On the Rocks (Last Call #1)(68)

Not John though. He mentored me through it and showed me I could trust him. Over the years, he’s been there for me time and again, handing out sage wisdom, slapping me on the back of the head if necessary, and generally being there to pull my head out of my ass when warranted.

“Gabby’s different though,” John says softly, breaking into my ruminations.

I look at John, taking in the understanding bend in his eyebrows, the way his eyes are non-judgmental and accepting.

“I love her more than surfing. She’s more important than surfing. You can throw all the money in the world at me, you can guarantee that I’d win every competition… none of it is better than Gabby. I can’t leave her, John. I don’t want to leave her.”

“Then don’t,” he says simply, as if it were really just that simple.

I mean, it really is just that simple to me, and it’s nice to know that John sees it the same way. I’m not sure why it’s so complicated for everyone else that has weighed in with their opinion.

So that’s that.

I’m not taking the deals; I’m not going back on the tour. I’m going to stay here, run Last Call, and be with Gabby. Taking a deep breath and letting it out, I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders and it feels f*cking fantastic.

I search deep within… look for signs of uncertainty, fear, or regret.

I come up empty.

All I feel is excitement about my life with Gabby, back home with my friends and family. I don’t even feel a pang of sorrow for leaving my surfing career behind.

This is absolutely the right thing to do.

Turning to John, I grin. “I’ll call Keith in the morning and give him the bad news. He’s not going to be happy.”

“Bad news about what?” I hear from behind, and see Sasha sauntering up to our table. She takes the seat to my left and looks at me with curiosity.

“I’m not going back on tour,” I tell her, still smiling with mega wattage on the inside.

Sasha’s brows furrow, and her lips flatten out. “You got to be f*cking kidding me. You’re going to give all of that up?”

“Looks like,” I tell her lightly.

“You’re a f*cking idiot. And let me just guess… you’re giving it all up so you can be with your precious Gabby, right? Un-f*cking-believable.”

“What the hell is your problem?” I snarl at Sasha.

At the same time, John says, “This is none of your business, Sasha… stay out of it.”

Her head flips back and forth between us and she chooses to address me instead, her voice venomous. “I’ll tell you what my problem is… I tried to get you to leave the tour for me, and you wouldn’t even consider it. But you’ll do it for her? Gotta tell you, Hunter… it f*cking stings a little.”

I stare at her incredulously. “You mean your opinion on this comes down to jealousy? You want me to leave this all behind and go back on tour, just so you don’t remain the one woman I wouldn’t give it up for? You want to lump Gabby in with you? Well, I’m sorry, Sasha… but Gabby is different from you. My feelings for her are different.”

Sasha reels backward, and she looks like I just slapped her in the face. Instant regret washes over me, because while I’m angry with her, I don’t want to hurt her. I know I’ve done that enough.

“But… but… you’ve not been with her that long. You and I were together for almost two years. Why would you risk your career for such an unknown?”

Reaching across the table, I grab Sasha’s hand. “I’ve known her most of my life, Sash. Far longer than I’ve known you. But that doesn’t have anything to do with it. It’s just a feeling I have… that this is the right thing for me at this moment in my life.”

She stares at me for a moment, disbelief coating her face. Then she pulls her hand away and stands up from the table. “Excuse me… I’m going to go to the ladies’ room.”

As she walks away, I turn my head to John. “That went well.”

“Sorry, dude… that was bound to come out. Sasha’s been carrying some bitter feelings obviously.”

“You know I don’t want to hurt her, right?”

“I know, man,” he says as he stands up. “I’m going to go hover like a big brother and catch her as she comes out… talk to her a bit.”

“Sure,” I say, my thoughts already leaving Sasha and John behind, wondering what Gabby’s up to.

As John walks away, I pull out my phone and dial my girl. She answers on the fourth ring, just as I was about to hang up.

“H-e-e-e-e-y babe,” she drawls.

Oh, yeah… she’s tanked.

“My Gabs is drunk tonight, huh?” I laugh into the phone.

“Just a little… more like really, really buzzed.”

“Having a good time?”

“Would be better if you were here,” she breathes into the phone. “I miss you.”

My heart constricts pleasurably just from the longing in her voice. “I miss you too, baby.”

“So… you were going to talk to me this morning about why Brody came over… but you never did. And now that I have a good buzz going on, I wanted to ask you about it.”