Chapter 17
SEVENTEEN
KAIRI
I stare after Colton as he storms into the house without a second glance, ignoring Gabriel calling his name. The door slams hard enough to rattle the frame, and guilt twists low in my stomach. He’s upset because of things that were done and said to me.
If I’d just kept my mouth shut, today would’ve gone smoother. Maybe he’d still be smiling about his perfect score, completely oblivious to what I experienced, instead of walking around with a swollen eye in my honour.
“Here’s your board, Kai.”
I snap out of my thoughts and turn to find Zale lowering my surfboard from the roof rack.
“Thanks,” I say, taking it from him. “You did great today, by the way.”
His mouth lifts into a tired smile. “Thanks.” He shrugs one shoulder. “Wasn’t my best heat, especially with everything going on with Alessia and me, but I tried.”
I pause halfway through adjusting the board under my arm. “What do you mean? What’s going on with you and Alessia?”
Zale’s brows lift. “Oh, I thought you knew.”
“Knew what?”
“She flew home last night.”
“What?” I frown. “But wasn’t she supposed to stay for the summer?”
“Yeah.” He lets out a short laugh but it sounds forced. “Guess Saltwater Springs was a little too different from Italy.”
I open my mouth to ask another question, but footsteps cut me off.
“Got a minute to talk?” Gabriel asks as he approaches us.
His expression is carefully controlled in a way that tells me he’s far angrier and stressed than he’s letting on.
I nod immediately. “Can you put this away for me?” I ask Zale, handing my board back to him.
“Yeah, of course.”
His fingers briefly brush mine as he takes it, leaving a gentle tingle on skin. Gabriel turns toward the house and I follow closely until we’re inside the team meeting room. The space smells like coffee and whiteboard markers.
Gabriel leans against the edge of the long table, crossing his arms over his chest as he studies me carefully.
“What Colton said in the car,” he begins, voice calm but clipped, “is serious. And I’m treating it seriously.”
I swallow and nod.
“Do you feel like the judges are playing favourites?”
“I…” I rub my arm awkwardly, wishing I could walk away without answering him.
His expression tightens slightly and my heart rate picks up as I stand straighter.
“I know that I wasn’t scored fairly,” I admit quietly. “But calling it favouritism feels…” I exhale shakily. “I don’t know. It doesn’t feel like that’s what it is. I feel like there’s a judge on the panel that definitely doesn’t like me though.”
Gabriel’s jaw flexes.
“What about what happened with the Rip Raiders?” he asks carefully. “Colton mentioned that one of them said something inappropriate.”
I stare down at the floorboards for a second before answering.
“One of them called me a bitch,” I say quietly. “And a half-breed.”
The room goes still and Gabriel uncrosses his arms, gripping the edge of the table so hard that his knuckles turn pale.
“I’ll deal with him,” he says through clenched teeth.
But instead of feeling relieved, anxiety courses through me because the last time someone fought for me, things escalated too quickly.
Gabriel shuts his eyes and drags in a slow breath through his nose before looking back at me.
“As for the judges, I’m assuming Stephen is the judge you feel targeted by,” he says. “I’ve been trying to get him removed from the judging panel for years now.”
My head snaps up. “What?”
“I noticed his scoring patterns a while ago.” His mouth presses into a grim line. “Especially when it comes to minorities.”
I stare at him in disbelief. “You noticed?”
“Of course I noticed.” His voice softens slightly. “I’m sorry we never talked about it before. I didn’t want to make it feel more real than it already does.”
My throat tightens because he’s right. As long as nobody acknowledged it, I could keep pretending it was all in my head; maybe I just wasn’t surfing well enough. But today destroyed that illusion completely.
“The sponsorship deals too,” he continues carefully. “I promise I’m working on getting you more opportunities.”
“I know you are,” I say quietly.
“I just want to make sure they value you in the right ways.” He exhales heavily and rubs a hand over his jaw, shaking his head.
“But Colton’s right. I should’ve pushed harder sooner.
What happened today wasn’t okay, and I’ll be speaking to the people that can lay down some consequences tomorrow morning. ”
A flutter of relief runs through me. “Thanks, Coach.”
A rare smile pulls at Gabriel’s mouth. “You don’t need to thank me, Kairi.” His eyes hold mine steadily. “Nobody messes with my team. Especially not my best female surfer.”
My eyes widen, because Gabriel almost never hands out compliments. The fact that one just came from him feels like I’m being handed an Olympic medal. Before I can respond, he pushes off the table and claps his hands together.
“Now,” he says, slipping his hands into his pant pockets, “can you do me a favour?”
I laugh softly. “Depends.”
“Bring some ice to the hot-head upstairs and let him know I’m waiting for him down here.”
I grin. “Sure.”
Gabriel sits back down at the table, opening his laptop as I leave the room.
The kitchen is quiet when I walk in except for the hum of the fridge.
“Hey.”
I look over to find Zale sitting alone at the island, slowly spinning a water bottle between his palms.
“Hi,” I reply.
“Did your talk go okay?”
