Chapter 10
After Lauren and Shannon had returned to the stake out spot, Tobin had called Alex and told her about Ashlyn’s party. Now the two of them were walking into Ashlyn’s house, which was right on the beach in Santa Monica. About a hundred people were milling around, drinking and dancing to rock music. Tobin spotted Ashlyn over in the kitchen. She had a shot of Tequila in one hand, and she was facing a beautiful brunette with big brown eyes, who was smiling and holding a small wedge of lime in her teeth. As Tobin and Alex walked over, Ashlyn took the shot and then grabbed the lime with her own teeth from the brunette, and as she did, she gave the brunette a lingering kiss.
“Hey Ashlyn”, Tobin said as she and Alex walked up.
“Hey Tobin, glad you could make it”, Ashlyn said. She nodded at Alex and then motioned to the girl she had just kissed. “This is Ali”, she said by way of introduction.
“Hi Ali”, Tobin said. Ali smiled at Tobin but didn’t say anything. Then her smile faded a bit as she appraised Alex.
“I taught Ashlyn that trick”, Alex said with a smug expression on her face to Ali.
“I perfected it”, Ali said back.
Alex rolled her eyes and started to walk away. Tobin looked at Ashlyn as if to apologize, but Ashlyn smirked and said, “She’s a wild one, Tobin. Watch out for her.” Tobin smiled slightly and followed Alex out back to the beach.
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“You okay?” Tobin asked Alex as they headed down the beach towards the water.
“Yeah, I’m fine”, Alex said. “I just don’t need to see that…my ex kissing some other girl.”
“I understand. Look, I’m sorry I asked you to come here with me tonight. We can go”, Tobin said.
“No, it’s okay. I mean, I’m cool to stay for a bit, and I can tell that you seem to be hitting it off with Ashlyn and her friends”, Alex said.
“Yeah”, Tobin said. “Well, thanks for staying for a bit. I owe you”, she said with a smile. Alex smiled back, and then Tobin leaned in and planted a sweet, appreciative kiss onto Alex’s lips. Alex returned the kiss, and Tobin felt her mouth start to open. Tobin’s tongue pushed its way into Alex’s mouth, and she was about to go in deeper when she heard Ashlyn call out, “Hey Tobin, Alex – we’ve got a bonfire going, get over here!” Tobin broke the kiss and looked at Alex, who looked back at Tobin, and then they both smiled at the interruption and started laughing at the bad timing. Then they walked up hand in hand to the bonfire. Ashlyn, Ali, Amy, Morgan and Whitney were already gathered around, talking about surfing big waves.
“And I’m dropping twenty-five feet straight down into the pit, and it’s like, holy shiiiiiiiit”, Morgan said, mimicking a surfing motion.
“Big wave riding is for idiots”, Alex said as she nuzzled into Tobin.
“No it’s not”, Ashlyn countered. “It’s the ultimate in commitment.”
“Yeah, I mean, when you’re out there, you can’t just call a ‘time out’ and stroll on in if you don’t like the way things are going”, Amy said, taking a swig of her beer.
“It’s stupid”, Alex said. “You could die out there surfing big waves.”
“But it’s the ultimate rush of adrenaline, and if you want the ultimate, you have to be willing to pay the ultimate price”, Ashlyn said. Whitney, Morgan and Amy all nodded their heads in agreement. Ali looked at Ashlyn in approval and stroked her hair, and Alex rolled her eyes.
“So, what’s the biggest wave ever ridden?” Tobin asked.
“Waimea, Hawaii”, Morgan said.
“Mavericks, northern Cali”, Whitney said.
“Bell’s Beach, Australia”, Ashlyn said.
“No way Bell’s is bigger than Waimea, dude”, Morgan said, shaking her head.
“It will be next year”, Ashlyn said. “The Fifty Year Storm is coming.”
“What’s that?” Tobin asked.
“It’s an urban legend”, Morgan said, rolling her eyes.
“No, it’s real”, Ashlyn said, addressing the group, then set her eyes on Tobin. “See, everything moves in cycles”, she said, and then turned her attention back towards the group. “Twice a century, once every fifty years, the earth sends us a message to let us know how small we really are. Large storms will generate in Antarctica next year and then travel north two thousand miles, and when they hit Australia, they will turn into the biggest surf this planet will ever see, and I will be there.”
“Hell yeah, so will I”, Whitney said, and Morgan and Amy whooped.
“Oh boy”, Alex said. “Too much bullshit here.” She gave Tobin a quick kiss on the cheek and then pulled away and started walking towards the garage. Tobin watched her walk away for a few seconds, then looked at Ashlyn, who raised her eyebrows and shrugged her shoulders, and then Tobin started after Alex. She caught up to Alex in the garage. There were a bunch of surfboards on racks and photos lining the walls. Alex looked over at Tobin as Tobin walked in and then turned back to the photos. “They’re just a bunch of adrenaline junkies”, Alex said with a sigh. Tobin looked at the photos of Ashlyn, Whitney, Morgan and Amy surfing, skydiving, riding motorcycles, and engaging in other extreme sports and activities. She bumped her shoulder lightly against Alex’s, and Alex turned to her and smiled for a moment, and then said, “You’re not buying into Ashlyn’s bullshit like the rest of her crew, are you?”
