Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 66511 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66511 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
“When did you go to Costa Rica? Why?” Ducky waited for Chad’s response, staring at the screen. The answers came in rapid-fire succession.
“Tristan’s pushing Wilder Sports.”
“Kai’s surfing here as an interview, I guess that’s the best way to explain it.”
“I rode a bitchin wave today. Now I’m at a local bar.”
“Not really fitting in. I’m told it’s hard to shake the Dallas off me.”
Ducky started to respond, grinning at such an idea. Chad oozed that same sophistication that Greer had, except different. Chad was a professional athlete and relatable. Class structure didn’t matter to him in the least. Ducky hadn’t seen Chad in a country club or even out among people, but he bet Chad knew how to get along anywhere.
The phone rang, drawing Ducky from the mental image of Chad’s easy, ready smile. The guy preferred to be happy. After living a life under his father’s then oldest brother’s oppressive anger, Ducky found happiness a very attractive quality. He reached for his headphones and clicked the accept option.
“Hello.”
Ducky seemed so grounded and normal. Chad swallowed the last of his ice water and moved off his seat, pointing to his phone. Only the brunette who had glued herself to his side seemed to notice his pending departure. “I’ve got to take this.”
He shoved a finger into his free ear to drown out the noise as he stepped away from his stool, going for the front doors. “Hey. Hang on. I’m going outside.”
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t hear if Ducky responded.
“Reeves, you out?” Kai called, every head between them turned Chad’s way.
“No. Maybe. I gotta take this. It’s Duck,” he said, waving the phone in the air as if that somehow made his words more audible.
“Can you hear me?” he asked Ducky, letting the swinging doors shut behind him. It still took a few steps down the aging front porch before he could hear Ducky’s patient voice repeating.
“I can still hear you. And I can hear you now too. Still hearing you…”
“How ’bout now?” Chad teased, taking several steps away from the building until he plunged his flip-flops into the cool sand. Those were quickly kicked off as he kept going toward the surf beckoning him over. The loud music faded the farther he went. “I came to see Kai. Tristan made him an offer about an hour ago. Kai accepted without even considering a negotiation.”
“That was fast.” Ducky didn’t sound overly impressed.
“Yeah. Faster than I thought. Kai needs a manager. He could’ve gotten a hell of a lot more out of Tristan,” Chad said, staring out at the dark ocean, watching the moon slowly rise.
“I thought you had a golf tournament coming up.” Ducky said the word tournament as if testing the accuracy. That had Chad grinning. Their common ground focused only on gaming. Chad didn’t understand the world of programming any more than Ducky understood athletics, but they did try for each other. “When did you decide to go to Costa Rica?” Outside of his mother, Ducky was the only other person in the world who knew Chad’s struggle with his fathers. Defeat had him dropping down to the sand and crossing his legs. “I thought you were gonna try that golf mental fatigue counseling retreat…the whatever place you said.”
“I was…” Chad replied with all the shame of not being able to follow through with his decision. Golfer’s burnout was a real thing and had a tight hold on him. So tight he didn’t have it in him to sit with a sports counselor to talk golf for any length of time, especially for multiple days.
“You should be here practicing or resting or playing League of Legends with me…” Ducky gave a small laugh. “Or whatever else a golfer does to get ready for his next…match.”
As if the lack of sleep was just now a problem, Chad let go of a long yawn and drew his knees up, draping an arm around his legs. “I miss the down time where we spent days online playing games together. We used to ditch class to play. Sucks to grow up. But I rode a lit wave today. Probably the best I’ve ever done. Want to see the pictures?”
“You mean like you surfed? Sure.”
Chad put the call on speaker and worked the gallery until he sent a couple of photos then the video the brunette inside took. That was how she’d become attached to the group. A groupie to her core.
Chad rewatched his video, reliving the high of the ride. “You gotta give surfing a try, Duck. It’s straight fire. And you’ve got to come here. The waves are rugged and rough. It just worked for me today. It was my day.”
“Cool, cool. You look like Kai out there,” Ducky said.
Chad continued to flip through the individual photos. One being from the bar about an hour ago. He’d thought he blended in well enough with the guys. He wore the same style clothing and thought he’d connected with the casual vibe of literally everyone around him, but the pictures told a different story. Chad was the obvious stand-out. Even in beachwear, the city attitude radiated off him. He looked more like a sport’s agent—wrinkle-free clothing, perfect hair, groomed facial hair. His watch alone had to cost more than the dive bar they hung out in.