"Sometimes it's soft as a misting rain
That gently touches my soul
It cools the fire that burns in me
And I simply lose control
So just
Rain down (on) on me
Let your love just fall like raindrops
Rain on me
Just
Rain down (on) on me
Let your love just shower me
Just rain on me"
SWV—"Rain"
Erik dressed in light cotton dark slacks and a thin dark dress shirt for an impromptu early birthday dinner for Marina with her maternal grandparents, Calista, and Deuce.
He met them in the Hyatt Regency hotel restaurant where they were all staying. The lobby was clearing out of travelers who stuffed the place to the rafters with execs and big wigs from the surfing world. Those with money and great sponsors stayed at the Hyatt. The not so well-off stayed at motels and Airbnb's. He stroked his face where he had trimmed up his slight beard and when he stepped off the elevator Calista and the rest of the family were waiting near the restaurant host podium.
"Busy," he said looking inside the packed restaurant.
"We're about to be escorted to our table," Deuce said.
His son looked uncomfortable with his grandparents and bored with the idea of spending time with this side of the family. Marina grabbed his hand and swung it, her hair in a high ponytail and spilling over her shoulders in big puffs of dry curls.
"This way please," the male host said.
They were led to a circular table in the back and Erik girded his loins for the slick salty comments and looks Calista's parents gave him.
"Think you'll do well since you've been out for a year?" Todd asked.
Erik stared at him over his menu.
"I've stayed in shape and my training has me prepared. I should do well."
"Daddy's going to win," Marina said playing with her salad fork.
They ordered food and Erik endured the bland surface conversation. Thank God most of the talking involved the children. He sipped on a rum and coke from the bar and his eyes grew wide when he saw Sugar's family enter the restaurant with Colin.
"Sugar!" Marina squealed.
His daughter jumped out of her seat and ran up to Sugar hugging her. Sugar was all smiles until she saw his face and the rest of their party. Colin stepped up.
"Hey!"
"What are you doing here?" Erik asked.
"Sugar and her family invited me to dinner. I ran into them in the lobby just now."
Cedro stepped up to Erik and held out his hand.
"Thank you for your hard work. Sugar was stellar out there," he said.
Erik shook his hand and tried to make eye contact with Sugar, but she looked everywhere else but at him.
"Winner's dinner," Colin said, "Belmira is treating."
"Good seeing you again, Mrs. Moreno," Erik said.
Belinda was all smiles and bubbly.
"Deuce! How are you? We miss you down at the restaurant," Cedro said holding out his fist.
Deuce gave Cedro some dap with a huge grin on his face, the first smile his son had on his face since they arrived for dinner.
Marina held Sugar and Yolanda's hands her face giddy with excitement.
"I'm having a birthday dinner with my Grammy and Grampy…Grammy, Grampy these are my surfing teachers. This is Sugar, Yolanda, and this is Asia."
The women returned greetings with his in-laws and Erik could see the false smile on Calista's face. Her eyes were on Sugar who wore make-up and was dressed in a nice bodycon red dress with her hair twisted up on top of her head in a slick knot. It was a sophisticated look and Erik just knew Calista was churning with negative thoughts involving the two of them. He did his best not to look directly at Sugar. His chest and stomach carried nervous needy energy. He wished he could just take Sugar's hand and go somewhere quiet with his children. A celebratory dinner with just the four of them.
"It's your birthday?" Asia asked.
"Not for real. My birthday is next month but my Grammy and Grampy won't be here…oh! Mommy, can I give them their invitations now?"
Marina's face lit up brighter and Calista sipped her white wine then tapped her nails against the glass.
"You can mail it to them when we get home—"
"But I have them here now—"
"I can go up to the room with her and bring them down," Margie said.
Calista stared hard at her mother before she fixed her face.
"Sure, Muffin."
"Yay! I'll be right back!"
Marina grabbed her Grammy's hand and they left the restaurant.
Sugar's party took their seats three tables down in a large group section. Erik watched Colin sit next to Sugar and Belmira, and he felt his jaw tense when Colin whispered in Sugar's ear and she laughed. When Colin caught Erik staring at him, his friend threw up his hands with a "Not my fault" look on his face.
