Free Riding the Wave by Lorelie Brown
Authors: Lorelie Brown
the roof of the house across the street. She followed his gaze. For a minute, all she saw was suburbia, neatly tiled and slated roofs all lined up in a row, and past that the dark glimmer of the water under a half moon. The water frothed white in the surge she loved so much.
Avalon didn’t poke. There was a special element to a summer night where the warmth never left the air, but the dark could fix problems. Or at least soothe them for a little while. Minutes stacked up in quiet companionship.
Tanner sighed contentedly. “Now I’m home.”
“What?”
“I used to come out here and sit when I still lived here. Watch the water. Think about that day’s waves. Feel exhausted or upset or whatever drama my teenage self was rolling around in. Just . . . process. Almost every night. Mom gave up on keeping a screen on the window.”
Carefully, slowly, she lifted her feet and folded her knees to her chest. She still felt fairly steady. In body, at least, since her mind was rolling. “Not surfing, not your mom, not the house itself. This rooftop. This is home?”
“Yeah. I guess in a way it is.”
“You, Tanner Wright, are an idiot.”
Chapter 9
T anner’s immediate reaction was to bristle. He hadn’t exactly invited her. Under no circumstances had he asked her opinion. Then he smiled. Leaned his shoulders back against the wall as prickly stucco caught at his shirt. “Jealous much?”
“Of you?” She gave a neatly dismissive huff. Two fingers flicked her bangs to the side. “No chance.”
He was struck with the sudden wish to see her hair damp and plastered to her temples again. No seawater needed; he’d make her work up a sweat. She had gorgeous legs that he could wrap around his hips.
He pushed all that down. No time, no place. He had a championship on the line. If that wasn’t enough, he had seen firsthand what happened to relationships broken by his hellacious travel schedule. Splitsville, pronto. The longest relationship he’d managed was six months. Nothing to brag about, but she’d gotten hella bored, hella fast being without him. “No, not of me. Of my family.”
Her smile looked a little smug. “Well, yeah. That’s a given. Have you met my mom?”
The hand he rubbed over the back of his head waspushed by chagrin. “Um. Maybe? I’m the first one to admit that I was fairly self-centered in high school.”
“I think you might have. At Sage’s sixteenth birthday.” She winced a little, curling her hands around her thighs. “That was a mess.”
God, he did remember that. It had been one of the last times he’d been home. At that point, he’d known about Mako, but he’d bought his dad’s story about it being a onetime mistake. He’d learned soon after how much Hank lied. The truth had been so much more painful, an ongoing betrayal of everything their family stood for.
As a matter of fact, that hot mess of a birthday party had somewhat propelled the situation along. If he remembered right, the bleached blonde had been Avalon’s mom. The distraction over the inappropriately dressed woman who’d brought along a boyfriend ten years younger than her enabled Tanner to hit the keg more often than he otherwise would have. He’d barely been able to keep his mouth shut around his mom. After his further discoveries in Tahiti a few months later, he’d known he couldn’t go home.
Her chin rose. “Yeah, I see it. You remember.”
“See what?”
“That look.” She turned her gaze back out toward the far line of roofs. “Anyone who remembers my mom gets it eventually. A little distaste, heavy on the disgust. And often some doubt. Am I like her? Will I turn out like her?”
“You asking me, sweetheart? ’Cause I don’t know you near well enough to answer that.” He waggled his eyebrows. The moment had gotten way too deep for his liking. “Though you give me half a chance and I’ll find out.”
Her laugh was pretty. Light, surprisingly musical. He’dhave thought, based on
Avalon didn’t poke. There was a special element to a summer night where the warmth never left the air, but the dark could fix problems. Or at least soothe them for a little while. Minutes stacked up in quiet companionship.
Tanner sighed contentedly. “Now I’m home.”
“What?”
“I used to come out here and sit when I still lived here. Watch the water. Think about that day’s waves. Feel exhausted or upset or whatever drama my teenage self was rolling around in. Just . . . process. Almost every night. Mom gave up on keeping a screen on the window.”
Carefully, slowly, she lifted her feet and folded her knees to her chest. She still felt fairly steady. In body, at least, since her mind was rolling. “Not surfing, not your mom, not the house itself. This rooftop. This is home?”
“Yeah. I guess in a way it is.”
“You, Tanner Wright, are an idiot.”
Chapter 9
T anner’s immediate reaction was to bristle. He hadn’t exactly invited her. Under no circumstances had he asked her opinion. Then he smiled. Leaned his shoulders back against the wall as prickly stucco caught at his shirt. “Jealous much?”
“Of you?” She gave a neatly dismissive huff. Two fingers flicked her bangs to the side. “No chance.”
He was struck with the sudden wish to see her hair damp and plastered to her temples again. No seawater needed; he’d make her work up a sweat. She had gorgeous legs that he could wrap around his hips.
He pushed all that down. No time, no place. He had a championship on the line. If that wasn’t enough, he had seen firsthand what happened to relationships broken by his hellacious travel schedule. Splitsville, pronto. The longest relationship he’d managed was six months. Nothing to brag about, but she’d gotten hella bored, hella fast being without him. “No, not of me. Of my family.”
Her smile looked a little smug. “Well, yeah. That’s a given. Have you met my mom?”
The hand he rubbed over the back of his head waspushed by chagrin. “Um. Maybe? I’m the first one to admit that I was fairly self-centered in high school.”
“I think you might have. At Sage’s sixteenth birthday.” She winced a little, curling her hands around her thighs. “That was a mess.”
God, he did remember that. It had been one of the last times he’d been home. At that point, he’d known about Mako, but he’d bought his dad’s story about it being a onetime mistake. He’d learned soon after how much Hank lied. The truth had been so much more painful, an ongoing betrayal of everything their family stood for.
As a matter of fact, that hot mess of a birthday party had somewhat propelled the situation along. If he remembered right, the bleached blonde had been Avalon’s mom. The distraction over the inappropriately dressed woman who’d brought along a boyfriend ten years younger than her enabled Tanner to hit the keg more often than he otherwise would have. He’d barely been able to keep his mouth shut around his mom. After his further discoveries in Tahiti a few months later, he’d known he couldn’t go home.
Her chin rose. “Yeah, I see it. You remember.”
“See what?”
“That look.” She turned her gaze back out toward the far line of roofs. “Anyone who remembers my mom gets it eventually. A little distaste, heavy on the disgust. And often some doubt. Am I like her? Will I turn out like her?”
“You asking me, sweetheart? ’Cause I don’t know you near well enough to answer that.” He waggled his eyebrows. The moment had gotten way too deep for his liking. “Though you give me half a chance and I’ll find out.”
Her laugh was pretty. Light, surprisingly musical. He’dhave thought, based on