“I know I am,” Victoria said, looking at Alex.
“Sure. Let’s grab some grub and a table before all the food’s gone.”
They went to the tent where a feast of food had been set out. Victoria filled her plate and sat between Alex and Ben.
“You looked great out there today. Are you ready for tomorrow?” she asked Alex.
“Thanks. I’m stoked. I can’t wait for the competition to start. All this prep shit just makes me crazy. I want to get out there and score some points.”
“He always gets like this,” Ben said. “Nervous energy. A lot of the surfers hate the preliminaries. It’s the real competition that gets their juices flowing.”
Alex filled his mouth with a bite of chicken, and nodded, washing it down with a drink. “Fun is always in competition. You remember what it’s like, Ben.”
“Like it was yesterday.”
She loved listening to the two of them talk about surfing. They launched into a discussion about tomorrow’s event. She ate and listened while they went over the parameters of the competition. By the time she had emptied her plate, Ben had gotten up to talk to one of the judges, and Alex had finished off two plates.
“How do you stay so lean when you eat so much?” she asked as he tossed their plates in the trash.
“Surfing burns off a lot of calories.” He leaned in close. “So does sex.”
She shook her head, but smiled. “I would think you’d need to focus on the competition, not on sex.”
“Honey, I’m never too busy to think about sex. It relaxes me, and when I’m relaxed, I compete better.”
“Is that a line you give to all the women?”
He stopped, looked at her. “No. But is it working?”
She laughed. “Maybe.”
They made their way back down the beach. Alex stopped and talked to . . . everyone. He was extremely popular. He signed several autographs, visited with a few people he knew and was extremely gracious and friendly with everyone. She liked that about him. He didn’t seem to have an ego and never brushed anyone off. By the time he extricated himself from the crowd, he took her hand.
“Sorry about that.”
“Don’t apologize for being nice to your fans. It’s good that you take the opportunity to do that. I know a lot of professional athletes who don’t. Once they have a little success, it goes to their heads and they forget the people who helped make them a success. They’re total assholes.”
“Hey, our sport struggles as it is. We have to give thanks to the people who love to watch us surf. That’s the fans as well as the sponsors. Without them, we’re just a bunch of penniless dicks sitting on surfboards.”
“So true.” She liked him more and more.
“Hey, the music’s starting up,” he said, grabbing her hand and leading her toward the crowd of people dancing.
After his busy day today, she thought he’d be exhausted. And yet here he was ready to party it up with everyone. “You want to dance?”
“Hell, yeah.” They found Ben along the way and Alex signaled to him. Ben came over and Alex gave him a report about one of the guys he’d spoken with in the crowd earlier who wanted to interview Alex.
“I’ll take care of it later,” Ben said.
“I knew you would,” Alex said. “Come on you two. Let’s dance.”
Victoria looked up at Ben, who shrugged, then grabbed her around the waist. Laughing, she joined in. The raucous beat was infectious, as was the crowd. And when Alex moved in behind her to grab her hips, she decided she was in heaven.
With Ben moving in front of her, and Alex behind her, it was the most delicious sandwich she’d ever been in, and gave her ridiculous, wickedly naughty ideas.
She locked gazes with Ben, who kept a respectable distance.
Until she held out her arms and pulled him in closer.
And the dance suddenly got a lot hotter.
Alex whispered into her ear. “You like Ben.”
She flipped around to face Alex. “Of course I do.”
Alex tugged her against him. “No, I mean you like Ben. You want him.”
No reason not to be honest. “I find him attractive, yes.”
He looked over her at Ben, then nodded. Ben came closer and wound his arms around her, the three of them swaying to a slow beat. “Tell us what you want.”
Maybe it was the whiskey, or the heady, free environment. With men, she’d always taken exactly what she wanted, had always been free to explore her sexuality. “Let’s get out of here,” she said to Alex. “It’s too crowded.”
“Sure.” Alex took her by the hand and started to lead her away from the people dancing.
She paused, and looked at Ben. “Aren’t you coming with us?”
“Is that what you want?” Ben asked.
She had no hesitation when she answered. “Yes.”
His lips curved. “Then, yeah. I’m coming with you.”
Chapter Eight