Page 7 of Surge

Chapter Two

"This year is going to be the best year ever!" My best friend, Ivy, slid into the passenger seat of my car, her long red hair nearly smacking me in the face as she whipped her head around to grab the seatbelt. "My goal this year is to be more organized, so let's hit up school supplies first before we go to the mall."

I laughed and pulled away from the curb. Ivy and I had been friends since elementary school, when we discovered our shared love for the Jonas Brothers. We both decided early on to stay out of drama at school, especially when everyone was team Nick or team Joe and we were the only ones that were team Kevin.

It had been three weeks since the fish incident and school would start the following week. I was normally excited for school, but my stomach had been in knots wondering what would be in store for me. I was foolish to think that no one would connect me to my father. My last name was, unfortunately, Kline and he was from Salinity Cove himself.

Jax hadn't responded to the texts I sent him asking him if he wanted to hang out. I guess the fish had been a wake-up call that I was not the girl for him. Or he had just been lonely and I'd been convenient.

"Are you doing okay?" Ivy turned down the volume of the music and watched me as I drove onto the highway. "You have circles under your eyes."

"I haven't been sleeping well." I glanced over at her to see concern written on her face. "What if-"

"Don't start that again. It was probably some idiot who thought he was being funny. Nothing else has happened, has it?" She put her hand on my forearm and gave it a gentle squeeze.

The police had been called but wrote the incident off as a stupid high school prank by bored teenagers. I wanted to believe that was the case, but deep down I knew it was because of my father.

I shook my head and focused on the road. I didn't want to talk about my father or the ongoing aftermath of his oil company. It was all over the news on a daily basis. I had nothing to do with his oil business, yet I was starting to feel guilt over it.

I never advertised who my father was, but somehow, people in Salinity Cove still knew. He was born and raised here before moving away to attend business school and eventually became the largest offshore oil tycoon in the world after taking over his family's oil company.

The fish had been a reminder that I was a Kline despite him leaving my mom before I could crawl. My mom did get money from him, but that was as far as our relationship went.

"Jax hasn't texted me back. I've decided that it was a fluke and he must have been high." I twisted my lips to the side. "Maybe it's the wrong number."

He had texted himself from my phone, but the possibility was still there. That made me feel a little better, but not by much. He had left camp the next morning. Mr. Garcia said something about him being double booked.

"Forget about him. You don't want a guy like him, Ri. He'll use you then leave you crying just like every other girl." She sighed. "I wish they all weren't so pretty to look at though."

I pulled off the highway and parked. This shopping trip was just what I needed. I lived for school supplies and would rather spend more on amazing pens and sticky notes than clothes.

We headed down each aisle, taking our time deciding what binders and other essentials we needed. I loved being organized for school, and I couldn't keep the smile off my face.

"Excuse me." I was squatting down when the thick, velvety voice interrupted my contemplation between a white binder and a blue one.

I stood and nearly bumped heads with Blake Huron. I stepped back and winced. Of all people to bump into on an outing that was supposed to be distracting me, a Triton was the last person I wanted to bump into.

Blake was the quietest of the three. He smiled down at me and I was nearly knocked back from how bright and welcoming it was. He might have been the quietest, but in a way he was the loudest.

He rubbed his jaw and laughed softly. "Riley Kline." I didn't know why he was telling me my name, I knew who I was.

With as rich as his family was, I was surprised he wasn't ordering diamond encrusted binders.

"Hi." I lifted my hand in a wave and immediately wanted to crawl into a hole and have staples shot at me. Hi? I couldn't do any better than hi?

Blake was just as skilled at swimming as Jax and was the envy of most males at Salinity Cove High. Swimming ranked above even football, which was saying a lot considering we had a championship winning team.

His eyes gave me a once over before he bent down and pulled a blue binder off the shelf. "Well, see you in a few days."

My mouth parted as he walked away without looking back. I'd definitely be seeing him since the Tritons attracted the eyes of most females, including me.

"Did Blake Huron just check you out?" Ivy grabbed my arm as she squealed a little. "Girl, two of them have now talked to you!"

"I'm not sure that's necessarily a good thing, Ivy." I grabbed the same binder as Blake and threw it in my cart that was already overloaded with more than I needed. "Let's go. More stores await."

We headed to the checkout just as Blake exited the store. I blew out a breath, stirring the hair framing my face.

"This card is declined." The cashier handed me back my credit card. "Do you have cash or another card?"

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