by Dean, Ali
The girl isn’t only brave on a skateboard. With me, in this hotel room, she’s totally unguarded.
“Bed,” I say gruffly, reaching out to pick her up and kiss our way in that direction. But then the there’s a heavy knock at the door and I place her down. “Shit, room service. Stay here.” Shutting the bathroom door, I pull the other door open and move to the side.
A young guy wheels in the food, and I rush him out of there with a tip, practically pushing him out into the hallway.
Jordan peeks out once the door closes. Her eyes move to the food.
“You hungry?” I ask, my voice still thick with lust. I mean, she’s still completely naked.
Jordan shakes her head, and then she opens the door completely and struts right on over to the bed. When she sits down and looks over at me expectantly, I let out a shaky breath. The night would have been perfect with food and a movie in bed. But now it looks like my girl might have been visualizing the same thing I was while she was in the shower, and I’m more than happy to fulfill her fantasies.
Chapter Fifteen
Jordan
“So when’s your next competition?” Lucy asks, reaching for a French fry. We’re in Zora’s Honda Pilot at a drive-up burger joint, parked outside.
“I don’t know yet. That was the biggest one on the west coast for a while. Not much happening in November or December.”
“Well, we’re coming to your next one,” Zora declares, pointing a fry at me from the driver’s seat. “Whether you invite us or not. We can get the intel from Beck and Griff if we have to.”
“Speaking of Griff, Fliss won’t stop talking about him and now that she knows you work for him and are friends or whatever? I’m surprised she hasn’t tracked you down yet,” Ellie says.
“Your roommate? Too bad Griff wasn’t at Coby’s party the other night when she showed up there with her friend Daisy.” I pause, burger halfway to my mouth. “Or maybe it was a good thing he wasn’t there? I don’t know if she’s his type, if he even has a type.”
“She gave him her number that one night on frat row, remember?” Ellie asks. “She seems to think he was interested then at least. Now she’s seen some pictures of the two of you at parks together and then at the Oregon contest, and thinks you’re going to be her in.”
“Huh.” I wonder how many girls out there have seen pictures like that and wondered the same things. I mean, Griffin Perry is photographed with lots of people, but I guess now that I’m the Brazen rep there’s more with me. “She didn’t say anything to me at Coby’s place,” I say with a shrug.
“Yeah, because you wolfed down a burger and then left with the two lovebirds a few minutes later,” Zora reminds us with a snort.
When Ellie said she was getting a ride back to campus with Taylor I probably should have let them head out alone, but I was ready to call it a night after a full day skateboarding and surfing.
I turn to Ellie. “Does Fliss know about you and Taylor and that Taylor’s his roommate? She didn’t notice all of us leaving together the other night?” It’s the Friday after the Oregon trip, and apparently with Taylor’s apartment roommate-less, the two spent some quality time together.
Ellie laughs. “Nope. She didn’t ask where I was all weekend and I didn’t tell her. She probably didn’t even notice I was gone, she’s usually at sorority stuff.”
A car pulls up beside us. “Hey ladies!” a voice calls from the window. It’s Taylor in the passenger seat, and a moment later, Coby is getting out of the driver’s seat. I watch him come around to Lucy’s side in front of me. He leans in her window for a kiss. “Hey babe.”
My heart kickstarts. It’s so damn sweet, and Beck can’t even give me those simple gestures of affection. Not in public. It makes my chest ache, especially when Taylor opens the door to squeeze in the backseat beside Ellie.
Zora doesn’t seem to mind her friends are all pairing off, calmly taking a sip of her drink. Wait, I recognize the can from the selection at Coby’s beach party. It’s hard seltzer. Sure, it’s Friday night, but she’s driving. I open my mouth to say something, but Coby pops his head through the window and puts out a fist to me. “Hey Jordan, nice job last weekend. You rocked it.”
“Oh thanks,” I murmur, distracted.
“You guys coming to the party later?” he asks. Given he’s been around the only three times I’ve ever really “partied” if you could call it that, Coby isn’t aware I’m usually not part of that scene.
