Chasing Swells

by Nikki Godwin

  I wait for my phone to fully charge before texting Sloane that I’ll meet her in the resort lobby. Once the green light pops up on my phone, I tuck the charger into the beach bag and do my best to slip out quietly. Funny how I’m more stealthy tonight when I’m not actually sneaking out than I am when I’m literally sneaking out the window at Dad’s house.

  I pull the front door shut slowly. It clicks quietly, and I turn around to head down the pier.

  “Where are you really going?” Dominic asks, causing me to jump out of my freaking skin.

  “What the hell?” I snap back. “What are you doing out here? Hiding in the shadows like some kind of stalker?”

  He pushes himself up from the dock, barely visible in the glow of just the tiki torches. “You’ve barely spoken to me in a week,” he says. “You can’t just ignore me and pretend nothing happened.”

  “Yes, I can,” I tell him.

  He blocks my path before I can dash toward the resort. “Kaia, seriously, this isn’t fair. If you don’t like me, that’s fine, but have the nerve to say it to my face,” he says. “You’re brutal enough to do it, so do it.”

  I can’t, though, because I do like him. I like him a freaking lot, and running from him is so much easier to do than admitting I care. I’m safer behind these walls I’ve built, even if I’m not happier in their captivity.

  “Where are you really going tonight?” he asks again.

  I don’t feel like arguing. “Will’s friend is having a party, so I’m going with Sloane. The whole purpose was to get away from here,” I say.

  “To get away from me,” he corrects me.

  I sigh. “Yeah, okay? To get away from you because I didn’t want to have to have this conversation, but since you’re not letting it go, do you want to come too? Because I either need you to back away and let me leave or c’mon because Sloane is waiting.”

  He has a surf session at dawn, so there’s no way he’ll think about partying. Even if he didn’t drink a sip, he wouldn’t want to stay up late. He needs his energy for the waves tomorrow. He has to be well-rested for the hours of training. His surf career is his main focus right now.

  “I’m in,” he says. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter Ten – Dominic

  The hip-hop music thumping from the speakers rattles in my throat. I sit poolside, legs in the water, watching idiots jump in fully-clothed. Kaia disappeared on me shortly after we arrived, and Will is too plastered right now to even try talking to. I see a lot of myself in him – a lot of who I used to be. He seems like a chill guy, but he’s determined to go against everything that’s expected of him. This spoiled rich kid lifestyle doesn’t seem to work for him. He’s rebellious in a way I wish I could’ve been.

  I like the safety net of my dad’s money, though. I like the reassurance that he can bail me out of trouble when I fuck up and fail my classes and party too hard. Dad may be a tough exterior of a guy, but he’s always provided for us – Cassie, myself, and my little sister Juliana. He makes sure we never want for anything. All of our needs have always been met. There’s a stability there that I can’t bring myself to challenge.

  Will challenges his parents’ authority every morning when he wakes up. He’s a little bit of Theo – a wild and free mess – and a little bit of Miles – determined beyond measure. And then there’s a piece of me, the spoiled rich kid part that I detest.

  “Hey,” a girl’s voice says, snapping me out of my California memories. “Are you the guy who’s here surfing? The training guy or whatever?”

  I skim the people around me, wondering if maybe she’s talking to someone else, but the brunette is focused solely on me.

  “I’m here with my surf coach, yeah,” I say. Please don’t let this girl have Googled me.

  “Awesome. I was hoping it was you,” she says. “I know this is kind of weird, but my boyfriend is a huge surf fan, and he wants to learn more about the technical stuff, so I told him I’d see if you would talk to him. Or if maybe he could message you online sometime or something. He’s a little tipsy right now.”

  A wave of relief rushes over me. I don’t know why I thought this girl was about to hit on me. It’s rare that girls even approach me, much less make a move. Aside from Kaia, I don’t think any girl has ever been that bold with me. I honestly don’t even know how to react to it.

  I’m lucky that Juliana is only in junior high because her friends are too young to date, even if I wanted to date them. They’re the only girls who ever come by the house, and they just giggle and practice cheerleading, so dating is actually a new territory for me – and it scares me.

