Riptide of Romance

by Jennifer Jones

  We grinned at each other. He threw his shirt on the bed and replaced it with the rash guard, holding his arms wide. It fit perfectly over his sculpted arms, biceps, and broad chest. We stood together and looked into the mirror. I marveled at how perfect we looked, me with my curvy body and Justice with his rock hard surfer’s bod. “We look fantastic!” I said.

  “You bet we do.” Justice turned and gave me a warm peck on the cheek. “We’re going to win,” he said. “And when we do, we’ll have our pictures all over the news wearing your one-of-a-kind designs.” He picked me up and twirled me once. My hair flew around like a kid on an amusement ride, and I felt deliriously happy. He set me down and held my hand. “Come on, Mrs. Hamilton. Let’s go sign in.” And we skipped out the door hand in hand.

  * * *

  A festive banner greeted us at the entrance: “Welcome to the Knight’s Ferry Valentine’s Day Wave Pool Extravaganza!” Cupids bearing bows and arrows graced the proclamation, the giant sign billowing gaily in the wind.

  We were in such a great mood that we practically pranced underneath the sign and toward the contest area.

  When I saw the pool, I stopped midstride and stumbled. Justice caught me just in time. “Whoa. Careful there.”

  The wave pool was so much larger than I expected. We stood hand-in-hand in front of the massive body of water, and a fluttery feeling of anticipation filled my belly.

  Justice’s fingers touched his parted lips. “Check out the size of this baby.”

  “Must be at least two football fields.”

  Green grass surrounded the entire wave pool and sand had been brought to create a beach-like feel as though we were at the ocean. A pier bisected the middle of the humongous pool. The park boasted a surf shop, a snack bar, a brewery, a first aid building and locker rooms.

  Justice and I stood silently as though we were in the presence of royalty. Gawking at the flawless waves, a surge of excitement roared through my body. The waves, made by a machine, broke in a perfectly symmetrical tube. Whereas in nature, the waves were inconsistent, here they broke precisely the same way every time. A few athletes were already in the water warming up. I watched as a pretty female surfer crouched down and tucked into the tube.

  My breath caught as I spoke. “It looks like Pipeline. I wish daddy were here.” My father had spent the better part of his life on the pro surfing tour. My fondest memories of papai were of the countless hours we’d spent together riding gnarly tubes.

  Justice squeezed my hand, and his captivating blue eyes stared into mine. “I’m sure he’s getting all the best waves out in Maui.”

  We moved to the registration desk where a fit surfer girl took our names. Her fingernail ran down the list of entrants. “Here you are. Justice and Lola Hamilton.” Her gaze flicked to mine and she tilted her head. “Hey. Didn’t you used to be Lola Cortes?”

  I blushed. Yes, I had landed on the pro surfing radar due to my daddy.

  My father was famous in a lot of ways. Some would say infamous. Despite his larger-than-life brawling personality, he had excelled on the pro tour rising all the way to the top. When that ended, he took on the deadly high-risk sport of big wave surfing, challenging waves of sixty feet and larger. I smiled when I thought of my ferociously powerful papai. He taught me never to give up. He never did and look where it got him. Daddy had become one of the most competitive big wave surfers in the world.

  My father, with his rugged good looks and my strikingly photo worthy stepmother, had been featured in more than one surfing gossip blog as well as blowing up Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. That meant that I had unintended B-List celebrity-hood as his only daughter. I gave her a small salute. “One and the same.”

  She looked from me to Justice, her gaze taking in my handsome husband and lingering a bit too long. “Well! Welcome. And good luck.” She waved a hand toward the event board. “You can check out the competition over there.”

  We trotted to the event board, and I scanned the names of participants. I recognized a lot of them from days following my dad around the pro tour. My heart sunk as realization hit. The competition was fierce—pro surfers, lifestyle athletes, ex-world tandem champions. I sucked in my breath. “Dang it. We’ve got some tough competition.”

  Justice pulled himself to his full height and smiled confidently. “We’re going to win.” He leaned into the contest board and squinted his eyes. “Looks like we’re up tomorrow against a couple from Hawaii.” His finger moved down the list, and he frowned. “There’s Devin and Kristin against a South African couple.”

