[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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Everyone has their happy place. For me, any place could be a happy place if there was water, but there was nothing like coming home to the water I was raised on. After all, the cure to anything was salt water.
I dipped my board below another small rolling wave, then paddled further out to the break. A little ways down the shoreline, a teenage couple laughed their way into the water with their boards tucked under their arms, throwing themselves to the waves with carefree, reckless abandon. Way too much energy for this early in the morning. I groaned to myself and turned away, diving under another wave.
To say that I had hit self-destruct on my "relationship" with Atlas was an understatement. There was no sugar coating it - it fucking hurt, but what hurt even more was knowing he felt the same way. There was no talking each other out of the reality of our situation, even if there was the smallest part of me that wanted it. No matter how connected we felt in the lustful haze of our late nights, when the morning came, the light seemed to sever it all.
The only relationship either of us were in was the one we had with our careers, and we were faithful partners to them. It was a bitter truth that I could taste on my tongue, no matter how hard I tried to swallow it down. The only thing I could do now was minimize the blast radius, which meant keeping our night in Miami to myself and trying to move forward.
The teenagers' laughter carried on the quiet morning air, snapping my head in their direction again. I ducked under another rolling wave. When I realized no wave would be good enough for me this morning, I knew my focus had been completely derailed and I wouldn't be getting anything productive done on the water. I paddled myself back to the beach and gathered my things, stomping back along the sand to the walkway.
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I was making grilled cheese when my phone buzzed on my kitchen countertop. I almost hesitated to check it at first, not because I was afraid of who it would be, but rather knowing and understanding who it wouldn't be and inevitably being disappointed. Sam whined at my feet for a piece of cheese, and after succumbing to puppy eyes I finally checked my phone.
ERIKA SALDUTTI: NEW BABY!! Come see!! I'll be at the conservatory until 4.
My heart lifted in my chest. Out of all the people it could have been, seeing Erika Saldutti's name on my phone washed a wave of relief over me, even though I hadn't spoken to her in months. Hearing from Erika only meant good news, and I was in desperate need of some.
