Page 83 of Under the Waves

We played snap, and like every time we played, Jakson let Lia win.

She thought she was amazing at cards.

He thought that she was amazing just because she washer.

He’d been in love with that girl since the day he set eyes on her.

From that very first look, I knew that there was nothing I could do to stop Jakson Calloway. He’d given her his heart before he even knew what love meant.

And even if she turned it away, it would always belong to her.

Neither of us imagined we’d have to live in a world without him.

Not until the two surfers collided.

Not until they both went

under

the

waves.

29

Jasper Ridge

Poppy had been watching me for the past half an hour and I felt like an absoluteidiot.

I was itching to ditch these desperate parents and start my surf lesson, and normally, I would’ve, but Poppy had been staring at these moms like she wanted nothing more than to split daggers between their eyes. And for some reason, seeing her jealous overmemade my heart beat just that little bit quicker.

When they finally said goodbye, letting their kids wander through the surf school doors and into the changing rooms down the hall, I turned away and walked in behind them.

“Shouldn’t you be over there with all your dedicated fans?” She muttered, not looking up from her screen, tapping harder than necessary on the keyboard.

I shrugged. “I had to check up on my favorite one.”

She glared at me, fierce and unyielding.Just the way I liked it.

“Try again, Ridge. I amnotyour fan.”

“No, you’re just mygirlfriend.”

“Fakegirlfriend,” she corrected, still avoiding my gaze.

“You wound me talking like that.”

“Justgoand do your lesson, Ridge.” She huffed, rolling her eyes, but that slight biting of her lower lip told me that she was anythingbutannoyed with me right now. The thought made my smirk even wider, the sight of it irritating her even more.

Running my fingers through my hair, I caught her eyes lifting just a fraction from her screen to watch me leave. Just as I was about to retort with another snarky comment to try and make her smile, a girl burst through the surf school’s doors with Daniel on her heels.

“Ah, perfect timing!” Daniel clapped his hands together, motioning to the two of us. “Poppy, Jasper, as you know business has been kind of slow these past few years, so my dear wife and I have decided to put our school on the Gram!”

I cringed a little internally as the girl face palmed, shaking her head as she tried to smother a laugh. She lightly patted Daniel on the arm as she smiled up at him. “Instagram, Dan. Not the Gram. We talked about this.”

Dan?Who the hell was this girl?

Daniel’s puzzled face smoothed into a smile. “Ah—well, yes. That. The Instagram that all you young kids are using these days.”