they weren’t dating. After his seminar last night, he’d gone back to Seaside and taken the back entrance so he didn’t have to pass Amy’s cottage, but that didn’t help. Every goddamn thing felt different. Her cottage was across the street and only two cottages up from his. He could practically smell when she was home, and last night he’d known that even though her car was in the driveway, she wasn’t there. The complex felt empty despite Pete and Kurt having drinks on Kurt’s deck. Even Pepper, Kurt and Leanna’s energetic Labradoodle, didn’t make him feel better. And Pepper was so damn cute he could make anyone smile.
He knew Amy had to be out with the girls, and he knew Amy well enough to know exactly where she’d gone. He’d finally given up trying to ignore the urge to make sure she was okay and he’d driven out to Cahoon Hollow. How was he going to get through this? Just seeing her had brought his feelings for her rushing back in. He couldn’t help but think he’d made the biggest mistake of his life by telling her to take that damn job.
He’d stayed up until she’d returned to her cottage, as he always did. He had to know she was safe. Would that need ever subside? Would he ever be able to stay at his cottage again when she and the girls were skinny-dipping in the pool and not listen for her giggle as she walked by on her way to her cottage? He pictured her sweet smile and her green eyes, alit with happiness, which seemed to follow him everywhere. He thought of their group barbecues in the quad, the grassy area between the cottages. Ames, can you grab some ketchup from my place? They’d always been comfortable in each other’s homes, and now that would all change. It was changing already.
Was she going to take the job and move to Australia? He’d been there, of course. Bells Beach was one of the great point breaks, located south of the Victorian coastline of Australia. The last time he’d been there, he’d called Amy before his competition. He did that often. As often as he said his silent mantra before the ride. This one’s for you, Ames . There was a time he used to say that to her out loud. When they were teenagers and he’d run into the surf to catch a wave. Even before that summer they’d come together, she’d watched him with wide eyes that made him feel special. Like he was her whole world. Every damn time he ran into the surf, it was for her. Now that world he adored was crumbling down around him. When he’d seen her last night, he’d wanted to scoop her into his arms and tell her he’d lied, that he’d never loved her as just a friend, and the last thing he wanted was for her to go to Australia.
But that wouldn’t have been fair, and he hoped to hell that the waves would do what they always did—help him forget. Everything. Her smile, her touch. Her sweet laugh. The way her eyes crinkled around the corners when that smile was genuine and the way her deep green eyes held his gaze for a beat longer than they needed to.
The wave hit the underside of his board, and the familiar sense of exhilaration and greed swept through him. The power of the water traveled up his legs to his core, testing his strength, fighting his balance, but he was Tony Black. He was one with the ocean. He harnessed the magnificent energy of the swell, and there was only him and the sea. He craved the challenge of the waves, the newness and complexity of each one. He longed for its intensity. Anticipation tortured his body as momentum grew, tensing and easing. He was lost in the moment, and when that wave hit, it was over way too fast, leaving him temporarily sated but always craving more.
“Hot damn!” He rode the whitewater, the ridge of turbulence and foam after the break.
He lowered himself to his board and paddled back out, barely taking time to catch his breath. He’d achieved what he needed, a clearer head, but one glance at the empty dunes sent his thoughts spiraling right back to where
He knew Amy had to be out with the girls, and he knew Amy well enough to know exactly where she’d gone. He’d finally given up trying to ignore the urge to make sure she was okay and he’d driven out to Cahoon Hollow. How was he going to get through this? Just seeing her had brought his feelings for her rushing back in. He couldn’t help but think he’d made the biggest mistake of his life by telling her to take that damn job.
He’d stayed up until she’d returned to her cottage, as he always did. He had to know she was safe. Would that need ever subside? Would he ever be able to stay at his cottage again when she and the girls were skinny-dipping in the pool and not listen for her giggle as she walked by on her way to her cottage? He pictured her sweet smile and her green eyes, alit with happiness, which seemed to follow him everywhere. He thought of their group barbecues in the quad, the grassy area between the cottages. Ames, can you grab some ketchup from my place? They’d always been comfortable in each other’s homes, and now that would all change. It was changing already.
Was she going to take the job and move to Australia? He’d been there, of course. Bells Beach was one of the great point breaks, located south of the Victorian coastline of Australia. The last time he’d been there, he’d called Amy before his competition. He did that often. As often as he said his silent mantra before the ride. This one’s for you, Ames . There was a time he used to say that to her out loud. When they were teenagers and he’d run into the surf to catch a wave. Even before that summer they’d come together, she’d watched him with wide eyes that made him feel special. Like he was her whole world. Every damn time he ran into the surf, it was for her. Now that world he adored was crumbling down around him. When he’d seen her last night, he’d wanted to scoop her into his arms and tell her he’d lied, that he’d never loved her as just a friend, and the last thing he wanted was for her to go to Australia.
But that wouldn’t have been fair, and he hoped to hell that the waves would do what they always did—help him forget. Everything. Her smile, her touch. Her sweet laugh. The way her eyes crinkled around the corners when that smile was genuine and the way her deep green eyes held his gaze for a beat longer than they needed to.
The wave hit the underside of his board, and the familiar sense of exhilaration and greed swept through him. The power of the water traveled up his legs to his core, testing his strength, fighting his balance, but he was Tony Black. He was one with the ocean. He harnessed the magnificent energy of the swell, and there was only him and the sea. He craved the challenge of the waves, the newness and complexity of each one. He longed for its intensity. Anticipation tortured his body as momentum grew, tensing and easing. He was lost in the moment, and when that wave hit, it was over way too fast, leaving him temporarily sated but always craving more.
“Hot damn!” He rode the whitewater, the ridge of turbulence and foam after the break.
He lowered himself to his board and paddled back out, barely taking time to catch his breath. He’d achieved what he needed, a clearer head, but one glance at the empty dunes sent his thoughts spiraling right back to where
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