Erik sat there waiting for an expensive plate of steak and fingerling potatoes while listening to his bombastic father-in-law try to convince Deuce to think about an internship in the business world and going to college back east in the future. Deuce looked like he wanted to crawl under the table and disappear.
"You must be proud that your mentee did well," Calista said.
"It's the highest she's placed this year."
"Think she'll get asked onto the World Tour?"
"In a year or two."
"So you'll be working with her more?"
"I have my own training, and Colin is her main contact."
"They look pretty chummy."
Erik glanced over again at the Moreno table. Colin had his arm over Sugar's chair and he made Cedro laugh hard. Their appetizers arrived at the table just as Marina and Grammy returned.
"I'll be right back," Marina said.
She rushed over to Sugar's table waving her blue and green invitations with purple dolphin stickers. Sugar, Yolanda, and Asia looked thrilled to be hand-delivered the little envelopes.
"Deuce! Come here for a second!"
Cedro's loud voice stirred Deuce from his seat and Erik watched his boy happily escape the cool mood at their own table. Calista's parents just watched their grandchildren interact with other people.
"So loud. Do they seem loud to you?" Margie asked breaking apart a dinner roll.
Cedro put his hand on Deuce's shoulder and gesticulated to the others something amusing that made everyone bust up with laughter. Deuce said something that just made Belinda fall out. Marina leaned against Yolanda's arm and watched her brother.
Lobster bisque arrived at Erik's table.
"I'll go get them," Calista said with annoyance.
"I got it," Erik said pushing his chair back and placing his dinner napkin on the table.
He approached their party gingerly, putting his arm around Deuce's shoulder. Sugar looked up at him and he almost lost his train of thought. Seeing her dressed up made her look so different from her regular beach look. The spaghetti straps of her dress looked delicate against her creamy brown skin. From where he stood, he could see Colin's thigh pressed next to hers. He wanted to pull her away.
"Hey, Deuce…Marina…our first course has arrived. Let me get these two back over to our table," he said.
"Let me know if you want to do it, Deuce," Cedro said.
"Do what?" Erik asked.
"He can have a part-time summer job bussing tables. I could use the extra help. We've been insanely busy this summer because of all the street festivals. If it's cool with you and his Mom."
"You want to do that?" Erik asked.
"I'll think about it," Deuce said.
Erik could tell by his son's tone that he wanted to do it.
"It's up to you, but you'll have to work your schedule out with your Mom when you're up in La Jolla."
"Oh, I thought you lived in Mission Beach," Cedro said looking at Deuce.
"I live there, my…his Mom lives in La Jolla."
"Got it. Let's do this then. When you're in Mission Beach, you come do a few hours in the afternoon and you tell me what days."
Cedro dug into his wallet and pulled out his card. He handed it to Deuce.
"And thank you for backing me up about that woman with the fake dog. None of these doubters believed me, but you saw the whole thing!"
Deuce laughed and Cedro tapped his son's shoulder.
"See you at my party!" Marina said.
He ushered his children back to their family and immediately Deuce's mood soured. His son glanced back over at Sugar's table and they all heard the continuous guffaws and loud cackles. They were having a ball. Erik ate his bisque and listened to the in-laws again and he gave concise and pleasant answers to their questions about his upcoming preliminary round.
"Isn't this nice? All of us together again?" Margie asked.
Their main course arrived, and Erik picked at his meal. He did his best to not look over at the Moreno table, but he could hear snatches of Colin's voice and he felt his blood pressure rise. Marina rattled off all the names of the children she invited to her party and he honed in on that, excited that his daughter was having her very first big birthday party with new friends in a public place at the amusement park.
Staring at Marina's face, he saw that there was some improvement in her lazy eye. He was happy about that. He finished off his rum and coke and had to go urinate.
"Be right back," he said.
He headed out of the restaurant toward the hotel lobby restrooms. Handling his business, he washed his hands afterward and then stared at his face in the mirror. What a reversal of fortune. He had anticipated making love to Sugar in his hotel bed, but instead, he was playing happy family with people who hated his guts. At least his children were happy, and Deuce stuck close to him all afternoon after Sugar's win. Maybe it was God's way of cooling down his ardor and keeping him on the straight and narrow of whatever his life was shaping up to be.
