Shades of Sydney (Sydney West #1) (3 page)

I nodded along and grabbed a baby wave, riding it in like a kid riding over a small hill with their bike.

“That’s good. Let’s try doing a backside,” he said, running a hand through his short, wet hair. “I’ll go first.” He demonstrated surfing with his back to the wave, a move I’d known for ages.

I glanced over my shoulder and noticed Amelia was getting real close to her guy. She had on her flirting smile and batted her long lashes. As for Jason, he was acting more like a teacher. He always found ways to touch my body to get me into the right position, but his fingers never lingered. He’d meet my gaze, but dropped it like I could turn him to stone. What was his deal? I was going to find out, even if I had to resort to using my wicked ways and make his body tell me what he wouldn’t.

“Your turn,” Jason said.

He paddled out to sea and searched for a wave suitable for me. Looking over my shoulder, I found Amelia kissing her guy. They sat on a board interlocked in each other’s arms. I didn’t know she had it in her. It was kind of shocking.

“Sydney, what’s the matter?” Jason came back and found what I was looking at. He chuckled. “Guess their lesson is over.”

I nodded, turning to face him. Jason shook his head and looked at me. “Do you want to call it a night? We can meet up again if you’d like.”

Was this his way of getting my number? He was smiling at me, but not in the usual I-want-your-body smirk. It wasn’t sex filled. His lips didn’t want to taste mine. It was as if he was truly my teacher and I his student. Had the world turned upside-down when I wasn’t paying attention?

“Sure, it’s getting late,” I said. Amelia deepened their kiss as his hand ran down her back, inching toward the strings to her top.

“Amelia!” I shouted. The maternal instinct in me had to stop the madness. Amelia didn’t know what she was getting herself into. She was new to the one-night stand lifestyle.

She jumped. “Jiminy Cricket! You scared me, Syd.”

“Sorry, but it’s time to go. We can reschedule.”

My skin burned when Amelia flashed me the evil eye as she moved off of the boy’s board and back onto hers. The four of us paddled to shore without a word. The tension was thick enough that I could cut it with a knife.

Her guy cleared his throat and said, “We can finish your lessons some other time. Perhaps we should swap—”

“Let me go get my cell phone,” Amelia said, running toward the car and leaving me alone with two guys.

“I never caught your name,” I said to the guy Amelia was making out with.

He watched Amelia run, probably checking out her ass. He turned his head toward me, his green eyes filled with naughty images of my friend, no doubt. “I’m Hunter,” he said, voice emotionless.

“Do you need to get your phone too?” Jason asked, breaking my glare with Hunter.

I pushed back a strand of hair from my face and said, “Oh no, I have a fantastic memory. Plus, I can get it from Amelia if I happen to forget.”

“Okay,” he said, drawing the word out. He was puzzled by my coldness. There was something off about them. Hunter was too handsy with my friend and Jason didn’t seem to be interested.

Before anyone could think of something else to say, Amelia raced back. She was wheezing and folded herself in half at the torso. Her hands were on her knees and all her hair shielded her face. After a few heartbeats, she stood up, tossing her hair fiercely.

“Got my phone,” she said, lifting her blue cell for all to see.

The boys told her their numbers and she told them hers. All three of them turned to me. “What? Oh, right.” I recited my number. They put it in their contacts and tucked away their phones.

“Good-bye, Amelia. It was a pleasure assisting you,” Hunter said, eyeing my friend’s body like she was a piece of delicious candy.

She giggled, but her laughter ceased when I body blocked her. “’Night,” I said harshly.

We turned and I grabbed Amelia’s arm to ensure she came with me and not them.

When we were out of earshot from the boys, she yanked herself free and crossed her arms over her chest. “What’s the matter with you? That guy liked me and you made me look like a little girl!”

“I was protecting you,” I said flatly.

“What? No, you weren’t. You were jealous—”

I turned and poked my finger into her chest. “I’m jealous of no one. That boy was a stranger and had you in his web.”

“You can’t tell me who I can kiss. You fucked a guy in a public bathroom. There’s no moral ground for you to stand on, you hypocrite.” Her voice was bitter, but it cracked at the end.

“I’m sorry. It’s not my place, but I know what I’m doing with guys. There’s a way to control them and I don’t know if you can do that yet.”

She sniffed. “What do you mean?”

