Page 86 of Fight For Me

“Figure we can leave George in the house while we surf, then take him for a walk on the beach. See how he likes the ocean waves.”

She turns in her seat. “You gonna go swimming, Georgie?”

He gives a loud snore and turns over, making her laugh. I love that fucking sound.

“Did your brother ever tell you about the party we threw here?”

“I vaguely remember something about this. Was I on tour with the symphony then?”

“I think so. We were teenagers—sixteen maybe?—and all the parents were going to New York for some award thing, I can’t remember. So Will snuck the security code from your dad’s office and we came up here and invited a ton of friends.” She shakes her head. “It was so stupid.”

“I do remember this.” I laugh. “Santana was mad you left her at home and she ratted you guys out, right?”

“Right. I don’t even know how she found out about it, the kids were all staying with their grandparents for the weekend.”

“Santana always knows everything.”

Alex looks sheepish. “Well, River, Will, Rose, and Everly swore up and down that she was full of it and we’d stayed home the whole weekend. But I…” she shakes her head. “I am the worst liar in the world. My mom took one look at me and knew. Your brother was so pissed at me.”

I squeeze her knee. “Knew you were a goody-two-shoes.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Our recent bedroom activities disprove that theory.”

I groan in frustration. Not touching her for the last five days has been torture.

“Well,” I tell her, pulling up to the gate outside the house. “If it makes you feel any better, your dad wasn’t actually mad.”

“He wasn’t?”

I chuckle. “I remember talking to my dad and uncles about it and they were actually pretty proud of you guys. I think they would have been more disappointed if you didn’t try to sneak out and party at least some of the time.”

She laughs as I type in the gate code and drive through. The beach house looks just the way it did the last time I was here. It’s not huge and the furnishings aren’t very high end but I prefer the chill, laid-back feel of the place. Plus, it’s steps away from the ocean—which is slowly turning from granite black to a steely grey as dawn approaches.

Alex takes in a deep breath of the salty air once we’ve climbed out of the Jeep. “Perfect.”

“I figured since we were up, might as well make the drive.”

“The timing was perfect,” she agrees. “Just after dawn is the best time to surf.”

I study her face in the dim light. “Good surprise?”

“Perfect surprise.” She wraps her arms around my middle and I hug her back, breathing in the coconut smell of her hair. Something loosens in my chest when she’s in my arms. Everything felt wrong all week. Not getting to touch her, sleep next to her, kiss her. Holding her like this makes all of that melt away, replaced by something that feels exactly right.

We let George explore the house while Alex digs through the cabinets in the laundry room for wet suits in our sizes and I pull the boards from the garage. We won’t get huge waves in this part of the beach, especially this time of year, so I choose two long boards and bring them out to the sand. The morning is starting to lighten up and I figure we’re getting close to sunrise.

She joins me outside a few minutes later, two coffee mugs in her hands. “I fed George.” She hands me a mug. “He gave me the sad eyes when I left.”

“Thanks.” The coffee is strong and good, Alex looks fucking gorgeous in the pinkish dawn light, and we have a full day stretching ahead to do whatever we want, just the two of us. Contentment spreads through my entire body, warming me from the inside. What would it be like to start every day like this? To feel like this all the time?

By the time we pull on our wetsuits and head to the surf, Alex is bouncing around next to me in excitement. “I feel the call of the ocean.”

“Such a California girl,” I say, tugging on the end of her wavy blond hair.

She grins. “Race you out.”

She takes off running before I even agree, splashing me as she darts through the surf. It doesn’t take me long to catch up but once we’re deep enough to get on the boards and paddle out, Alex leaves me in the dust.

“Doing okay there?” she asks with a smirk when I finally reach her side.