  “Yeah, for sure. Dominic Richardson. I’m from Crescent Cove, California,” I tell her. “I’m on pretty much all social media, so tell him to hit me up. I’m always game for surf talk.”

  She slings her hair over her shoulder and types something into her phone. “I just followed you on Instagram,” she informs me. “That way he can find you later. Thanks again. He’ll really appreciate it.”

  Once she returns to the crowd of guys playing beer pong, I push myself up from the edge of the pool and decide to make the rounds to find a familiar face. But Kaia finds me before I even get my footing.

  “Looks like I’m not the only one who makes friends easily,” she says. She sways with her words, and that evil glare pierces through my soul like a sword. “Did she want your autograph?”

  Kaia leans into me, breathing vodka against my neck. Glenn would absolutely kill me if he knew I was here with her right now, especially since she’s already had too much to drink.

  “She wasn’t looking for me,” I lie. “She asked if I’d seen her boyfriend, but I don’t know who he is. Kaia, we need to get you back home.”

  “Hooooommme,” she says, laughing at the word. “I’m not home because we’re on an iiiiisland.”

  She smiles up at me, resting her head against my chest. She runs her hand along my arm, tracing the dominant vein that makes me self-conscious. At least she’s a happy drunk.

  “Did you kiss her?” she mumbles, closing her eyes and leaning into me with all of her weight. I hope she doesn’t go from happy drunk to weepy drunk.

  “No, Kaia,” I say, pushing her back to look at me. “I only kissed you.”

  She stumbles, but I hold her steady. I’m not sure how much of this she’ll even remember tomorrow. I sort of hope she’s one of those who remembers nothing from her drunken stupor.

  Hell, the last time I was wasted like this, I was at that bonfire on the beach. I tried to take Haley Sullivan’s shirt off of her, which was the dumbest thing I could’ve done. That’s what prompted A.J. and the beer bottle. And now I’m hoping Haley’s boyfriend will sponsor me. Vin Brooks would probably castrate me before he’d offer me a sponsorship with Drenaline Surf.

  “Do you love me?” Kaia asks, her voice all dreamlike and floating.

  “I could if you’d let me,” I say.

  It’s the vicious truth. I could fall in love with this girl. She’s reckless enough to turn me on but soft enough to make me feel like I can drop my shield. I like the tough girl image she tries to put on, but I also like that she’s real with me behind closed doors. She can hold her own against me and put me in my place. It’s a rare thing for someone to push me like she does.

  Her face turns pale, like maybe she’s completely sobered up and realized what she just said to me. “I think I’m gonna be sick,” she says.

  She jerks away from me and runs toward the house, but she stops just shy of the patio door. Then she pukes all over a hibiscus plant. My eyes meet Sloane’s, and we dash toward Kaia at the same time.

  “I need to get her home,” I say just as Sloane reaches for Kaia’s hair to hold it back.

  “She can stay at my house if she needs to,” she offers. “Give her time to sober up.”

  I shake my head. “She can’t. Actually, I can’t let her. I can’t leave her like this,” I say. “If her dad knew…I just can’t. I need to be there.”


  Sloane goes to get her car keys while I force Kaia to rinse her mouth out with a bottle of sparkling water. She misses the patio and winds up spitting it on me, but I give it an A for effort. I honestly didn’t think she’d do that much for me.

  Moments later, I crawl into the backseat, explaining to Kaia that we’re taking her back to the bungalow. I’ll keep an eye on her tonight. She murmurs something about ‘not my first wild night’ before drifting in and out of sleep.

  I’m thankful that Sloane is sober, but she tells me on the drive back that she has to be – for Will’s sake. She’s probably pulled him away from plenty of crazy parties. It makes me a little sad that this is normal for her, that this is one of the demons she has to face on a regular basis.

  When we get back to the resort, she helps me get Kaia out of the vehicle. She follows us back to the bungalow, carrying Kaia’s purse, but she stops at the door. She tells me to take Kaia inside. It’s a miracle that Glenn doesn’t wake up as I struggle through the living room and into Kaia’s room, dragging his intoxicated daughter along. She collapses onto her bed, vaguely aware that I’m in the room.

