On The Rocks

I move past Sasha and lean up against my truck, staring at the ground while I digest what she said. I sort of believe her… that she doesn’t want anything for herself, but wants him to have another shot at the world title.

“Gabby, you don’t know Hunter the way I do… at least not the Hunter that is a professional surfer. And you don’t know what it’s like… to be out there in the heat of competition, never knowing what type of wave Mother Nature is going throw your way. It might be a small set, making you hone in and focus on your skills. It might be a massive barrel, so big it could crush you on the coral below, and your heart is in your throat as you coast it out. Either way, the adrenaline high when you drop in to ride that bitch is like nothing you can imagine. It’s like touching Heaven with your fingertips. Forget for a moment the fans screaming his name, and forget the money that will fatten his bank account. Hunter was born to be a legend. This opportunity, to walk away from a career and then literally be begged back by all the biggest surfing retailers in the world, this isn’t offered to everyone. It’s not even offered to the number one guy right now. It’s Hunter they want, because it’s Hunter that has the ability to hit the top, but more importantly, he has the ability to stay at the top. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and trust me, he will regret this until the day he dies if he passes it up.”

Her words slam into me hard, and even though I’ve heard plenty of talk of endorsement deals and seven-figure paychecks, no one has made me consider the intangibles of what this might mean to Hunter. No one until his ex-girlfriend, who stands before me and explains to me how truly special this offer is.

“He’s made his mind up,” I whisper. “I’ve not pushed him either way.”

“Then get him to change his mind,” she says.

“I can’t,” I tell her, casting my eyes to the ground.

“You can’t, or you won’t?”

Her words are hard but not overly harsh. I look up to her and say, “I can’t. I want him to stay, trust me. But not at the expense of him passing up an opportunity that could haunt him later in life. I’d never want that. I think… no, I know… I really want him to take this shot.”

“Then get him to change his mind.”

Shaking my head, I push away from my truck. “I don’t know how, Sasha. I overheard him talking to Brody. He said I’m more important than the Tour… than surfing. I don’t know how to change that.”

Sasha steps toward me, angles her head in, and says in a quiet voice, “Then you make yourself less important.”

The power of her words overwhelms me, and my body jerks. The only way I could possibly make myself less important is by breaching our trust… our loyalty… our love. The thought of it makes me want to vomit, because I’ll be sacrificing myself and hurting Hunter immensely. He’ll ultimately get to go back to his surfing career, but I’ll be a wreck when he’s gone.

Part of me wants to cry out to the Heavens that this isn’t fair. It shouldn’t be up to me to be the sole bearer of responsibility when it comes to Hunter’s welfare and happiness. But then I realize that it is not a responsibility that I would entrust to anyone else either. The one thing that is more important than how this will affect me… is how this will affect Hunter and his future.

Sasha may be full of herself, and she may be catty and scheming, but one thing I trust her on, for some odd reason, is that this shot for Hunter is far more important than I originally gave it credit. I think my own selfishness in not wanting him to leave, prohibited me from truly recognizing how special this opportunity is for him. As such, I need to do whatever it takes to give him that shot, because he won’t take it for himself if I’m involved.

It’s time for me to step up and make sure that Hunter is taken care of.

“All right,” I tell her as I step back and start walking around my truck to get in. “I know what I can do, but it will have to wait until after you and John leave town. I’ll talk to him tonight.”