Chào các bạn! Vì nhiều lý do từ nay Truyen2U chính thức đổi tên là Truyen247.Pro. Mong các bạn tiếp tục ủng hộ truy cập tên miền mới này nhé! Mãi yêu... ♥

06 | aerials and elevators


I was used to Southern California heat. The sun was always strong, but it wasn't like you'd sweat through your clothes walking from your car to your front door. Florida heat, on the other hand, was the equivalent of walking through the 7th circle of hell with arctic weather gear on. I had to peel myself off the leather seat of our Uber, the material sticking to the backs of my thighs like duct tape. The sun's rays blistered my bare arms as Dane and I walked from the circular driveway of the hotel to the large glass entranceway, and I skirted close to the intricate marble fountain at the front in hopes of getting even the smallest spritz of cool water.

We'd gotten to Miami a day before the pro event to avoid the 4th of July travel rush, but I found myself regretting it more and more as Dane inched towards me again, trying to gently direct me through the hotel with his hand on the small of my back.

"I got my own room," I said hurriedly as we made our way through the hotel lobby. "I just figured it made sense seeing as we're on different schedules and everything, since you're actually competing and I'm just judging the grommets." I could hear the bitterness in my voice as it echoed off all the empty spaces in the lobby. My sandals squeaked on the cream marble floors, and palm trees and hanging ferns dotted every other corner and archway, giving color to the otherwise monochrome space.

"Yeah, makes sense," Dane shrugged.

My phone pinged with a notification, and for a fraction of a moment, my heart skipped a beat, but it was just Gemma.

After leaving Atlas on seen last week, effectively ending our steady stream of DMs, he had been radio silent on social media. I was almost tempted to ask him how he was, or what he was doing, but I held back. It was my decision, and I had to live with the consequences. Caring as much as I almost did had worse consequences.

"Anyway, I'll see you for dinner later?" Dane's mouth twisted up into the faintest smile.

"Uh...dinner?" I tried to play off my bewilderment with a light chuckle.

"Yeah, we really liked Edge last time we were here so...figured I'd make reservations." Dane threw in a casual shrug. "I know we're both kind of jet lagged, but I figured it might be like, nice, ya know?"

Edge was a steakhouse and oyster bar in Miami - the kind where people ordered caviar for appetizers and every other patron walking through the bar wore a pair of red bottoms. We'd only gone because both Dane and I placed top 3 in the last pro event that was here. But the way Dane's eyes softened when I hesitated made me soften the same.

"No, no, that's great," I shook my head. "Yeah, I'm down."

Dane and I went our separate ways to get ready for our night, and after briefly napping off my jet lag and wrestling with my wild mane of hair, I slipped into the only thing I'd consider nice enough for a night at Edge - a black maxi dress that hugged me and my lack of curves a little too tight.

Less than an hour later, we were seated on the deck at Edge, overlooking the beach and the ocean as the crowds began to dissipate in the setting sun. I thought to myself how many girls would want to be sitting where I was sitting, across from a handsome California surfer, all wavy dark hair and a pearly smile.

I always skirted a fine line with Dane, especially when we were alone together, and a part of me always felt like I perpetuated that awful cliche of nice guys finish last. Dane was nice...just not the guy for me. I wasn't sure any guy was the guy for me - it wasn't a thought I regularly entertained...and yet somehow I felt guilty about it. For letting him smile at me the way he did and letting him take me to fancy restaurants with oysters and caviar. Especially when more often than not lately, my mind wandered back to late nights in foreign countries, tangled up with a man I knew was so far out of my league. I couldn't entertain those thoughts either.

"What are you worried about?" Dane's voice brought me back to where I actually was. Back to Miami. Back to Edge. Back to sitting across from him, his smile kind and his eyebrows crinkled with the slightest bit of concern.

"Nothing," I huffed out, flicking my heavy cloth napkin off my plate and setting it in my lap.

