Page 18 of Under the Waves
9
Jasper Ridge
Isaw red as my fist connected with Nate’s jaw. That bastard hadpushedher into the way of the surfboard as it fell over the banister.That fucking bastard. He would pay for that with blood.
As if sensing my trail of thought, Jakson and Lia were already by my side, pulling me off Nate and a good few steps away from him.
“Aw, need your little whore to save you now, Jasper? When you’re done with her, pass her along will ya? Don’t be greedy now,” the sick bastard smirked, wiping his fingers across his busted lip before running his tongue along the edge, soaking up every drop of blood I’d busted out of him, his eyes not once leaving Lia’s.
“You piece of shit!” Jakson roared, already on him like a lion going in for the kill before I could even strikea fist. I could’ve sworn everyone watched as Jakson completely obliterated Nate until he was gasping for breath and falling to his knees. A smirk tugged at my lips at the sight. “Say that again, I fucking dare you! Go on, tough boy,say it!”
Certain that I wouldn’t join in, Lia left my side and attentively rested her palm on the back of Jakson’s back, gently tapping with her fingers. She rose onto her tiptoes, brought her lips close to his ear, and whispered whatever it was that brought him out of those tunneled vision, kill modes of his. It reminded me of Natasha Romanoff’s lullabies she used on the Hulk to turn him back into Bruce Banner.
Except, Jakson wasn’t a monster. He was just a kid.
Since I’d known him, Lia was the only one who had ever been able to pull him back to the present—to calm him down and bring his mind back to her.
She pressed a chaste, gentle kiss to the side of his jaw, and immediately his shoulders softened at her touch. His arms fell from their strangling grip on Nate, who crumbled to the floor, gasping for breath.
“You,” he rasped, “will be paying for this, Calloway. You too, Ridge. When my father hears about—”
“How you called Lia a whore?” Jakson interrupted him.
“Or how you pushed Poppy in front of that surfboard?” I finished.
Coach would most definitely have our asses for this when he found out we’d beaten the captain of our biggest surfing rival’s team.
“This is not the end of this,” Nate grumbled, fixing his busted jaw.
Jakson and I ended up on equipment cleaning detail more often than not. As soon as the guys hear about it, they laugh and dip as fast as they can before either of us can rope them into helping us.
Occasionally, Lia comes down to the surf school to help out. Mostly by bringing us freshly baked treats and sandwiches. Last time, she placed her plastic container on the table and within minutes, my teammates and I had already scoffed down at least two sandwiches each. She chastised us about our unattractive eating habits but the proud smile on her face told me that she was more than delighted that we loved her cooking.
I remembered back when the guys first joined the surf team, I was hesitant about letting them get close to her, fearing they’d hit on her and try to get her to suck them one but she’d convinced me—well, more like straight updemandedthat I stopped being an overprotective prick and let her decide whether she wanted to meet them. It was hard for me, though, because she was the closest thing to a little sister I’d ever had. And I wanted to protect her, you know? I just wanted what was best for her.
Even after what she’d said to me, I did end up giving my teammates harsh words about eventhinkingabout sleeping with her. She was still a minor. They all agreed to never push it that far, except Jakson, who was constantly jesting with her and riling her up in any way he could. Out of everyone on the team, Sonny knew he was theonlyone who could get away with such things without getting his bones shattered at my hand, and he did not waste an inch of time to abuse that power.
Xander, Lachlan, and Kai always hugged her whenever she came into a room, always praised her and her baking skills. They tried to encourage her to come more out of her shell, taking her along to parties and game nights when they could, something Sonny and I had been trying to get her to do for years.
At the movie nights they crashed, they were always on her side on what film to watch, which drove Jakson up the walls having to sit through another cheesy Rom-Com she’d watched at least a hundred times already. I was pretty sure her favorites wereHow To Lose A Guy In 10 DaysandSet It Up.
I was happy that my guys accepted her like she was the unofficial little sister of the team, and I knew everyone here would go to war on her behalf if anything were to happen to her.
“Hey, beautiful,” Nate drawled as no one other than MiyafuckingScott approached him, wrapping her arms around his waist.
“Let’s go home, baby. I’m tired of looking at all these losers. It’s giving me a migraine.”
If there were two people I hated most in the world, it would be them. Nate because he was a downrightprickand surfed like the dirty cheat he was, and Miya because of all the things she’d said and done to Poppy over the years.
Miya was armed with her right-hand minion, Hanna Saint-Hayes (Or as everyone knew her,Black Widow–a nickname given because, despite her dark and almost deathly quiet nature, she sure as fuck did come out with some venomous words when provoked).
Though, her left-hand side remained empty, missing the appearance of little Milla Brzezinski, who I didn’t know much about apart from that she ran in Miya’s close circle of friends. Her whole family history and past remained anonymous to just about everybody in this town, including me, and added to the fact that she was reported missing two years ago, it made her all the more mysterious. I had no idea if her family missed her or anything, but to the police, she was just another red circled name on the list of missing teenagers that would probably never be found.
Being the perky redhead she was, Milla always looked so out of place compared to her two friends, her smile so genuine and friendly it made me wonder why she hung out with them, knowing all the horrid things they’d done over the years. They had bullied the fuck out of Poppy every year since second grade. Once, they even tried to take a swing at humiliating Lia but Jakson made sure they’d never eventhinkabout touching her again.
Her Jedi in shining armor.
Nate smirked. “You wanna see me beat them up, baby?”