THE WHOLE YEAR has led up to this moment.

The annual Sandy Cove surf competition.

Every year, the town looks forward to this one event. It's kind of like our own version of the surfing tour. We have locals come from the different surrounding towns and treat it like a real competition with a small cash prize that is derived from donations from local businesses.

Including my own.

The times that I've won, I've donated the money to the home June lives in and made sure it goes to good use for the residents.

Speaking of June, she comes down every year to support me. Perched in a beach chair with her sunglasses over her face, sitting comfortably as the chaos ensues around her. People are scattered all over the beach, surfers, and family alike. June comes every year, stating that while she can't watch Easton and his competitions, she can support me at mine.

Gabi, Eric, and a few of our friends sit around June, keeping her company and ready to watch the competition. My eyes furrow as I watch Gabi keep checking her phone. She has been glued to that thing the whole time. Brushing it off with a shrug, I head over to them with my board tucked under my arm.

Reaching down to kiss June on the cheek, I place my board down before sitting on it. Gabi looks up as I do. Whatever she is focusing on has her full attention.

"This competition is no longer you three competing against everyone else, it's you three competing against each other for bragging rights," Gabi tells us, as me, Landon, and Charlie look at each other and don't disagree.

"Boys will be boys." June shakes her head.

"Men, Grandma June. We're men," Landon corrects her puffing out his chest and a round of snickers follows suit.

"Why haven't we started yet?" Emma asks, looking at her watch, confused as we should have started by now.

She isn't wrong. The competition has usually started by now. My gaze flickers around the surfers on the beach, getting antsy to get into the water while the waves are good.

"We're waiting for the last judge," Gabi says nervously, checking her phone.

I raise my eyebrow. "Don't tell me old man Jones is passed out somewhere after a bender."

We all laugh, and she shakes her head. "No, we got a new judge, actually. I think this person will be much better and know more about surfing."

"Who did you find last minute?" Charlie asks confused and a smile crosses over Gabi's face as she points to the judges' table.

My gaze travels over to the tent, seeing the judges surrounding someone as they talk to them. A flash of dark hair can be seen between them and it's only when they move out of the way that my breath catches in my throat and I become still.

Thalia stands there as the judges move apart. A small smile on her face as she converses with the other judges. Having not seen her in weeks and then having her stood not too far away from where I stand is a weird feeling. One that makes you want to wrap your arms around her.

But I know I can't.

As if feeling a gaze on her, she looks away from the judges and her eyes connect with mine. Everything around me disappears as we stare at each other, as if trying to convey all the things we want to say to each other through our eyes.

She gives me a small smile, but I'm too stunned by her reappearance to smile back. Her attention is taken off me and back onto the judges as they ask her something.

"Thalia is back," Landon comments, and I can hear them all talking, but I pay no attention as I stand up.

Feeling a hand on my shoulder, I turn to see June now stood up and looking up at me. She gives me a small smile and a pat on my cheek.

"Didn't I tell you? The people who are meant to be in your life will always find their way back to you."

She did. But I guess I never believed Thalia would come back.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Sandy Cove's annual surf competition!"

One of the judges speaks through the microphone and everyone cheers as the start of the competition begins.

"We have had a late start, but we were waiting for our last judge. Pro surfer herself, Miss Thalia Monroe," the judge says and everyone cheers and claps as Thalia waves. "Let the heats begin!"

"Hey," Gabi says, putting her hand on my shoulder like June did, and I turn to face her. "Just focus and enjoy the competition. There will be plenty of time for you two to talk after."

Focus on the competition is much easier said than done.

✺✺✺

My breathing is harsh as I paddle out further away from the shore. Turning my head, I see my opponent, a surfer from a few towns over apparently, looking focused as he stares out at the waves as if willing one to come.

Sitting up on my board, I run my hand through my hair before turning my head to look back at the beach. People surround the beach but it's easy to see my friends and June stood up as they cheer for me. A smile comes onto my face before I look over to the tent where Thalia sits, too far away for me to see her expression.

Gabi confessed she knew Thalia was coming back, which is why she kept checking her phone and she didn't want to tell me in case I left.

Shaking my head to rid the thoughts, I try to focus on the waves in front of me and the competition at hand.

A wave forms, rippling as it moves towards us and my opponent and I look at each other, knowing whoever gets it first has a good chance.

I fiercely paddle away from the wave along with my opponent, but I manage to get the inside of the wave as I stand on the board and it's mine.

A smile crosses my face as I surf the wave, carving the board and pulling out the tricks that will get me the most points, landing every one. Cheers come from the beach and I can imagine June being the loudest of them all, even for such a small lady.

Riding out the rest of the wave, I smile as I dive into the ocean before surfacing and shaking my head. But it's not over. The remaining ten minutes of the heat are hard, competing against the other guy, trying to get enough of the waves to improve our scores.

