“You know, Maxy,” I grin, “for a cop, you’re awful grubby.”
He gives me a look as the guys start chuckling.
“Maxy.” Kelly laughs.
“Fuck off, surfer boy,” Max grunts.
“Language, Max,” I say, chastising him. “You’re in the presence of a lady.”
Liam and Keanu both snort at the same time. Nice.
“I’m ordering a pizza,” I say, seeing the boys aren’t leaving any time soon. “You guys care what we get?”
“Pepperoni and mushroom,” comes a chorus of voices.
Okay then. I walk into the kitchen and lift my phone to dial a pizza. I see a message from Nate. He’s been away for just under a week for motocross, and I’ve been missing him . . . a lot.
Nate – I’m home. When can I c u?
Avery – The guys r over. We can’t tonight.
Nate – Guys?
Avery – Your brother, Kelly, Max and Liam. They decided football was at my house tonight. Sorry.
Nate – My brother gets to admire your sweet ass but I don’t get to see you?
Avery – I’ll try to get them out as soon as possible.
He doesn’t text me back and I feel bad. A huge part of me wants to go and kick all the guys out, but that won’t do me any good. They’ll get suspicious and ask questions. I cant invite Nate here, because there’s no way I won’t give him a desperate fuck me look and that’s going to go down like a big ton of bricks. So I’m in a bit of a screwed situation.
I order the pizza and go and sit with the guys while we wait for it to arrive. We’re watching television, waiting for the football to come on, when some news about surfing pops up. I smile at the girl on the screen. It’s a world-famous female surfer, the first in the country to make it in the big league. Her name is Dante, and she’s so stunning it’s hard to look at her and not get sore eyes. I’ve always admired her.
She’s got this long, blond hair that’s so influenced by the sun that it has at least five different shades, like she’s spent hours at the salon. It’s got darker bits of her natural color, which is somewhat like a light brown, then it’s got a range from honey-blond to white-blond scattered throughout. It’s gorgeous. Her eyes are steely-gray, and against her suntanned skin it just takes your breath away. I envy her; she got hit with the good stick.
“I love Dante.” I sigh. “She’s amazing.”
Kelly looks at me, giving me a half-grin before turning his eyes to Keanu who, I shit you not, is scowling at the television. Uh-oh. Competition.
“She’s fuckin’ up herself,” he grunts.
“Calm down, big guy,” I say, trying to ease the mood. “She’s just a girl.”
“She ain’t just a girl,” Kelly says. “She’s a fucking champion surfer. She’s going to take Keanu out of his number one spot this year.”
“She is fuckin’ not,” Keanu growls, turning to glare at Kelly.
Kelly laughs and leans back, winking at me. Okay, what am I missing? The doorbell rings and I jump up quickly, rushing over. I collect the pizzas from the young, gangly boy and give him a little tip. He deserves it, poor kid.
I take the boxes into the kitchen and find some napkins. Kelly comes in and leans his hip against the counter.
“You need help?”
“To serve pizza?” I laugh. “No.”
He chuckles and lifts a box, groaning as he breathes it in.
“So, what’s with Keanu and Dante?” I ask, pulling out some glasses.
“You didn’t know?”
I shake my head, giving him a confused look. “No . . .”
“They’re like the ultimate competition for each other. Keanu despises Dante, and vice versa. She’s threatening to take him out of his place and he doesn’t like that. He doesn’t think a girl should be surfing, and his pride certainly doesn’t like that she could win. It wasn’t always like that though, from what I hear; the two went out once.”
“They did?” I gasp.
He nods. “Yup, but it didn’t end well. At least, that’s what I heard. You don’t even want to be in the same room as them now; they go at each other throats constantly. It’s fuckin’ annoying.”
“Why is he so threatened by her?”
Kelly shrugs. “Keanu is good at what he does. He’s the best male surfer in the country, but when it comes down to the overall championship he doesn’t want to be outdone by a girl, let alone a girl he fucked for six months.”
I scrunch up my nose. “Right.”
“Come on, enough about that. Let’s get some food in. I’m starving.”