Beck’s smile is embarrassed. “Actually, yeah they did. A few years ago, but I turned it down. And again last week, but I turned that down too.”

  “Hmm… well, I wouldn’t mind a life-size standee of you in underwear, but only if it’s in my bedroom, for my eyes only.”

  The image of Beck modeling underwear just for me is overshadowed by a new thought. My bedroom. I can’t imagine I’ll ever feel safe in there again after Fliss opened the closet door with a gun in hand. Sure, she’s behind bars now, but my mind isn’t always rational about these things.

  “What is it?” Beck asks.

  “Nothing. I still don’t want to talk about Fliss and it’s about that. So, yes, I can definitely work with other sponsors according to Griff. But he says I need an agent because it’s a conflict of interest if he’s advising me, even though we’re friends.”

  “Good, have you reached out to any of the ones I recommended?”

  “Not yet. But he also recommended that same lady you thought would be good.”

  “Scarlett?”

  “Yeah, her.”

  “That’s Brie’s agent and she speaks highly of her.”

  It’s good to talk business and I’m excited to find someone new I can consult about this kind of stuff. Someone who isn’t my boyfriend or friend, that is. I’m lucky to have so many people who understand the world I’m in and can give advice, but it will be good to also have that outside perspective as I navigate all this stuff.

  When I see my parents at the airport, and Mom starts crying before she’s even got me in her arms, I’m right back to reliving the events of last night. It’s the first time I’ve let myself cry since it happened. They aren’t big sobbing tears, but a few streak down my cheeks as I hug my parents.

  “Our brave strong girl,” Mom gushes.

  Dad takes my arms and inspects me up and down much like Beck did when he first found me last night. “You look exhausted, sweetheart. We won’t make you talk about it tonight. Let’s get to bed, get a good night’s sleep, and we’ll talk tomorrow.”

  I might lean on Beck and my friends now more than I do my parents, but they still know me as well as anyone. It’s exactly what I need.

  “I have classes tomorrow. And even though I normally whine and complain about going, I kind of want some normalcy,” I admit.

  “Fine, I won’t force you to play hooky,” Dad says, patting me on the shoulder. “We’ll take a tour around campus and town while you’re in class.”

  “It’s so nice to have you here,” I admit. “I’m glad you didn’t let me talk you out of coming.”

  Mom smiles as she lets Beck take her suitcase. “Oh, we’ve been waiting for a good excuse to come visit. This isn’t exactly what we had in mind, but we’re happy you’ll have a chance to show us around. We know how much you love it.”

  Mom’s still weepy and I get the sense it’s not only about her daughter being held at gunpoint. It’s that I’m growing up, and all signs are showing that I’ve fallen in love with a location on the opposite side of the country from her. The location, the people, the guy. I give her another squeeze as we walk out of the terminal. This is my home now, and even getting my life threatened by my boyfriend’s best friend’s stalker doesn’t change that.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Beck

  It should be weird having my girlfriend’s parents staying at the Jay Beach house, but it’s surprisingly kind of nice. They’re a huge part of the woman she is today, and it’s important to me to get to know them better. I want them to know me too, because I intend to be a permanent fixture in Jordan’s life. Jordan insists on going to classes all week, and I take some time off work to show her parents around Jay Beach and Summerside.

  It’s Saturday afternoon and they’ve got a flight home tomorrow. The last five days with them have been good for Jordan I think, gave her some comfort when I know she’s rattled by Sunday night’s events. But I also know she’s eager for some solid hours shredding the skatepark. And I know I’m eager for some alone time with her.

  I’m flipping burgers on the grill while Jordan and her mom are swimming in the pool. Dinner will be ready soon but I don’t want to interrupt their time together.

  “How’d you learn to cook so well?” Jordan’s dad, Ted, joins me on the deck after changing from swimming earlier.

  “My mom. But this is a pretty simple meal, so nothing too exciting tonight.”

  “I’ve been impressed every night, even with your so-called simple meals.”

