Brazen Tricks - Ali Dean Page 0,33

down beside me in the sand.

“I have a bonus incentive for you,” he tells me.

“Oh?”

“Yep. If you podium at the X Games, Brazen will get you a car.”

A snort escapes. “Brazen will get me a car? Really, Griff?”

He’s not laughing though. “Really, Jordan.”

“Why? Did Beck put you up to this?” This is too outrageous to be something sponsors do on the regular.

“No, it’s my idea. Most contracts have bonus incentives like this.”

I shoot him a doubtful look.

“Well, usually they’re cash incentives, not cars, but sometimes there are product bonuses.”

My toes dig into the sand, and I try to decide how I feel about this. “But you don’t have to. I’m contracted through the end of the year without bonus incentives.”

“Maybe I want to give you extra motivation to make a statement at the X Games.”

My toes stop wiggling in the sand and I squint at Griff, who isn’t giving anything away with his expression. “Did Beck tell you?”

He blinks. “Tell me what?”

I bite my lip. “What my goal is at the X Games,” I say, not quite ready to voice that I’ve landed a 720.

“No, I don’t think so. What’s your goal?”

I hesitate before answering, “I guess it’s to make a statement, like you said.” Only Beck knows about the 720 and I want to keep it that way. For now.

“Well, it would also be an opportunity for Brazen to partner with another company. We can hash out the details. Your next contract will have a lot more bonus incentives regarding comps, so at some point here you’ll need an agent. I know you can advocate for yourself, but you’re headed to the next level, and an agent will really help.”

The way he says that, like it’s a given I’m “headed to the next level,” it feels good. I know Beck believes in me and of course Griff wouldn’t have taken me on as a Brazen athlete if he didn’t feel that way too. But I find myself swaying between embracing my newfound confidence on the one hand, and on the other, wondering when everyone will realize I really am a nobody, a fraud, not the pro skateboarder they hoped I’d be. It’s a weird space to be in.

I’m fighting for the girl I was last night. A year ago, maybe months or even weeks ago, I might have watched Sarah Kase on that half pipe with awe, drowning in the belief I’d never be so fearless or capable on such a major vert. But instead, I saw glimpses of myself, much like Phoebe and Wyatt voiced, and realized I am a worthy competitor. It’s a terrifying thought, but I’m getting better at taking on the scary stuff.

The rest of our roommates – both from the Summerside condo and the Jay Beach house – join us at the beach and I can’t stop smiling. It’s the best having all my favorite people together like this hanging out. Naomi and Summer even get a pass on family Sunday dinner to be with us. Everyone gives me shit about the bruises now yellowing and the scrapes I can’t hide in a bathing suit, but no one takes a guess what it’s from. They figure it’s just typical me, getting overly tenacious on my skateboard, or what did Phoebe say? Tunnel vision. They aren’t wrong about that.

I’m standing in the water beside Moses and Lennon when I notice them sharing a funny look.

When Moses catches me looking at them curiously, he says, “We have a confession.”

“You have a confession?”

“Yep. We saw it. The 720.”

My eyebrows snap together. I open my mouth to ask how, since I’d thought we were alone, but Lennon answers my question. “We came out on the back porch and were about to turn around to let you guys have the park to yourself, but you took off. And we couldn’t stop watching.”

“I almost started cheering but Lennon dragged me inside, told me you probably wanted it to be private with Beck.” He points a soft smile in her direction. “She’s smart like that.”

I think about how Beck embraced me immediately afterward and how I wanted to jump him right then and there. We managed to wait until the jet ski adventure later…

“I’m sorry,” Lennon apologizes. “When you didn’t say anything to anyone at the house and it didn’t show up on social media, we realized it really was private. Like a secret? I mean, I could never keep something so big a secret, but I guess in this case