“What do you mean?” Tobin asked, confused.
“Ashlyn – she’s like this guru leader person to these girls. They all follow her like she’s some kind of spiritual guide, or something.”, Alex said. She paused for a moment and then continued. “I watch your face, Tobin. You’ve got this gung-ho, kamikaze look, just like the rest of the girls, and you respond to Ashlyn when she talks to you. I can tell”, Alex said.
“Wait, Alex, what are you saying?” Tobin turned to face Alex. “Are you jealous of my friendship with Ashlyn, or something?”
“No, I’m not jealous”, Alex said. “I’m just saying that, well…she’ll take you to the edge. And beyond. And I don’t want to lose you to some stupid adrenaline sport accident, or something”, Alex said. She looked at Tobin with big eyes, and Tobin took Alex into her arms.
“Look, Alex, you’re not going to lose me. I’ll always be with y-“, Tobin was about to say “you” when a chorus of hooting and hollering interrupted her. She and Alex looked up to see Ashlyn, Whitney, Morgan and Amy running into the garage and grabbing surfboards and wetsuits.
“What’s going on?” Tobin asked.
“A little night surfing action”, Ashlyn said as she grabbed a board. “You up for it?” she asked with a challenging smile. Tobin looked at Alex, who shrugged her shoulders, and then Tobin looked at Ashlyn and nodded her head. “There we go!” Ashlyn said enthusiastically. She handed Tobin a surfboard and a wetsuit and then handed a board and a wetsuit to Alex as well. Then the group headed down to the beach behind the house. They suited up in the darkness and then charged into the water. The waves were head high, long rides to the right.
“I’m gonna die out here”, Tobin said as she paddled out.
“No you won’t. You’ll be fine”, Ashlyn said.
“Ha! I can barely surf in daylight when I can actually see”, Tobin said, as she looked towards the sky. It was a new moon, and the sky was dark except for the soft glow of the city lights behind them and a few stars in the sky.
“You don’t need to see”, Ashlyn said.
“Right”, Tobin said, sarcastically. “Vision is highly overrated.”
“Look – all you have to do is feel what the wave is doing, then accept its energy, get in sync, and go with it”, Ashlyn said.
“Great, sounds simple”, Tobin said sarcastically again. She and Ashlyn reached the takeoff spot and spun their boards towards shore.
“Alright, Tobin. I see a set coming. First wave has your name on it. Ready?” Ashlyn yelled over the roar of the water.
“Ready!” Tobin yelled back.
“Okay, go! Start paddling!” Tobin started to paddle. She felt the wave take her and she mentally tried to relax. She popped up on the board and, to her amazement, she remained standing, in the darkness, on a head high wave. She whooped with elation as she followed the wave’s path, staying in front of the white water. She looked behind her, and to her surprise, she saw Ashlyn right on her tail. Ashlyn gave her a thumbs up, and then put out her fist. Tobin fist bumped her, and then she lost her balance and fell off of her board. Ashlyn maneuvered around her and then jumped off her own board. “Way to go, Tobin!”, she said. “See what I mean? You don’t need to see. You just need to get in sync with the waves.”
“Wow”, Tobin said. “Yeah, I think I do see what you mean”, she breathed out as she collected her board. Did I just find myself and lose myself at the same time? She started thinking about that when she heard Alex yelling for her.
“Alright Tobs!” Alex yelled. Tobin couldn’t see Alex’s face in the distant darkness but she could tell from her voice that she was smiling. She also registered that Alex had called her by a nickname and not Tobin. She paddled over to Alex and gave her a kiss.
“Thanks, Lex”, Tobin said, returning a nickname to Alex. Alex smiled in the darkness and returned the kiss, then said, “Okay, my turn to catch a wave!”
The women spent the next hour in the water, then Whitney, Morgan and Amy headed for shore. Ashlyn caught a few more waves and then headed in.
“Do you want to head in?” Alex asked as she paddled up next to Tobin.
“No, I think I’m going to sit out here for a minute”, Tobin said, looking around.
Alex looked at Tobin for a moment and then laughed lightly. “Look at you”, she said.
“What?” Tobin asked.
“Well, normally you have this intense look on your face, like you’re on a mission or something, but right now…you almost look, I don’t know…relaxed…happy.”
Tobin looked back at her. I do feel relaxed and happy right now. I’m actually enjoying learning to surf, she thought. I’m enjoying making friends with these people. And I’m especially enjoying getting to know Alex Morgan. I know I started this whole thing as a job, but something’s happening, and now I feel…I don’t know what I feel, she thought. Tobin looked over at Alex, who was right next to her, laying on her board. She leaned over her own board so her face was right next to Alex’s, and then she planted a gentle kiss on Alex’s lips. Alex returned the kiss, and the two women lost themselves in a gentle liplock for a moment, until a rogue wave splashed them both in the face and brought them back to the present. Alex laughed lightly at the interruption, and Tobin shook her head and smiled.
“So, um…I guess we should head in?” Tobin said, in a statement that sounded like a question.
“Yeah, I guess so…” Alex said. Then she leaned in a kissed Tobin once more. “We can continue this on land…and then some”, she said with a coy smile. Then she splashed Tobin lightly with water and giggled playfully, turned around and started paddling towards shore. Tobin smiled and followed her in, a large grin on her face.