Ellie leans forward. “Is it the one I keep hearing about from my roommate? Are famous people supposed to be there or something?”
Coby laughs. “Not really famous. At least not yet. But one of the guys going on that new reality show, Shred Live, he’s hosting it. Some of the cast will probably be there too.”
I stiffen and Ellie looks over at me. Everyone in this car, including Coby hovering halfway in and halfway out, knows I’m friends with Beck and Griff. Coby might suspect there’s something going on between me and Beck after what happened at his party, but I have to be careful not to confirm it. Sure he’s with Lucy now, and I don’t want her to have to keep secrets, but we can talk about that later. I shrug at Ellie, letting her know I don’t know about Beck being there. He said he was meeting his dad for dinner, and given the little he’s told me about that relationship, I didn’t take it personally I wasn’t invited.
“Yeah, it’ll be fun,” Taylor is saying. He leans forward to look at me. “You should come too Jordan, there’s a little half pipe in his backyard.”
“Yeah, maybe.” I’m noncommittal. Everyone else starts talking about the party, wondering who will be there, if it’s okay for a bunch of freshman girls to show up when it’s hosted by a guy in his late twenties. Moses Roan. He’s an amazing skater, known best for his street skating, and one of the few world-ranked black skateboarders. I know he grew up in Queens, but I guess he’s relocated to southern California like so many of us skateboarders.
I’d planned to hunker down with homework tonight, catch up on what I missed last weekend and deal with some of the messages piling up for me on social media. Griffin says it’s time to start a website, a freaking website for myself, but I’m putting that off as long as possible.
I shoot off a text to Beck, asking if he’s going to Moses’s party tonight. Half of me wants to go out of curiosity, while half of me wants to stay far away from anything Shred Live until I can’t avoid it any longer.
Beck
My dad’s getting married. To a woman he met a few months ago, and whom I’ve met once. Tonight, when he told me the news.
She held out her hand to show me the rock, all giddy, like I should be excited for her. Then they asked if I’d be the best man, and acted confused when I said I’d have to think about it. Dad isn’t stupid, he knows I’m not his biggest fan. But I do keep agreeing to meet with him every few months, and even I’m not sure why I do it. Usually he brings his current girlfriend, and he likes to show me off, the pro skateboarding son. I don’t know why he decided to marry this one, but she didn’t come across as all that different from the others in the short time we spent together. I try not to be a judgmental ass, but when the same scenario keeps repeating itself in front of me over and over, it’s hard not to get jaded. Dad’s got a skill at charming insecure women.
I want to drive straight to Jordan, but I’ve got a half dozen texts reminding me of Moses’s party tonight. He’s one of the few guys I can genuinely say I’m looking forward to spending time with on Shred Live, and I don’t want to snub him by no-showing tonight.
Ignoring the texts from Griff, Taylor, Moses, and a few others, I click the one from Jordan.
“Are you going to the party at Moses Roan’s house?”
How does she know about Moses’s party? Griff? I hit the button to call her, not wanting to text and drive.
“Hey,” she answers on the first ring.
“Hey, where are you?” There’s no background noise, so she must not be at the party.
&n
bsp; “My dorm. Doing some homework. Are you done with dinner with your dad already?”
“Yeah.” My voice is tight and I don’t want to get into that right now. “How’d you hear about Moses’s party?” I don’t mean to sound accusatory, but I’m curious. After all the coincidences that had us running into each other at the beginning, for all I know Moses is her cousin or something.
“Oh, Coby and Taylor. The girls all went with them.”
Oh yeah, of course. Coby lives in the same neighborhood as Moses, and Taylor would have been invited to the party too, through Griff, Moses himself, or one of the other skateboarders.
“Is Taylor hanging out with Ellie now?” I wonder. He hasn’t said shit to me about it, but then again I’ve been holed up studying and in classes since I got back from Oregon.
“Yeah, they’re together I think. And Lucy and Coby too.”
