Thirty-Two
Lola
Justice and I had practiced the best we could, but I had no idea how fierce the competitors would be.
We had to win.
As the days of our trip had progressed, the intensity between Justice and I only grew. We were best friends, and he was everything I’d ever dreamed of in a lover. What was the matter with me? I had actually allowed myself to dream about what life would be like between us if we stayed together.
Winning the contest would mean Justice could save the shop and I could quit the bank.
We would live together and work together. I would spend my days in creative bliss. My mind brimmed with ideas of new designs and with Bobbie’s help we would market the business until everyone on the globe knew Brazilian Gypsy – bikinis by Lola. We could even branch out into clothing, wetsuits with vibrant patterns, maybe even home designs—rugs, bedspreads, heck, even dishware and pet bowls would carry my name and custom designs. And then, when I was ready, we’d make beautiful babies together.
But if we didn’t win the contest?
I couldn’t bear to think of Justice’s face as the bulldozers showed up and demolished every dream his Uncle Seth had ever had. Papaw would suffer the loss of not only his son but also the shop would be destroyed by Devin, a man who didn’t care about anything but hurting our family and winning his estupido awards, piling up more money than he knew what to do with.
And then what?
Justice and I would ride off into the sunset on his Triumph?
I don’t think so.
Justice was a proud man. He loved me and wanted to be a real man, a man who I could depend on. Justice kept telling me he loved me and I believed him. We were soul mates. But there was more to life than romantic fantasies. Justice wouldn’t be able to live anywhere near Devin and his stupid Whole Foods with the loft apartments. It would be too painful. I would be willing to move wherever Justice lived. But he hadn’t asked me to. I had to believe that after the contest, everything would go back to the way it had been before Justice returned to town.
I took a deep breath and forced myself to concentrate on winning. We would win. There was no choice.
After lunch, the crowd reconvened and the announcer, his excited voice booming over a background of surf music, broadcast the early afternoon heats. “The teams who emerge from this round will move on to the semi-finals … Rusty and Jan Sugarman from Half Moon Bay, California against Justice and Lola Hamilton from La Fortuna, California … Jim and Lexi Brown from Carmel Beach, California against Devin and Kristin Stonebreaker from La Fortuna, California. Good luck teams!”
When it was time for our heat, Justice and I stood at the edge of the wave pool. My heartbeat sped up as I gazed into his electric blue eyes.
“I’m feeling it, babe.” He held out his fist. “Ready?”
I gave him a quick smile and pulled in a deep breath and let it out. “Ready!” We bumped fists.
We jumped on our board and followed Rusty and Jan Sugarman into the pool.
The Sugarmans were a gnarly surfing team who lived in an area close to the fearsome surf break known as Mavericks. I’d seen them in several competitions on TV, and just as I suspected, they were extreme competitors.
My breath hitched, and I told myself not to be intimidated by Jan’s cute little figure and the gorgeous way she pointed her toes when her handsome husband effortlessly held her in an elegant high swan. That couple could’ve been entertainers who’d trained at Cirque Du Soleil. And style? Puxa vida! We’re talking número um.
“Come on, Lola,” Justice said. “Let’s get ‘em with our Americano.” He patted my thigh, and a jolt of excitement surged through me. That was such a pretty lift. “You’ve been in this country long enough to claim that Americano title.”
I sat up straight and threw my arms in the air. “Heck yeah!”
We paddled and caught the next wave, and Justice hoisted me up. The Americano was a moved that necessitated Justice twirling my body upside down until our faces were nearly in a kissing position, my legs wide, toes pointed, my arms spread. I controlled my breathing like we’d practiced and my body relaxed. I felt like I was suspended in midair—I was!—with my athletic husband at the reins.
“It feels great,” I said into his fiercely focused face.
“Check out that Americano, folks,” the announcer said. “Justice and Lola Hamilton sure know how to put on a show!”
I stole a quick glance at the jumbotron and the crowd. The sea of spectators were on their feet, arms waving, some of them jumping. “Yeah! Kiss her! We want more!”
Our faces were close enough, and Justice turned his head quickly and gave me a peck on the lips.
“Yee-friggin’-haw! I heard someone yell.
