The Enemy - Kelsey Clayton Page 0,86
in the sand next to him.
"All good?"
He pulls one earbud out of his ear and hands it to me, then pulls me into his lap. "I'm better now."
THREE ROUNDS LATER, CADE is in the finals. It's down to him and one other guy. My heart is in my throat as I watch the two of them paddle out. I've been to over a hundred competitions for dance, but this is the most nervous I think I've ever been. Winning this could be huge for him.
The air horn sounds, giving them the alert to start surfing. They each get one wave, and they're scored on how they do. I'd like to say that Cade has this in the bag, but I've been watching the guy he's against this whole competition. Honestly, it could go either way.
They both let the first one pass them by, but the second, the other guy takes. He paddles into the wave while Cade stays back. I watch closely as he stands up and rides it with ease. It's graceful and talented. He spins the board in a trick Bryce told me but I honestly forgot the name of. Dread fills my stomach as I worry about Cade losing.
With one last trick needing to be done, he goes to do a noseride but loses his balance and crashes hard into the water. The entire crowd hisses at the painful-looking way his board flips around. One things for sure, this water is dangerous and not somewhere you should go if you're not an experienced surfer.
It's all down to Cade now, with his competition losing major points for wiping out. He sits on his board, with his hand in the water, waiting for the perfect wave. That's one thing that has always amazed me about him—his ability to read the ocean like the back of his hand. If I didn't think he would be offended, I'd call him Moana.
My nerves build even more as he turns around and starts to paddle into a wave. It's probably one of the biggest all day, and if he wipes out on this, there's a chance he may not get out unscathed. Even the announcer sounds surprised that he's taking the wave at all.
Tessa grabs my hand as we stand next to Bryce and Jayden. Even they look nervous at the whole thing, but there's nothing we can do but trust him.
Cade catches the wave and jumps up on his board, riding it down and keeping his footing. It curls over into the perfect barrel, and he disappears out of sight.
"Barrels are tricky," Bryce murmurs. "There's no guarantee they won’t break before you get out of them."
I squeeze Tessa's hand and wait with anticipation for Cade to appear out the other end. When he finally does, I can't control my screams, and neither can his friends. Everyone on the beach cheers in celebration as he masterfully hits all three of the required tricks—making him the clear champion of the competition.
"And Cade Knight officially takes the win!"
The second he gets to the shore, I run toward him. He drops his board just in time to catch me as I leap into his arms. My legs wrap around his waist, my arms around his neck. The two of us hold each other as everyone else swarms around.
I hear people saying they're from Billabong, Quicksilver, and other huge names, but right now, Cade seems to only have eyes for me. Bryce brings over the trophy and hands it to Cade with the biggest smile on his face. Cade lifts it up into the air and presses his lips to mine.
I've never been so proud.
OKAY, SO LET'S BE real for a minute. Cade is gorgeous even on his worst day. But tonight, after winning the biggest competition of his life and being offered more than five sponsorships in the matter of a few hours, he's genuinely the happiest I've ever seen him. His grin is a mile wide and hasn't seemed to leave his face since the beach.
It only took Bryce and Jayden a matter of minutes to throw together a celebration party, and Colby was even nice enough to let us have it at his house. There's something about no parents that makes it all that much better.
“Bust It Open” by Lil Wil booms through the speakers. I'm standing with Tessa and Savannah when Tess glances behind me and smiles.
"Now that's a sight."
I turn around to find Cade and Bryce, chest to chest and in each