[wattpad editor's picks, nov-dec 2023]
After a one night stand in Monaco between a fallen from grace championship surfer and an up and coming Formula One star, the two are sure they'll never see each other again...but what happens in Monaco doesn't...
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I was used to Southern California heat. The sun was always strong, but it wasn't like you'd sweat through your clothes walking from your car to your front door. Florida heat, on the other hand, was the equivalent of walking through the 7th circle of hell with arctic weather gear on. I had to peel myself off the leather seat of our Uber, the material sticking to the backs of my thighs like duct tape. The sun's rays blistered my bare arms as Dane and I walked from the circular driveway of the hotel to the large glass entranceway, and I skirted close to the intricate marble fountain at the front in hopes of getting even the smallest spritz of cool water.
We'd gotten to Miami a day before the pro event to avoid the 4th of July travel rush, but I found myself regretting it more and more as Dane inched towards me again, trying to gently direct me through the hotel with his hand on the small of my back.
"I got my own room," I said hurriedly as we made our way through the hotel lobby. "I just figured it made sense seeing as we're on different schedules and everything, since you're actually competing and I'm just judging the grommets." I could hear the bitterness in my voice as it echoed off all the empty spaces in the lobby. My sandals squeaked on the cream marble floors, and palm trees and hanging ferns dotted every other corner and archway, giving color to the otherwise monochrome space.
"Yeah, makes sense," Dane shrugged.
My phone pinged with a notification, and for a fraction of a moment, my heart skipped a beat, but it was just Gemma.
After leaving Atlas on seen last week, effectively ending our steady stream of DMs, he had been radio silent on social media. I was almost tempted to ask him how he was, or what he was doing, but I held back. It was my decision, and I had to live with the consequences. Caring as much as I almost did had worse consequences.
"Anyway, I'll see you for dinner later?" Dane's mouth twisted up into the faintest smile.
"Uh...dinner?" I tried to play off my bewilderment with a light chuckle.
"Yeah, we really liked Edge last time we were here so...figured I'd make reservations." Dane threw in a casual shrug. "I know we're both kind of jet lagged, but I figured it might be like, nice, ya know?"
Edge was a steakhouse and oyster bar in Miami - the kind where people ordered caviar for appetizers and every other patron walking through the bar wore a pair of red bottoms. We'd only gone because both Dane and I placed top 3 in the last pro event that was here. But the way Dane's eyes softened when I hesitated made me soften the same.
"No, no, that's great," I shook my head. "Yeah, I'm down."
Dane and I went our separate ways to get ready for our night, and after briefly napping off my jet lag and wrestling with my wild mane of hair, I slipped into the only thing I'd consider nice enough for a night at Edge - a black maxi dress that hugged me and my lack of curves a little too tight.
