The sea foamed like a rabid dog waiting to rip apart anyone crazy enough to attempt conquering it this day, the sand whipping across the ankles of Ashley Davies, stinging her flesh as if she were being bitten by a colony of ants, but she ignored the faint irritation. She even ignored the warning signals her brain was attempting to send her through the fogy haze that had overtaken her. This was her competition, and no way was she letting some newbie steal it away from her.

"Davies, look," her best friend Aiden stared worriedly from the chopping waves, to the determined set expression of his friend's face, "maybe you shouldn't go out there. You're still recovering from your accident last season and…those waves…"

"Aiden," she turned her head away from the sea long enough to cast a quick glance to her left, briefly locking eyes with him before looking away, once again becoming lost, "I need to do this." She pulled her board from the sand, tucking it under her arm, jogging up to the shore's edge, "besides," she threw back over her shoulder, "this girl just moved to L.A. and I refuse to be beaten by some rookie."

Aiden didn't respond, just watched her go. He had been skeptical about her entering this competition in the first place, feeling that it was too soon. The weather did nothing to assuage his fears, the dark, heavy clouds perfectly matching the ominous mood he just couldn't seem to shake. Not to mention the new kid, Spencer Carlin, had just been signed to the same surf company, Rip Curl, which currently sponsored Ashley, so her competitive streak was far stronger than her body at this moment. Please just be careful…he sent up a silent prayer to whatever benevolent being may have been listening, knowing that if Ashley had her way, once she hit those waves, her safety would be the farthest thing from her mind.

Okay, I can do this. The waves rolled violently towards her, bringing with them the smell of the sea she had missed for longer than she cared to remember. It had been little over a year, the after her twenty-first birthday. She should have known better than to attempt surfing in The Crag, the roughest part of the beach, the day after partying like there would seriously be no tomorrow. Ashley Davies though? She was cocky, always had been, and to hear Aiden tell it, she always would be. She had believed she was fully capable of tackling the monstrous waves that pounded the shoreline mercilessly, and she had been proven wrong. Proven wrong, and reminded of her inadequacy everyday for fourteen months. Whatever, she snapped back into the present, took a deep breath then raced out into the water, paddling her way away from land, and the safety it offered. Her arms sliced cleanly through the water, and she forced herself to ignore the pain that coursed its way through her shoulder.

"Hey."

Ashley spun on her board, trying not to roll her eyes. It's that Carlin kid. Wonderful. "Uh, hey," she ran a hand across her face, trying unsuccessfully to wipe away the salt water that ran from her hairline down into her eyes, "I don't think people usually talk out here. Not in the middle of a competition anyway."

"You don't like me much, do you?" The blonde's hair seemed darker, since it was wet, her eyes that much more blue because of the gray backdrop of the day.

"To tell you the truth," Ashley stared off into the distance, "I don't even know you. You're just some other rook who thinks they're hot shit because they've just been sponsored. How long have you been surfing?" She raised an eyebrow, her hand trailing restlessly through the water. "Two years? Wow…that Ohio surfing must have been something incredible."

A smile stretched across Spencer's face, and Ashley found herself more than annoyed by the fact that she found this blonde newcomer more than attractive. "Actually, I've been surfing for two year and three months, but I'm gonna leave you here to brood. I've got a competition to win." She winked over at her frowning rival before paddling away in order to catch the next set of incoming waves.

She's annoying, bubbly, and blonde; she's been kicking my ass in all the heats…and she's cute. Damn it all to hell if she isn't cute. She looked over just in time to see Spencer go down under a massive wave. At least I have a chance of winning now…the water lifted her slowly, rolling beneath her board. Ashley shot a look over her shoulder, waiting for the perfect set to come in, before focusing once more on the spot where Spencer had disappeared. Slightly alarmed at not seeing the blonde's head reappear, she could hear voices screaming from the shore, people shouting and waving their arms around frantically. Son of a bitch. She instantly knew the problem, having seen the same reactions from the footage of her accident, the rookie wasn't anywhere to be seen, and that could only mean when she went under, something happened, something knocked her unconscious. I hope I make it…don't inhale. Please Spencer, don't breathe, not yet. Ashley reached the spot faster than what should have been naturally possible, searching the surface, finally spotting Spencer's board floating away on the tide, having been ripped away from her. Rolling off the top of her board, she dove beneath the churning water, searching its murky depths for any sign of the blonde. Any movement at all that didn't fit in with the sea.

