Page 22 of The Tides Between Us

“If you haven’t already, I think you’re probably in the clear.”

Adrian pushed his chair away from the table and rose to his feet. “I have to head over to Gabriel’s practice to talk to him about some of the players.” He lifted his mug from the table. “Did you need a ride to your PT appointment? You can come along with me, if you want.”

I shook my head, declining his offer. “I appreciate it but I have some errands I need to run while I’m out.”

It was bullshit. I didn’t have a single errand to run and he knew that, but he didn’t call me on it. There was a part of me that just wanted to be by myself. My physical therapy appointment wasn’t for another two hours. I could use the time to work on the stuff Mark taught me today. I already went out for a swim this morning and did some of my exercises, so there wasn’t much else for me to do.

“I’ll catch up with you later then,” my brother told me before he disappeared back inside his condo. My eyes found their way back out to the ocean again. I stared out into the distance, watching the way the waves curled and crashed against the sand. There wasn’t much force behind them, but they were still mesmerizing.

My mind drifted back to Giana’s eyes that matched the color of the ocean. I knew I shouldn’t have been trying to start anything with her. Once my shoulder was healed, I would be going back to Malibu. I had a life there and my surfing career was waiting for me. I had no choice but to go back eventually.

As much as I was enjoying my time here, it was just supposed to be a visit. Going back was always what I planned on doing. I didn’t come here with the intentions of being swept away by the waves in her ocean-colored eyes. Giana was never part of my plan, but now I found myself caught in her undertow. I should let her be, let her live her life without me interrupting it all.

I couldn’t do that; it was already far too late.

I should walk away now, before either of us ended up developing some type of an attachment to each other. But that was all complete bullshit. I was simply feeding myself lies if I thought there wasn't an attachment formed already. I couldn’t walk away from this now. When it came time for me to return to the West Coast, I would worry about that then.

For now, I had two things on my mind.

Giana and getting back on my surfboard so I could ride the waves.

Although, as much as I loved surfing, it felt like it was losing some of its luster. The ocean still called to me and surfing was my entire life. There was a weird shift. It didn’t shine as brightly as it once did. In a way, it felt like surfing was beginning to slide into the back seat of my mind.

And Giana was beginning to occupy more space inside my head than anything else.

CHAPTERTEN

GIANA

Moving through the facility, I did my rounds through each building. I was given a list of small tasks in the morning that needed to be completed. Most of them involved feeding and just a brief assessment. Grabbing the clipboard by every tank, I jotted down their overall appearances. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, so I had no abnormal findings to report.

Pop-Tart was the one I had saved for last. Even if I could speak, she couldn’t understand a word I would say. It was almost as if we had a weird connection. A nonverbal one. I did my best to not disturb her, but I enjoyed the silence with her. She typically floated around her pool, simply watching me as I stood with my own thoughts swirling around my brain.

She was healing well. Her progress had been great so far and Crew was expecting her to make a full recovery. She still had a ways to go before we would be able to release her, but it was looking extremely promising. The thought alone brought me joy.

I would have never wanted us to release an animal that wouldn’t survive back into the wild, but moments like these were the best. The ocean was where she belonged. Where she could be in her natural habitat and be free. Knowing that was in her future brought me a sense of hope that wove itself through my veins.

There was work waiting for me in the lab, but I found myself lingering by Pop-Tart’s tank. She was a gentle creature and peace radiated from her. I was forever grateful Declan found her that morning. Her injuries were relatively severe. Had he not found her, chances were she wouldn’t have made it. Or she would have lost a flipper, which would have condemned her to living the rest of her days in a tank.

Crew and his team were able to completely remove the fishing line and do a full repair that saved her flipper. She would have residual scarring, but it wouldn’t affect her ability to swim. It wouldn’t affect her in the least bit, except for cosmetically.

She had a battle scar of her own; she was a goddamn survivor.

As I continued to watch her, my phone vibrated in my back pocket and I pulled it out to see who it was. I smiled to myself when I saw it was Declan.

Declan

Hey you. How late do you work today?

The butterflies in my stomach came to life. It had been two days since we last spoke. I was beginning to think maybe he wasn’t serious about wanting to see me again because he never showed up after that.

Giana

I’m here until five or six.

Declan

Perfect. I was going to come by and see you and Pop-Tart.

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