Alejandra and Edward had been together for about a year. British surfer. Lived in Hawaii forever. They’d known each other since they were kids. Still, Alejandra was acting off. Edward hadn’t been in Ericeira because of a problem at home, but he should be back on tour. He wasn’t a great competitive threat to Ilias, but he had always been a good sport.
“Are you hiding something from me?” Sofia asked, arms crossed, lips pursed. Even annoyed, she looked unfairly hot, and the sun didn’t help. Her skin glowed, her hair caught the light like dark silk, and that sundress she’d thrown on clung in all the right places.
Focus, Ilias warned himself.
“I’ll leave you two to it,” he said, leaning in for a cheek kiss, and aiming just a little closer to the corner of her mouth than necessary. He caught the way she flushed, and it made himsmirk. Even Alejandra’s gaze sharpened, a teasing grin already forming.
Yeah, she noticed.Good.
He dropped his stuff in the locker room, greeted a few familiar faces, then headed toward the water. Gretchen was on the beach filming Amira. Coach likely somewhere out in the lineup.
“Hello, hello!” Gretchen greeted in her Dutch-accented English, arms open. “Look who’s finally back.” He hugged her tightly. “Ready to win? You’ve got a good shot.” She smiled. “It’s fast, powerful. Snappy sections. If the ocean plays nice, this could be yours.”
“I’ll charm her.” He winked, then headed down the sand toward the break.
Boardshorts and rashguard only. No wetsuit. The sun was warm, the water warmer than the icy cold Portuguese Atlantic Ocean.
In the lineup, a few locals gave him side-eyes.Typical.Localism was always a headache. He got it. They hated not having access to their own waves. But damn, he needed to train.
“You’re back,” Amira called after him in Arabic.
“Just arrived. How’s the water?”
“Fast as hell. But good. Sofia here?”
“Yeah. With Ale.”
“What Sofi said about Azul… I think she’s right. We should follow Ghita’s suggestion.”
Ilias frowned. “Is this the right time to talk about it?”
“I wanted to tell you face-to-face.” She grinned. “It’s good having you back.”
“It’s good to be back.”
And it was. Even after just two missed events, he could feel how much he’d craved the rhythm of the USL, the pulse of the crowd, the bite of salt in the air, the rush of adrenaline beforethe drop. The ocean had always been his home, but competition? That was his heartbeat. And he’d been out of sync for too long.
Now, straddling the board and the noise of the world dimming behind him, he felt that familiar fire building in his chest. The one that made him reckless. Alive.
And with Sofia there, watching, cheering, pretending to be his, yet somehow feelingtoo real, everything inside him sharpened. It wasn’t just the thrill of being back. It was her. The quiet steadiness she brought, the way she looked at him like he could still be someone worth believing in.
Snapper Rocks was going to be his. Not just for the points. Not just to make TerraVive happy. But because this time, it wasn’t about redemption on paper, it was about proving to himself that he could still rise, still fight, still want.
And maybe, deep down, it was also because he didn’t want to let go of the woman who made him feel like he already had something worth winning for.
Even if she was only supposed to be pretending.
21
SOFIA
Tarantola – Bresh
“I’m going to kill him.”
“No, you are not,” Alejandra said, dead serious. “Because I’m going to kill him first, after the USL is over and I’ve won the title. I don’t want to be an idiot like your boyfriend.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Sofia lowered her voice.
