She squeezed me tightly before pulling back.
“How’s Curtis?” I asked politely, despite not being overly impressed when I’d met him. He’d seemed more interested in watching everyone else in the café than Kobi.
“I’m good. Curtis is good. Sydney’s good.”
“Good,” I replied before we both burst out laughing.
Talking the whole time, we hurried inside so we wouldn’t miss the start of the race.
“Who wants more drinks?” Sass called out.
After a chorus of yeses, she waved over a guy I didn’t recognize. “If you grab some more cold drinks out of the fridge, I’ll get the snacks. Hurry! We don’t want to miss the start.”
My thoughts drifted to Karson.
He’d reached out every day to fix things. The thought of him hurting sent a sharp ache through my chest. Part of me still wondered if I’d made a mistake. But so much had gone wrong between us that fighting against it felt exhausting.
Maybe it was better to focus on rebuilding my own life instead of something his father had already torn apart. That didn’t mean I missed him any less.
Or that it hurt any less. Because it hurt like hell—
“Ivy, come sit.” Jai patted the cushion beside him. “The race is about to start.”
I’d nearly screamed with happiness when my brother walked through the door wearing his huge carefree grin. It’d been almost a year since I’d last seen him. His hair was more sun-bleached than ever, his skin carried its usual golden tan, but his green eyes seemed brighter than I remembered.
“Jai, I still can’t believe you’re here,” I said happily.
“It’s great to see you, sis. I would’ve visited sooner if I could’ve afforded the bus ticket.” He smirked. “Though honestly, I’ve been having too much fun shredding waves at Bells and Torquay to mind. I won two heats too. That’s how I raised my fare.” He ran his hand through his tangled hair.
“You could’ve just stayed in Byron and won the comps there instead of blowing all your money,” I teased.
“True… but where’s the fun in that?” he drawled, flashing white teeth.
“I’m just glad you’re here, little bro.”
“Little bro?” He shook his head. “I’m way taller than you!”
I laughed, never missing a chance to remind him I was the firstborn twin… even if only by a few minutes.
“Anyway, congrats on smashing the comps.”
“Thanks.” Jai grinned.
Kobi headed toward us with a drink in her hand.
“Kobes,” Jai drawled, jumping up and giving her a brotherly hug. “I haven’t seen you for ages. Not since you learned how to stand on a board on the last day I visited this annoying big sister in Byron.”
I thumped him on the arm, and he rubbed it theatrically.
Across the room, Sass and Olivia broke into the latest viral dance moves.
“Those girls are gnarly. You did well to find them,” Jai said as a few others joined in.
“So true.” I smiled. “Just don’t let them hear you call them that.”
Kobi chuckled.
“Honestly though,” I said, looking over at them, “I don’t know what I would have done without Sass. She’s an angel—”