The horn sounds, and I paddle over to the guy before bumping fists and we make our way back to the beach.

As we get back on the sand, my friends run up to me and I hug June. My gaze goes to the judge's table and I see Thalia watching me with a small smile on her face.

✺✺✺

I didn't win.

Charlie, Landon, and I made it all the way to the final, but at the end, another surfer from a neighboring town had won. Landon had tried to con the judges to release our scores as if in a small competition between us, but they wouldn't. Probably for the best, those bragging rights can last all year and can get annoying if it's not you who won.

Closing up the surf shack, I turn off the lights and head outside before locking the door. Whistling as I swing the keys around my finger, I turn around, ready to walk down the beach and head towards my apartment.

A figure walking along the beach towards me stops me. Thalia walks in my direction, slowing down for a moment as I come into view. The beach is dark. The moon lighting up just enough where we can see each other.

After the announcement of the winner, everything happened so fast that Thalia and I couldn't speak. There were celebrations for the winner and soon enough, everything was being taken down for another year.

"Hey," I say as I come to a stop in front of her, looking down at her, and she gives me a soft smile. "Welcome back."

She lets out a small laugh. "Thanks. Sorry you didn't win today."

I shrug and look out at the water. "Surfing is fun for me. Win or lose, I really don't care."

"Well, she did surf better than you," Thalia teases and I scoff, holding my hand to my heart.

"You just keep tearing my heart in two, don't you?" I say and as soon as the words fall from my mouth, her face drops slightly, as if she realizes why she is coming to talk to me. Placing my hands in my pockets, I look into her eyes. "You came back."

She nods, twisting her hands nervously. "I did, and I'm back for good."

"What happened?" I ask her, and she sighs, looking out to the ocean.

"Nothing felt right. For my entire career I've been going to the competitions with just me, my trainer and sometimes my agent and I never cared. But this time going back, it was lonely," she begins. "I tried surfing a day before the competition and I freaked out badly and all I could think about was I wanted you to be with me."

"Are you okay?" I ask her, furrowing my eyebrows, and she smiles.

"You're still worried about me even after everything," Thalia comments.

"Thalia, I never stopped caring. But what you did really hurt me. I've had people leave me my entire life. I've always felt like I hadn't been good enough. I supported you going back on the tour if it is what you really wanted, but I just wanted to be on that journey with you and you didn't even want to try," I explain, my voice cracking slightly.

"I'm sorry," she apologizes, and a tear slips down her cheek as I wipe it away and she leans in to my touch. "I think I was just protecting myself at the end of the day. It would have hurt me more if we came to hate each other in the future."

"What about the tour?" I ask her, confused.

"Right now, the tour isn't for me. I realized I was trying to push myself to be normal again, but this is my new normal and maybe it's not as such of a bad thing as I thought originally. It brought me here. I met you, Gabi, and June. I just missed surfing so much but my priorities have changed a lot since I've been here and it made me realize there's more to life than surfing and the tour will always be there for me. Easton helped me realize that," she says.

I chuckle. "Of course he did."

"I've just realized ptsd is not something you can just get over. You can live with it for the rest of your life. Some days it won't be there, but some days it will. It's going to take some time, but I'm going to keep on with my therapist and take every day as it comes," she explains.

"I'm proud of you," I tell her and she smiles.

"I shouldn't have pushed myself so hard," I admit. "And I shouldn't have pushed you away."

"So you're back for good now?" I ask, and she nods.

"June has offered to let me stay at her place for as long as I want. I have my stuff from my rented place on their way down here," she tells me before she steps closing and threads her hand through mine as I look down at them. "I'm really sorry for what I did to you, Atlas. Just being on tour made me realize how much I wanted you in my life and how much I care about you. I think we both know dealing with my emotions was never my strong suit."

"What if I say no?" I ask her and I see her face drop slightly, but an understanding look takes over.

"I'll still be here and maybe I'll be the one to try to charm you this time," she says and I laugh. "I heard beach yoga is all the rage for a date."

Shaking my head as I smile, I can't help but love the smile that takes over her face. "Promise me something?"

She nods.

"Next time you get scared, don't run away from me. Just talk to me. You leaving hurt more than anyone else who has ever left me. I don't think you understand how strongly I feel about you," I say.

"If it's anywhere near the way I feel about you, I think I do. I'm not going anywhere, Atlas, I promise," she tells me.

Not being able to hold back any longer, I wrap my arm around her waist, bringing her crashing into my chest as I place my hand on her cheek and lean down to kiss her deeply. A soft moan escapes her lips as I do, and I smile against her lips as she melts into my body.

This is where we belong.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

A U T H O R  N O T E

She's back!!!!

It's actually really nice to write it as the female mc who has to apologize and grovel. Majority of the time it is the male mc's so it's nice to switch things up!

Who's ready for the epilogue?