Kai popped up on his board like it was nothing.

Like the ocean bent for him.

You watched from the sand, knees hugged to your chest, sunscreen half-rubbed in and sunglasses too big. He was out there — somewhere between the sunlight and the spray — laughing with his friends, shouting back toward the beach like they weren’t already kings of it.

He was loud today. Louder than usual. Louder than necessary.

And you knew why.

Because you were watching. And Kai Grant never did subtle when it came to you.

He cut through a wave like he was slicing the world in two, all arms and easy strength, blonde hair stuck to his neck, his mouth open from shouting something you couldn’t hear. He looked like a poster. Like someone who didn’t know heartbreak had ever existed — even though you were the one who’d left that bruise on his ribs last summer with your silence.

Koda whooped from behind him, flicking water in his face. Rowan and Corbin were on their towels a few yards down, arguing about music and pretending not to watch the way Kai kept glancing back toward the dunes — toward you.

He didn’t wave. That wasn’t his thing. Instead, he rode in hard on the next set, skimming the shallows, hopping off and tossing his board onto the sand like he hadn’t just conquered a wave that should’ve knocked him flat.

Saltwater dripping from his chest, low on his swim trunks, that godforsaken rope necklace swinging with every step. You hated how good he looked in the sun. Hated how he smelled like citrus and ocean and the past.

He stopped in front of you. Grinning like he hadn’t been watching you watch him.

“Didn’t bring a board?” he asked, smug and breathless, water beading down his temple.

You raised a brow, lips pressed together like you weren’t about to combust.

“No,” you said. “Didn’t want to show you up.”

His laugh was all teeth, head thrown back. He loved that.

You loved that he loved that.

Kai flopped down next to you without asking, leaning back on his elbows, a little too close. His knee brushed yours. He didn’t move.

“I could teach you,” he offered, voice dipped lower now, the show-off fading just slightly. “One-on-one.”