Page 68 of Summer Love

I prop myself up on one elbow and glance out the trailer window. Over at the Hayes house, every window downstairs is lit up, and a power sander is going full blast. At 5:30 in the morning.

So she’s got power.

My left thigh protests when I put my foot on the floor. Morning stiffness, same as it’s been for six years. I work the spot without looking at it. It pulls a little, loosens up, it’ll be fine.

I get up. Flip jumps off the bed, shakes himself, and shoves the trailer door open with a paw. Cool air rushes in. Outside, the sky’s still dark blue.

And the sander keeps going.

I open the window, set my Bluetooth speaker on the sill, and switch it on. I scroll for the perfect track.

“abcdefu” by GAYLE, volume maxed out.

Fuck you, Summer Hayes.

The sander stops for three seconds, then starts up again.

I grin. It’s dumb, it’s childish, but it feels so damn good.

This morning the water isn’t freezing, but cold enough to wake me up. Short of breath, I paddle out toward the peak. The neoprene sleeve compresses my left thigh under the wetsuit. In ten minutes I won’t feel it anymore.

Kai’s already out there, sitting on his board, motionless, facing the open water. The tribal tattoo climbing up his neck stands out in the pink-and-gold morning light. He doesn’t turn when I pull up beside him.

Evan shows up right after. He nods at me and settles in a few yards off. Evan surfs the way he lives—no noise, no drama, always there.

And then there’s Miles.

Miles, who paddles like he’s forgotten which way the ocean is. On the first wave, his takeoff looks like an attempt to get up off a too-soft couch. He wobbles, slips, and goes face-first into a foot of whitewater.

He comes up laughing.

“Controlled landing,” he announces.

Maya’s next to him, on the inside. She’s sitting on her board, feet in the water, a smile a little too wide for six in the morning. I drift over to them.

“Ruby and her brownies?” I guess.

Miles gives me two thumbs up. Maya shakes her head, but she’s laughing.

“You’re supposed to be working this morning,” I grumble.

“Sí. I’m good to go. Watch…”

She paddles into a small wave, pops up, carves a clean bottom turn, and kicks out the back. She throws me a look over her shoulder.

“Satisfied, jefe?”

I don’t answer. But yeah—the boss is satisfied.

Miles, meanwhile, blows a second takeoff. Evan watches the whole thing like it’s a nature documentary.

During a lull, I move closer to Kai.

“I need to be free between two and four. Avery’s heat is then. Could you cover me?”

Kai nods.

“Sure. Where’s she surfing?”