  As if on cue, Devin walked up to the board, tugging Kristin behind. I inhaled an unpleasant whiff of his aftershave and almost sneezed. “Well, will you look at the Bobbsey Twins.” I held my breath and gulped down breaths to stay quiet.

  Kristin gave Devin a warning look. “Don’t—”

  “Don’t what?” he said. He clapped his hands together. “Let’s hear it for the cute couple of the year.” His voice lowered. “A couple who hasn’t surfed tandem for at least six years. Want to give the trophy to me right now, Justice?” He made a framing motion with his hands. “I can see my Whole Foods and my redevelopment award now.” He slapped Justice hard on the back. “May as well hand on over the deed.”

  Justice’s body stiffened, his jaw forming a hard line. “Come on, Lola. Let’s get out of here.” He grabbed my hand. “We’ve got a contest to win.”

  Justice gripped my hand tightly as we hurried away, his voice a mutter. “I’m only holding off on whacking the guy a good one so we don’t ruin our chances.”

  I held up a finger. “Good plan.” I’d already spied Devin’s videographer filming. “Much as I want to haul off and put the dude in a headlock …” I sucked in a breath through gritted teeth. “We’ll be good little kids till we win.”

  As we wandered through the park, I took in the many athletes with their custom tandem boards and tried to quell my feelings of intimidation. It had been a long time since Justice and I competed tandem. I swallowed over a dry throat as an empty feeling filled the pit of my stomach.

  Twenty-Eight

  Lola

  We arrived at the wave pool early the next morning.

  The loudspeaker boomed. “Welcome to the Knight’s Ferry Valentine’s Day Wave Pool Extravaganza! Make sure you sign in, get yourself a tonic at the juice bar, enjoy the fish tacos at the snack bar and get ready to put on your best tandem moves. And remember to smile for the camera. We’ve got coverage on all the top sports channels around the world. Get ready to rumble!”

  The massive crowd began to form in the early morning; old people and young, families with children, those who appeared to be locals with their weathered farm looks and others who looked like they spent their days working for the man behind a desk somewhere. Judging by some of the accents I heard—British, South African, Spanish—it looked like spectators had made the trip from all over the world. This only added to my uneasiness. I let out a huge exhale. No pressure here.

  “Lola!” I was nearly knocked to the ground when Bobbie threw her body at me in a bear hug. Papaw and Ginger trailed behind, two lovebirds connected so tightly I thought they were conjoined twins.

  I caught my breath and hugged my sweet friend. I smoothed her hair and looked into her eyes. “You made it! How’s Dexter?”

  She tried to bump her shoulder with mine, but the poor dear only reached halfway up my arm. “I left him plenty of food and water just like you said.”

  Papaw’s eyes held a gleam when he reached Justice. He stood still for a moment, chest thrust out. “Oh, come here, kid.” His arms circled Justice in a strong hug, and I noticed a tear in the corner of one of Papaw’s eyes. He drew away and hooked fingers in his belt loops giving Justice an appraising stare. “Looking good, man.” He squeezed Justice’s bicep. “Strong as an ox.” He narrowed his eyes. “You been treating this lady right?” He turned to me, and when I fell into his hug, I inhaled a calming aroma of leather and Old Spice.

  J
ustice looped an arm through mine. “Lola’s the best wife I’ve ever had.”

  “Wait. I’m the only wife you’ve ever had, right?”

  Justice rolled his eyes. “Duh.”

  Bobbie wielded her smartphone. “Check it out. The contest’s broadcast on Sports Center and World Surf League.” She gave me a sly smile. “The betting’s getting fierce.” She winked, and an adorable smile graced her face. “I might have to place a bet myself.” She scrolled through the odds for my inspection, and my heart sank when I noticed Justice and I had been given fifty-to-one odds.

  I licked my bottom lip. “That’s nice, honey.” And my heart started that uncomfortable racing thing it always did before a contest.

  Ginger looked gorgeous wearing a low-cut royal blue mini-dress with a silver choker at her throat. Her eyes held a sparkle that I noticed every time she was around Cliff. She wrapped an arm around Bobbie. “Don’t distract Lola.”