  “Thanks.” I’ll take compliments from Jordan’s dad. He was quicker to approve of me than I expected back in April when I came out to visit Jordan in Connecticut. I couldn’t be sure how deep that approval ran. After spending this week together, I get the sense Ted isn’t just giving a momentary nod of acceptance to our relationship, but genuinely likes me too.

  “I’ll be honest, Ted.” I turn to him, wanting to let him know how much I appreciate his willingness to welcome me into his daughter’s life so openly. “After being on reality television and not being portrayed so favorably, and then the recent stalker incident that put Jordan in danger, I was bracing myself for you and Colleen to disapprove of me.” Well, not being portrayed favorably from a father-of-the-girlfriend perspective that is, the rest of the viewers seemed to like me just fine.

  Ted eyes me. “Well, we didn’t watch the reality show, but we knew you only agreed to do it in order to get visibility for Brazen. We’ve met Griffin now, and he’s a good guy. Brazen is Jordan’s sponsor. I’m not a real fan of reality TV so I didn’t watch it, and I don’t think Colleen did either.” He waves his hand in a dismissive gesture. “I don’t care too much about how they portrayed you so long as it doesn’t damage your or Jordan’s reputations too much. I’ve met you, I’ve spent time with you. That’s more important.”

  “I really appreciate that,” I tell him, trying to convey my words are earnest, not trite. Jordan is their only daughter and in a way, depending on how you look at my small level of fame, I’ve got some baggage.

  “As for the stalker, well, that’s frightening. I can’t say I’m real happy about it. But Jordan’s getting known better in her own right. From what I understand, something like this could have happened because of her connection to Brazen and Griffin whether or not you were in the picture. I’d be lying if I said your fame doesn’t unsettle me a bit, but your other qualities override it enough for me to give my blessing.”

  “Your blessing?”

  “Yes.” He nods. “I didn’t watch Shred Live but we did watch the Eileen Delarosa Show. It might be premature, and you haven’t asked directly yet, but while we’re talking in person I should let you know, you have my blessing.”

  I try not to choke out my words, needing clarification. “To ask Jordan to marry me?”

  He side-eyes me. “What? You weren’t just saying it for shock value, were you?”

  “No.” I shake my head vigorously. “I meant it. But she’s only nineteen.”

  “Well, whenever you both think the time is right. You two are great together, and I don’t see that changing.”

  I’m too shocked and awed and happy to respond. Plus, Jordan’s getting out of the pool and seeing her dripping wet in a bikini while her dad is standing next to me is not the easiest position to be in.

  “Thank you,” I manage to tell him before turning back to the grill to flip the burgers and distract myself from the image of my super-hot hopefully-future-wife.

  My mind spins with possibilities, but I manage to calm myself down, knowing the word he used, “premature,” is accurate. It’s not time yet. But it will be. Someday.

  Jordan comes up behind me and snakes her arms around my waist. “Mmmm, that smells so good. I’m starving.”

  “Almost ready. If you want to change, better hurry.”

  “I’m okay eating in my suit. What can I do to help?”

  “Oh, now you ask?” I tease, turning to give her a kiss on the forehead. “Can you grab condiments and the pasta salad from the fridge?”

  It’s just the four of us tonight at the house. Everyone else is at Coby’s place for a party. The invitation was extended to Jordan’s parents, but we opted for a low-key night. Between classes for Jordan, work for me, tourist-mode for Colleen and Ted, all on top of the follow-up about the Fliss situation, it’s been an exhausting week. Which reminds me of one more thing on Jordan’s plate.

  “Hey, how’d your meeting with Scarlett go yesterday?” I ask as we load our plates at the table.

  “Really good actually. You and Griff were right about her. Or Brie was, whoever recommended her. She’s easy to talk to and knows her stuff, from what I can tell.”

  “Good, you need someone on your team who isn’t your boyfriend or friend. We’re here for you, but it’s always good to have an unbiased professional opinion to weigh in too. Not that anyone’s totally unbiased, but if you trust her, that’s what matters.”

