Page 3 of Beyond The Break

“I’ll be heading back to Saltwater Springs tonight but, enjoy the rest of your week here and call me once you’ve made a decision,” he says, nodding towards my phone.

I nod and watch as he walks off in the same direction thatZalea disappeared to, picking up her towel from the sandy floor on his way.

I spendthe rest of the week ping-ponging the idea of moving to Saltwater Springs and starting a new life and career for myself versus staying in my hometown and trying to figure out life where I’m most familiar. As exciting as moving sounds, I worry those articles will find their way to Saltwater Springs too and even if Gabriel wants to keep me, the rest of the team might not.

Living in a small town has proven tricky enough. Do I really want to pack up and move to another small town? Maybe it’s time to dream bigger, start fresh in a big city somewhere in Europe instead. Could I survive the big city life? Could the articles follow me out there too? Frustration begins to bubble inside of me, and I let out a groan as I bury my face into my hands.

“You look like you haven’t had enough to drink,” a familiar voice says from behind me.

I look over my shoulder, coming face to face with Zalea, in the swanky bar I’ve been sitting in for the last three hours. She looks out of place here, yet nobody bats an eye at having a famous surfer in their space.

“Uhm,” I say, completely speechless –again.

“If you keep acting this shy around me, I’m going to start thinking you’ve got a little crush,” she teases as she takes a seat in the empty stool beside me.

I force my mouth closed, my cheeks flushing, and watch as she orders us both a shot of tequila from a bartender wearing a blue aloha shirt. Her long auburn hair flows behind her backin loose beach waves. Her black dress makes the color stand out.

The bar gleams under the warm lights, lined with a huge array of liquor bottles. The walls are decorated with what looks to be local artwork of the tropical landscapes of Hawaii, but the space is beaten down, smelling of stale beer, and gives off an aura of local gem rather than high class bar.

Groups of friends huddled together at tables, laughing while having animated conversations. In the dark secluded corners of the space, I can make out couples kissing, their hands traveling all over one another. My cheeks grow even hotter as I watch, an unwanted reminder of how sexually deprived I’ve been my whole life. I used to be proud of not being one of the easy girls, losing their virginities as teens but now, at twenty-five, it’s embarrassing.

I drag my eyes away from the couples as the tequila shots arrive, along with a plate of salt and sliced limes. I stare down at the plate in confusion, earning a chuckle from Zalea.

“Have you ever taken a tequila shot before?” she asks, picking up the salt bottle.

“No,” I say, shaking my head side to side.

“Here,” she takes my hand and brings it to her mouth. “First, you need to wet the back of your hand.”

I watch as she lowers her mouth to the back of my hand, her tongue sliding across before she sprinkles on salt. My heart pounds in my chest while my face becomes so hot I must look sunburnt at this point.

“T-thanks.” I stutter, looking down at my salty hand. I’ve never been attracted to girls before, but Zalea is making me question that right now.

She does the same to her hand, putting the salt back onto the plate when she’s finished, before passing a lime to me and taking one for herself.

I copy her actions and lick the salt off my hand, trying notto overthink the fact that I’m licking the same spot she had just ran her tongue across. We clink our shot glasses together before we down the gold liquor. I’ve never had tequila before and when I feel my throat burn, I quickly decide I won’t be having it again after tonight. I practically stuff the whole lime in my mouth to ease the burn.

“Do you always drink things that make you feel like breathing fire?” I sputter, my eyes watering as I try to hold in my cough. “I feel like I just turned into a dragon.”

She lets out a cackle of a laugh before ordering another round for us.

“So, what has you looking so gloomy?” she asks, folding her hands across the bar.

“Oh,” I shrug and sigh. “It’s a long story.”

“I’ve got nothing but time, sweetheart.”

She sits back in her stool and gives me a reassuring smile, her green eyes burning into mine with undivided attention. That’s all it takes before I find myself confiding in her about the whole situation.

“Five years ago, I was in a car accident that killed my parents.”

“Straight to the point, I like it.” She says, slapping the bar top before placing a warm hand on top of mine. “And I’m so sorry for your loss.”

I let out a small chuckle while fighting the burn behind my eyes. “While I was at the hospital, I discovered that rumors had been circulating around town, blaming me for my parents’ deaths.”

Her eyes go wide as she stiffens, her eyes glued to mine.

“It eventually turned into blaming me for everything that went wrong in town. The local football team was losing because I was at the game, local businesses going out of business because I had stepped foot inside. I was known as thetown’s bad luck charm and the job that I had at the time ended up firing me.”

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