Stepping out of the restroom he caught Sugar going into the Ladies room.
"Sugar," he said heading for her.
She stepped around him.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know they were coming."
"It's fine. Let's just forget everything…"
She dashed past him.
He sat on the small velvet ottoman seat between both restrooms to wait for her. When she came out, he stood up.
"Why are you still here?" she asked.
The hurt in her eyes was still there.
"I just wanted to say sorry—"
"Okay, you said that."
She crossed her arms over her chest.
"I know this won't work between us. Not until I'm divorced—"
"It probably won't work after that either."
She cut her eyes away from his. He stepped back from her.
"I see. You're right though. Power dynamic is fucked up anyway."
"I need a coach. Not all this other stuff."
"Looks like you and Colin can work it out with Bruce then. That work for you?"
That snap in his tone made her eyes narrow.
"Yeah."
"Cool."
He moved away from her.
"It's that easy?"
He turned back to her.
"What?"
"Turn everything on and off like that?"
Her eyes were shiny.
"I guess it is easy for you," she grumbled.
She stormed past him and he grabbed her arm and yanked her close to him. She struggled to release herself from his hold.
"Fuck you talking about, Sugar?"
"I'm just another bird in a long line of side-chicks."
"That ain't true, Sugar, I—"
"What are you doing to my daughter?"
Cedro rounded the corner and found them. Sugar tried to keep her eyes from welling up, but Cedro saw it and shoved Erik back. Erik raised his hand in defense and Cedro snatched up Erik's shirt and shoved him against the Men's restroom door.
"Why do you have your hands on her?"
"She's just upset—"
"I was mad about my placing, Papi. Let him go. I was just upset because I should've done better."
Cedro's eyes were blazing and he didn't really believe her words by the sad stress in her voice. He released him and Erik tried to smooth down his shirt.
"Vamos," Cedro said.
Erik let them walk away and he waited a few minutes before making his way back to the restaurant. He didn't make eye contact with anyone when he sat back at his table and finished his meal with Calista's eyes boring into his face.
His cell vibrated.
What happened?
Colin.
Erik texted him back as Calista watched his face.
Nothing. A misunderstanding.
"Yay!" Marina shouted.
A waiter brought over a giant chocolate sundae for her early pretend tenth birthday.
A single pink candle sat atop the whipped cream and Marina blew it out. They sang Happy Birthday to her with everyone in the restaurant. Erik glanced over and he saw Sugar singing with a smile on her face for his daughter. Cedro gave him death stares.
Dinner ended without further incident and he covered the bill.
Walking with everyone to their joined hotel rooms, he said goodnight to his children. Marina hugged him goodbye and Deuce gave him a head nod as he slipped headphones over his ears. They were on the tenth floor and he was on the sixth floor.
He took a long shower in his room and crawled into bed. Tossing and turning he struggled to sleep. He couldn't get Sugar's face out of his mind. The ecstasy of making her cum, the righteous anger when she took second place, and the sadness when she saw him with his wife and children. Grabbing his phone, he scrolled social media looking to see what Sugar was doing and to see if she texted him. She hadn't.
Erik checked the competition he was up against to see if there were any changes, and he went down the rabbit hole of checking a surf site that always reported the happenings of every current surf contest. He found pictures of folks he had seen throughout that day. There were pictures of Sugar and Belmira with their trophies and money. Something made him hop over onto Belmira's social media and he found pictures of them after their dinner in the Hyatt. The most recent was her and Sugar on the beach wearing provocative swimsuits and posing on the Pier. From Belmira's feed, the last photo was posted ten minutes ago.
He jumped off of his bed and threw on a t-shirt and light sweatpants. Slipping on his Keen beach shoes he grabbed his keys and wallet. Finding his jeep in the parking structure he drove out into the night heading toward the beach. Erik found parking near the pier and looked for any sign of Belmira or Sugar. There were a few people wandering around that late. He gave up and went to his jeep and tooled around all the parking spots until he found Sugar's VW van. He knew she had to be nearby because there was no overnight parking. Erik slipped his car in a spot not too far from her ride and he stepped out to look for her.
