𝗥𝗔𝗙𝗘 𝗖𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗢𝗡 𝗜𝗠𝗔𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦 ↬ [𝐄N]

𝗦𝗨𝗥𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

❛ ━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━ ❜

╰┈➤ 𝘈 𝘞𝘌𝘌𝘒𝘌𝘕𝘋 𝘚𝘜𝘙𝘍𝘐𝘕𝘎 competition was held in the Outer Banks on August 16th each year. The best were awarded and presented to the most famous surf club in Charleston. And since everyone seemed to surf in the Outer Banks except me, that was a big deal. Even Meggi surfed, even if she didn't take part in the competition. I understood that. It was too crowded and more of a fun hobby than an advanced course.

Instead, her brother and his friend Kelce attended, as did my brother and JJ, Pope, and Kiara. Sarah stayed at home because she felt she was neglecting her sister and did something great with her. "Shout when it starts, okay? I'll get us something to drink," I told Meggi, who was sitting with me on a larger deckchair, which, however, should have been called a lounger. "I'll do it."

Full of anticipation, I strolled across the beach with quick steps, made my way through the many other people and stopped in front of the bar. Except for the boring standard drinks, there were also colorful cocktails with umbrellas and everything. Out of sheer thought, other customers were already pushing behind me and I was getting nervous. "Two Coconut Kiss cocktails, please, and two bottles of water," I ordered, opening my bag to put the water away so I could carry the cocktails.

The bartender looked at me suspiciously for a moment, before setting the glasses with the pink and white liquid on the counter, inserting two straws and a wooden stick with a marshmallow and a jelly bean in each one. "That'll be €10.50." I dug out my wallet. Has it always been this expensive?

"You can put that on Cameron's bill." Even without turning, I knew Rafe was standing next to me. So I put my wallet away, grabbed the pineapple shaped glasses from the counter and walked a few steps away from the line, so the next ones could place their order. Rafe close behind me.

"Thanks, but that wasn't necessary. I had money with me," I said, looking at him. "It's okay. While €10 means nothing to you, we don't even notice it in our account."
He was right. So it was okay to accept his gift.

"Are you also taking part in the competition?," I asked curiously and had only now noticed that he was wearing nothing but his swimming trousers.

Oh man, it's going to be embarrassing if I stare now!, I thought.

"Naah, that's not really my thing. And you? Bet you surfed too." I shook my head in amusement.
"No one ever taught me."

He looked at me in surprise.
"I sometimes forget that you've only been here in the Outer Banks since a few months."

Clearing my throat, I tried to blow a strand of hair out of my face that had slipped into view but I didn't had a hand free to tame it.

"Let me help you," Rafe murmured, seeming to have noticed my problem, but instead of taking the cocktails from me, he took a step towards me, reached out and tucked my strand of hair behind my ear. His fingers lingered a little longer on my cheek, and I felt the coldness of his metal rings on my skin.

I swallowed, somehow trying not to blush. "Meggi is sitting over there, I'm sure she's waiting for me," I deflected and Rafe glanced in their direction if he could see anything. "I'll walk with you and make sure you don't get knocked over."

I smiled silently to myself before Rafe walked close beside me, his bare shoulder the only thing I felt. Despite the many people, I arrived at my bestfriend's place with still full glasses. Meggi had crossed her legs and seemed a little tense.

"Emma, where have you been for so long-" She pushed her sunglasses down over her nose and eyed me as intently as Rafe next to me, "I see..."

With a grin, she pushed her sunglasses back down. "Sit down," she ordered, emphasizing the latter as she made room.

I handed her her cocktail, quickly whispering that Rafe had paid for her. The announcement came through the loudspeakers that the first candidates would now begin. Among them were Topper, my brother, Kie and Kelce.

Excitedly, I took a long gulp and held out the wooden stick with the marshmallow and gummy bear to Rafe. "You paid." The corners of his mouth curled into a smile and he took it from me, eating the gummy first, which must have been a bit older since he'd been chewing on it for a while. You might think I would have known.

"And this disqualifies Topper Thornton and John Booker Routledge!," the voice urged through the speakers. "What?!," I gasped angrily. Meggi gave me a confused look.

"Yeah, they just threw each other off the board because they got in each other's way. Didn't you see that?" I found myself biting my lower lip. Awkward. How could I have been so distracted that I hadn't even noticed?

Grumbling slightly, I stiffened and nervously bounced my left foot up and down. Was my brother okay? Was Meggi's brother okay? Did they have to fight each other's ass again?

Rafe put his hand on my thigh, stopping the rocking. I looked at him angrily. "Shhh, don't panic, you're safe with me, Emma, yeah?" His blue eyes scrutinized me closely and I nodded a little, trying to relax. Still, he didn't take his hand away.

Kie beat Kelce and Pope fell in the water at the last second. In the next round, JJ takes on three strangers and had the highest score. We applauded properly. However, Ki was knocked out the following round because a girl lost control of her board and crashed into her.

"We've now reached the final. JJ Maybank and Issac White are the contestants with the most points and the most extraordinary stunts! The better one between them, is about to win." I shivered and drained my cocktail in one gulp, glancing at Rafe, who lifted his hips a little to sit more comfortably.

Meggi looked a lot more like she was about to have a heart attack. I put my glass on the floor and watched what was happening. Issac had completed his round. Now it was JJ's turn. He did a few spins and jumps that looked very impressive. Unfortunately, his opponent was no less bad.

"Now for the scoring," came the announcement. I grabbed Rafe's hand and squeezed it tight with excitement, so tight I guess he ground his jaw briefly, more than surprised I had such strength.

"Issac White has 25.8 points and JJ Maybank wins with 26 points. A very close race, my spectators! Congratulations!"

He had actually made it! Oh my gosh! Meggi jumped up from her seat next to me and let out a whoop of joy that was so loud that even Rafe flinched. JJ jogged over with his board under his arm, grinning from ear to ear and Meggi jumped into his arms, whereupon he dropped his board. Laughing, he threw her around, set her down again and kissed her with a passion I had probably never seen before.

"You won!" she exclaimed, beaming. "You're being introduced to the famous surf club, JJ." He shook his head, making his wet hair mess up even more.

"No. I just wanted to show off my surfing skills," he said with a grin, which made me laugh.

Rafe cleared his throat next to me.
"Not bad, man."

JJ looked at him.
"Thanks, dude. But let's go now, I've pissed off enough people."

Meggi interlaced her fingers with his and he put his board back under his arm. Rising from my seat, I broke touch with Rafe and stood awkwardly in front of him. He did the same and rubbed his neck in embarrassment. I watched as JJ and Meggi ran ahead and left us alone. With a smile, I stood on my tiptoes and kissed Rafe on the cheek.

"See you around, pretty boy," I murmured. Then I turned around and ran after my friends.

❛ ━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━ ❜