Dane chuckled. The problem with being as exposed and intimate as I had been with him in the past was that not much got past him. "Well, you're worried about nothing for no reason. Tomorrow's gonna be great."

I gave him a small smile, running my finger down the pristine silver handle of the knife on the table. "It's not that. It's...honestly, I'm not sure what it is."

I wasn't sure if I was just imagining things, but for a moment I thought Dane's hand twitched, as if to move it towards mine, but instead he reached for his wine glass. I did the same, watching the deep red liquid slosh around like the sea in the dark of night.

And maybe that's all it was - the idea of not knowing. Not knowing if I was going to feel like an outcast. Not knowing if I had enough confidence in myself to judge these girls without feeling like an imposter. It was diving into the deep unknown - dark water, no bottom.

The massive turnout for the men's pro event came as no surprise. Watch professional (and usually attractive) surfers tear it up all 4th of July weekend? Abso-fucking-lutely. Dane was right about one thing - a few years ago, I would have been all over these events, whether I was competing or not. The sound of the waves and the surfboard hitting the water had been more than enough for me, and it used to fill me with a rush that I could never quite explain. A rush I hadn't felt in a while.

I got my judge's pass from the main event booth and made my way down to the beach for the girls' junior heats, weaving in and out of the crowd of onlookers and surfers in waiting. Juniors events were typically ages 18 and under, with some of the girls being as young as 15, and five judges for each event were supplied by the sponsors and the World Surf League. Each heat was about 20 minutes, and a surfer could technically catch an unlimited number of waves, within the parameters of traditional rules. For each successful wave, the judges highest and lowest scores were discarded, and the surfer was given the average of the three scores remaining. A surfer's two highest-scoring waves were then combined for an overall total for the heat, and a perfect ride was scored at 10 points - therefore a perfect heat was 20 points. I'd had my own share of perfect heats, but obviously those had been coming fewer and far between lately. One of the normal judging criteria was power, which I had a limited supply of.

I'd gotten to the beach to judge feeling bitter and drained, but as I watched some of the young girls drop into waves, some cutting across the top of the break and some coasting along into the barrel, I couldn't help but feel a sense of elation swell inside me.

The best part about it all was that they smiled and laughed almost the entire time. Watching these girls surf, but more importantly watching them enjoy surfing, made me realize that of all my recent hangups, not enjoying what I was doing was what hurt me the most. No matter how physically okay I felt, if I couldn't get back to a place of pure joy when it came to surfing, I'd never be the same again.

Once it actually came time to judge the final heat, I could almost feel myself teeter on the edge of excitement. A young California native named Addie Simpkins won, and normally they say when you win things, you should act like you've been there before, but Addie was a beaming ray of sunshine, when they handed her that trophy, it was like someone had actually plucked the brightest star from the sky, wrapped it up like a present, and given it to her. All the bitterness had evaporated, and I was actually happy for her. I could only hope she'd cling to that same sunny disposition for as long as possible.

As the choking heat of the afternoon came down on us, I began to gather myself and get back up to my hotel room so I had enough time to shower, change, and mentally prepare myself for the Quiksilver charity event with Dane. Just as I was leaving the judges booth, someone called out my name.

"Miss Allen, wait!"

Miss Allen? Never in my life.

When I turned back around, I came face to face with Addie Simpkins, and a smile that rivaled the sun.

"Hey," I breathed out with a faint smile, trying not to falter through my next words. "I know I said it earlier during the trophy ceremony, but you were getting hounded by reporters so...congratulations again. You definitely earned it. That last aerial 360 you had in the final heat really sealed the deal for me. It was pretty badass, and it was...perfect."

It was perfect, and it was the only move I could never nail down in my whole career.

Addie scrunched her face up, like she was desperately trying to contain herself from exploding with joy right in front of me. That smile of hers cracked the facade, and a squeal escaped her lips.

