“You did great today.”
“Thanks. The waves were killer. Not too hard to command, but high enough to give me a challenging ride, which gave me a scoring advantage.”
Ben went to the wet bar and pulled out a beer, then sat across from him on one of the leather sofas.
“I didn’t see much of you today after the competition,” Alex said. “Did you hang out with Tori?”
“I took her down to one of the other beaches where the waves were smaller so she could surf.”
Alex nodded. “What a good idea. I’m sure she wanted to get in the water and try out her skills. How’d she do?”
“She did well. Fell the first several times, but she didn’t give up.”
Alex grinned. “That’s our girl. I knew she wasn’t a quitter.”
“She’s going to meet up with us tonight at the bonfire and dinner. I know she’s anxious to see you.”
“Good. I want to see her, too.”
“Then finish your beer and let’s go get her.”
Alex downed the contents of his beer then tossed it in the trash. He and Ben headed over to Tori’s suite and knocked on her door.
She answered, wearing a red sundress that outlined her killer curves. And her smile always kicked him in the gut.
“Hi, guys.”
“Hey, yourself,” Alex said. “You look beautiful.”
“Love that red on you,” Ben said.
“Not even in the door yet and you both have me blushing,” Tori said. “Come on in.”
He and Ben stepped inside. Alex pulled her into his arms and kissed her. A nice, deep long kiss that told her how much he’d hated being apart from her today. When he stepped back, Ben did the same.
“Whew,” she said, fanning her face with her hands. “Any more of that and we won’t make it out of the suite tonight.”
“And that’s a bad thing?” Alex asked.
She laughed. “Normally I’d say no, but I’m hungry and I know you have to put in an appearance at tonight’s event, right?”
Alex shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Maybe yes?” she asked.
“Okay, fine. I do. But I’m not letting you out of my sight tonight.”
“Deal.”
Ben laughed. “Come on. Let’s go. I’m hungry, too.”
They headed downstairs and outside. Tables were set up with plenty of food and Alex was hungry, so he guided Tori to the plates so they could get started. He loaded his with chicken and fish and plenty of vegetables, then grabbed a bottle of water and they found seats at one of the nearby tables.
Whitney and one of the other surfers, Cade, sat at their table, along with some of his surfer friends, Matt, Silas, and Zane.
“This your girl?” Zane asked him.
“Yeah.”
Victoria shook his hand. “I’m Victoria Baldwin.
Alex introduced Tori to all the guys at the table. “She’s a sports agent.”
“Is that right?” Matt asked. “Who do you rep?”
She told them about some of her clients.
“No kidding,” Silas said. “Garrett Scott is one great pitcher. I’m from Saint Louis originally. Well, I was born there anyway. So the Rivers are my home team.”
Alex listened while Silas and Tori talked baseball. He was fascinated by her knowledge of the sport. And when she got into a football discussion with Matt, she knew more players than Matt did. She knew more football plays than Matt did. And Matt knew a lot about football.
His woman was impressive.
His woman. Huh. He’d never once thought of a woman as his. But he couldn’t deny Tori had gotten into his blood. He thought about her all the time. Other than when he was competing, when his focus was entirely on the waves, on his board and the skill it took to do his maneuvers, his thoughts had been on Tori.
Just a holiday fling, right? Nothing more than that. It was just hot sex. Amazing hot sex.
But as he watched her laughing and talking with his friends, their gazes met.
Heat and sexual chemistry, definitely. But something else, for sure.
He had to admit right from the start there had been something special about Tori, an instantaneous connection he’d never had with any other woman.
His gaze drifted to Ben. Ben watched her the same way, took every opportunity he could to run his hand up and down her back. Ben liked touching her, liked being with her. Ben was more animated with Tori than any other woman he’d been with before. He’d never known Ben to take such an active interest in a woman.
Interesting.
Alex’s entire career had been spent analyzing everything. The height and velocity of the waves, the water temperature, the wind, the way his body moved on the board. His success or failure depended on his ability to step back from emotion and let his analytical ability come into play.