I smiled, brushing her hair behind her ear. “You have to know how to wrap a guy around your finger and then you can conquer the world. If you fail, then things can turn bad quickly.”

“Let’s go home,” she said, gathering our supplies from the beach.

We packed up and put everything in the car with a heavy silence around us. Amelia placed her surfboard onto the roof and slammed the door when she got inside.

I couldn’t help her. It was something she’d have to learn. No one could teach someone how to have a perfect fling. I slid my board on top of hers and fastened the rack to keep them from falling off. I walked around to the driver’s side and opened the door. For a moment all I could hear was the sound of the engine turning over.

Amelia turned up the music, creating a wall between us. She was upset I ruined her summer crush. Maybe she thought I had embarrassed her. Shrugging it off, I lip sang to the song playing and made sure to keep my eyes on the road. If I snuck a peek at Amelia, her grim hazel eyes and pout were going to depress me.

Once home she went into her room and locked the door. We should’ve passed on the damn beach. How long was she going to stay mad at me?

My cell buzzed, alerting me I had a text message.

I grabbed my phone and hit the button so I could read it. I didn’t recognize the number. It wasn’t any of my friends or family. Who the hell had my number but wasn’t in my contacts?

The answer hit me like a hurricane. Jason had my phone number.

Jason:
Hey, is tomorrow night 2 early 2 hang out again?

Hang out? Did he want to spend time with me or teach me more dumb tricks? The boy was confusing.

Me:
We can surf tomorrow. What time?

I sat my phone down and walked to the kitchen. I’d just opened the fridge’s door when my phone went off again. He was fast at texting back.

Jason: How’s 4 sound?

I thought for a moment and flicked my gaze upstairs.

Me: That’s fine. Is Hunter coming 2?

Jason: No, he’s helping his uncle.

My stomach dropped. He wanted to meet me alone? That was intriguing and odd at the same time. What if he wanted Amelia to come too? It wasn’t that hard to teach two girls, especially when they secretly already knew how to do basically every trick.

How could I ask him without sounding childish? I stared at my screen. Above me I heard a squeal and pounding. Amelia ran down the stairs with her phone in hand.

“He’s going to give us lessons tomorrow!” she said happily.

That answered my question.

“Jason?” I asked, trying to fish for more information.

“Yeah. Hunter can’t come, but he can meet us later. Isn’t this great?” Her smile was so big it was surprising it wasn’t permanent.

I gave her my best poker face. “Oh, yeah, I’m thrilled. You just can’t see it.”

She shot me a mean look. “How can you be so uptight? The dude likes you and you act like he’s nothing.”

I sat down at the bar and placed my phone in front of me. “I admit Jason has a nice body, but he’s not into me.”

Amelia crossed her arms over her chest. “How do you know? You were only with him for an hour or two.”

“I have a gut feeling. You only wanna go so you can see this Hunter guy again after the surfing lesson.”

She blushed. “Is that bad? I like flirting with him.”

“That’s not all you were doing,” I said, playfully giving her a kissy face.

Her cheeks turned as red as a rose. “He’s a good kisser. Gentle, yet—”

I put my hands over my ears. “I don’t want details.” I dropped my arms to the counter and said, “Just make sure you know what you’re doing. It’s always best to have the upper hand in these types of situations.”

Amelia stood across the bar and leaned in on her palms. “Sydney, I’ll never understand your morbid way of seeing relationships and love.”

I studied my fingernails to avoid meeting her gaze. “I don’t think anyone does. The way I view family is twisted, I know. I can’t think of a couple who had the ‘fairytale ending,’” I said, using air quotes. “All I see is violence and hatred that once began as love, so sue me if I think having flings is safer. At least…” I trailed off.

Why was it hard for people to understand I didn’t want my heart broken? After my parents’ toxic divorce, I saw long lasting relationships as fatal attractions. They were good for a while, but bound to turn evil somewhere down the road.

She looked at me like I was an orphan who’d lost my parents in a tragic fire. “You can’t base every couple on your par—”

I winced. This topic always dug into my flesh like daggers. “I don’t believe in love. Can’t we leave it at that?” My voice was sharper than I wanted it to be.

Amelia reached over and took my hand, a friendly gesture. “Okay, you deserve the right to your opinion. But don’t keep your heart locked up forever.”

I walked around the bar and hugged my friend. I released her and said, “You’re the best.” I ran my hand down my face, thankful to stop talking about how I viewed the world. “I’m going to take a shower. Pick out a movie and we can order a pizza.”

