Page 76 of Reckless Hearts

We paddle in, catching a last wave together before we walk over to where our stuff is, lying on our towels on the sand. It feels like the first time in forever that I feel completely and utterly unplugged and relaxed. I haven’t checked my phone once, leaving it on silent in the glove box of the car. I know Jadehas probably texted and rung me a million times, but I don’t give a single shit.

All I want to do is soak up these moments with Alana.

I can’t believe I ever thought I could stay away from her.

“Can I ask you something?” she asks, lying on her stomach, her arms crossed under her head as she looks over at me.

I’m lying on my back, one knee bent and my hand shading my eyes as I turn to her. “You can ask me anything.”

She smiles, biting her bottom lip a little before she says, “Do you ever think about competing again?”

I huff out a laugh, rolling onto my side to face her, my head propped in my hand. I could so easily spout out my stock standard answer to her. The one I give to every reporter or sponsor every time I run into them at a comp with Jade. But I don’t want to do that with Alana. I want to be completely and totally honest with her.

“Yeah,” I breathe out. “All the fucking time.”

She pushes up a little so she’s resting on her elbows, still watching me. “How long has it been?”

I trail my fingers through the sand, my gaze dropping briefly before returning to meet her eyes. There’s no judgment there, no pity either, just genuine curiosity. “A little over three years,” I tell her.

Alana nods, picking up a random shell and turning it over in her fingers, her gaze never leaving mine. “Maybe it’s been long enough,” she says, her words quiet.

“Maybe.”

“I could help you,” she adds. “Not with the surfing part, but with the getting back out there.”

Chuckling, I reach over, trailing a finger along her shoulder and down her arm. “I kinda think you could help me with the surfing part too, beautiful.” She blushes at that, still so unaware of just how good she is. I can’t resist, leaning in to brush a softkiss against her lips. “I don’t know how to get out of my own head,” I admit. “This, today, it’s so easy, but there’s nothing riding on it. When it’s a comp, fuck...everything changes.”

Alana nods, still watching me. “I know, I get that. But what anyone else thinks or says doesn’t matter, Flynn. None of it matters except for you, out there on the waves.”

“You make it sound so easy,” I say, smiling.

She grins back at me. “Maybe that’s because it is. When’s the next comp after Pipe?” she now asks.

Laughing, I roll toward her, kissing her shoulder, tasting the salt on her skin. “You should know that, it’ll probably be your first event as a pro.”

Alana scoffs, waving a hand. “Whatever,” she says, but she’s smiling, and I can tell she likes the idea. “But seriously, where is it? I assume Jade’s going?”

I blow out a breath, falling onto my back as I stare up at the blue sky. “Pipe Masters on Oahu and then California.”

Alana shuffles around beside me before she’s suddenly hovering over me, a smile on her face as she pushes the wet hair back off my forehead. She doesn’t say anything at first, just leans in and kisses me, her body pressed against mine.

I curl my arm around her waist, holding her close as her lips move against mine in a kiss that feels different from all the other ones we’ve shared. More intimate and real, like there’s a deeper meaning behind it.

“Would you try again if I said I’d come with you to Oahu?” she asks, pulling back a little. “I bet they’d give you a wildcard entry.”

My hand rests against the small of her back, our eyes locked. “You’d do that?” I whisper, not knowing what else to say. No one else has ever offered to help me get back on a board after my accident. My parents and brother did, but they weren’t as much a part of the scene like others.

My coach and my girlfriend at the time both ditched me quicker than I’d have thought possible, clearly no longer giving a shit when I wasn’t bringing either of them the fame and attention I had before. My girlfriend had been a semi-pro surfer, and it took me a while to realize that she saw me as her ticket to full-blown pro.

But this, right here with this girl, who has no hidden agenda and only wants to see me try, is fucking everything.

“Yeah,” she replies, smiling as her finger traces the line of my brow. “I would. I will.”

“You’ll be surfing there,” I tell her.

Alana chuckles a little. “Maybe, but either way, I’d like to see you surf there too.”

I swallow, trying to picture what that would be like, whether I’d actually be able to get on a board and compete again, or would I just embarrass myself all over again? It would be worse this time too, because I’d be coming back after so long that I’m sure people will already be thinking of me as a washed-up has-been.

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