SUNLIGHT STREAMED in and I brushed my mouth over her nose and cheeks while she slept. Her mouth curved into a soft smile but she didn’t wake up. I shifted onto my elbow, careful not to wake her, so I could get a better look at her.
It was a week after we slept together for the first time, and we had spent most of it either in this bed or out on the water. She wanted to skip our morning surf lessons so I could practice but I insisted on going out on the water with her every morning, even just for an hour. I spent the rest of the day surfing, checking in at the surf shop, or hanging out at her bookshop, lounging on a comfy blue chair while she helped customers, packed up orders, or talked with Liya. In the evenings, we cuddled on the couch or in bed while she showed me foreign music videos like the one I was in before I tossed her phone aside and pulled her to me.
Her birthday was in a few days. I had ordered a cake at the bakery—pink champagne, as per my mom’s recommendation. I had purchased something cheeky online that I was certain Hannah didn’t own, but something was missing. I needed to find a gift that showed her she was loved.
In her sleep, she let out a soft sigh and curled closer against my chest, and I brushed her hair off her face.
Karaoke night had changed both everything and nothing at all. She was still my Hannah, just as she had been before we tangled these sheets up and gave each other everything. She was still the same silly, quick-smiling, brave Hannah she was a week ago.
I was the one who was different.
I was the one who was head over fucking heels for her.
I was in love with her. It was the last thing I ever wanted, and yet it was goddamned heaven.
“We should get up and out there,” she mumbled against my chest, eyes still closed.
“It’s the first day of Pacific Rim so we won’t be able to.” The competition had taken over the surfing beaches for the week and they were keeping the water clear of surfers except those competing.
The warmth of her bare skin against mine made my blood hum. My cock stirred the way it always did when she was around.
She made an unhappy noise and I smiled, inhaling. Her hair smelled like tea, sunlight, her bookstore, and her hair products I had insisted she keep in the shower. I didn’t mind skipping a couple days out on the water with her. It meant I could keep her in bed longer.
She inhaled sharply and lifted her head, opening one bleary eye. “What time is it?”
“Just after seven. Relax. Liya’s opening the shop today, remember? You told her you were packing online orders here.”
“Right.” Her head came back to my chest. “How are you feeling about today?”
Today was the initial qualifier for the competition. About half of the entrants would be eliminated over the next three days, but I wasn’t worried. It was the last two days which would determine my fate.
The pinch of concern I expected in my chest didn’t happen when I thought about surfing against the best in the world. I still felt the rush of competition, the surge of energy to do my best and work with the water to ride the waves, but the biting worry that I wouldn’t place well never showed up.
“I’m fine,” I said simply. “I’m ready.”
If I didn’t do well at Pacific Rim, if I didn’t get that sponsorship deal, I’d be right where I was now, curled up with warm, soft Hannah in bed. My bookworm.
And if I did well? If I placed higher up and scored that sponsorship and was on the next plane out of here? Panic filled my chest at the thought of leaving her. Not Queen’s Cove. Queen’s Cove would still be here. I could miss it and return. But Hannah, I couldn’t leave her.
I almost asked her to come with me at karaoke night, but the music started and I wanted to save it for later, for a quiet moment where I could make it special.
And then I chickened out.
She might say no, but it was more than that. I teetered on the edge of something precarious. Whatever Hannah and I were doing, whatever we were wrapped up in, it was fragile. One wrong move and the entire thing could slip out from beneath us.
If I made plans for the future, they could crumble. If the plans didn’t exist, there was nothing I could lose.
So I perched on the edge of the cliff, enjoying what I had with Hannah, terrified to move a muscle.
Her hand tucked between my torso and the sheets. She did that a lot, tucked her hand between my skin and something else. Funny, these little traits you started to notice about someone once you spent all your time with them.
Today. I’d ask her today if she’d come with me. If she could be brave and get up in front of half the town and sing karaoke, or learn to surf when she had never tried before, I could be brave and tell her how I felt.