“I hope one day you learn how beautiful the world can be,” Amelia said before walking to my movie collection.

As I climbed the stairs, my thoughts drifted back to Jason. He wanted to teach us the tricks of the trade, but was it out of the kindness of his heart or did he have an ulterior motive?

There was no point in worrying about him right now. I was going to take a relaxing shower and forget about him for the night. Soon I’d be lost in a movie with my best friend while eating greasy pizza. I could think of a few ways a night could be better, but sometimes it was nice to sit at home and simply hang out.

Chapter Three

“You girls ready to learn your next trick?” Jason asked.

The sea’s foam licked the sand near his feet, leaving behind a small shell as it pulled back. His toned body was sweaty and bronze, like golden toast in the sunshine. I had the urge to touch him and make sure he was real.

Shaking my head to erase the thoughts, I found myself taking in his body. I glanced down at his blue trunks, following one of the white horizontal stripes from his waist to a couple inches lower.

He looks like a nice lover…

“Yes, we’re ready,” Amelia said.

Jason looked at me. I felt myself blush. I never blush.

“Are you?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I replied.

What’s wrong with me?

“O-kay, let’s get in the water and on the surfboard.”

“Sounds great,” Amelia said, running into the ocean.

I stood back, surveying the area. I felt out of place, like something was wrong.

Jason had his back to me. Across his shoulder blades, a tattoo of an eagle’s wings gave the illusion he could take off and fly away. I wanted to know the message behind it and trace the lines with my fingertips…with my tongue. No, what I needed was to clear my mind.

With my surfboard under my arm, I went out. The ocean was warm and took me in like a lost child. Jason was already sitting on his board, looking for some good waves to ride.

“I thought we lost you,” Amelia whispered.

“Nah, you can’t get rid of me that easily,” I joked.

“Hey, Whitney,” Jason said.

Something deep within me pinged. “My name is
Sydney
.”

“Right, sorry. I remembered it ended with a –ney.”

Amelia shrugged and pointed to a coming wave. “That one looks nice.”

He nodded. “I agree, Amelia.”

I bit my tongue to keep venomous words from escaping.

He remembers her name.

“I’ll take it,” I said, paddling out and doing a backside with ease.

When I came back, Amelia looked pissed, her lips pressed in a firm line and her eyes intense like a wild fire. It was cute when she was mad.

Jason laughed and hit the water, making a splash. “Whoa, are you sure you need my tips? You seem like a pro,” Jason said, looking impressed.

“Well, actually—”

“She’s a fast learner, right?” Amelia said, cutting in. If looks could kill, I would be dead in the water with the glare she gave me.

“S—sure,” I said.

Jason’s eyes flicked from Amelia to me. “Am I missing something?”

“No, go on with the lesson,” Amelia said, giving him a smile.

“Okay. I’ll show you how to ride the barrel of the wave. It’s tricky to stay on the board when the water is rushing and trying to crush you like a giant hand. Watch me and ask me any questions when I come back.” He paddled away to find a fitting wave.

Amelia took the opportunity to talk to me. “What is wrong with you? Do you want to ruin this for me…for us?”

“You were right the first time. This is for you and your guy isn’t even here. Can’t we call it a day and you go off with your guy later?”

Her facial expression darkened. “I see how you are. As long as you’re having fun, then nothing else matters, but as soon as things turn on you, that’s when you give up.”

“I don’t need to sit here and listen to this,” I said. “How about I leave?”

“No, can’t you play along for an hour? Do me this one favor, please?” She held her hands up like she was saying a prayer. With her hazel eyes full of sorrow, she reminded me of a sad puppy. I had to give in.

“Fine, but you only have an hour.”

“Are you watching?” Jason yelled to us.

“Thank you,” Amelia whispered to me. Then she yelled to Jason, “Yes.”

He gave us a thumbs up and drifted toward the base of the wave. Soon he entered it and was in its belly. Licking my lips, I could taste the salt in the air. I didn’t want to watch him. Instead I focused on a sailboat on the horizon. I heard Jason shout something in joy. The boy did love to surf. I could tell from how he talked about it and because he was so willing to help strangers.

“That was awesome,” Amelia hollered, cupping her hands around her mouth as a kind of microphone.

