Chapter 35
“So, I did a little homework. To win at tennis, I need to win two sets. A set has six games. To win a set…” Laurie paused. “To win a set I need to win at least four of those games.” A proud smile appeared on her face. “There’s also a tiebreak, and that’s, um… Why are you smiling?”
“No reason.” I grinned. “It’s sweet that you googled all that.”
I was holding onto the net with my right hand and swinging my leg back and forth to activate my thighs.
“Hello? I’m not going to show up for my first tennis match without being prepared.”
“You know that today’s just training though, right? I’m not playing against anybody.”
She frowned. “I thought you played against your godmother.”
I repeated the movement with my other leg. “No, she just throws me the balls.”
I couldn’t tell if Laurie was confused or disappointed.
“Now and then I have matches against Malia, my sparring partner. But she’s not here today.”
I turned my upper body toward the net and did the same exercise with lateral leg movements. Laurie pulled out her phone and took a few pictures.
“I promised Vince.”
“A photo of me warming up?”
“A photo of you in your tennis skirt.” She winked. Her eyes skirted past me and grew a bit tense. “Hello, Mrs. Diamond,” she said politely.
I was sure that Kay would correct her, emphasizing Ms. But she surprised me by not saying a thing and just nodding kindly.
Kay was fine with Laurie watching. She’d only asked that she come in the afternoon, when most of my tasks would be behind me already.
That was just as well, as we wanted to meet up with Vince and the others after training anyway.
“We ready to get going?” Kay asked once she’d put her bag down under the umbrella, next to the bench where Laurie was sitting, covered head to toe in sun cream.
I hopped up and down a few times and nodded.
Over the next hour we practiced slices from the baseline combined with aggressive attacks, which I was supposed to follow up with volleys from close to the net.
I was in a good mood and played powerfully and precisely.
Every now and then, my eyes would flit over to Laurie, who was spellbound by what was happening out on the court.
Once she even took a video of me; I wonder if she sent it to her brother.
I let my physiotherapy slide for a change, but I’d cleared that with Gabe beforehand too. Instead, I made sure to complete an extensive series of stretches and did a few exercises with the fascia roller.
Laurie and I took off around four. Vince had left us the Jeep and been picked up by Pili. During the ride, she really grilled me about tennis, and I had no doubt that she had enjoyed watching me.
“You think Chip will be there?” she asked when we were just about five minutes away, according to the GPS.
“You’re asking me?”
“I thought Vince might’ve mentioned something.”
“Why didn’t you just ask him?”
“Vince or Chip?”
“Vince.”
She wrinkled her brow. “I’m not going to ask my bro if his hot surfer friend is coming along. Especially since he’s already dropped such strange hints.”
“Hints?”
“Well, about Chip and me.”
“But there’s nothing going on there, right?” I shot her a questioning glance. “Right?”
“No,” she grumbled. “We’ve simply texted a few times. Totally platonic. I don’t think I’ve got the ghost of a chance with him.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not his type,” she said unhappily.
“Oh, come on…”
“He likes typical surfer chicks. Like Pili. And Millie.”
“His ex.”
I stopped at a light.
“Well, it probably wouldn’t be the best time to start something up with him anyway, right?” I said, mainly to cheer her up. “I mean, you won’t be here much longer either.”
“Dunno. We’ll see.”
I looked at her in surprise.
“Don’t you have to go back to school?”
She let out a deep sigh. “In theory, yeah. But…somehow everything within me’s resisting it.”
“But that’s just normal when you’re on vacation. I mean, not wanting to go back to the everyday.”
The light changed to green, and I stepped on the gas.
“Yeah, maybe.”
Shortly thereafter, we reached our destination. The beach seemed to be popular, what with all the vans and their surf racks parked all over the place. The water was full of surfers, too, zigzagging here and there. People watched them from the shore, cheering and clapping.
“Is this some kind of surfing catwalk or what?” Laurie joked.
I shrugged. We walked down to the water. Laurie had brought a thermal bag with drinks, fruit, and snacks. We were already wearing our bikinis beneath our clothes. I’d decided on the turquoise one again and was a little anxious to see how Vince would react.
“Do you see them anywhere?” I put a hand over my eyes.
“They’re probably in the water. But Vince has got his bright Tommy Bahama umbrella with him. We’ll find them.”
She was right. Just a little later we were sitting down in a sea of colorful towels. Laurie hadn’t just recognized the umbrella, but the neon-colored beach volleyball that obviously belonged to Vince too.
“That might be Pili,” she said, pointing to a brown-haired woman in a yellow, long-sleeved surf shirt, speeding across a massive wave.
“Wow,” I uttered and watched in fascination how she remained standing upright. Longer and longer.
“Crazy,” Laurie said as Pili arrived in the shallows and skillfully hopped off her board.
Someone clapped, drawing her attention in our direction. Seeing us, she waved. Sinking down next to us a few seconds later, she seemed both tired and happy.
“Killer waves out there today.” She gasped.
“That was nuts,” I said. “I mean, the way you ruled that wave! It must’ve been at least thirty feet high!”
She laughed. “Yeah, you might think so. But it wasn’t even fifteen.”
“What?!” I looked out toward the ocean.
“Yep. That might give you an idea about the waves Chip usually surfs.”
Eighty-seven feet, I remembered, and broke out in goose bumps.
“Sleeping giants,” Pili mumbled.
“Is he out there?” Laurie asked, trying to sound casual.
Pili shook her head. “He’s meeting his bro. He might show up later.”
Disappointment flickered across Laurie’s face.
“Chip’s got a brother?” I asked.
Pili nodded. “Tristan. He’s a lifeguard.”
“Like Chip’s father,” I said.
“Yeah, the Chipmans are kinda like the Buchannons of Oahu.” She chuckled.
“Buchannons?” Laurie and I asked simultaneously.
“‘Baywatch’?” Pili looked at us. “Mitch and his son, Hobie. Both of them are lifeguards…?”
“Ah, true.” Laurie nodded whereas I still had no idea what she was referring to.
“Yeah, well, in any event, Chip’s father and brother love being lifeguards.” Suddenly, something out on the water drew her attention. “Not bad, Greenfield,” she said, narrowing her eyes.
I followed her glance to Vince in bright-colored shorts sailing up into the air.
In a matter of seconds, he turned the board 180 degrees and then rode back down the wave.
White spray splashed up, and Pili jumped up euphorically and yelled, “Yeah!” A few other people around us also cheered.
I was far too shocked to do anything but stare.
I hadn’t realized Vince could do something like that.
Could surf like that. God, that’s hot! I thought as he continued to ride the wave, gliding through the water like an arrow.
A warm, tingling sensation took hold of me, all the way to my guts.
Was I getting hot? Did seeing him surf so well excite me?
No. It was something else, I realized with a touch of horror.
It was pride. I was proud of the guy. And that he belonged to me. Somehow.