  Justice clapped his hands together. “Well. We’ve got time to watch some of the contest before we’re up.” He swept his arm in a grand gesture. “Shall we?”

  The five of us settled into the stands amid the aroma of popcorn, grilling hamburgers and a slew of spectators hell-bent on drinking gallons of beer on tap.

  Justice clutched my sweaty hand tightly, and my stomach churned as the contest began. Jesus Cristo, Santa Maria, and Dexter! The rivalry was fierce. Through blurry vision, I watched a series of couples—fit athletes performing advanced tandem moves—the halo, the buddha, the one-arm Kennedy. I clutched Justice’s arm so hard he winced. My voice was a whisper. “I don’t know about this. I should’ve dieted more.”

  He kissed my lips softly. “You’ll do great.” His mesmerizing blue eyes looked into mine, and I wanted to fall into their depths. His gaze was reassuring and protective. Justice smoothed my hair away from my sweaty forehead. “I’ve got the prettiest, strongest, most athletic partner in all of Knight’s Ferry.” His smile was confident, radiant even.

  I suddenly felt light-headed and drew in a shaky breath.

  I wanted to share Justice’s enthusiasm and confidence. But.

  But what?

  He gave me a crooked smile. “We’ve got our lucky rash guards.” He placed a masculine arm around me, drawing me close. “I’ll take care of you.” He leaned close and whispered in my ear. “You’re my wife, Lola.”

  My body froze. A married couple. Yeah, right. What about after? Shut up and concentrate, Lola. The hundred-grand prize dangled in front of my sphere of vision and I blinked.

  What if we really were a married couple? I could pretend, couldn’t I? Just for these two days?

  I closed my eyes and inhaled his masculine scent pretending that we were a real married couple who did everything together—shopped together, worked our business together, made babies together.

  I squirmed at the thought of how Justice’s hand had come down on my ass last night, my screams drowning out his own groans of excitement and a wicked smile formed. That’s the kind of married sex I liked.

  I leaned into Justice and nuzzled my head against his neck. When I looked up at him, I forced the nervousness out of my system by pretending I was acting in a movie. Yes, that’s it. A movie. Fantasyland. “If you say so.”

  He reached around and smacked my butt. “I do say so.”

  Then it was time.

  The announcer’s voice boomed. “Sarah and Brian Rich against Mike and Lacy Jones, on deck. Lola and Justice Hamilton against River and Roxy Sullivan, in the hole.”

  Justice grabbed my hand. “Come on, Hamilton. Our trophy awaits.” Papaw, Ginger, and Bobbie gave us enthusiastic cheers of encouragement. “Break a leg!” Ginger yelled.

  We ran hand-in-hand to the staging area where we donned wetsuits, our rash guards, and retrieved our tandem board.

  I can barely remember what went through my mind as we waited for our first heat and I don’t want to remember. It was a mixture of tunnel vision, a ringing in my ears, and waves of hot and cold chills. I took a deep breath thinking of my papai and how determined he’d been to ride savage waves of sixty-feet and larger. I closed my eyes and tried to channel my father’s intense determination. Like father like daughter. Justice joked and bantered in his casual way, but all I wanted to do was get in the wave pool. There I’d be able to put all my nervous energy to good use. Our focus needed to be great surfing and advanced lifts to achieve the highest combined score.

  Finally, it was time for our first heat. We raced toward the sand and Justice and I stood together and bumped fists. “Go get ‘em Team Lola Justice.”

  Justice grasped the back of my head and gave me a luscious kiss on the lips. Out of the corner of my eye, I viewed our French kiss, large as life on the jumbotron. “That’s team Hamilton, y’all!” the announcer’s voice boomed. “Show ‘em how it’s done. Then get a room.” Justice’s thumb moved slowly across my jawline as his pillowy lips made out with mine, seeming not to care that the whole world witnessed our love. Give ‘em hell, Justice. We’re married. Fake married.

  From a distance, I heard Papaw yell. “Yeah! That’s my grandson!”

  We finally broke our PDA, and I scanned the crowd of competitors. Devin lurked on the sidelines, a grin on his face. He held two fingers to his lips and then blew me a kiss. Bile rose up my throat. I wanted to throw up.