  I tiptoe back outside to retrieve her belongings from Sloane.

  “Here’s my number, in case you need anything,” she says, folding the slip of paper. “I know you’ll be up to surf in the morning, but I can come by first thing if you need someone to stay with her.”

  I take Kaia’s bag. “She’s lucky to have met you,” I say. “I think she needed a friend to survive the island.”

  “Don’t give up on her,” Sloane says, completely taking me out of myself. “She’s not as closed off as she pretends to be.”

  “Oh, I know,” I agree. “I don’t know what she’s told you about me, but I’m not one to give up on anything if I really want it. We all have our demons, but I’m determined not to let them win.”

  Chapter Eleven – Kaia

  My head pounds like a sledgehammer, and the sunlight pouring into the bedroom only makes matters worse. I turn over to block it from my view, but shifting my body only makes me want to throw my guts up. I clench my eyes shut and feel for my phone, but it’s not in the bed with me. How did I even get in my bed?

  I push myself up and regret it even more. The vodka comes back to me like a slap in the face. What the hell did I drink? I remember chunks of pineapple. I remember that it was good. But I don’t remember coming home or where I put my phone.

  I crawl over the blankets, my head feeling like a blimp, and make my way to the foot of the bed where my purse sits on the floor. I reach into it and feel around for my phone. It’s hidden under a bottle of sparkling water. I don’t even drink sparkling water.

  Then I sober up fast. Dominic gave me the water. I was rinsing my mouth out because I threw up on a plant. I was under the porch light, and bugs were surrendering to it like it was an alien spacecraft coming to abduct them. I hope I didn’t say anything stupid about bugs to him.

  According to my phone, it’s late into the afternoon. Dad and Dominic should already be back, but the bungalow is completely quiet. I wonder if Dad even knew I came home last night. For all I know, he thinks I’m still at Sloane’s house. And speaking of, she’s texted me multiple times this morning.

  I scroll through them, reading her account of how I asked for fresh pineapple in my drink before going back for seconds and thirds. She isn’t sure how much I actually had, but I puked on a hibiscus plant after apparently hugging up on Dominic.

  “I’m not sure what you said to him, but you were clingy and smiled a lot. Maybe he can fill in those gaps, if you want him to.”

  Oh God. I cringe upon seeing the word ‘clingy’ in print. There’s no telling what the hell I said to him while I was inebriated. Hell, I might’ve asked him to marry me and let me travel the world with him and my dad. I could have said absolutely anything under the influence of pineapple and vodka. At least that’s what I’m blaming it on.

  After showering and eating some crackers out of the kitchen cabinet, I feel well enough to text Sloane back and let her know I’m okay. I thank her for helping get me home safely last night, but she assures me that it was all Dominic’s idea. I should’ve known my bad choices would open the door for her to put in a good word for him. Unlike silly boys, I can see straight through her subtle ways.

  But I don’t need Sloane to seep into my subconscious. I know Dominic isn’t the horrible person I thought he was. A little spoiled and definitely not hurting for money (or good looks), but he’s more human than I gave him credit for. After all, I was the one falling apart last night. He behaved, proving yet again that he’s not the guy who is trash talked on surf forums.

  I decide to walk down to the resort to eat something of substance, but two familiar faces meet me halfway down the pier. Dad drags a surfboard back with him while Dominic talks to him, moving his arms too much not to be excited over something. Must’ve been a good day for catching waves.

  “The dead has risen,” Dad calls out. “That must’ve been some hell of a sleepover for you to have slept all day.”

  In moments like this, I’m almost certain that Dad knows more than he lets on. He probably knows about every time I snuck out of the bedroom window at his house. I’ll bet he knows all about those bonfires and late nights, my partying habits, and how I always manage to make it home before the sun comes up. If he does, though, he never condemns me for it. Maybe he knows I’ll eventually condemn myself. Last night’s antics are definitely making me rethink my life.

  “I’m starving,” I say as they approach me. “I think I’m going to walk down to the resort and get something.”

