But he knew that time was winding down, and he had to be realistic about it. A smart surfer didn’t push his limits forever.
And he’d always been smart about his career.
He saw Ben at the ropes to the competition tents, so he went over.
“Where’ve you been?” Ben asked.
“I had some free time between heats, so I took advantage of it.”
Ben nodded. The one thing he liked about his friend, manager and promoter was that he never asked questions.
“Okay. Time to get set, though. Your gear is stowed in my tent.”
“Great. I’ll get ready.”
Ben clapped a hand on his shoulder. “You prepared for this? You feel good?”
Alex grinned at him. “It’s in the bag. We’re going to win.”
“That’s what I like to hear. I feel good about this one. These are your kind of waves.”
Alex looked out over the water, the surge of excitement so strong he could barely contain the desire to dive headfirst into the water right now. “You’re right. They are.”
Chapter Seven
Victoria hung out on the beach with Ben and the rest of his team all afternoon to watch Alex and the others during the practice rounds. She was learning a lot about surfing competitions. It was fascinating. She’d always thought of surfing as rather laid-back, except of course when she did it. Then it was hard. The learning curve for her had been difficult, but she had chalked it up to being a skill that had not come naturally to her. After all, she was a city girl, not born and bred to the ocean.
She was realizing it was hard for everyone, and it took an awesome amount of skill, strength and practice to perfect. The waves she surfed were miniscule compared to the monsters these professionals rode.
After spending hours watching every one of the competitors, it was obvious how good Alex was. No wonder he was a champion. He caught the top of many of the waves, dropped down underneath them, which made her breath catch, and rode it out until the wave disappeared. There was only one occasion when the wave seemed to swallow him up, and her heart lodged in her throat when that happened. She’d seen that with several of the surfers, and feared for their safety each time, though they all swam out from under it, seemingly good-natured and ready to catch the next wave that came their way.
Ben told her none of the rides they took today counted anyway, and semifinals were tomorrow, which was when official scoring would begin.
She was already getting nervous for Alex, who didn’t seem anxious at all as he hung out and laughed with the other competitors. She really liked his body language, the way he carried himself with such a laid-back demeanor, leaning on his sand-jammed board while he casually chatted with the other surfers.
He occasionally caught her eye and glanced her way. Ben had invited her to spend the afternoon in the shaded promoter’s tent with him, a blissful relief from the baking sand and sun. It also meant Alex knew where to find her, though he’d stayed with the crowd of other surfers. But he’d look over at her and smile, and she’d get these ridiculous butterflies in her stomach remembering the amazing sex they’d shared earlier in the day.
By the time the heats were over, she needed a nap.
“How about a drink?” Ben asked as he gathered up his paperwork.
He’d been an amazing host, explaining every part of the practice process to her.
“I’m exhausted. I need some rest.”
His lips curved into a knowing smile. “Alex hard to keep up with?”
She lifted her chin. “I think I can manage, despite my advanced age.”
He laughed. “I wasn’t making a crack about you and Alex having sex. He’s just pretty high energy and always on the go. He wears me the hell out. You should make a run for it now before he finds you and wants to drag you into the ocean for surfing. He could go all day. I’m thinking of disappearing myself before he wants to take me out to a bar, or surf with him.”
Leave it to her to assume the wrong thing. “Yet you two room together.”
He stuffed some papers into a backpack. “Yeah.”
“Or is that more for business, so you can keep an eye on your investment?”
“Alex doesn’t need a babysitter. He’s an adult and can manage his life just fine without me. We travel all the time together, and we’ve grown close over the years. We’re friends. We often share a suite during competition.”
Well, hell. She’d heard her own voice snapping at him and she didn’t like it. “I didn’t mean anything by that.”
He tilted his head her way, his smile genuine. “No offense taken, Victoria.”
She really did need a nap. She was reading things into her conversation with Ben that obviously weren’t there. “I think I’ll head out. If you see Alex, tell him I’ll be back tonight for the party.”
“Will do.”
Several hours later, she had rested, showered, and had even treated herself to a massage at the spa. Now she felt immensely better. And also much worse about being so defensive with Ben earlier. He’d been generous and kind and she’d done nothing but accuse him of age discrimination and running roughshod over Alex.
She owed him an apology.
She put on a sundress, slipped on her sandals and walked down toward the beach. It was dark, so the tiki torches were lit and a bonfire was going strong. The competition area was crowded with people, some she recognized as the surfing competitors, some as the advertisers and promoters, and some she didn’t know at all. There were a lot more people there tonight than had been around the day before.