Page 31 of Below the Barrel

“This villa only has one room,” he states.

I feel all the blood rush out of my limbs and straight to my cock. I’m going to have to share a bed with Maliah for two weeks?

“Absolutely not,” she argues, pushing past us to storm around the rest of the villa.

“So, everyone has to share a bed with their partner?” I ask the man, confused on how that will go down with the partners that have not been on the best of terms in the tour.

He shakes his head. “Only you two.”

“Why is that?” I ask, my heart pounding loudly.

He looks down at his clipboard. “We ran out of double bed villas and someone by the name of Gabriel Matthews confirmed that a single bed villa would be fine for you two.”

“I’m sorry,” Maliah says almost hysterically as she barges back into the bedroom. “Did you just say Gabriel Matthews approved this?”

She swings her arms around wildly, gesturing to the room. He stares at her expressionless.

“Correct,” he says, before turning back to me. “Now, do you mind signing this luggage delivery confirmation so that me and my team can leave?”

I take the pen from him and quickly sign my name before him and the young men leave, sliding the glass door shut behind them.

“I’m going to kill Gabriel.” Maliah seethes. I can almost see the steam floating out of her ears as she turns tomato red.

“Relax.” I sigh, walking over to my luggage. “I’ll sleep on the couch if sleeping next to me again is that big of a deal.”

I feel pathetic saying it, but it’s true. You would think our past years of sleeping next to each other, not to mention the tent two days ago, would make sharing a bed easier on her, but it’s almost like it’s made it worse.

She watches silently as I wheel out my suitcase and duffle bag to the living room next to the couch. I lay my suitcase down and rummage through it until I find my swimming trunks. I pull off my pants and shirt, throwing the trunks over my boxers, before walking out of the villa without a word and making my way into the ocean for a swim to clear my mind.

“How was the plane ride?”Gabriel asks over a video call later that night.

Maliah doesn’t say a word as she glares at the camera. I glance at her with a raised eyebrow before turning back to look at Gabriel.

“It was comfortable. Thanks for letting us use your plane for the tour.”

He nods, pleased, but I can tell he’s a ball of stress. He looks like he’s lost weight and there are bags under his eyes now.

“Any luck finding Zalea?” I ask, positive she’s the reason for this version of Gabriel.

“We know she’s in Italy, but I’m still having a hard time tracking her down myself,” he says, running a hand through his usually perfect hair which is now pointing in every which way. “But I’m sure I’m getting close.”

I nod and glance at Maliah once more, the glare hasn’t left her face and I’m not even sure if she’s blinked yet. I clear my throat and turn back to the camera, noticing that Gabriel is completely oblivious to her.

“Okay, so for this competition you’ll be surfing Cloudbreak,” he says, propping his phone up against something as he uses his hands to explain. “It’s a very tricky wave.”

“Why’s that?” I press.

“There are multiple sections so you’ll both need to negotiate yourselves to escape the wave's thick lip.”

“Sounds like the ideal wave for us,” I say, smirking. “How do you suggest we tackle it, Coach?”

Gabriel chuckles as he nods in agreement. “There will be a lot of tube riding opportunities with this wave so take advantage of that. It’s also got a great shoulder for carving, roundhouse outbacks, and plenty of power surfing maneuvers. This is the wave that you should really show off what makes you both the amazing surfers that you are.”

“Got it,” I say, making mental notes for us both since I know Maliah is not paying attention right now.

“Just remember, there are three points to this wave to keep an eye on. The point, which is the top, is where you’ll find the bigger waves perfect for top-to-bottom surfing. You’ll be able to show off the maneuvers we’ve practiced here, like cutbacks, and bottom-turns. The middle point of the wave is where you’ll find the tube time, but it’s fast so don’t let your guard down or you’ll wipe out. And lastly is the inside, also known as Shish Kebabs, the wave speeds up here while also becoming extremely hollow so stay sure-footed or you’ll get swallowed in an instant.”

I nod, already starting to plan how I want to ride this wave.

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