Page 18 of Beyond The Break

The Kooky Coconut,the only bar in Saltwater Springs, is not what I had pictured when Maliah had said we’d be going out for dinner. I had pictured a nice restaurant with shrimp cocktails or maple salmon, which is why I’m extremelyoverdressed for a beachside bar. While I wear a black mid-length dress that completely covers my arms and neckline, Maliah and Kairi are both wearing jeans and a T-shirt.

I take a deep breath and turn away from them, instead, choosing to look around at the bar, admiring the rustic interior. It’s weathered wooden floors and walls covered in fish nets, buoys, and fish sculptures has a charming aura about it.

Maliah and Kairi are tucked away in one of the small booths, flirting with two overly muscular blonde lifeguards that resemble Ken dolls. Colorful cushions and table lanterns are littered in every booth, inviting small groups. Griffin, Koa and Zale are gathered at the pool table in a far back corner of the bar, the overhead lights illuminating the green felt tabletop. And I sit alone, pretending to be mesmerized by the bartender’s subpar bottle skills.

After looking over the menu, I order myself a water and grilled fish tacos, crossing my fingers and toes that it doesn’t taste horrible. The laid-back music doesn’t do much to calm my discomfort and I find myself glancing in Griffin’s direction. His body stiffens as he stares down at the pool table but a couple seconds later, he slowly drags his gaze to mine, raking it over my body with a heated glare, my cheeks warming in response.

“Hey, girly.” I swing my head around and see Kairi approaching the bar, smiling at me.

“Hey.” I turn the stool to face her.

“You’re more than welcome to join us at the booth. We’re just talking with some local lifeguards.” she says as she waves the bartender down and orders a round of tequila shots for her booth, before glancing at me and ordering one for me too.

“Oh, I don’t drink tequila.” I say quickly.

The hangover I woke up to in Hawaii after taking shots with Zalea the night before still haunts me and I refuse to think about how many hours I spent puking into the toilet and fallingin and out of sleep on the tiled bathroom floor. Tequila is not for me.

“That explains the water,” she says, scrunching up her face in fake disgust. “So, I see you have your work cut out for you with Griffin.”

She nods in his direction and when I look at him again, he’s leaning against the back wall hands resting on top of his cue stick, watching us.

“Yeah, something like that,” I mumble, watching him for a moment longer. “What’s his deal anyway?”

“He’s a very complicated and layered guy, but I guess what happened to him six months ago doesn’t help,” she sighs.

“What exactly happened? Gabriel mentioned that some personal articles were written about him, but when I tried to search them up, I couldn’t find anything, aside from a very vague article mentioning a pro surfers competition accident ending in an injury.”

“Yup,” she nods. “There’s not much left about it after Coach paid off all the local papers to take down everything about the accident.”

I guess that’s a habit of Gabriel’s then.

“Anyway,” she continues., “Griffin won’t really share much with us about that day but from what I witnessed; he was distracted out in the water. Surfing the worst he’s ever surfed.”

“And then what happened?”

“He tried to catch this massive wave, probably the biggest wave in that beach’s history. He was doing alright at first, until his foot slipped, and the wave crashed on top of him.”

“Ouch,” I say, goosebumps crawling up my arms.

“Oh yeah,” she agrees. “That wave pushed him so deep into the water that he drowned. Took three lifeguards to resuscitate him.”

Goosebumps crawl up my arm as she says those words.Griffin had died. That experience sounds so traumatic, no wonder he’s scared of falling.

“And then,” Kairi continues, “when he was taken to the hospital, they discovered his torn MCL. Took him six months of rehab and physio to get the all clear to come back and join us. He wouldn’t let any one of us visit in that time.”

“Why not?”

She shrugs as she glances at him over my shoulder. “No one really knows. He just needed time, but we think it has something to do with our ex-teammate and his ex-best friend, Colton.”

The bartender brings over the platter of shots and I watch as she plucks up the shot that she ordered for me and drinks it.

“Is that why Colton left the team?”

“That’s what we all think,” she says after she takes the lime wedge out of her mouth.

I make all my mental notes about Griffin and decide to push my luck and see what else I can get from Kairi that might help me understand the team dynamic more.

“What about Maliah and Koa? What were they like before they hated each other?” I take a sip of my water trying to remain nonchalant.

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