Alex grinned and made his way to the water.
He paddled out along with three other surfers. Priority indicated he or Matt could drop in first. Not seeing a wave he liked, he let Matt take the drop.
Matt rode the wave like the pro he was. Scored high, too.
Shit.
That was okay. Alex thrived on pressure.
He sat out there and waited through two other waves. Then a big one came and he dropped in, sliding into the barrel.
Now it was just him and the wave, alone in the tube. This was his sweet spot. He’d surfed his entire life and when he was on the water riding a wave he felt an adrenaline rush like nothing else. He could reach out and touch the monster, so he leaned in and ran his hand along the underside of the wave, then flipped out the end of the tube and did an aerial.
He could hear applause, the sound of clapping carrying across the water, and he knew he’d mastered it.
His second and third heats were good, too, though not as stellar as the first one had been.
Good enough to land him solidly in the top three at the end of the day. He’d move on in the championships. And at his age, with all these young and hungry surfers coming up and nipping at his board, he’d take it.
He made his way to the tent where Tori came over and threw her arms around him.
“You did it. You were amazing.”
Having her confident in him made a difference. “Thanks.” He brushed his lips across hers, then shook Ben’s hand.
“Took some chances out there on that monster wave,” Ben said.
Alex shrugged. “You know me.”
Ben smiled. “Yeah, I do.”
“I was so afraid during that first heat,” Victoria said. “But oh, my God, Alex, the way you rode inside the wave—you were beneath it for so long before you came out the other side. I know I need to learn the lingo—but it was amazing.”
He slung his arm around her. “Trust me. I know what you’re talking about. It felt amazing, too. I had a good run.”
“It sure seems that way. So now that the competition is over, what happens?”
“It’s an accumulation of points,” Ben said. “He’ll move onto the next competition, and do it all over again.”
“Where’s the next one?”
“Australia.”
As they made their way back to the hotel, Tori shook her head. “It must be an incredible life to be able to travel the world like you do.”
Alex nodded. “It has its benefits. Then again, you do the same thing, don’t you?”
“Well, not for work. But yes, my work has its perks, definitely. It has allowed me to do a lot of traveling.”
They stood in the lobby, waiting for the elevator.
“You could meet us in Australia,” he said to Tori.
She laughed. “Unfortunately, after the holidays I have to go back to work.”
“Yeah, we all know about work,” Ben said with a wry grin.
“I’m going to head upstairs to shower,” Alex said as they stepped into the elevator.
“I’m going to do the same,” Victoria said. “Catch up with both of you later?”
Ben nodded. “We’ll call you.”
They got out and went to their separate rooms.
Once back in the suite, Alex told Ben he was going into his room to shower. Ben waved him off, saying he had a call to make.
Alex went into the bathroom and turned on the shower, then stepped in under the hot spray.
It had been a really good day. Until they’d started talking about what came after this.
He didn’t want to leave Tori. He knew she had a successful career. So did he. So did Ben.
So what the hell were they going to do about that?
When he got out of the shower, Ben was in his room.
“Need something?” Alex asked.
“Yeah. I want to talk to you. About Victoria.”
“Okay.” He grabbed a clean pair of board shorts and slipped them on. “What about her?”
“I need to know if what I’m feeling for her is just me. Or if it’s both of us.”
They went out into the living room. Alex grabbed a beer for himself and one for Ben and handed it to him. They both sat on the sofa. Alex knew how he felt. This was as good a time as any to talk it out with Ben.
Ben had been holding this all inside for a while now. But he trusted Alex, his best friend, and knew that before he said anything to Victoria, he had to talk to Alex first.
“Tell me how you feel you feel about Victoria, Alex.”
“I think I’m in love with her.”
“You’re not the only one who feels this way. I’m in love with her, too, Alex.”
Saying the words out loud were like a gut punch. First a little bit of fear, followed by overwhelming relief.
Ben blew out a breath. “Okay. This is both good and bad, Alex.”
“I know.”
“I don’t even know how to approach this,” Ben said. “It’s not something that’s ever happened with us before.”
“Yeah. In love with the same woman. I never saw that coming.”
“Neither did I. It happened so fast. I never thought I’d ever fall in love. But Victoria. She’s—”