As we reach the shore, I hop off my board, throwing an arm around Sloane, who is laughing, her new board tucked under her arm, and her head falling to my shoulder as we both watch Flynn and Alana literally school everyone in how to surf.
“They really are good, aren’t they?” she says.
“Fuck yeah,” I say as they ride the wave in before walking over to join us, the four of us now watching as Nate and Sage catch a wave, followed by Kai and Matt, then Miles and Daisy.
It’s good to see Miles and Daisy together like this, both of them actually smiling, laughing even as they have fun surfing the same wave.
“Think those two will ever get back together?” I ask, watching them.
“I hope so,” Sloane says, as Alana adds, “She needs to get rid of that dickhead first.”
“They still on?” I ask, turning to Alana.
She nods, glancing over as she says, “Yeah, unfortunately. Won’t last, I’m sure. It never does.”
“What’s the story with all that?” Flynn asks as Miles and Daisy hit the shore.
“Long story, babe,” Alana starts. “I’ll fill you in later,” she adds, giving him a knowing look as she tips her head toward the ocean. “Another?”
Flynn grins, and he and Alana both paddle out, the rest of us following. We all spend several hours surfing together, and it is honestly the best fun we’ve had in ages. Everyone is laughing and having a ball, and every time I look over at Sloane, she is smiling so big and just looks so fucking happy. It makes my heart pound.
Eventually, we all call it done, grabbing our boards as we head over to our place to chill. Mochi loses his shit when he sees both Alana and Daisy following Sloane inside as I grab a bunch of beers for the guys, and we all sit out on the back deck.
“She doing okay?” Nate asks, knowing where Sloane went today and what she did.
“Yeah,” I reply with a nod. “Says she is. Says she did what she needed to do and is now moving on. Not giving her mom any more of her time.”
Nate nods, glancing inside to where Sloane is laughing with the girls, Daisy doing some kind of reenactment that has them all in hysterics.
We all turn to Miles, who is, of course, watching them, his eyes firmly locked on Daisy.
“Dude, seriously, you gonna step up or what?” Kai asks, kicking his brother’s leg.
Miles shoots him a death stare, glancing quickly at me before he turns back to the girls. I can’t even begin to imagine how much this is killing Miles. He and I have been best friends since school, and I basically watched him and Daze fall for each other. Watched them get together and watched them become something way more than just a high school crush.
I watched them fall apart too, and all the shit that came after, and there are seriously times when I would love to just crack their heads together and tell them both to stop being so fucking stupid. It’s so obvious they still love each other, and if it wasn’t for the third wheel that seems to float in and out of the picture, I actually think they might have gotten back together after Miles came back from the mainland.
“So when’s the next comp?” I ask Flynn, changing the subject and sparing Miles the interrogation from his brother.
Miles gives me a grateful smile as Flynn says, “Brazil next, which will be awesome, and then back here for a bit before we head to Australia.”
“Ohhhh, gonna introduce your girl to the family?” Kai teases.
Flynn laughs. “Sure am. I mean she’s already met them all on FaceTime, but yeah, we’re gonna spend some time hanging out with them.”
“Man, everyone’s getting all loved up,” Kai says, shaking his head. “First Nate, then you and Alana, and now Owen. Fuck if that’s ever gonna happen to me.”
“No shit,” Miles says. “Not sure anyone could stand you longer than the ten minutes it takes you to convince them to come home with you and actually have sex.”
Kai lets out a loud laugh, his head falling back. “Bro, please, you know I last way longer than ten minutes, and every girl leaves satisfied.”
“I know. I hear every attempt you make at it,” Miles adds with a grin. “And there are enough of them.”
His brother smirks, shaking his head as he says, “Don’t blame me for your self-imposed dry spell, little brother. All you gotta do is man up and win her back,” he adds, jerking a thumb at the window.
“Alright, leave the guy alone,” I say, cuffing the back of Kai’s head as I stand and grab us all another round of beers. “What do you guys wanna eat? I’m starving.”
“That was so much fun,” Sloane says, crawling into bed.