  “Want company?” Dominic asks. He smiles like the universe has gifted him with a brand new surf maneuver. “I can tell you all my awesome surf news while you eat.”

  I shrug. “Sure, if you want,” I say. I try to play it cool, but I’m growing increasingly worse at playing it cool each and every day that I’m on this island.

  There’s a part of me that’s ready to get back to California and back to normal life, but leaving St. Catalina Island means leaving behind Sloane and our new friendship. Leaving the island means that I may not see Dominic much, even if Dad is coaching him. This place has given me something new, even though I’m not quite sure what that something new is. I just know I’m not the same girl who stepped off the plane a few weeks ago with Dominic’s busted boards.

  Dad takes Dominic’s board back to the bungalow, and the pretty boy follows me down the pier toward the resort.

  “Thank you for your help last night,” I tell him. “I normally don’t lose control like that. I can’t even remember half of what I said, but I do remember throwing up and you forcing me to drink the water.”

  He wraps his arm around my shoulder and hugs me. “You don’t have to thank me,” he says. “And I’ll even spare you the details of when you confessed your undying love for me.”

  I push him off of me. “No,” I say. “Please tell me I didn’t.”

  He laughs. “You didn’t. But someday, if you’re lucky, I will tell you exactly what you said.”

  “Maybe by then I’ll be ready to hear it,” I say. “So, what awesome surf news do you have?”

  Chapter Twelve – Dominic

  Kaia forgoes the expensive sandwich at the resort for a food truck down on the beach. She swears that Sloane introduced her to The Tiki Taco, and if I never do anything for her again as long as I live, I have to try their nachos. I haven’t had good tacos since my Hooligan days, so I give in. We order the grande platter from a lady named Sylvia, who greets Kaia by her name, proving that she has eaten here before and isn’t just tricking me into losing my food truck virginity.

  When Kaia decides to go for tacos as well, I throw all caution to the wind and order one too. Then I request extra hot sauce because the love of hot sauce is one thing the Hooligans gave me that no one can take away. We walk over to a picnic table on the beach and settle in under the giant umbrella.

  “I got a phone call th
is morning,” I say before I take the first bite. “From Joe McAllister, Shark’s dad. Apparently Drenaline Surf is hosting the Jake McAllister Pro at the end of the summer. There’s a sponsorship on the line. I don’t even have to win the event. I just have to prove that I’m good enough for it.”

  Kaia runs her finger along her lip, wiping away remnants of cheese sauce. “And you think this Vin guy would give it to you based on your surfing alone?”

  I shrug. “Vin isn’t the only one voting. Joe has a say in it. So does Rob Hodges – you know Rob, obviously.”

  She nods. “He was on tour with Neil. Isn’t he a shaper now? I haven’t heard much about him since he retired a while back.”

  I bite into the taco, and it’s like being back in Horn Island, standing around the kitchen of Joe’s house with Topher and Miles. Amazing how something as simple as tacos can instantly throw you back into a moment.

  “He’s actually working with Drenaline Surf right now,” I tell her. “He’s apprenticing Theo in board shaping. Rob didn’t have anyone else to pass his wisdom to until now. Apparently, Theo’s been sober for the last month or so. At least that’s what Joe is telling me.”

  Kaia digs a chip around in the cheese sauce, making sure she doesn’t let a drop go to waste. “And Joe wants you to compete?”

  “He does,” I say, trying not to smile like an idiot. “He said he’s been keeping tabs on me. He likes what he’s seeing, in and out of the water. He said I’ve always been one of his, and he thinks I should give it a run. I don’t think he’s going to tell anyone we talked.”

  This is the moment I’ve been training for. This is why I’ve had her dad in country after country, chasing swell after swell, hoping for a chance to get back to the place I always wanted to be. Crazy how I’ve had to travel the world just to get back to Crescent Cove and Horn Island.

  “So you’re going to do it, right? I mean, you have to compete,” she tells me.

  “I think so,” I say, still unsure of how it’ll go over with my former crew. “I want to, but facing them again, on my own, freaks me the hell out.”