Tidal Waves

Chapter 1

Storms have never really been Valentina's cup of tea.  Even though she spends most of her time inside, nothing compares to the smothering pressure of clouds above her. Even when she was buried under a blanket on Ms. Silvestre's couch, she could feel them crushing down and confining her.

She's been on the island for about a year. All she required was a fresh start, which she got, along with the tropical weather she's still adjusting to. It's typhoon season right now, and holy seaweed on her porch, is it raining.

While staying and working at Silvestre's bed & breakfast, she has few options for distraction. Apart from her, there are currently no other guests, so all of the rooms have been prepared, and the old lady is on one of her long vacations, so she's practically being paid to lounge. At the very least, she appreciates it. The only thing keeping her physically separated from the frightening weather is a big glass pane that gets splattered with water every time a wave crashes against the backyard walls.

The old-timey recordings of Mavena Silvestre singing with an ensemble cast, as well as the small device in her palm, separate her mentally. She'd go nuts if it weren't for her boss's haunting songs resonating throughout the home and some big and tatted eye-candy to look at during the storm.

One of the island's top surfers, Abraxas Hidalgo, is out on his board, live-streaming his current battle with the waves. Over the roaring tides, his whoops and hollers can be heard, getting Valentina eager for what's to come. Abraxas is like that; he's wild, she's not, and it's hot as hell. She finds herself thinking about joining him out in the surf—maybe she can impress him a little with her unexpected enthusiasm for wave-riding, and the two of them wash up on shore where they'll both enjoy their first kiss—as he guides her through the waves. If Valentina could swim, it would be possible. It would be possible if she bothered to learn to swim, but she'll have to make do with her imagination for now. At the very least, he can make her like the bad weather a little more.

When the surge pulls him further out, he gives the camera a sly grin that borders on swoon-worthy. Every time she sees his arms pushing themselves through the sea, she can't help but bite her lower lip. Valentina relished the delightful distraction as the winds blew Silvestre's garbage can into the sliding glass door, and he made it look effortless.

Valentina is once again struck by how much of a coward she is when Abraxas gets up on his famous trident board and rides one of the biggest waves he's seen all day. He can fight the weather, but she can't seem to summon the bravery to speak to him. He's always with a small group of pals—a small group of friends she found intimidating—and when he's not with them, he's in the water. Wherever there's water, she's a no-show. Unless, of course, she wants the first time the two of them talk to be while he's performing CPR on her.

Although this isn't the most ideal "meet cute," if it works, it works.

Valentina is jolted awake from her salty daydream by a loud collision. Silvestre's ginger tabby, Jievi, yowls at the blanket of water flowing down the windows, and her stomach sinks. She can only pretend for so long that the storm Abraxas is battling isn't the one wrecking Silvestre's yard.

She rolled off the velvet couch with a sigh, grimacing as crumbs from her blouse fell to the carpet, creating a mess to clean up later. She didn't have to worry about keeping the home spotless without any visitors, as long as everything was nice and tight by the time the old lady returned, which would be a while.

She had a simple job—at least when there weren't bunches of thick seaweeds smashing over the yard's wall and drowning the pool.

"Shit."

Water is sprayed in all directions. As more kelp rolls in with the insane waves, the already trash-infested pool overflows, and angry, white foam knocks on the back door. Outside is a nightmare, and Valentina is at a loss for what to do.

She tries to think of a method to prevent a worse mess with her fingers wrapped around the back door handle, but even if she could clean everything, nothing would stop the tempest from unleashing further damage. In the best-case scenario, she prevented a plastic soda-chain from washing out and becoming a lethal necklace for an unlucky seagull. Worst-case scenario, she slips and falls, cracking her head open on the concrete, drowning before she can say "hello" to Abraxas.

Needless to say, she prefers her own life to that of a gull.

Another sigh.

A larger wave slams into the pool, bringing more of the Great Unknown with it. Cleaning is going to be a lot of fun. It's a good thing she has Lyra and Lysander Solispraxis, Silvestre's service twins, on speed dial. They'll show up to help her with anything in a matter of minutes, she believes, if she sounds particularly anxious in the morning.

So, for the time being, she curls up on the couch and watches Abraxas shake seawater from his thick, black hair, pretending that his storm isn't the same as hers.

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Hey yall I'm backkk!!! And thinking back about those months of furlough weren't put to good enough use, and now I could do with an extra break, although I'm pretty sure the updates would be slow asf. By then, I hope you look forward to this story!