  “If Brie’s been working with her for years, and I had good vibes when we met, I think she’s trustworthy.”

  “Are you guys talking about the agent Jordan met with yesterday?” Colleen asks.

  “Yep. I’m going to have my own agent,” she tells her parents with pride. “I’m a real pro now.”

  “And it sounds like you have lots of people to help you navigate this,” Colleen says. “Which is good, because Ted and I don’t have much wisdom to share in the way of pro skateboarding careers.”

  “You mentioned you needed an agent after your big 720 because you’ve had a lot of sponsors reach out.” Ted dumps a serving of potato wedges on his plate. “What kind of sponsors?”

  Jordan tells them about some of the companies who’ve shown an interest, and Ted asks if they pay her in addition to providing her with the product.

  “Of course, Dad. Well, not of course,” she remedies. “A lot of pros don’t get paid with money, just the product. Or they don’t get paid much. But I think seeing real money supporting the offers is helping me get through this week. It’s not like I set out motivated to make money, but I’m realizing this is really happening. It’s legitimate. I can earn a living, way more than I made at The Swirl, simply doing what I love. It’s kind of mind-blowing.”

  Colleen asks what kind of numbers she’s talking about and when her daughter tells her, Colleen’s jaw drops and Ted nearly chokes on his burger. We’re not talking six or seven figures – yet – but I think they were under a different impression about what kind of money was possible. They recover, and joke about how much they made on their side jobs in college thirty years ago.

  “That’s really something, Jo Jo.” Ted doesn’t hide his amazement.

  Jordan darts a glance my way. “It will be time to renegotiate with Brazen soon, and Scarlett has some pretty crazy ideas about what I should be asking for. When I expressed that I felt loyal to Brazen for taking me on before they knew anything about me, she had an interesting take.”

  “Oh yeah?” Maybe Scarlett will be the one to get Jordan to see things clearly on this.

  “Yeah, she said I shouldn’t feel like I owe Griff anything, because he really wasn’t doing me any favors. If he’d waited until later to offer me sponsorship, I would’ve been more expensive. Maybe he took a risk, and maybe he felt more comfortable taking the risk because he knew me, but it was good business sense at the end of the day.” She looks at me suspiciously. “I’m still not sure I buy it, I still feel like I owe Griff something because I needed that push and he gave it to me, but I get her point.”

  “The point is, you went from an unknown to one of the most inspiring, interesting, talented women on the pro circuit, in less than a year. Brazen’s lucky to have you. It would be ridiculous if you didn’t negotiate for a better contract.”

  Jordan holds my gaze, like she’s still uncertain whether I’m just being her devoted boyfriend or if there’s any truth to what I’m saying. Her agent must have voiced a similar opinion, because she turns to her parents and puts down the burger in her hands.

  Jordan straightens in her seat, and I’m totally caught off guard with what she says next.

  “So, with all these new sponsorships and an upcoming contract renegotiation with Brazen, I’m going to make a real living,” she explains to her parents, though I think they’ve just figured this out for themselves over the past few minutes.

  “That’s incredible, honey,” Colleen says.

  “But as part of the negotiations with Brazen, I’m going to need to commit to a lot more competitions and events, all over the world.”

  “How exciting!” Colleen claps her hands. “I hope we can travel to come see you at some of them.”

  “Well, the thing is, I’m considering taking some time off college in order to make this work, in order to go all in with pro skateboarding.” Jordan’s talking quickly without pausing, and I realize she’s nervous, not sure how her parents will react. I had no idea she was seriously considering this. “Or I could take some classes part time. But I wouldn’t be on campus a ton and it would be tricky.”

  Ted shrugs. “That makes sense to me. You kids these days don’t do things like we used to. And what’s happening with your skateboarding is really something special.”

  Jordan’s own jaw drops at this. “Seriously? You’re not going to try to talk me out of it?”