We ended our ride and Justice stalled out the board. We jumped in the water, and Justice threw his arms around me, his mouth on mine as the jumbotron caught every second of our make-out session.
The sound of the applause reverberated through my body, and the announcer’s voice rose above the crowd. “That’s how we do it here on V-Day!” His voice became deep and low. “Love is in the air!”
Excitement zinged through my body, as Justice’s lips slid over mine. He grabbed the back of my head, and his tongue dipped further into my mouth until the noise of the crowd reached a crescendo. Finally, he drew away, and the smile on his face edged up at the corners. “We’d better get back out there.”
Yes, the crowd loved us and our Americano, but the thing of it was, that particular move was only of moderate difficulty. We surfed the wave well but would it be enough?
We caught a few more high-scoring waves and, as we executed them flawlessly, my excitement grew.
Finally, the horn blared, and our heat was over.
As we exited the wave pool, we passed Devin and Kristin splashing into the water. “I can taste the organic veggies from Whole Foods now,” Devin said.
Kristin tugged at Devin’s arm. “Devin—”
“Over my dead body,” Justice said.
“That can be arranged.”
Justice’s face contorted into an especially fearsome mask, his two-day-old scruff reminding me of a warrior going into battle. All the man needed was a suit of armor and a sword. “Start digging your grave now, Devin. I cannot wait to cry at your funeral.”
“Boo-friggin’-hoo,” Devin said. “You two are going down.”
I looked at Justice’s corded neck, reached out and grabbed his arm. “Let’s go rest.”
“That’s right, you two lovebirds,” Devin said, his voice whiny. “Go ahead and rest.” He jabbed a finger our way. “You’ll get to rest up good after I win the contest.”
And just like he promised, Devin and Kristin were in top form. As Justice and I stood on the sidelines, I felt a pulling sensation in my gut. I gripped his arm, my heart a dull thud in my chest. “Look at Kristin’s heel stretch stand. She’s so pretty.” Her lithe body stretched, her spine strong, her body balanced, her blond hair blowing in the breeze.
Justice looked me in the eye and pressed his palms gently to my cheeks. “She’s got nothing on you, babe. Remember. We’re Team Lola Justice.”
“But what if—”
He held a finger to my lips. “Sh. Remember our strategy.”
Our strategy would only be good if we made it to the next round. But I didn’t say that. Instead, I dragged my gaze back to the wave pool and watched as the lifts became harder and more advanced. American Ninja Warrior move over.
Devin and Kristin’s competitors were a crowd-pleasing couple—two married firefighters from the Stanislaus County fire department, wearing the requisite fire engine red rash guards with their team name emblazoned on the front and back.
The competition was tight, and I couldn’t tell who would emerge the winner, but my fingers were crossed that Devin and Kristin would wipe out. I wasn’t above some good old-fashioned revenge, I thought with a smirk. Drop her! But that didn’t happen. If anything, they looked stronger than ever.
The heat ended, a few more teams competed and finally, the afternoon session was over. The announcer played snappy music before his voice shouted out the names of those who’d advance to the semi-finals.
I nearly fainted when the magic phrase “Justice and Lola Hamilton” reverberated over the loudspeakers.
I jumped into Justice’s arms, and his mouth was on mine so fast it felt like we’d never been separated. I kissed him back and couldn’t stop myself from laughing as I pointed to the jumbotron. “There we are again. Think our kisses’ll go viral?”
He beamed at me, and I felt enthusiasm roar through me. “I sure hope so.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Papaw, Ginger, and Bobbie zoom out of the stands and make a beeline for us.
But our celebration was short lived as the announcer’s voice droned on announcing more semi-finalists. “… Devin and Kristin Stonebreaker …”
Devin’s videographer swung his camera close in on Devin’s face.
“Thank you very much,” Devin said into the camera in his best Elvis Presley imitation. Jesus Cristo, the man was a conceited slimeball.
* * *
Don’t fall. Don’t fall. Do not fall!
The world whizzed by me as Justice’s strong grip held me in an upside- down position for a move called the ploc.
I inhaled the cool air, my lungs sucking in a breath. This has got to be the most intense Valentine’s Day I’ve ever had. I think my brain was starting to go a bit wonky, but Justice and I were gelling as a team as we surfed against a couple from San Diego.