He didn't have to look far. She was walking back to her van from the boardwalk with a giant beach towel wrapped around herself.
"Kinda late to be out here by yourself. Where's Belmira?"
Her eyes couldn't hide the surprise on her face when she saw him.
"She's catching a red-eye back to Rio. She just caught a Lyft. Why are you here?"
"I saw some pictures of you two online. Recognized the pier. I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd come out."
"Stalking me?" she said, opening up the side of her van.
"Nah. Couldn't sleep. I didn't think I'd actually find you."
"Stalking."
"I wanted to see you—"
"Erik…please. Stop playing with me—"
"Are you heading home tonight…damn girl, what do you have on?"
"I made Belmira buy me the most expensive swimsuit in town."
"It looks like lingerie. I can see your nipples."
He swallowed hard and tried not to stare with the overhead light making it so noticeable.
"This is the hottest thing out," she said.
He glanced around the inside of her van. She had bedding down on the floor.
"You sleeping here tonight?"
She ignored him and sat on the edge of the floorboard.
"Just going to ignore me?"
"I'm going back to San Diego."
"It's late."
"I'm a big girl. I'm used to being up late and driving."
"I thought you'd stay to watch me compete."
"I can catch the results online."
He sat next to her.
"Sugar, you're not a jump-off to me."
She held her hand up.
"I don't want to talk about."
"Okay. Let's talk about how you didn't listen to me while you were in your final heat and that's why you came in second instead of winning it all."
Her eyes looked like she wanted to cut him.
"Told you to play it close to the vest but you felt the need to show off and I told you that wasn't what those judges want to see. One thing you gotta do now that you are running with this full-time is to learn all you can with each event. Huntington is a big deal, but they tend to be a little old school here. You are from Southern Cali and they like to see their own do well with international folks. It was yours but…"
Her eyes dropped from his as she contemplated his words.
"I just wanted them to see what I could do."
"Do that but also give 'em the basics done well too."
"I should've won the top spot."
"Yep. But you didn't."
She punched him and he rubbed his arm.
"Coach abuse," he whispered.
He glanced at her face but then his eyes were distracted by her nipple piercings visible from her bikini top. He forced himself to look away. Standing up he shoved his hands in the pockets of his loose sweats.
"You should get going," he said.
"I'm not in a rush. No training tomorrow. Just sleep and eating what I feel like."
She stood up and tossed her beach towel into her van.
"Night," he said leaving her.
"Hey, Erik…"
He turned back.
"I'll listen to what you say next time. You know more than I do…I wanted to impress you too…show you that I'm worth all the money you've spent on me."
"I don't care about the money, Sugar."
Those eyes that had once challenged him in his house when he first met her were once again soulful…open.
"Don't stay out here too long he said."
"I have pepper spray and…," she pulled a small axe from under her bedding, "…this bad boy right here."
She tossed the axe and caught it before stuffing it under the pallet again.
"Be safe," he said.
He left her alone and drove back to his hotel room where he tossed and turned in his bed for the rest of the night.
###
The ritual was the same.
Early morning rising. Meditation. Yoga stretches. A light breakfast. Earbuds in, he either listened to a mix of Joi Gilliam or . This was followed by careful showering and phone calls to his children. Depending on what time his heat was, he would sit on the beach and watch the waves. Study their ebb and flow. Every wave was unique and different and could be affected by wind changes and storms miles away. Were the waves crashing left or right? Big or small? Choppy and foamy, or glassy smooth? He'd wax his board and focus on what he needed to do. Slaughter the wave. He needed to be around the spectators so he could slowly close them out from his mind.
He would go into the zone.
The world then was only man, board, and wave.
He was conscious only of sand under his feet, the leash on his ankle and that first cool step into the sea.