  Ted shakes his head. “These kinds of opportunities don’t come around every day. I’m not going to be that old guy who’s too narrow-minded to see his daughter’s already a star and doesn’t need to take the safer more secure route to adulthood like the rest of us.”

  Colleen’s smile gets bigger as her husband explains himself, while Jordan’s jaw remains halfway to the ground.

  Colleen reaches over to stroke her daughter’s hair. “We’ve never seen you happier than you’ve been these past couple of months since you’ve started competing again. And now that we’ve seen you in person, we can confirm it. All after being held at gunpoint too. So we’re pretty convinced you’re onto something with this skateboarding stuff.”

  Jordan finally snaps out of it and smiles at her mom. “Yeah, this skateboarding stuff seems to be working out, doesn’t it?” She tries to go for light, but her voice is thick with emotion. Jordan’s eyes are a little glassy and I reach over to give her leg a squeeze.

  She’s finally figured out what she wants, and that means she’s finally believing she’s got more than just skateboarding talent. She’s ready to share that talent with the public, go after new challenges, and explore the world while doing it. I think it’s finally dawning on her too that she’s not the only one with faith that she’s cut out for this. Even her parents, the people most likely to want to protect her and push her in the safest direction to succeed in life, have faith she’s going to be a star. From my seat, she already is one.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Jordan

  I can’t believe I’m really at the X Games. When we first got to the arena, I thought I’d be in spectator mode and forget I’m a competing athlete. After all, I’ve never been to a sporting event of this proportion and it’s a lot to take in. But as we register, shake hands with event organizers and staff, and check out the expo, I feel like the pro I’ve apparently become. I’m sure it helps I’m with Beck, Taylor, Brie, Moses, and Lennon. This isn’t their first rodeo, yet I can tell they’re just as enthralled as I am with the anticipation of competing. This is close to as big as it gets for skateboarding. The X Games also hosts the world championships, but this contest is their biggest one behind that. Next summer will be the first time skateboarding is in the Olympics, and since that’s still kind of an unknown, the X Games remains the largest platform.

  When we reach the part of the arena for the big air contest, Beck wraps his arms around me and rests his chin on my head. We take it in, and while I’ve looked at pictures online, it’s not the same as seeing it in person.

  “You going to try the 720 tonight?”

  “Tonight? At the practice session?” They open it up for all the competitors for a couple hours this evening and tomorrow.

  “Yeah. You’ve been practicing at all the parks around home and it’s solid. But thought you’d want the chance to try it here before the judges are watching.”

  “I wasn’t planning on it. Last time I landed it in a competition without practicing on the course first, so I don’t want to jinx it.”

  “Ah, superstitious, are we?”

  I turn and put my arms around his neck. “Not exactly, but you know how I feel about added pressure.”

  “You know everyone’s already expecting you to do it, right?” Beck asks.

  “I know, but somehow it seems like if they all see me practicing it beforehand, and if I fall, which I might, that expectation is heightened.”

  “Whatever you decide, Hotshot. And you’ve got plenty of tricks to work with if you decide not to go for a 720 after all.”

  I tilt my head up for a quick kiss. “Does it get easier? Handling the expectations and pressure?”

  “Yes and no. The expectations only get higher the more you meet or exceed them. Once I won the X Games and the world championships there was the pressure to do it again. But after time, you just realize you can only do your best, have fun out there, enjoy it, and see what happens. Some runs, some days, it all comes together, and some days it doesn’t.”

  I nod. “Yeah, that’s true whether there are judges and spectators or not. It was the same when I’d spend hours in the park by myself.”

  “Right, and not every day, or every competition, can be exactly what you hope for. So just enjoy the challenge, you know?”

  “I’m getting that.” I glance around, making sure no one’s close enough to overhear my confession. There are a few people watching us from afar, but that’s it. “When I first came back to competing, a big drive to perform well was to beat Sarah and Camila. I just needed to stick it to them after how they hit on you on Shred Live and generally not being nice to me.”

  “And now you’re friends with Camila?” Beck says with a smirk, knowing that’s definitely not the case.