“I’ll leave a pass for you so you can get a good seat in the viewing area.”
“Thanks.” She walked him to the door and he wrapped his arm around her and kissed her. “Get some sleep.”
After he left, she locked her door and went back into the bedroom, smiling as she took in her messed-up sheets. Her body fluttered in response.
It was going to be a great vacation.
Chapter Five
Despite being on vacation, Tori was unable to sleep in. Her body clock was always set to six a.m., and there was nothing she could do to change it. Years of conditioning had trained her body to wake at that time, and even a time zone change couldn’t alter it. Her body just instinctively knew when it was six in the morning, no matter where in the world she happened to be.
Ugh. Damned traitorous piece-of-shit internal body clock.
She flopped around in bed for hours, determined to master her own universe. Just once she’d like to be decadent and sleep until eight or even nine—in her vacation time zone.
But no. She was wide-awake.
Admitting defeat, she grabbed her phone and looked at the time.
Ugh. She got up, threw on some clothes and went for a run on the beach. She longed for the peace and quiet, the sounds of the ocean, the energy a run could provide. It centered her, giving her time to be alone with her thoughts. Maybe she could replay last night’s events in her head. That should put a smile on her face and set the tone for the day.
But apparently not this morning, because it wasn’t peaceful, wasn’t quiet, and there would be no alone time. They were already setting up for the competition. She hadn’t made it a mile before she ran into a brick wall of tents and announcers and people already setting up spots on the beach for viewing.
She stopped and caught her breath, surveying the setup, which was pretty impressive. Viewing stands had seemingly been erected overnight, there were tents for drinks and food, and a shaded, private area for both judges and announcers. She glanced over at the announcer’s area, but didn’t see Alex’s roommate, Ben.
“Looking for me?”
She pivoted. Ben had come up behind her, obviously on a run of his own. Sweat dripped down his arms and neck and along his naked torso. For a guy in his forties, he was ripped as hell, with an impressive six-pack and lean muscle in all the right places.
“Actually, I was out on my run but was stopped by this wall of event mania.”
He looked over her shoulder, then back at her, gracing her with a thousand-watt smile. “Yeah, it’s great, isn’t it?”
“It’s formidable. Are the events always this spectacle-inducing?”
“Not all of them, but this is one of the bigger ones. It draws a huge crowd. The tubes are awe-inducing. Wait till you see them.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Would you like something to drink?” he asked, leading her toward the vendor tents.
“A juice would be great.”
He flashed the ID badge clipped to his shorts and security let them pass. The tent was cool and Tori breathed out a sigh of relief. It was going to be a warm day. She’d have to make sure to wear her hat if she was going to be sitting out in the sun watching the surfers.
Ben grabbed an orange juice for each of them, then directed her to a couple canvas chairs. She took a seat and a couple swallows of juice.
“Where’s Alex?” she asked.
“In one of the competition booths, signing papers and listening to the jargon about all the rules. Standard stuff all the competitors have to go through.”
She leaned back in the chair and gave Ben a quick glance. He was such a handsome man with his dark hair, his tan and his incredible smile. He had a natural ease about him she found very attractive. Too bad she couldn’t handle more than one man at a time. Besides, she typically never dated men her own age or older—they were too into commitment and that wasn’t her style. Younger men were always more free-spirited and much easier to let go of.
“You competed before?” she asked.
“Yes, but it’s been a while.”
“Injury, or tired of the surfing lifestyle?”
He laughed. “Once a surfer, always a surfer. I hurt my back on a bad wave about ten years ago, resulting in the need for surgery. That was the end of my competitive surfing.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what it would be like to not be able to do what you love.”
He shrugged. “I got over it.”
“That’s such a simplistic statement. It sucked, didn’t it?”
He gave her a direct look that told her he was surprised she understood. “You’re right. It did suck. For a long time.”
“Like years?”
“Yeah.”
She sipped her juice. “I’ll bet you were a pain in the ass to live with for a while.”
He let out a laugh. It was deep and filled with a dark, husky tone that made her tighten in places that had no business tightening considering her sex-a-thon with Alex last night.