Muscle memory set in and the simple truth was that Erik was meant to conquer the water. The World Tour only allowed the elites. The Gods of the Sport. Mount Olympus didn't allow humans and rarely demi-Gods. He steamed through heats and advanced through rounds like it was nothing, like he had never been out of commission for a year. His high-ranking allowed him to pick and choose what events he wanted to participate in. He chose Huntington Beach because it was close to home and he could dip to San Diego if he needed to for any emergencies.
Erik skimmed through the preliminaries and by the time he shredded his way into the finals on the second day of the Men's Championship, word around the beach was that he was back and better than ever before. He showed no mercy on the waves.
Once he secured his finals placement, he gave a quick interview on the beach with Marina by his side. The female interviewer asked Marina how she felt about her Dad being in top form, and his daughter hid her face slightly into Erik's dripping side.
"He's awesome."
"I hear you're making a name for yourself too. Do you think you'll walk in your father's footsteps?"
Marina nodded her head vigorously before hiding her smile.
Erik walked her back over to Calista and Deuce. The in-laws hung out for the first day of his heats but opted to stay in air-conditioned comfort during the finals at the hotel. Calista ate up the attention she was getting being with him and the children, posing for as many photos as she could and letting other women know she was still in the picture in some capacity.
She gave him a congratulatory hug when he advanced to the final showdown and they had lunch with the children where he was inundated with autograph requests. Marina had her autograph book with her and he helped her snag a few from some young male surfers who competed the previous day.
Prior to his showing in the final event, he saw Sugar speaking with a blogger of a popular woman's surfing site. She had on dark sunglasses and a lime-green seahorse beach wrap. He watched her wander off alone on the boardwalk. She didn't see his family walking to get seats in the opposite direction.
A small smile creased his lips. She stayed to see him.
Concentrate.
Erik's eyes took in the water.
Crisp, plunging greenish-blue wave breaks rolled in with great energy as a glistening white swash enticed him. The rumble of the water made his thoughts tranquil and small. Man. Board. Wave.
An announcer over the P.A. system called out two names. Killmonger and P.J.
Erik glanced over to P.J. who stretched near him, his eyes also focused on the water ahead of them. The twenty-eight-year-old South African was a formidable opponent, part of the new South African vanguard that was slowly outshining Brazil with its fresh new talent. Goofy-footed on his board and just as arrogant as Erik, P.J. had done well in the semi-finals throwing up as many tens in his scoring as Erik did. He pegged the J-Bay surfing waterman from the start as a contender to match up with himself in the end.
P.J. turned to Erik and held out his fist for some dap. Erik picked up his board and headed out to make chum out of him.
Paddling in Erik could feel the anticipation of the crowd, some were disappointed that another favorite, Foster Troutman hadn't advanced to face Erik. Like so many white male surfers in his past, Troutman hated Erik and wanted the opportunity to show him up in his hometown. It wasn't meant to be. But there would be other opportunities and Erik welcomed it. He would take great pleasure in taking off for a year and returning to flay every bitch ass dudebro who was relieved to see him go.
From the water, all Erik could see were packed bodies. The sets were coming quick and once their time started, Erik took off for the first great wave available. Dropping left into a nice five-footer, Erik juiced the wave of all its essence. He had nice pop outs of every turn he took. His second wave found him whipping the board vertically with a lot of power as he shifted his weight from the middle of the deck to the tail of his board to slow up a turn.
P.J. was ripping some nice moves, but he got a little cocky when he almost got in Erik's way paddling around a shoulder once Erik had priority. But it didn't matter. Erik cranked up the speed and whipped past P.J.'s head cutting back across the whitewash sending up a soft lacy veil of sea spray to refresh the man's memory of how not to fuck up again. P.J. got the message, especially when Erik dead-eyed him as he swept past.
Erik let a few waves pass that weren't worth taking and P.J. snagged them, falling over twice before Erik was up. He slipped on a bad balance turn and fell, his board flying one way and Erik the other.
A fantastic blue vision of a wave sprang up and Erik hesitated for a second before he went for it. The peak curled over like his daughter's hair and Erik's mind was all about Marina and he decided to give his baby girl a thrill even if the small tunnel didn't hold up. He dropped down into the tube and shot out with his arms over his head to keep a precarious balance and the Huntington Beach crowd were on their feet screaming for him. He knew Marina was probably jumping up and down so he threw up his right pinky for her so she'd know he was thinking of her.
