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I pressed my lips together, thinking about who would be handing it to me…and how I felt about him. My time to tell my parents about Wilder was going to come to an abrupt end. Just as I was about to confess everything to my dad, a bunch of friends I’d been surfing with since I was little swarmed around us to congratulate me.
“C’mon, guys. They haven’t announced the winner yet.”
Delta came up behind me and flung her arm around my shoulders. “Maybe not, but we all know you kicked butt.”
“For sure,” my friends chimed in with big grins.
My dad gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’m going to head over to the VIP area so I can nab the best seat for the awards ceremony. Your mom wants me to get a bunch of pictures since she’s stuck at work.”
“Good idea.” I beamed a smile at him. “I’ll see you after.”
My friends drifted away, too, leaving only Delta and me when Wilder returned with my bubble tea. She scanned him from head to toe with a big grin. “So you’re the guy who’s been keeping my bestie so busy.”
“Damn straight, I’ve been keeping my girl busy.” Wilder wrapped his arm around my back after handing me the drink. “If I said I was sorry, I’d be lying.”
“Yeah, I figured.” Delta laughed and shook her head. “Just so long as you keep making her happy, I won’t complain too much.”
“Gonna do everything I can to make sure she’s always happy,” Wilder promised.
Delta nodded her approval. “Good.”
“But for now, I have to run. I need to do a couple of things before the awards ceremony.” He kissed my temple. “I’ll see you up there, baby.”
“Aw, he’s too cute,” Delta sighed as he walked away.
I elbowed her in the side. “Quit gawking at my man.”
“Sorry.” She didn’t sound the slightest bit apologetic. “But you should’ve picked someone who wasn’t such a hottie if you didn’t want me to look.”
I wagged my finger at her. “I’ll remember that if you ever meet your idol and he sweeps you off your feet.”
“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes. “As if your man would let you get away with making googly eyes at somebody else.”
Since I couldn’t deny the truth of her accusation, I just huffed out a breath and shook my head.
“That’s what I thought.” She bumped her shoulder against mine. “Now go drink your gross tea while you snag a spot near the stage so you’ll be ready when your man calls your name.”
I moseyed over to the gate area and found a place that would make it a little easier to get through the crowd if they called my name. I slurped at my tea, the pop of the tapioca balls distracting me from my nerves. When the cup was empty, I walked over to a recycling bin and dropped it in, then returned to my spot. Unfortunately for me, I found Bethany standing there, staring up at the stage with stars in her eyes.
She was a local surfer I’d often competed against before making it onto the Challenger Series, and she’d somehow gotten one of the wildcard spots for the US Open. But her luck ran out on the first day. Not that anyone felt bad for her. She had a reputation for dropping in on waves which made her a bit of an outsider with the local surf crowd. Judging by the amount of trash-talking she tended to do, she didn’t seem to care that none of us liked her.
My animosity toward her grew when she turned to me and said, “Did you hear who’s MCing the awards? Wilder Abrams. I’m so excited to meet him. He’s like…the best surfer ever. And so hot.”
“Mm-hmm,” I gritted out through clenched teeth, fisting my hands at my sides so I wouldn’t wring her skinny neck while she babbled.
My vision was clouded red by the time Wilder walked up to the microphone and kicked off the ceremony. The winner of the men’s purse was announced first, and it wasn’t a surprise to anyone that last year’s winner had successfully defended his title. The crowd cheered for him, but they quieted down when Wilder announced, “And next up is the winner of the women’s US Open title.”
My friends started to chant my name, and Wilder’s gaze landed on me as his lips curved into a huge smile. “It sounds like the crowd has a favorite, which makes sense since one of today’s finalists is a local who grew up learning to surf here. Although this is her first year on the qualifying circuit, she’s already made quite the name for herself.”
“Oh, please,” Bethany grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. “Don’t tell me he’s bought into all the crap about how awesome you are, too. I thought someone with his skills would’ve seen right off the bat that you’re nothing special. It’s just a stroke of luck that you made it to the Challenger Series instead of me.”
