Ilias shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips. He’d missed that exchange between heats with his sister. Their family had been a shitshow, but somehow, their bond had never wavered, not even when Ilias was at his worst.
The crowd roared as Alejandra rode a wave clean through a barrel and came out grinning. He could see it even from that distance. Both he and Amira cheered for her.
How could he not?
Alejandra had been there for him as a friend, and a colleague. For Amira too. She’d taken his sister under her wing when he’d disappeared. He’d be forever grateful for that. Always.
After waving Amira off, Ilias started getting ready for his heat. He put his headphones in and let the world fade. Reggaeton and Moroccan rap filled his ears. It got his blood moving, and set his heart in rhythm with the tide.
His eyes stayed on the water. Reading the waves. He’d been watching them all morning, studying the swells, the way the light bounced off the surface, the subtle curl of foam at the break. Surfing had never been about proving anything to anyone; it had always been about trust. Trust in himself, in his instincts, and most importantly, in the ocean. The sea was alive, capricious, dangerous, but honest. It rewarded respect and punished arrogance without warning.
He had learned to read the water the way you read a person: subtle shifts, tells, intentions hidden in plain sight. The ocean here was different, but the rules were the same. One wrong move, one misread wave, and you could end up flat on the water, beaten and bruised. That was the thrill and the lesson. Surfing wasn’t just a sport; it was a way of seeing the world. You learned to move with chaos, to anticipate it, to bend without breaking.His therapist had once told him to live life like he rode waves, and maybe now, finally, he understood what that meant.
Coach had given him some tips a few minutes ago, pointing out the lineup, the strongest currents, where to catch the best ride. Ilias warmed up meticulously. Rolling his shoulders, stretching, flexing, loosening every muscle he would rely on to dance with the sea. Slipping on his wetsuit, he felt the familiar snug weight, like armor and skin at once.
Then he looked up. Searching for Sofia. She was like a magnet, calling for his attention.
She was sitting with the others in the family section, but her eyes… her eyes were on him.
Ilias grinned and waved. She didn’t wave back—of course not—but her mouth moved just enough for him to catch it.
“Suerte.”
That was it. That was everything. She had just wished him good luck. He didn’t dream about it, right?
He was going to win this damn heat. And maybe, Sofia Moretti Gómez would become his lucky charm. There was no way in hell he was letting this chance slip by.
5
SOFIA
The Outside – Alex Warren
“Isn’t he amazing?”Jamie clapped her hands excitedly as Ilias finished his heat and won with a brilliant score of 15.00.
Sofia nodded, plastering a polite smile on her face and clapping along, even if it was the last thing she felt like doing. He came off as self-assured, arrogant, smug, and, most damning of all, a man.
And yeah, she was in herhating menera. Any person with a penis she hadn’t known prior to the Thomas disaster was automatically blacklisted.
Was it fair? No. But she was hurt, healing, and rationally, she knew Ilias had done nothing to deserve her scorn.
But irrationally? That was another story. And right now, her irrational side wanted to kick her feet and scream,Don’t you see he’s just another asshole? He’s going to break your heart.
She was fairly certain Jamie had a slight crush on him.
Figures.
The previous day, her irrational side had been screaming even louder when he’d leaned down and kissed her cheek. Just a fleeting gesture, but her body had betrayed her instantly. She’d hated herself for it, hated the betrayal of her own instincts. That single innocent kiss had been enough to spiral her thoughts into chaos, reminding her painfully of Thomas, reminding her how badly desire could derail reason.
Alejandra had watched the heat with them, clearly Team Ilias. So was the rest of her family, gathered nearby after Alejandra’s own win.
“He came back stronger,” Carlos said, clapping. “Didn’t think it was possible.”
The night before, Sofia had shamelessly stalked Ilias online after he had popped up in her notifications. She’d denied him the pleasure of a follow back, out of pure spite and ego—God, she was behaving like a twelve-year-old—but she had checked his Wikipedia page.
The guy knew his way around a wave. And she couldn’t deny it, the last wave, the one that got him a perfect 10.00, had been phenomenal. A barrel he rode without flinching, arms raised as he came out of it, ending with an aerial.
Show-off.