She sounds off. “Hey, I’m coming over. Will you go to the party with me?”
There’s a pause. “It depends. Are you only inviting me now because you realized all my friends would be there?”
My brows snap together and I pull the phone away and look at it. That does not sound like something that would come out of Jordan’s mouth.
At a loss, I tell her I’ll be there in five minutes. I wanted Jordan to be my safe place, the easiest and best part of my day. But as I jog up the stairs to her dorm room, I feel like I’m preparing for a battle I didn’t even see coming.
She’s expecting me, leaning on the door frame in sweatpants and a tee shirt. Jordan pushes from the wall when she sees me.
“Sorry,” she says on a long sigh. “That didn’t come out right on the phone.”
My hand comes up to her cheek, running the pad of my thumb over it gently to let her know it’s cool. My heart rate instantly slows and everything inside me calms as we stand there together.
“I mean, you’re right. I wouldn’t have invited you if your friends weren’t there, but you know it’s not because I don’t want you with me. Always.” I add that last part for emphasis, and because it’s true. Except for tonight with my dad; I wouldn’t want to subject Jordan to that part of my life.
“Because we have to stay a secret and Shred Live people are there?”
“Yeah. And I didn’t even really want to go. I wanted to come over here and hang with you. I was just going to swing by for a few minutes.”
Jordan pulls me back into her room and shuts the door. “Beck, how are you going to live in a party house for three months if you don’t even like going to parties?”
“It’s not that I don’t like them. I just like being with you better.”
“I don’t mind them now that I’ve been to a few,” she tells me with a shrug. “But I guess you’re right, we can’t really go to them together.”
“We can. Just can’t be acting like a couple. I figured if your friends were there tonight you’d have more fun.”
I can tell she’s only half paying attention to me. Her hand trails down my chest and rests on my abs. “Why do you want to go again?”
I swallow, trying to remember the answer to that question. “Moses is a good guy. I want to have things solid between us going into this filming stuff because he’s one of the only ones I know pretty well who I really like. It’d be kind of a snub to ditch this party when Griff is there and he knows I live close by.”
“That makes sense. I guess I should change then, huh?”
Chapter Sixteen
Jordan
This secret relationship stuff had some appeal at first, what with me not wanting to be in the spotlight any more than I already am. It even sounds sort of cool, “secret relationship” like we’re spies or something. But it’s not exactly turning out to be some sexy mission. Actually, it’s making me go a little bit crazy, questioning things when I know I shouldn’t.
Beck is wearing this faded blue shirt that makes his eyes pop, and I want to burrow into his chest and touch him and kiss him and… I can’t even stand close to him. As we wander through the house and follow the noise outside, my mind keeps drifting to Saturday night in the hotel room and what he did to me. His mouth, his tongue. I was embarrassed for maybe half a second, but then, there was no space in my head for embarrassment. He literally blew my mind. The expression makes so much sense now. And I was so damn comfortable with it; I think that surprised both of us. I even wanted to return the favor, but he wouldn’t let me. I wonder when he’ll let me…
“Jordan!” An unfamiliar voice calls my name.
A flash of pink hair, and then Zora stumbles in front of me, Beck catching her right before she goes down. Good thing, because I’ve got my skateboard in one hand. Okay, I guess that was Zora, she just sounded different.
“Whoa, hey, you okay?”
“Ohshyeah, my legz nooooooodleeeey.” Zora straightens herself into standing, but continues using Beck’s shoulder for support.
Lucy is right behind her. “Can you help us get her to Coby’s house?” She glances between us. “We keep trying but she runs away. It’s like she thinks it’s a game.”
Zora laughs and start to move like she’s going to run, but Coby is there, swinging an arm around her shoulder. “All right, let’s get you to bed. We’ll keep an eye on her tonight.”
“I can help,” Beck offers. “You’re only a couple blocks, right?” he asks Coby.