Every time Devin caught my eye he threw me such an evil gaze that I wondered how Kristin managed to sleep with the man. You couldn’t pay me enough. And the thought of kissing him made me want to puke. Why had I ever gone out with him?
Rip-roaring surf music played over the loudspeaker at the end of the heat. “And here’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for,” the announcer said. “Maybe not the moment. That comes late this afternoon when one lucky couple takes home that hundred grand.
“Okay, enough of keeping you guys in suspense. I know you’re all dying to find out which two couples will go to the finals.
“Let me tell you, it’s been one heck of a tough day here in the judge’s stands. Our sponsors have worked hard to bring you this, the one and only Knight’s Ferry Valentine’s Day Wave Pool Extravaganza Tandem Contest …”
“Fucking hurry it up already,” Justice said as he squeezed my hand hard and gave me a nervous smile.
“… we’ve enjoyed the best tandem surfing from around the globe. I think the couple from Tasmania may have won the award for being the farthest traveling couple. Can we put our hands together for them, folks?” Everyone clapped, and I thought I was going to die of old age before he finally announced the winners.
“With a high score of sixteen-point six … this couple wowed us with their totem, their front angel, and their high swan. I cannot wait to see what Devin and Kristin Stonebreaker have in store for the finals! Congratulations to our couple from La Fortuna who’ll give us more of that gorgeous tandem surfing in our finals.”
No.
I held my breath as the afternoon grew wavy and the earth felt unstable under my feet. Justice squeezed my hand tightly and closed his eyes, his mouth mumbling a silent prayer. I’d never known him to be religious, but I was up for anything that got us to the final round.
“And what’s this? All I can say is that in all my years of judging I’ve never seen a contest so close. In points and in proximity.” He laughed. “I don’t know what they’re putting in the water down there in La Fortuna, but our next couple came in with a sixteen-point five. Congratulations to Justice and Lola Hamilton. You’re going to the finals!”
The crowd went wild, and I heard Papaw scream from the stands, “Go Lola and Justice!”
Justice swooped me up into his strong embrace and twirled me around twice. “We did it! You did fucking fantastic. We’re a team, babe.”
Devin took long swinging strides until he was by our side. “I hate to break up this little episode of Love Boat but …” He pointed to the ground. “This is not over. Not by a long shot.”
Justice set me down.
The tension in the air was thick as the two rivals stared intensely at each other, nostrils flaring. Devin violently rolled his shoulders as though his rash guard was uncomfortable. Then he turned his head and spat on the ground.
“You’re a real class act, Devin,” Justice said.
Devin waved a dismissive hand and turned his back on us. “What the hell. You’re not worth it.” And he tramped away.
Justice shouted at his back. “Don’t go posting your win on Instagram just yet!”
Devin whirled his body around and gave Justice the finger. I do believe his videographer caught the entire exchange.
I was staring at Devin’s retreating back when Bobbie nearly knocked me over with her hug. She pulled away and gave me a high-five that nearly sent me flying. “You did it!” She danced a jig that was particularly hilarious, as the poor thing didn’t have a ton of coordination. Then she broke into her rendition of running man while chanting, “We’re gonna win! We’re gonna win!”
I threw my head back in laughter as relief flooded through me. “We’ve got this, Bobbie. I can feel it.”
“Heck yeah, you do!”
“Come here, sweetie.” Ginger smiled and pulled me into a feminine hug that was all cotton candy and love, and I inhaled her deliciously sexy perfume—something flowery and sultry. “You two did phenomenal. When this is all over, I want you to teach me some of your moves.” She winked. “Maybe I can use them on stage.”
Papaw stood tall. His clear blue eyes stared at Justice, and when he spoke, his voice choked with emotion. “I knew you could do it. Just one more heat like that and you’ve got the win.”
When he drew Justice into a bear hug, I saw that tiny tears filled his eyes.
Ginger smiled and threw me a conspiratorial look. “Let’s go primp in the locker room. Maybe put on some red lipstick for the camera.”
“Sounds like a plan.” I held up a finger. “Quick trip to the restroom and I’ll meet you there.”