Chapter 6
six
. . .
Colin
Summer was basically over, but there were still plenty of umbrellas and chairs out on the sand. The beach house had an incredible view and one of those crazy pools that looked as if it was sliding right off the edge of the yard.
I dropped my duffle in the room Ace pointed out. There were four altogether. Ace had invited a few other teammates, but they weren't coming until next week. Ace was already pouring himself a shot of whiskey behind the slick marble and brass bar.
I rubbed my stomach. "I was thinking about a big ole burrito. Any place good nearby?"
"Nah, bunch of shitty, snooty restaurants where they serve you a teaspoon of whipped potatoes on the tail end of a sardine and charge you forty bucks for it."
"I sure as fuck am not eating the tail end of a sardine, or any part of it, for that matter. How about some surfing? The waves look decent. Then we can have food delivered."
"You supposed to surf on that knee?"
"Shit, everyone is my nursemaid these days. I'll be fine. I'm going in. You stay here with your whiskey."
I changed into my board shorts and grabbed my surfboard.
"Hey, text me if there are any hot chicks down there, then I might join you."
"Whatever," I said to myself. He was already getting on my nerves, and we'd only just arrived. Good thing I drove myself.
The water was pretty cold, but I hadn't bothered bringing a wetsuit.
The nice waves I'd seen rolling in earlier had flattened out, so I sat on my board like a very non-surfing chump waiting for something more than a ripple.
The one good thing about no waves was it allowed the three hot women I'd seen sunning on my way across the sand a chance to wade out for a chat.
"Waves suck today, eh?" One of them asked. She had big blue eyes and a tiny diamond stud in her nose, reminding me of the girl I hid from a very angry UFC champ.
"They looked better from up there." I motioned toward the beach house.
All three turned their heads toward the hillside. "Nice place. Is it yours?" A woman with short brown hair and a polka dot bikini asked as she tread water to keep afloat.
"Nope. Just staying with a friend."
"See, I like an honest guy," the girl with the nose stud said. "Most guys would have said 'yeah, that's mine, wanna come up, baby?'"
"Yep, that's mine, wanna come up?" Ace called as he paddled toward us. He sat up on his board and shrugged at me. "Decided to join you."
"So that's your beach house?" the third girl asked. She had a rose vine tattoo that started somewhere down below the water's surface and ended just beneath her right ear.
"Sure is," Ace said.
I shook my head slightly, so only Ace could see. I supposed he wasn't that far off since someday he and his siblings would inherit the place and the rest of his family's fortune, too.
"It's beautiful," the third woman said. Her lips were starting to have a bluish tint.
"It's been nice talking to you," the girl with the nose stud said. Her chin had started to vibrate with the cold. "Hey, there's a party tonight at the big gray beach house on the cliff if you guys are interested."
"Yeah, you should come," the girl with the tattoo said. She was already heading back to shore and the warmth of the dry sand.
"We'll be there," Ace called to them. He wasn't wasting any time. We both watched as they emerged from the water and strolled soaking wet back to their chairs.
"I like the one with the tattoo," Ace said as if making sure to stake his claim first. He turned to me. "I'm just stating that because it gets kind of frustrating always ending up with the Wilde leftovers."
"What the fuck are you babbling about? Just how much whiskey did you drink?"
"C'mon, you know that the three of them are arguing right now about who gets the big hunk on the green board.
You're always first choice, and it's pretty fucking annoying.
So, I'm stating my pick now, and since you're a good friend and since I invited you out here with no strings attached, you're going to sit back and smile when your old pal Ace walks off with the pink rose tattoo. "
"Yeah, whatever. Hey, I didn't tell you about this crazy thing that happened at the UFC fight."
Ace paddled closer. "That's right. I forgot you went to that with Zander. I heard it was a good fight, but Buck couldn't keep up with Gregor. Good match?"
"Uh yeah, but that's not the crazy thing. After the fight, Zander and I were standing around bullshitting with some people, and this chick raced past and swiped my sweatshirt off the back of my chair. My phone and wallet were inside."
Ace laughed. "Classic. Did you get it back?"
"Yeah, but she was quick and wily. Tiny little thing.
Hot, too, I noticed after I caught up to her.
The weirdest part—I wasn't the only guy chasing after her.
Gregor stormed through the crowd trying to catch her.
He looked pissed, too. She was wearing a pink shirt.
I think that's why she wrapped herself in my black sweatshirt.
So, we're outside, and she spots Gregor blasting out of the venue.
She hides behind me, and I lie to Gregor, I lie right to the heavyweight champ's face and tell him that she took off in some car. "
"What the hell? Was it his girlfriend or something?" Ace was watching the sand. A few more women had joined our three earlier friends. He whistled to himself. "Nice." He was never a great listener, which was funny since I was the one with the attention problem.
"I don't know if she was his girlfriend, but I sure as hell wasn't going to hand her over to him. She was pretty freaked out. Held onto the back of my shirt as she scrunched behind me. It wasn't easy for her to hide because she was holding onto a big camera, like a pro camera with a long lens."
Ace's face snapped my direction. "A camera?" he asked.
"Really? I tell you Gregor was shooting fire from his nostrils looking for this chick, and the camera is the part that got your attention? Anyway, that woman we were just talking to reminded me of the sweatshirt thief because she had a diamond stud in her nose, too."
Ace stared at me. "A diamond stud?"
"Boy, the things that get your attention. By the way, do you remember the names of our three new acquaintances? I think they told us."
Ace shot his attention back to the women on the beach. "Nah, I was too busy checking out tits that were bobbing on the surface to hear what they said."
I shook my head. "Same old Ace."
He laughed. "Right. I forgot I was surfing with a saint, Saint Colin."
"Yeah, yeah, you're right."
We both looked toward shore. There were six women now, and they were watching us too.
Ace waved at them, and they waved enthusiastically back. "Gonna be a good month. Hey, guess I didn't tell you. Got that new Lightning Power Drink contract. It's a good one."
It was hard to be happy for him when I'd been so close to landing that lucrative contract myself.
And Lightning was a great sponsor, giving you all kinds of free stuff, expense account and access to the best parties.
"That's great, man," I said with as much enthusiasm as I could muster, which wasn't much.
"Oh wow, I forgot you were talking about that contract, too. Sorry. Shouldn't have been blowing off my big head about it. It won't be that big a deal anyhow."
It was hard to tell if he was sincere or not.
He was always super competitive when it came to me.
It always kept our friendship slightly on edge, which wasn't a bad thing.
We'd been through a lot together, ups and downs, wins and losses.
You could never erase that kind of history. He was a good friend.
"No, Ace, it is a big deal. And I'll get back out there soon, and those sweet contracts will come my way." Again, my enthusiasm needed work. The ortho surgeon assured me my knee would heal but that it would also be vulnerable to the same tear again.
My board floated up lazily and dropped back down. "I don't know if you noticed, Ace, but the surf out here is shit."
"You don't say? Yeah, I'm going in."
"Me too, then I'm off to scout out some chow. My gut is so empty it's gnawing on itself."