Where are you? She knew she was pushing the bounds of her own limits, her lungs beginning to burn from the lack of oxygen, she frantically searched for any sign of the girl. A flash of gold caught her eye, and she reached out, her hand finding flesh, kicking her legs, trying to reach the surface before they were both lost. Ashley burst through the water, dragging Spencer along behind her, throwing the unconscious girl over her board.

"Ash?" Aiden shouted down from the seat of a jet-ski, the concern clearly evident in his eyes.

"I'm fine," she spluttered the words out. "Just get her out of here."

Aiden nodded, pulling the blonde up, laying her across his lap, "I'll be right back, okay?"

"Yeah man…wait…the standings?"

"Sorry Ash, they didn't even score this heat. You lost this one."

Great…and I thought the saying no good deed goes unpunished was just a myth. Right…

CYW

"Yo, Ashley?"

The brunette looked up from the board she had been polishing in the middle of the surf shop, her shop, Bikini Sands. It had taken her six years to save up enough money to buy the spot, it had been a dream she fantasized about as a teenager, but never believed would come true, at least not so early. "Hey Aiden," she didn't look up from her job, still trying to smooth out the abrasions the board had taken the past weekend at that competition she didn't even want to think about. "You come to work?"

"Oh, yeah" he responded sarcastically, leaning against the glass counter, "that's what I love to do. Work. You're a slave master, you know that?"

Ashley looked up, smiling a bit as she snapped her work towel at his arm, "Well, how else do you expect to learn the value of a dollar?"

"Whatever. Hey, do you mind if---"

"No."

"What? How're you just gonna say no like that? You don't even know what I was gonna ask! How you just gonna try my gangsta?"

"Your…gangsta?" Her eyebrows drew together in a frown. "Aiden. You have to be one of the whitest people I know. You're in a Hollister's shirt, plaid shorts, and rainbow flip flops. You have no gangsta to be tried."

"But---"

Ashley kept right on talking, as though he hadn't uttered a word. "If I dropped your ass off in Compton right now, you'd die."

"C'mon Ash, give me some credit." He seriously looked hurt by the possibility that he had absolutely no street cred. "I'm not that white!"

"Dude, yes you are. Look at your clothes. You're either incredibly white, or an incredibly masculine lesbian, one or the other."

"I don't know why I hang out with you."

"You love me. It's okay, you can admit it." A wry grin pulled at the corner of her mouth as she stood, wiping her hands down her blue board shorts, kind of wishing she'd remembered to bring a t-shirt for when she'd finished her morning surfing. Now, however, she was standing in the middle of a store in a bikini top. At least it's a store for surfing…I could be stuck like this in the Christian bookstore. I don't think they'd be amused…

"Excuse me?"

They both turned towards the new voice, stunned to see Spencer Carlin standing in the shop doorway, surfboard tucked beneath her arm.

"Carlin?" Ashley spoke first. What in the hell is she doing here?

"Yeah…um," the blonde stumbled over her words, pulling almost nervously at the Billabong hoody she wore, "I heard this was your shop, and I just wanted to come and say thank you…you know, for um, saving my life I guess."

"No thanks needed." Ashley turned away busying herself with putting away the board wax she'd taken out.

"Is there anything I can do to say thanks?"

"Well," she pretended to think, rolling her head to the side, "you could give me that ten thousand dollar check you got this weekend for that so-called win they awarded you."

Spencer laughed, rolling her eyes, "how about something that won't bankrupt me? Dinner, maybe?"

Ashley spun back around. "I'm not really into the whole, hanging out with people I barely know thing…"

"Please?" Blue eyes peered at her hopefully.

"Fine, but I get to pick where we go."

"That's cool…I'll drop by later to set up plans and whatnot. I kinda want to hit the beach before the waves die down."

"You're going back out there?" Aiden shrieked, in manner very unbecoming of a man, clearing his throat before speaking again. "I mean, uh, you're going back out there?"

"Yeah, I figure I should, before I lose my nerve or something…anyway, I'll see you guys later."

"You think she's hot." Aiden announced, the moment Spencer had exited the store. "You're probably thinking up all kinds of things you could do to that body, aren't you."

"What? No, I think you're the one thinking the dirty thoughts. I'm only going because I know she's gonna feel like she owes me something if I don't."

"She could owe you some ass?"

"Aiden!"

"I'm just saying…" he trailed off, waggling his eyebrows as he did so.

She does have a pretty nice ass…