"Oh my god, I can't believe this is really happening." She spoke so fast it just sounded like one long word. "I...I'm sorry I just...I've been such a huge fan of yours for like, forever. I watch your winning heat in Rio from 2018 like, once a week. Thank you, thank you so much, you're seriously my idol."

She took a breath and shifted her weight in the sand, water still dripping from her blonde hair. When she smiled up at me again, her energy infected me.

"That's really sweet of you," I said. "But...I should really be thanking you. Watching you out there today, not only totally crush it, but more importantly enjoying yourself...it really helped me. It's no secret I've been struggling, but you reminded me that above anything, surfing should bring me joy."

Before I even had a chance to react, Addie leaned up and pulled me into a hug, squeezing all the salt water from her rash guard into my shirt.

"Would you..." Addie hesitated when she pulled away, looking down at her feet. "Would you take a picture with me?"

"Yeah, yeah of course."

We leaned in close to each other and smiled as Addie snapped a selfie, and god damn if I didn't look happier than I had felt in months. Addie pulled me into another quick hug.

"I still think you're the best," she said softly. "And I have no doubt in my mind that you'll find your footing again."

She gave me one last sunny smile before skipping away with her trophy, and I finally exhaled a breath. I stood on the beach for a little while longer, watching the crowd thin out and the setting sun start to gently kiss the horizon. I knew I had to at least attempt to make myself presentable for the benefit dinner later, so eventually as the summer air began to turn colder in the oncoming night, I stalked back to my hotel room.

The Roxy/Quiksilver brand always made a big showing of its charities and overall do-gooder endeavors at all of their sponsored surfing events, and this one was no different. Although I'd heard through some of the reps that the grand ballroom in the Four Seasons had already been reserved for a different event, they'd still made a big showing of the other ballroom, complete with groovy ice sculptures, big-time executives in stuffy suits, and of course an open bar.

I slipped on a baby pink velvet dress that I had yanked from my closet at home, still with the tags attached. My hair was a lost cause, still salty and windswept from my full day at the beach, but I managed to at least tame my bangs. I was jittery and restless, although I couldn't pin down a cause. When I got Dane's text that he was on his way to my room, I took a shot of tequila from the minibar in my room to quiet my nerves. When the knock on my door came, I contemplated jumping off the balcony for half a second, but instead I opened the door and was greeted with Dane's perfect, pearly smile. He could have been in an advertisement for toothpaste.

"Hey." He made no effort to hide his gaze as it trailed up and down my body. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks," I sighed out. "Should we uh...get going or something?"

Dane smiled again and offered me his arm, which I took after a moment's hesitation. It felt like a mile to the elevators as we walked along the ruby red carpeted floor, like I was being led to the executioner's block.

An older guy with a cart full of suitcases was already waiting for the elevator, and the lights above the elevator indicating what floor it was on lingered at the top floor. I glanced at my reflection in the chrome doors of the elevator, hoping I didn't look as haggard as I felt.

Dane shifted beside me. "At this rate it'll be quicker if we just take the stairs. Wanna go?"

I nodded in reply, and we made our way to the doors on the other side of the hallway. I really couldn't explain why at that moment I felt the need to look back at the elevator as I heard it ding. It felt like time had slowed to a complete stop as my eyes met his, and it was like the moment lightning struck - electric, vivid, and instantaneously knocked the air from my lungs.

He looked at me like he didn't even know we were on the same planet, let alone the same hotel, standing there in a tight black suit, watching me with his mouth open until I was forced out of his sight. And I waved at him. I waved, like the god damn idiot I was.


finding what you had in mind
and seizing the moments and the tides
i don't wanna wait
for you to give in

moments/tides / goth babe

when i found this gif i actually screamed. i was looking for something completely different but then this gifset for this photoshoot just...appeared??? this whole venus retrograde must be good to me

baby cliffhanger, but i think we all know who was in the elevator *side eyes* anyway, love to know your thoughts so far & any predictions on the next chapter!

Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: Truyen247.Pro