Page 81 of Beyond The Break

She clamps her mouth shut and her brows pull together as she stares at Gabriel. When he doesn’t shrink away, she stompsoff with her camera man in tow, muttering under her breath. Gabriel turns and grins at us both.

“I’m glad to know your taste in women has improved drastically.” He pats Griffin on the shoulder and walks off toward the stage.

I snort as I look up at Griffin whose jaw hangs open. “Did he just compliment and insult you at the same time?”

“That bastard,” he mutters, closing his mouth.

He takes my hand, and we join the rest of the team in front of the stage and watch as the presenter walks to the X marked in the center, a small card in hand. He glances down at the paper before returning his attention to the crowd.

“The points were tight this competition, but unfortunately only three teams can progress to Qualifiers.” He adjusts the microphone before standing up straight.

“In third place, we have the Wave Warriors.” A small group of people cheer and clap in the crowd as the Wave Warriors coach takes to the stage to accept their ticket to Qualifiers.

“In second place we have the Rip Raiders,” he calls out.

My heart starts to flip flop as I watch the whole team take to the stage to accept their ticket. They smile down at us smugly before exiting the stage. I guess losing Colton didn’t set them back as hard as we thought it would.

“I’m going to be sick,” Maliah groans, rubbing at her lip nervously.

“And in first place,” he pauses dramatically, “are The Saltwater Shredders!”

The crowd erupts in screams of joy and rapid clapping as the team grabs onto each other in a big hug. Griffin pops his head out from the huddle, searching for me, and pulling me in to join.

“We did it, guys,” Kairi says, her voice shaking with emotion, “we’re finally going to Qualifiers.”

“Will someone from The Saltwater Shredders come up toaccept your ticket and answer some press questions?” the presenter asks into the microphone.

“Fin, you should go,” Maliah nudges him toward the stage.

“Yeah, get up there,” Colton says, ushering Fin on stage with the help of Koa and Zale.

I watch as Griffin takes the ticket from the presenter, shaking his hand before standing in front of the mic. He runs a hand through his wet hair and smiles at the crowd, the girls swooning.

“Griffin Jones,” a reporter shouts from the front of the crowd, her blonde hair tied up in a messy bun, “can I ask a question?”

He smiles down at her from the stage. “Sure.”

She takes a step forward, her camera man recording the interaction. “This is the best your team has ever surfed in your whole career, what did you guys do differently to get here today?”

Griffin lifts his eyes to the team before they find mine, softening slightly. “We had our lucky charm with us today.”

My breath catches in my throat as he winks at me, goosebumps appearing across my skin.

Did he just call me the team’s good luck charm?

I’ve never heard anyone call me that. Most of my adult life has been spent as thebad luck charm. My throat tightens and my eyes gloss over as he returns his attention to the reporter.

She’s completely spun around, searching the crowd to see who he winked at. I duck behind Colton, not wanting to get sucked into an interview.

“I swear sometimes Griffin acts like a real-life book boyfriend,” Kairi squeals as she comes to stand beside me and Colton.

“You like stuff like that?” Colton’s tone is curious as he watches Griffin on stage.

“What, romance? Duh, every girl does.”

“Good to know.”

Her cheeks flush, but she forces her eyes straight ahead until Griffin walks off the stage and makes his way back over to us. Gabriel meets us back at the tent, the biggest smile on his face as we pack up our belongings and head to the car. I swear he even smiles the whole drive back home, whistling along to the country songs on the radio as his fingers tap along to the beat.

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