“Yeah,” I say with a small smile as I open the freezer. “It wasn’t anything too crazy.”
The blue ice pack is shoved all the way at the back and I mutter under my breath as I stretch onto my toes, fingertips barely grazing it. A hand reaches past me and grabs the ice pack easily.
“Still short as hell, huh?” Zale murmurs.
I laugh under my breath as I turn to face him, but the sound quickly dies in my throat when I realize how close he’s standing. The freezer air spills around us in cool waves, but somehow the kitchen suddenly feels too warm.
“Thanks,” I say softly as I take the ice pack from him.
His eyes linger on mine before slowly lowering to my mouth.
“It’s a shame you’re with Colton and not me,” he says quietly.
My breath catches. “What?”
But he doesn’t repeat or explain himself. Instead, he just smirks and walks toward the back door like he didn’t just completely scramble my brain. I stare after him, pulse thudding hard against my ribs.
Zale has never looked at me like that before.
Never.
I jump when someone clears their throat, and I turn to find Gabriel leaning against the archway with an empty coffee mug in hand.
“Just getting coffee,” he says slowly.
My face burns as I hold his knowing gaze, and he glances at the ice pack. “Better get it to him before he punches another surfer.”
I laugh weakly. “Right.”
I hurry upstairs before my brain can spiral any further, and by the time I reach Colton’s door, my heart’s beating way too hard for reasons I don’t fully understand.
I raise my hand and knock. “Colton?” I call out. “It’s me.”
I slowly push the door open and find him sitting on the edge of his bed with his elbows braced on his knees and his head in his hands. His hair hangs messily over his forehead and the sight of him makes something ache in my chest.
“Colton?” I say more gently this time as I step inside and close the door behind me. “I brought you ice.”
He lifts his head slowly, one eye swollen semi-shut.
“Thanks,” he mutters, reaching for it.
I place the ice pack in his hand and watch as he presses it against his face with a quiet hiss.
“I’m really sorry this happened,” I say softly. “I shouldn’t have told you about the—”
“Kairi.” The seriousness in his voice cuts me off immediately. “Don’t ever hide something like that from your friends again. Understand?”
I swallow hard and nod. Apparently everyone in my life is getting tired of me dealing with things alone. First Maliah and Eliana, and now him.
“And don’t blame yourself either,” he adds, holding his free hand out toward me. “I chose to be a confrontational asshole.”
I slide my hand into his and he pulls me closer until his forehead lightly rests against my stomach, catching me off guard. Warmth spreads through my chest, confusing me even more.
How am I supposed to make sense of these feelings? Especially when Zale’s suddenly looking at me differently too? I need to set some boundaries—a better wall between us—before this whole fake relationship stops feeling fake.
“Earlier today,” I say carefully, “you said you’d be my shield.”
“Mhm,” he hums against me.
“I don’t want that.”
He looks up at me, confused.
“Gabriel’s already handling it, and I don’t want you risking your career because someone else is being ignorant.”
“No promises,” he says, burying his face back into my stomach.
I sigh and gently tilt his chin back up. “Colton.”
“So serious,” he teases with the faintest grin.
I roll my eyes and step away before my feelings start going haywire again. His room is messy in a very Colton kind of way—clothes tossed over his chair, surf magazines stacked in a corner on the floor, a half-empty water bottle on his nightstand.
But it’s the framed family photo on his desk that catches my attention. I walk over and pick it up, taking a closer look. His father looks intimidating enough to scare a grown man into silence. He has broad shoulders, a sharp jaw, and blue eyes identical to Colton’s.
His mother, on the other hand, softens the whole picture. Her blonde hair reaches her waist, a dimple on one side as she smiles gently, her brown eyes welcoming. A younger version of Colton and his siblings stand between them.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” he asks, coming up behind me.
“A lot.”
He sighs and slowly turns to face him. “Like what?”
I hesitate, looking back down at the picture briefly. “I feel like I barely know anything about you.”
The truth of it hits me hard as soon as I say it out loud. After years of friendship, after everything that’s happened between us, I still know so little about Colton.
His eyes drop to the family photo still in my hands before returning to mine. I expect him to shut down, but instead he nods slowly.
“Let me take you to dinner tonight,” he says. “You can ask me whatever you want.”
I blink. “Dinner?”
“A date,” he corrects with a smirk. “Can’t fake-date properly if nobody sees me taking my girl out around town.”
Heat crawls up my neck and I try to suppress my smile, failing miserably. “Alright, cowboy,” I laugh softly. “Dinner it is.”
His grin widens as he picks up the ice pack again, reminding me of why I came here in the first place.
“Oh right,” I say, backing toward the door. “Gabriel wants you downstairs.”
His grin drops. “Do I have to?”
“Yes,” I say with a laugh. “Unless you want him taking his anger out on all of us at practice tomorrow.”
He groans and falls backward onto the bed. “Fine.”
I giggle and point at him as I open the door. “See you later, cowboy.”
He winces and smiles at the same time, and that makes me laugh even harder as I head down the hallway, far too excited for tonight than I should be.