A Dose of Pretty Poison: Chapter 25

The beach is crowded, filled with surfers, sponsors, and a whole boatload of girls who are only here for an excuse to wear their bikinis in front of a bunch of guys. It’s the annual Wax and Waves Surf Competition—the biggest event of the summer in Calder Bay.

It’s the one day of the year Hayes isn’t allowed to take off work. It’s all hands on deck, and this year, his job is to help size people for surfboards, telling them which he thinks would work best for their body type and skill level.

So of course, that means the line is a mile long, and more than half are girls with no interest in learning how to surf and all the interest in getting in his pants. We may all be here to watch Cam surf in the competition, but I can’t seem to take my eyes off Hayes.

“I’m so glad the booth is in the same direction as the ocean so your staring isn’t obvious,” Mali quips. “Oh…wait.”

I force myself to look away and flip her off, but I find myself glancing over there within seconds anyway.

“Ugh, would you just look at them?” I snarl in disgust. “I’m pretty sure that girl’s tits are going to fall out of her bathing suit if she pulls it down any lower.”

Mali sighs and turns toward the booth. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, it doesn’t seem like he’s enjoying himself.”

She’s right, he doesn’t. Every time a girl twirls her hair or puts her hand on his arm, he couldn’t look any less interested. And when one girl hands him her phone number, he doesn’t even wait for her to walk away before he crumples it up and throws it in the trash.

Still, I hate the way they’re all treating him like a piece of meat. And I hate it even more that I can’t go over there and tell them to back off.

“Look at the way she’s looking at him,” I scoff. “Could her fuck-me eyes be any more obvious?”

Both Mali and Devin glance in that direction, then share a look as they laugh. Dev shakes her head, as if saying she’s not touching this one, while Mali smiles at me lovingly.

“Lai,” she says. “You look at him like that.”

“You look at him like that,” I mock her like a child. “Seriously, feel free to fuck off anytime now.”

If there’s one thing Mali knows best about me, it’s when to try to talk some sense into me, and when to just let me bitch, moan, and pout. And this is a time to do the latter.

ONE THING MY PARENTS never understood is why Cam has his heart so set on hockey, when he’s such a talented surfer. They offered once to move somewhere warmer, where he could practice all the time and enter bigger competitions than this small town one, but he turned it down. He told them that this is our home, and he has no interest in leaving it.

I’ve always wondered what things would be like if he had taken them up on that offer. Trust me, the idea of possibly having to leave Mali was devastating. I cried for days simply because they were considering it. But now, the thought of leaving Hayes hurts just as much, if not worse.

The announcer calls for the final run over the loudspeaker, and we all turn our attention to the water. The waves could be better, but as Cam paddles out, I know he’s got this. It’s between him and two other guys. The winner gets a trophy and a year’s sponsorship from Wax and Waves. But honestly, I think Cam just tries to win for the bragging rights.

The one guy goes too soon, in too much of a rush to get some early points in. If he had taken his time to read the swell, he would’ve seen that it was going to break early. But he didn’t, and he wiped out—hard.

As the next set of waves come, Cam and the other guy start to go for it together, but the moment he notices his opponent isn’t going to back down, Cam holds back. It’s a decent wave, and he manages to land a couple tricks which scores him some points, but his score isn’t impossible to beat.

Especially not for Cam.

The timer starts to tick down, and we’re all waiting with bated breath for the next swell. As the water starts to build, everyone gets on their feet. It’s the best wave they’ve had all day, and I can practically feel the happiness radiating off my brother as he starts to paddle into it.

He takes advantage of the opportunity, doing tricks he knows will score the most points, as well as a couple more just to show off. And when the timer buzzes and his score is announced, my chest swells with pride.

Cam Blanchard has taken the championship title for the third year in a row!

Mali and I cheer the loudest, just like we do every year. And when I glance over at Hayes, I see him clapping proudly for his best friend. He turns to look at me, our eyes meeting for the first time since I got here. We smile at each other, and for a moment I feel better, but when he pulls his attention away a little quicker than normal, it stings.

It’s not like I’m expecting him to come over and kiss me in front of everyone. Hell, I’m not even looking for a hug. But when he won’t even look at me for longer than a couple seconds, I start to wonder if we’re ever going to be anything more than a secret.

The other day, when we spent the entire day on Monty’s boat, it felt too good to be true. Like he somehow knew about my little game of pretending we’re actually a couple and he was playing along. Though I don’t think there was anything fake about that night, when he held me close and stared into my eyes as he fucked me.

It felt like more than just sex, and I almost asked him about it that night at his place. The only reason I didn’t was because I didn’t want to ruin the moment. If the answer wasn’t what I hoped it would be, it would’ve popped the fantasy bubble I put us inside of in my mind. Even without hearing it spill from his lips, however, I know what I saw.

He definitely felt something, the same way I did.

But all of that means nothing if he’s always going to tuck the truth about us into the darkest corners of his closet.

AS THE EVENT ENDS and the prizes are given to the first, second, and third place winners, I go over to the booth. Hayes is just starting to clean up, taking everything down and putting it away, and I start to help him without saying a word.

“You okay?” he asks as his coworker goes to bring one of the boxes back to the shop. “You seem off today.”

I shrug. “I don’t really want to talk about it.”

It’s not a lie. I don’t want to talk about it, because it sounds stupid. And there is nothing I hate more than sounding stupid.

But he’s not about to let it go that easily.

“Please?” He frowns. “I just want to know what’s bothering you so I can fix it.”

I shouldn’t tell him. The smartest thing to do would be to keep it to myself. It’s not like I won’t get over it later. But if he’s just going to keep asking me, then fine.

Running my fingers through my hair, I glance around to make sure no one is close enough to hear me. “It’s just not fun to see you get hit on all day when all I want to do is tell them you’re mine, and I can’t.”

He doesn’t respond at first, and when I finally get the nerve to look at him, I want to kiss him and smack the smirk off his face all at the same time.

“Anyone ever tell you you’re cute when you’re jealous?” he teases.

I roll my eyes as I pass him the cash box to pack away. “Whatever, at least I’m not lighting shit on fire.”

He throws his head back as he laughs. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?”

“No. No, you’re not.”

“Guess you get to deal with my ass for another year!” Cam says as he comes over, effectively ending our conversation.

Hayes chuckles, giving him an aggressive bro-hug, complete with back pounding. “Congrats, man. You killed it out there.”

When they separate, Cam turns to me and I willingly go into his arms. “Proud of you, big brother.”

“Thanks,” he tells us both. “Now I’m ready to party.”

“What were you thinking?” Hayes questions as he gets the last of the stuff packed away, moving for the tent itself.

Cam goes to the other side to help him. “Well, there’s a girl I’ve been talking to for a bit, Layla. She’s already having a party, so I figure we’ll just go there.”

“Sweet,” Hayes answers. “Count me in.”

“Lai?” My brother turns to me. “You coming?”

I shake my head. “I think I’m going to pass. The sun wore me out, and I’m exhausted.”

It’s a total lie—one Hayes can see right through. I just figure I already tortured myself all day, watching girls hang all over Hayes like they have some sort of right to. There’s no part of me that wants to deal with that tonight, too.

“Suit yourself,” Cam says.

He goes on to talk to Hayes about something with hockey, but I don’t really care to listen to what it is. All I can focus on is the way Hayes keeps glancing over at me every chance he gets. There’s a worried look on his face, as if he’s silently wondering if I’m okay. But he can’t ask me about it with Cam standing there, and I have to admit, I’m grateful for it.