  “Come on, babe,” Justice said. “Let’s go.”

  We paddled out behind our competitors and watched as they caught the first wave. A lump the size of a golf ball formed in my throat as the announcer’s deep voice filled my ears. “They’re going straight for the butterfly.” That was one of the more advanced moves and—dear Lord in heaven—they executed it perfectly. “Will you look at that folks? River and Roxy never disappoint. If this is what we have to look forward to, it’s going to be one heck of a contest,” the announcer enthused.

  Justice squeezed my arm. “Remember what we practiced. Let’s go for the one-arm straddle.”

  I twisted my toy diamond ring, the cheap plastic scraping my skin. “Are you crazy? That’s one of our hardest moves. Holy smokes, Justice. You want to lose?”

  “Have some confidence. We did it fine the other day.”

  I swallowed hard and told him, “Okay.”

  The wave formed, and we paddled mightily until it picked us up. Justice’s strong arms lifted me. “Here we go.”

  The maneuver required me getting on his shoulders; then he hoisted me higher until my arms were straight down in front of my body and I extended my legs in a straddle. Justice held my clasped hands with one of his hands. This move took a ton of strength because Justice only held onto my hands with one hand while his other arm stuck straight out.

  The announcer’s voice boomed. “Will you look at that. The Hamilton’s are going for the one-arm straddle! Good gawd, they’re brave.”

  The wave rushed underneath us and Justice’s muscular arms flexed, his breathing labored. My arms shook, and I felt my grip loosen. “I’m going to fall.”

  “Hang on, babe.”

  “I can’t.”

  Twenty-Nine

  Lola

  My arms gave out, and I fell straight back into the water while Justice and the tandem board kept surfing. My head bobbed up in time to see him crouch down and stall the board.

  The audience let out a collective gasp, and one voice screamed above the rest. “Go home!” Devin yelled.

  Fire burned through my body, and I thought I’d die of embarrassment. Justice paddled to my side and extended his hand. “Come on, Lola, let’s go!”

  River and Roxy caught six more waves. Had they been practicing for decades? They looked so graceful and balanced, not falling once. Meu Deus, did we even have a chance?

  Justice and I caught five more waves, sticking to the easy to moderate moves. As the twenty-minute clock ticked down, Justice said, “Let’s try a foot-to-hand.” That was one of the more technical lifts.

  I inhaled deeply through my nose and exhaled through my mouth. “L
et’s do it.” No way were we going home this early in the game.

  We caught a wave, and Justice picked me up, lifted me to his shoulders and hefted me up until his strong hands gripped my feet. I straightened my body and raised my arms in Victory. I felt balanced and strong. All my senses became alert as the wave pool and Justice and I riding our tandem board came into sharp focus. We’re doing it! Stealing a glance at the jumbotron, I nearly laughed when I saw the smile on our faces. All I needed was a doggone sparkler in each hand to complete the effect.

  The crowd went wild, and my eardrums whined with the noise of applause.

  “Look at that, folks. Where’s my camera? Lola and Justice need to go on the cover of a magazine with that move,” the announcer said.

  Finally, the horn blared, and the heat was over. We exited the wave pool, my arms and legs like jelly. I plunked my butt on the sand, my arms circling my legs, and gave an easygoing wave and smile to Papaw, Ginger and Bobbie. I didn’t want anyone to know how uncertain I felt about our chance at advancing.

  Justice sat down next to me and held my hand. “We did great, babe.” But his words sounded tentative, and confidence didn’t reach his eyes.

  My heart pounded in my ears as I sat next to Justice, adrenaline working its way through my system, my body unable to relax.

  After a few very long minutes, the announcer said, “And the winners are … Lola and Justice Hamilton! And let me tell you, folks, it was close. By the skin of their teeth close. River and Roxy tallied fifteen-point-three, and Lola and Justice slammed it with fifteen-point-four. Congratulations, Team Hamilton!”

  Justice jumped up in one quick move, springing so high I thought he was trying out for the NBA. Then his arms raised in a “V.” “We did it!” He extended his hand, and the next thing I knew we were waving our arms in the air, our hips bumping each other’s. The adrenaline rush was so great I nearly lost my breath as he hugged me tightly to his broad chest.