder, calling for Rajesh to join us.
Rajesh walks over holding hands with a shirtless guy whose abs actually come close to rivaling Sawyer's. He notices me noticing, cocking an eyebrow and holding out his free hand. "I'm Shane."
I drop Sawyer's hand to take Shane's and shake it. "Shane and Rajesh… Your names flow really nicely together."
He grins, but Rajesh shoots me a look that tells me maybe I should shut the hell up. Whoops. But I don't feel too bad because Rajesh is holding his hand, and from what Sawyer's told me, that's the equivalent of a regular commitment-phobe actually to proposing to their boyfriend. Rajesh is that antsy about relationships. Which doesn't make sense to me, considering how much he wanted me and Sawyer to work out.
"By the way," he says to Chase, his tone dry, cutting through my thoughts. "You weren't fooling anyone that day in the shop."
"Shit." Chase shakes his head. "Sorry, man."
Rajesh shrugs and opens his mouth to say something, but the sound of glass breaking and a shriek behind us has us all turning toward the fire.
Where Morgan is laughing and the fire's sparking way higher than it was a moment ago and Danny's picking her up, spinning her around and kissing her.
That idiot's still with Danny. Poor girl.
And maybe he hears my thoughts because he opens his eyes and looks over her shoulder at me, raising a fist in the air to flip me off.
Some things never change.
Even if, at the same time, they are forever changed. Because I know he's had it at least a little rough. His mom's had it a lot rough. So he's a dick, but…that animosity I usually have toward him has disappeared.
Maybe that's the key. Maybe if we just took the time to understand each other's lives, the messier parts wouldn't seem quite as messy. Because we're all a little fucked up.
Danny's still holding his finger out, glaring at me. So I glare at him and flip him off right back.
Yeah. Some things never change.
Sawyer grabs my hand from the air, pulling it down, twining his fingers through mine, and I don't care even a little bit about Danny Simmons anymore.
"That guy's the worst," Chase says.
"Let's not even waste any time on that little bit of truth," Gianna says, bumping him with her shoulder and looking at me. "Back to your place? Group slumber party?"
"I call the couch," Chase says, sliding his eyes slyly to Gianna with a grin he thinks is sneaky.
"That thing's seeing a lot of action these days," I say, laughing when his cheeks turn red enough to be seen even in the dark of night. "But yeah. My fridge is even stocked with beer."
"We are going to get food first," Shane says. "Rajesh promised to feed me at some point tonight."
Rajesh sighs. "Fine. But it's gonna be fast-food drive-through or nothing at all, because I'm not taking you anywhere that requires you to wear a shirt."
I laugh, and not caring if it pisses off Rajesh, I say, "You two are adorable."
They're too busy smiling at each other, though, for me to see if Rajesh is mad.
"You know," Sawyer says. "We burned a bunch of calories earlier, and I'm fucking starving. You have beer, but we both know the only food you have is ice cream." He waits for me to concede his point. "Why don't I go with them and grab some burgers for all of us. Meet you back at your apartment?"
I frown, not wanting to separate. But then I remember.
He's mine for a week past forever.
So I smile. And I kiss him, deeply enough to make Gianna snark. And I send him on his way.
Because this time—and every time for the rest of always—he's coming back to me.
THANKS FOR READING!
ALSO IN THE SUMMER LOVE SERIES
Rock & Release
Dear Reader,
If you enjoyed Surf & Surrender, please consider leaving a review! Either way, thanks so much for reading. Stay tuned for Teagan's story, Truth & Temptation, coming soon!
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Riley Edgewood
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ABOUT RILEY
RILEY LIVES IN the DC area and spends most of her time with her characters, playing with her toddler and husband, and pretending she knows how to be an adult. Former dancer. Current writer. Lifelong lover of accessories, books, and the beach. And cats. Can't forget the kitties, of which she has two.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
YET ANOTHER MILLION thank yous to everyone who made this book possible, especially:
Katy Upperman. For your texts, emails, insights, and just general awesomeness. Y
ou kept me going so often when I wanted to slack off. Thank you for calling this a "Katy" book; you have no idea how much that means to me!
Liz Briggs. Don't even know where to start. Thanks for your always stellar and no-holds-barred feedback. Thanks for cheering me on. Thanks for promising to never ever leave me. #Holdingyoutoit And, also, cheers to our super secret projects. ;)
Elodie Nowodazkij. For inspiring me and for loving my books and for just being so sweet in all aspects. Your S&S feedback was on point—and that email chain with Katy and you gave me the confidence boosts I needed while drafting!
Alison Miller. For your notes (awesome, as always), and for all your encouragement! By the way, I am so ready for The Arsenal. And so is the rest of the world so get on that asap, my love.
Cindy Thomas. Your constant friendliness and the way you look out for me and for your early read of S&S. I am so, so glad to have met you.
Lola Sharp. For reading what you did and for your sharp eyes that catch my writing tics and for your constant support. I'm ridiculously excited for your current project and I can't wait till the rest of the world gets to hear about it!
Cristin Terrill. For helping me make those first few chapters shine. Even if you refused to make all my copy edit changes at the retreat…
Spreadsheet crew girls: Jessica, Tracey, Ghenet, Alison, Liz, Lola, Katy, & Elodie. For giving me so. Much. Motivation.
Liz Fegley. For the early title brainstorming and plot discussion!
To all the readers and bloggers who were so enthusiastic about Rock & Release—you gave me the drive to keep writing! Especially huge appreciation going out to Trish Cox from Bedroom Bookworms, and Cindy Thomas (yes, a second mention because you rock). Thank you girls for loving Rock & Release the way you did. You made my debut feel like a smashing success, and I'll never forget it.
Stephanie Parent. More amazing copy editing. Thank you!
Cait Greer. Preemptive thank you for formatting my paperback, you freaking saint of a person, you.
Sarah Hansen of Okay Creations. For another amazing cover.
The New Adult Authors Unite group. For all the advice and tips and support.
Nelson. For helping keep me sane—and staying sane yourself—while I was heavy into drafting this story. (Okay, fine. For helping me stay mostly sane, at least.)
Baby girl. For giving up precious mama-daughter time while I wrote this. For being absolutely wonderful and making my life so much fuller, so much happier.
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