Erik's last wave had him gliding close to the pier doing some hang time in the air with a high- flying aerial. He whipped his board back and forth off the bottom where he punched it out and saluted everyone for their warm reception to his big return. He rode all the way to the finish as P.J. tried to grab one last stab at getting a high score as time ran out.
Erik raised a hand in triumph. He knew he had it. The crowd did too.
A deep exhale left his body as Calista and the kids ran over to greet him with hugs and pats. Deuce took his board for him and carried it behind Erik as he wrapped an arm around a deliriously happy Marina. He stopped walking and took a minute to close his eyes.
He was back.
It felt like he had never left, and he was grateful to win big on his first comeback event. Bodies closed in on him in a tight gauntlet as cameras were shoved in his face. Colin was by his side shoving his chest into Erik's screaming "Yeah nigga! That's what I'm talkin' 'bout, playa!"
When they drew closer to the winner's stand, Calista threw her arms around him and kissed him on his lips.
"I'm proud of you!" she said holding his face as Marina squeezed his neck.
Tunnel vision set in and the cacophony of screaming and whistles and thunderous applause made him slow his mind down. His eyes darted across the hundreds of blurred faces and he tried to find Sugar's warm brown eyes. Was she still there somewhere watching?
Once he walked up the steps to the winner's stand, a World Surfing League rep thrust a mic in his face. Colin handed him his surfboard.
"Congratulations! It has been a long time since the surfing world has been able to say that to Erik 'Killmonger' Stevens. How does it feel?"
The white male interviewer looked thrilled to speak to Erik.
"I feel great. The entire time I just focused on this final heat. Visualizing myself here and just spending the entire time working to get here. I paced myself and caught some great waves."
"Doing you!"
"Yeah, like always, doing me at my best."
"The fans are thrilled to have you back—"
"The fans, my friends, my family right there…"
Erik pointed to Deuce and Marina as Calista stood with her arms around their shoulders.
One hundred thousand dollars.
That's what he was taking home for two days of intense heavily scrutinized surfing.
Marina ran up the steps and Erik lifted her up.
"I do alright baby girl?"
"Yeah."
Erik held out his pinky and Marina clasped hers with his. They snapped fingers and Erik finished the rest of the ceremonial pomp. But his eyes kept searching for Sugar.
###
Beat.
Erik was beat.
Jeep packed, boards secured, he was ready for the drive home to San Diego. Calista still had the children and they had already headed back to La Jolla hours earlier. Colin was gone and most people were clearing out from the week-long event.
In his youth, Erik would party into the night with Colin. Hell, he would've partied with Colin that weekend, but his spirit didn't desire that form of release. His cell buzzed.
Congratulations.
He smiled.
Sugar.
Thanks. Where are you?
Heading onto the freeway.
You stayed to watch me?
Yeah.
How was I?
Aight.
He laughed and pushed away his glass of Pellegrino water at the bar. He'd finished two short interviews for two separate online magazines and the Waveline Podcast owner was blowing up his phone asking for an interview with Sugar again.
He debated staying another night at the hotel, but he only had three free days before he had the children again, and he wanted to be in his own house with peace and quiet and the ability to sleep in late. Paying his tab, he said goodbye to the bar staff and headed out.
It was already five in the evening and he knew he would hit the end of the weekend traffic. Firing up his satellite radio to an R & B station, he took off his t-shirt and drove barefoot onto the Interstate 5 South.
Some Jazmine Sullivan came on and Erik snapped his fingers.
"Sang it, baby!"
He rolled down his front windows to let a weak breeze flow through.
"And here we go…" he muttered as he got a nice thirty-minute flow on the freeway before they all started inching along with bumper to bumper traffic.
It took ninety minutes just to get to Mission Viejo. He leaned back and wiggled his butt and stretched his back. He reached down to turn on his air conditioner and a car horn startled him. He looked to his left and saw Sugar in her van with her front windows down.
"You left before I did!" he called out.
"There was an accident earlier and I didn't hop on the toll road."