He pointed to the open ocean, telling one of us to try. Amelia looked over her shoulder, silently urging me to go first. With a sigh, I lay on my stomach and paddled further into the water.

My body was in sync with how the waves moved. I felt like I was about to win first place again. The ocean was in a good mood. I could tell, but it was hard to explain.

A wave in the distance caught my eye. That was my ride. I went for it. In my bones, I had the urge to show off and go in the tube doing a handstand, but refused to. That would anger Amelia and I didn’t want that. Besides, what did I have to prove to Jason? He was no one to me.

At the swell of the wave, I stood and cut through the water, entering the barrel. I felt a natural high in life with a wave all around me. The green room was a marvelous place to be. For a brief moment, I glimpsed Jason staring at me and my body froze. The wave took me over. I crashed onto the beach, coughing up water.

Someone pounded on my back, muttering something. After I coughed for a few moments, almost losing my lung, I looked up. Jason stood above me with a concerned look on his face.

“Are you all right?” he asked, his eyes searching me.

“Yeah,” I said, standing up. “I meant to do that.”

I quickly wiped away the sand from my moist skin. If only I could erase the memory of my wipe out. If Jason was impressed by my skills before, it was gone now.

Amelia caught the next wave and came in like a newbie pro, if there was such a thing. I hated her guts. Jason clapped for her and she did a little bow.

“Want to do that again?” Jason asked, eyeing me.

“No,” I said before Amelia could answer.

He frowned. “Come on. When you fall off the horse, you have—”

I played with my hair, trying to tame its crazy curls. “I know, maybe later. Isn’t it getting late?” I nodded at the sunset.

Jason rubbed his jaw and stared out over the ocean. “Yeah, I guess. We can head out if you want. Hunter should be joining us soon.”

“Okay,” Amelia said too happily. The mention of Hunter made her drop the sour look she was giving me.

I brought up the rear and avoided Jason. Thankfully, Amelia and I came in my car and Jason’s Jeep had room for one more, not two. I wasn’t sure if I could’ve made it in a car ride with Jason. Something about him made my body tingle inside.

In my peripheral vision, I could see Amelia fixing her hair in the car’s mirror. Once it was styled right, she moved on to her lips, wiping lip gloss on them. I bit down on my tongue to avoid laughing at the ridiculous duck face she made while applying the pink glittery lip gloss. She was acting like a sixteen-year-old girl going on her first date.

Jason beat us to the crab shack. My stomach twirled as we walked up the path. Jason leaned against the railing of its porch. Amelia flew up the stairs and went to Jason. I saw her joy dampen when Jason said something to her. I guess her hunk, Hunter, wasn’t here yet.

I walked up the three wooden steps and crossed my arms across my torso, two bars blocking anyone from getting too close to me. Despite being somewhere I didn’t want to be, I went in and ordered some food. Might as well eat as I waited for my freedom to be granted. Besides, eating gave me something to do and a reason not to talk.

Crab salad was something new and interesting to try. After the first bite, though, I knew I wasn’t a fan. I was one of the strange people who loved the ocean, but didn’t like the food that came from it. Jason sat next to me and dug into his lobster. Hearing him crack its claws made me want to hurl.

Using my fork, I moved all the crab bits to one side and ate the rest of the salad. Jason noticed what I was doing and lifted an eyebrow.

“Why are you moving all the crab to one side? Planning on eating it for dessert?”

I shook my head. “I don’t like it.”

“Did you even try it?”

I rubbed my temple with my fingertips. “Of course I tried it. I’m not a five-year-old who judges food on its appearance.”

“Okay,” he drawled. “No need to bite my head off,” he said, going back to his dinner and ignoring me.

A squeal from Amelia told me Hunter had arrived. She was all over him, giving the guy a bear hug. I didn’t understand her. Why react to a guy like that? I wouldn’t think they’d like it.

With Amelia hung up in what she thought was love, or something like it, I figured she didn’t care if I stayed or if I danced on the bar. Jason was being cold, like a damn fish. No use in saying good-bye to him either. He wasn’t worth my breath.

It was time to take my leave. Without a word, I stood and tossed my salad. I brushed past a couple holding hands and fled out the doors. Amelia was fine on her own. I needed to go before I went insane.

My stomach unclenched the further I drove away. I had no real destination in mind. I hadn’t been in California since last summer. It was time to cruise the streets and see what had changed since the last time I was here.