Page 1 of Beyond The Break

ONE

ELIANA

Despite my best efforts,and believe me when I say I tried my absolute best, I can’t capture the magnificence and beauty of Hawaii in a single picture. The sand is a brilliant white, my bare feet sinking into its softness, and the ocean water is a stunning shade of blue, shimmering under the sun’s rays. I catch sight of palm trees swaying in the breeze, with vibrant flowers peppering the verdant landscape. I’ve never been anywhere this beautiful in my life – though that could also be because I’ve never stepped foot outside of my hometown, until now.

Closing my eyes, I embrace the sensation of the wind against my skin and the scent of saltwater in the air. I’m overwhelmed by gratitude for being offered the opportunity to come here, feeling the warm sting of tears beginning to form behind my eyes. This is exactly what I need in my life right now.

The sound of an air horn blasting nearby grabs my attention and I rush to point my camera at the small group of surfers floating on their boards in the ocean. Adjusting my long lens, I zoom in until I find the surfer I was hired to photograph today.Zalea Evans.She’s a surfing prodigy that every coach seems to have their eye on. So much so that I was flown here to photograph her during this competition, all expenses paid.

I watch as her auburn hair blows in the wind behind her while she sits up on her matte black surfboard waiting at the line up. As a wave begins to swell, she lowers herself back down and turns toward the shore, paddling with all her strength. Through the lens, I can see her hair begin to dampen and stick to her body. I watch as her and another surfer are neck and neck, fiercely charging forward to get priority, but she doesn’t back down, gracefully dropping into the wave first.

Goosebumps crawl along my skin as I watch her surf. She executes a bottom turn at the base of the wave with so much speed, reaching the top of the wave face and performing a top turn that has the crowd howling and cheering for her. I have no idea how her olive-green bikini stays in place, but I’m impressed.

“It’s like she has a firehose on the back of her board,” a commentator says into his microphone from where he watches on the platform stage, next to two other commentators, “there’s so much water moving.”

“She’s looking great so far, packing the first barrel.” The blonde woman next to him says, a grin stretching across her face.

“She must be excited to get some shade in that barrel, it’s hot!” The final commentator says into her microphone as she fans her red face with her papers, her brown hair swaying with each fan of her arm.

I’m not surprised when she comes in first place after the competition. Not a single surfer in that competition was able to pull off as many maneuvers as she did. As soon as she steps down from the podium, I finally set my camera aside and begin reviewing the shots, removing any that turned out blurry.

“Did you get any good ones?”

I look up to see who’s talking to me and nearly drop my camera. Zalea, the surf queen herself, stands in front of me.

“Y-you’re Zalea Evans.” I say as all the oxygen is sucked out of my lungs.

“You must be Eliana Ward,” she holds out her hand to me, “Gabriel told me he hired you for today’s competition.”

“Oh, he did?” I ask, mentally punching myself for sounding starstruck.

“I had to,” a deep voice says behind me, “or else she’d call the police on you, claiming you’re a stalker. She’s a bit dramatic.”

I turn around to see Gabriel Matthews, also known as Coach Matthews in the surf world, standing behind me. The first thing I notice about him, aside from his blue eyes, is his resemblance to the actor Theo James, with his high cheekbones, brown hair, and olive skin. If it weren’t for his icy blue eyes, he could pass as Theo’s doppelganger. He’s at least six feet tall, towering over me as he closes the distance between us.

“Gabriel,” Zalea says, her tone bored as she crosses her arms.

“Zalea,” he replies, amusement soaked on each syllable.

He crosses his arms over his chest, mimicking her, my eyes drawn to his strained muscles. Gabriel returns his piercing blue eyes to mine, and I find the act of staring into them almost too intimate, but I steel my spine and refuse to drop his gaze.

“How are you doing?” he asks with an easygoing smile. From the corner of my eye, I can see Zalea’s scowl turn curious. “How is your hotel?”

Gabriel reached out to me on social media a week ago wanting to fly me out to Hawaii for one week to photograph today’s competition. I probably would have declined since photography is more of a hobby for me and because I had no idea who the hell he was. However, my job as a retention marketing manager is currently hanging on the line while I’mon suspension, pending investigation, because of some bullshit articles making their way around my hometown - again. With this trip being all expenses paid for, it was the perfect excuse to get away.

“I can’t get enough of this place, it’s stunning, and the hotel is amazing,” I reply, “thank you so much for upgrading my flight as well as my room.”

Gabriel had upgraded my room to the penthouse suite which was a pleasant surprise. The suite layout is basically an apartment. There’s a kitchen, living room space, bedroom, and ensuite bathroom with the dreamiest claw foot tub that I can’t wait to sink into tonight. He had also upgraded my flight to business class, and I was able to turn my seat into a full-blown bed with a privacy wall.

“That’s great, I’m happy to hear that, and you are most welcome,” he says smiling at me before returning his attention to Zalea who has been silently chewing her bottom lip while watching us.

I watch as she meets his gaze, and a tinge of pink starts to spread along her cheekbones as she continues to stare at him.I can sense the tension growing between them as his eyes burn into hers and I almost excuse myself, but she beats me to it.

“I’m leaving,” she says abruptly, turning around to walk off, her cheeks crimson.

“Bye,” he says, a half-smile tugging at his lips.

She pauses with her back turned to us when he speaks before dropping the towel that was wrapped around her waist to the sandy floor, leaving her curves on display as she walks off in only her bikini, flipping her damp hair over her shoulder. I hear Gabriel curse beside me as he drops his arms to subtly readjust his shorts, his eyes fixed on her.

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