She made a satisfied humming noise and turned her head, pressing a kiss to my chest. My cock ached and when she shifted and slipped one of her legs over mine, she brushed against it. She opened her eyes with mischief in her gaze.
I knew that look.
“Oh, yeah?” I asked with a lazy grin, raising my eyebrows.
She grinned wider, still sleepy and so fucking adorable. Before she could do anything, I flipped her onto her back. She was giggling and I was dipping my head between her legs.
“Oh,” she gasped as I swiped my tongue over her.
Today, I was going to be brave and ask Hannah to come with me, but right now, I had to give her another reason to say yes.
“WYATT RHODES, QUEEN’S COVE, CANADA.”
I was out in the water on my board, paddling to take my place, but could still hear the cheers rise up on the beach after the announcer spoke. Hannah and my family gathered in the spectator area, seated on blankets. I had told them not to bother coming since today wasn’t a big event, but they had insisted.
Each entrant had three waves per round and the judges took the top two scores. The wind was low today and the waves were clean. Despite today being an easier round, my blood hummed with competition. I took a moment to center myself, noticing the way the water lifted and dropped me with my torso draped over my board, listening to the sound of the waves washing against the sand and the spectators talking and laughing, and letting the cold bite of the ocean remind me who was boss.
Hannah took up space in my head as usual. I glanced at her on the beach again, her light hair catching the sun, and my chest eased a notch. Three waves and I could take her for lunch and ask her to come with me.
She was going to say yes. I knew she would. Why wouldn’t she? She’d been stuck in Queen’s Cove her entire life like a bug under glass and now that she had broken free, she could see the world at my side.
The store was finally hers, though. Maybe she wouldn’t want to leave after all the work she’d put in.
Behind me, the wave approached. I gauged its speed, and when my instincts flashed now! in my head, I paddled hard. My arms dipped in and out of the water, propelling me forward, my back muscles burned, and as the water lifted me, I snapped up, used my core to turn, and coasted along the length of the wave. The adrenaline rush I had come to love raced through my veins as my board shot forward.
The spectators cheered but I ignored them, taking another deep breath and paddling back to my spot while another entrant caught a wave. When it was my turn again, I followed the same steps I’d done a thousand times. Gauge wave speed. Listen to instincts. Paddle. Snap up. Engage core. Feel like a fucking king riding on the massive energy of the ocean. Repeat.
When I returned to the beach, I glanced at my scores. Top marks across the board, no surprise. I had been dealt a lucky hand today, with no wind, clean waves, and a clear head.
Hannah and my family surrounded me, and I chatted with them for a few minutes before I pulled Hannah away.
“Let’s get some lunch. I just need to stash my board. I want to sit on The Arbutus patio with you and a beer.” I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her temple. “I’d put my arm around you but I don’t want to get your nice dress all wet.” She wore the blue and white striped dress, the same one she had worn to dinner with herself.
She rolled her eyes before tucking herself into my side, under my arm, with a grin. “I don’t care, it’s just water. Can we stop at the bookshop on the way? I want to see if that book came in for Randeep, he was asking me about it earlier. I should check in to make sure Liya and Casey are okay.” Hannah had hired Casey to help out part-time, now that the store was busier. They had walked into the store and introduced themself as a massive romance fan, charming Hannah immediately.
I left my board and wetsuit at the surf shop, pulled a t-shirt over my head, and took Hannah’s hand as we wandered through the streets. The town was busy this weekend for the competition, with surfers wandering around in wetsuits and tourists taking pictures in front of the Queen’s Cove sign by the marina. People packed into the alley with the mural, taking photos.
The sun streamed down, the perfect September temperature to sit on a patio with the girl I loved and ask her to come with me.
The bell on the door of Pemberley Books jingled as Hannah opened it and held it for me. The light inside was dim and I had come to love the dusty smell of the books.
“Hey, Liya,” Hannah called, waving.
Liya turned with a weird, tight expression on her face. Her eyes were wide. Something flipped in my stomach and my eyebrows knitted. Hannah tilted her head and her mouth fell open as Frank Nielsen walked out of the back room.