It takes all four of us to get Zora to Coby’s place. She passes out in a guest room and Lucy heaves a shaky sigh. “I’ve never seen her so wasted. She usually only drinks beer so she must have been taking shots to get so drunk so fast.”
“She was drinking when we were in the car earlier,” I point out, in case I was the only one who noticed.
Lucy winces. “Really?”
I nod in confirmation.
“You guys should get back to the party, you just got there. Thanks for helping.”
“Call me if you need anything.”
We say goodbye and walk back, neither of us thinking about how we’re holding hands until we get to the front door. We drop them before going in, and I follow Beck single file, trying my best not to look like his girlfriend.
This time when we step onto the back deck, I get a chance to take everything in. My eyes immediately zero in on the half pipe in the fenced yard. It’s small, but plenty big enough to have some fun. There are at least a dozen skateboards lined up beside it, but no one’s riding right now.
The party isn’t huge, maybe thirty people or so like the one at Coby’s house. Was that a month ago already? I don’t see anyone else from Coby’s crew here, and it’s a lot of unfamiliar faces. There are a few guys I think might be pro skaters, but it’s the two girls mingling with them who really catch my attention. Sarah and Camila. I have to wonder if Camila is going to be on Shred Live too. She’s a well-known skater, but not in the same league as Sarah Kase, Beck, or Moses. Then again, maybe the cast selection isn’t all about world rankings. Camila gets a lot of buzz for her looks, and even I can admit she drips sex appeal.
“Hey man, your friend okay?” I glance over to find Moses going in for a bro hug with Beck.
“Yeah, just too much to drink,” he answers. “Moses, this is Jordan Slattery. She rides for Brazen.”
Moses puts out a hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Jordan. Great job at the Oregon Cup last weekend.”
“Thanks. I hear you’re going to be on Shred Live with Beck?”
He laughs and shakes his head. “Guess so. It’s a little crazy.” Moses turns to Beck and throws a hand on his shoulder. “But hey, maybe we’ll have some fun with it.”
“So who all is on the cast?” I finally get the nerve to ask. “I know you and Beck, Sarah, but that’s it.”
Moses starts listing off names, counting them on his fingers. There are ten guys total, and I recognize most of the names. “Romeo and Tariq are here tonight. Then we’ve got ten women. Sarah and Camila are here too.” He lists the other eight women, and only two others are Americans. Sarah has dual citiz
enship in Japan and the United States. The other six are from Brazil, Spain, Australia, Canada, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. I’m impressed the cast will be so international.
Griffin suddenly appears between Moses and Beck, throwing his arms around both their shoulders and panting. “Save me, guys.”
“What’s up, Griff?” I wonder.
He lifts his head. “Sorority girls. Freshman sorority girls. I can’t escape them.”
I try not to laugh at his panicked expression.
Moses laughs though. “Ah, I bet those are the chicks Romeo and Tariq invited. They said they met some hot college girls at Riptide earlier today. One has an accent?”
“Yeah, Daisy. She’s British,” Griff confirms.
I peek around the guys, curious. Two blonde heads are tilted together conspiratorially. “Oh shit, the other one’s Ellie’s roommate Felicity.”
“Felicity? She told me to call her Fliss,” Griffin says on a groan.
“What was she doing at Riptide? She doesn’t skate.”
All three guys look at me without saying anything. I realize they’re waiting for me to figure it out, and I do. “Oh. Yeah, that makes sense.” Ellie said something about Felicity wanting to make a connection with Griffin and come to this party. Guess she went so far as to scope out the skatepark.
Griff finally lowers his arms from the guys. “If they come back over here, I’m pretending Jordan’s my girlfriend,” he warns.
Beck doesn’t look amused. “Are they really that bad? You can usually handle girls like that better than anyone.”
“They’ve made it abundantly clear they’re looking for a threesome, Beck, and I gotta tell you, I wouldn’t necessarily turn that down but these girls are giving me all the wrong vibes.”
“You worried they’d make a sex tape or something?” Moses asks, laughing as he takes a pull of beer.
