Easton Moore is back...and I'm his fake girlfriend.
After leaving for the professional surfing tour the morning after we slept together, my childhood best friend became the person I never wanted to see again. Now he strolls back into Sandy Cove when...
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I CAN FEEL her watching me from the beach.
As I sit out on the waves with my competitor during the last heat to determine the winner of the competition, I know Gabi is watching from the beach—as always.
Having her watching me pushes me to do better, wanting to show off—wanting to win.
My competitor has just finished on his wave and it's my turn. I ignore the score coming through the speakers and focus on the ocean, waiting for the next wave—my last wave.
The time is counting down, and this is my last wave before the end of the heat.
The wave begins to form, and I turn to paddle away from it. I feel the wave lift the back of my board at an angle and I push up into a standing position.
Turning my board towards the wave, I begin to carve, pulling out the tricks that will get me the highest points and making sure I hit every one of them.
Cheers erupt from the crowd as I pull them off successfully, and before I know it, the horn sounds for the end of the heat.
I paddle over to the other surfer and shake his hand while we wait for the final scores to be revealed.
"And with an 18.45 score, the Western Australia Margaret River Pro Champion is Easton Moore," they announce, and I can't help but fist bump the air and cheer along with the fans on the beach.
Soon enough, I'm climbing onto the back of a jet ski with my board as they ride me back to the beach. Once back, my friends reach down to pick me up on their shoulders to make our way through the cheering crowd.
I see Gabi amongst them and can't help but point to her with a smile and a wink. She rolls her eyes at me, but I can see her laughing.
We make our way to the stairs and I tell them to put me down. Once they have, I call out for Gabi and a narrow opening appears as she makes her way through.
I open my arms and she walks into them, wrapping her arms around me as I kiss the top of her head. Although she was putting on a show when we were in public at these competitions, a part of me wants to believe she wasn't really pretending. Wrapping my arm around her shoulder, we make our way up the stairs.
"Does winning ever get old?" she jokes as she nudges me and I chuckle.
"Not that I've found," I say with a smile. "It's a rush."
"Well, keep that going. After all, June wants to see a win from you in California," she says and I chuckle, as she isn't wrong. Our next stop was close to home and I couldn't wait to have everyone important to me there.
Making it to the top of the stairs, I am swept away by reporters and for the trophy. As I thrust the trophy into the air, Gabi claps and cheers. I jump down, throwing my arm around her once more before directing her to the locker room.