He couldn't stop the grin from getting wider on his face.
Traffic kept crawling and Sugar squeezed ahead of him by six car lengths. When they grew close to San Onofre, he saw Sugar exit Basilone Rd. that went near the San Onofre nuclear power plant affectionately known by some San Diego natives as "the tits" because of their two round breast shapes with nipple-like tops.
"What the hell?" he muttered.
He jammed his jeep toward the same exit and followed her, curious to know what was out here near the edge of the Camp Pendleton Marine Base.
Driving along the winding side road, Sugar pulled into a camping area that overlooked a bluff. There were several RVs camped out and Sugar drove far from them until she pulled into an isolated spot. He whipped his jeep right next to her. When she hopped out to stretch her legs wearing her new bikini bottom with a half shirt covering her top, he did the same.
"What are you doing?" she said putting her hands on her hips.
"Tryna find out what you're doing."
"Don't tell nobody about my spot," she said. She walked away from her van and he followed along like a puppy.
"Wow," he whispered.
The start of a sunset down into the Pacific was spectacular until large, grayish clouds rolled through blotting out most of the brilliant lighting. Sugar opened the side of her van and grabbed a bottled water.
"Taking a break?"
"Camping."
"You like being alone a lot."
"Me and Beauty been doing this since I was eighteen," she said tapping her van.
She grabbed another bottled water from a small cooler and tossed him one. She sat on her floorboard again and she gestured for him to have a seat.
"Look at you, big winner," she said.
"You're a winner too."
"I had some time to think about it and I'm cool with being second."
She sipped her water.
"Lying ass," he said, and she laughed.
"The money helps," she whined stomping her feet.
He was happy to see her in a better mood.
"Marina was so stoked to see you win."
"You watched me?"
"Yeah. Had to. The comeback kid makes good. I mean, one hundred grand? Whew."
They sat and watched the sun lower as the clouds drifted away.
"Smells like a summer rain coming," she said sniffing the air.
She pulled off her shirt and that damn bikini top hypnotized him. She kicked off her Birkenstocks and tossed them on top of her shirt. Her eyes found his again and his mouth went dry and his heart double thumped. The falling sun struck her eyes making them look like brown gold on fire and her skin made him slide a little closer until his shoulder touched hers.
Her lips parted and her eyes dropped away from his.
"I watched you and studied everything you did. You were so…in control. I get what you mean about the basics with some flair. It looked like you started off a little conservative and then you just…walked on the water."
"Oh, so I'm Jesus now?"
"No!"
They stayed silent again as she turned on small LED lights inside her van.
"Is your Dad still pissed at me? I didn't mean to grab you hard…"
She glanced over at the ocean.
"Just don't do again because he will show up with a hammer and bust your head in."
"Understood—"
"And my mom will grind up your bones and mail them to your parents."
"Damn. They hardcore."
"Very."
"Don't blame them. They have a champion on their hand."
"Almost champion. I'll get to your level soon enough."
"Will you come to Marina's party?"
"I want to. But Calista—"
"But Calista..."
"She seemed happy to kiss you when you won."
He stared at Sugar's face again.
"I didn't have any control over that."
"I know."
He stood up.
"I'ma head out."
"Okay."
"Have that pepper spray and axe ready."
She laughed.
"This is a family-friendly spot. I'm good."
"Alright."
"Killmonger…you really were something out there."
Her hands slid up his chest and rested on his pecs and her lips gave him a chaste kiss on his cheek. He closed his eyes and could feel his heart making his whole body beat frantically. He was nervous and it shocked him. Sugar's nose brushed against the tip of his nose and she kept her hands on his chest for a few more seconds before wrapping them around his neck.
"Sugar, if you don't let me go right now, I don't think I can leave."
She pressed into him and when her breasts smashed into his chest and a needy sigh fell from her sweet lips, Erik knew he was done.
"Don't leave. I can't stay away from you either," she whispered in his ear.
His hands wrapped around her waist and she accepted his embrace, her hands sliding further up the back of his head, where she softly rubbed the waves in his hair. He pulled her into her van and shut the door behind them.
He had to have her. Right then and there.
And he did.