we faced each other.
“ I love you so much , Zeke ,” I said, but only in my head. I wanted to say it aloud, but there was that feeling again, stopping me: a vague sense of dread, of tempting fate.
“Thanks for bringing me here,” I said. “Miami’s brilliant.”
“It’s even better now you’re here,” he said, deadpan.
I cocked my head at him, unsure if he was joking or serious.
“Smooth,” I said, and he laughed.
I shuffled toward him, reached up and kissed him for a long time.
chapter twelve
Later we lay in the sun, talking superficials with Chase, when Zeke said, “It’s so hot. I vote we find a bar.”
“Good idea,” Chase said. “Warm us up for the party. You up for a spot of early drinking, Iris?”
“Yes, but I’ll need to go back to the hotel first.”
“Why?” Zeke said.
“Look at the state of me.”
“We can wash up in the public bathrooms.”
“Uh, really, Zeke?”
“You look great. Splash some water on your face and we can go get drinks now.”
“Zeke! I look horrendous. I’m not going out looking like this. What’s the rush?”
“No rush. How long do you need to get ready? Like, twenty minutes?”
“Twenty minutes,” I agreed, nodding, and planning out hair-washing, drying, straightening and make-up that would take an hour and twenty.
“Great, we have to go celebrate.”
“Wait up,” Chase said, reading a text message, “My trainer, Nishi, wants to take me kangooing.”
All I knew about kangooing was what I’d seen of it on the streets of Miami: people who hopped past the rollerbladers wearing weird springs attached to their feet.
“You’re really going to do that, in public?” Zeke said.
“You ain’t too cool to kangoo,” Chase said. “Burns twice as many calories as running and I ate a giant bag of chips this morning. Catch you later.”
Chase and Zeke embraced and then Zeke helped him take the SUPs to his truck.
“So what exactly are we celebrating?” I asked.
“That it’s almost your birthday. That we’re in Miami. That a bunch of fans queued two hours yesterday just to get your autograph?”
“Three.”
“Three hours?”
“Three fans. The ones in the queue were there for you. Trust me. Anyway, we shouldn’t get too wrecked. Look a bit unprofessional, wouldn’t it, especially if you ran into any other surf fans.”
A shadow crossed Zeke’s face.
“It’s a few drinks. Loosen up.”
“I am loose. Is . . . something going on?”
“No.”
“You seem different here. Two days in a row now you’ve slept in the middle of the day.”
“Gimme a break, Iris. I’m on vacation.”
“OK, take a chill pill. I was just saying.”
But he was already picking up his rucksack. He turned. “You staying or coming?”
I paused. Things were tense between us, but I couldn’t see that changing if I sulked and stayed away from him for the rest of the day. At least if we were together, we’d have a chance to talk things through.
“Coming.”
He was already halfway to the car park and his stride was so long that I had to run to catch him up.
So much for early drinking. By the time I’d finished getting ready it was nearly seven o’clock, but I’d really made an effort. Generally I didn’t bother with make-up or hair-straightening I was in the sea almost every day, so trying to glam up, when it would be instantly ruined by seawater, felt like a total waste of time. But there was something about the glamour of Miami that made me feel self-conscious, or at least more confident with freshly washed hair and decent make-up.
“Chase is coming to pick us up, and we won’t have time now to go somewhere before the party,” he said, as I was putting on eyeliner, “so if you want booze, you’ll have to grab it from the minibar.”
“OK.” I wanted to pace myself, so I went for a small bottle of apple cider, which would take the edge off my nerves but not mess me up. I noticed then that the contents of the fridge were
“ I love you so much , Zeke ,” I said, but only in my head. I wanted to say it aloud, but there was that feeling again, stopping me: a vague sense of dread, of tempting fate.
“Thanks for bringing me here,” I said. “Miami’s brilliant.”
“It’s even better now you’re here,” he said, deadpan.
I cocked my head at him, unsure if he was joking or serious.
“Smooth,” I said, and he laughed.
I shuffled toward him, reached up and kissed him for a long time.
chapter twelve
Later we lay in the sun, talking superficials with Chase, when Zeke said, “It’s so hot. I vote we find a bar.”
“Good idea,” Chase said. “Warm us up for the party. You up for a spot of early drinking, Iris?”
“Yes, but I’ll need to go back to the hotel first.”
“Why?” Zeke said.
“Look at the state of me.”
“We can wash up in the public bathrooms.”
“Uh, really, Zeke?”
“You look great. Splash some water on your face and we can go get drinks now.”
“Zeke! I look horrendous. I’m not going out looking like this. What’s the rush?”
“No rush. How long do you need to get ready? Like, twenty minutes?”
“Twenty minutes,” I agreed, nodding, and planning out hair-washing, drying, straightening and make-up that would take an hour and twenty.
“Great, we have to go celebrate.”
“Wait up,” Chase said, reading a text message, “My trainer, Nishi, wants to take me kangooing.”
All I knew about kangooing was what I’d seen of it on the streets of Miami: people who hopped past the rollerbladers wearing weird springs attached to their feet.
“You’re really going to do that, in public?” Zeke said.
“You ain’t too cool to kangoo,” Chase said. “Burns twice as many calories as running and I ate a giant bag of chips this morning. Catch you later.”
Chase and Zeke embraced and then Zeke helped him take the SUPs to his truck.
“So what exactly are we celebrating?” I asked.
“That it’s almost your birthday. That we’re in Miami. That a bunch of fans queued two hours yesterday just to get your autograph?”
“Three.”
“Three hours?”
“Three fans. The ones in the queue were there for you. Trust me. Anyway, we shouldn’t get too wrecked. Look a bit unprofessional, wouldn’t it, especially if you ran into any other surf fans.”
A shadow crossed Zeke’s face.
“It’s a few drinks. Loosen up.”
“I am loose. Is . . . something going on?”
“No.”
“You seem different here. Two days in a row now you’ve slept in the middle of the day.”
“Gimme a break, Iris. I’m on vacation.”
“OK, take a chill pill. I was just saying.”
But he was already picking up his rucksack. He turned. “You staying or coming?”
I paused. Things were tense between us, but I couldn’t see that changing if I sulked and stayed away from him for the rest of the day. At least if we were together, we’d have a chance to talk things through.
“Coming.”
He was already halfway to the car park and his stride was so long that I had to run to catch him up.
So much for early drinking. By the time I’d finished getting ready it was nearly seven o’clock, but I’d really made an effort. Generally I didn’t bother with make-up or hair-straightening I was in the sea almost every day, so trying to glam up, when it would be instantly ruined by seawater, felt like a total waste of time. But there was something about the glamour of Miami that made me feel self-conscious, or at least more confident with freshly washed hair and decent make-up.
“Chase is coming to pick us up, and we won’t have time now to go somewhere before the party,” he said, as I was putting on eyeliner, “so if you want booze, you’ll have to grab it from the minibar.”
“OK.” I wanted to pace myself, so I went for a small bottle of apple cider, which would take the edge off my nerves but not mess me up. I noticed then that the contents of the fridge were
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