Once Upon A Surf

Chapter Twenty-Three

The party could be heard from down the street.

I glanced at my phone anxiously, part of me wishing Donna would call and say she'd changed her mind, that I needed to work the Shack, that I absolutely could not attend Mitch Shepherd's party. Of course, the one time I had wanted her to say no she'd said yes, probably because of the publicity that would be there. Ever since I had won the finals, Donna wanted more and more publicity, sponsorships, the whole deal. And it hadn't helped that Drew had mentioned how great this party would be for that.

I just wanted to surf.

I took a deep breath, walking up the steps to the door. I raised my hand to knock but before I could the door swung open, revealing an incredibly cute boy wearing salmon colored shorts and a tight-fitting light blue dress shirt rolled up at the sleeves.

"Wow, you dress up nice."

Drew's face erupted into a grin and he caught my hand, pulling me through the door. "So the stepmonster really let you out for the night?"

I smiled, the feeling of his hand in mine making my stomach flutter. "Don't act so shocked."

"You look nervous." Drew said as he wrapped one arm around my waist, pulling me close to him.

"You know how much I like parties." I grumbled as we walked inside. I felt suddenly self-conscious in my blue flower-print shorts and white crop-top, a flowy off-white cardigan over top. There was music blaring loudly and I shook my head. "Ugh."

"You'll be fine. Want something to drink?" Drew reached over and snagged a diet Coke off the refreshments table.

"Thanks." I said, popping the can open and taking a sip. "So where's your dad?"

"Probably basking in the light from his glory days," Drew shrugged, gesturing towards the massive crowd of the party. "He's supposed to give a speech later or something. I think he's playing the video footage of a couple of his biggest wins, too."

My eyes widened slightly. "Like, real footage?"

"Yes," The corner of Drew's mouth turned up in a smile. "Are you actually excited?"

I tried to hide the smile on my face. "No."

"You're a horrible liar."

"I'm not lying," I said, taking another drink of my soda. "So what are we supposed to do until then?"

"Oh, I had a few ideas," Drew paused, leaning down to give me a quick peck on the cheek. "But I'm supposed to be socializing. And so are you."

"Excuse me?" I scoffed. "This isn't even my party."

"Don't think I don't know the real reason Donna let you come," Drew said with a pointed glance. "You can get some amazing scholarship opportunities here. My dad knows all the right people."

"In case you've forgotten, your dad isn't exactly fond of me."

"Then let's change that," Drew raised an eyebrow, lacing his hand through mine and pulling me through the crowd. I opened my mouth to protest but before I could say anything we had escaped the crowd and were standing in front of Drew's dad.

His cool blue eyes, so different than Drew's, looked over me with distaste. "Hello, Lindsey."

"Um, hi, Mr. Shepherd."

"Call me Mitch," he smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Thank you for coming this evening."

"Thanks for the invite," I said lamely, before swallowing. "I'm really excited to see your footage later."