Taking the part meant that Zach wouldn’t be working stunts for Renegades anymore. It also meant he’d be running all the surfing stunts in the series, which would take business away from Renegades. Yet the entire company couldn’t have been pushing any harder for him. These were real friends, and he felt blessed whenever he spent time with them.
“I hope you’re right.”
“Dude,” Marshall said, extending his hand. “Killer moves.”
“Hey, Marshall.” They shook.
“We’ve got to put our heads together.”
Zach nodded. He hoped Marshall had some inside scoop from the studio.
“You took a thrashing out there, bud,” Tucker told him.
“Learned from the best.” That made Tucker laugh, because he and Zach had learned from each other.
Zach dropped his board on the sand. He accepted a bottle of water from one of the production assistants and downed half.
Jax turned toward him and shook his hand. “Just a few more days, and this season will be a wrap.”
“Yep.” Which also meant Zach’s main revenue stream would dry up. He sure hoped this part panned out. Otherwise, he’d be pimping himself out for side jobs between competitions again. The thought made him roll his shoulder. As soon as Jax’s gaze slid that direction, Zach cursed himself.
“Josh is worried about that,” Jax said.
“Josh worries about everything,” Marshall said, coming to Zach’s defense.
“True that,” Lexi said.
“In fact,” Zach said, “you pay him to worry. So it wouldn’t be right if he wasn’t worried, now would it?”
Lexi slid up beside Jax and wrapped her arm around his waist. “He has a point.”
Jax just as easily and naturally wrapped his arm around Lexi’s shoulders, grinning down at her. Something stirred inside Zach. A craving he didn’t understand. Equally puzzling, Tessa came to mind. He hadn’t spoken with her since she’d slipped out of his room the morning before last to sneak back to her condo before her daughter woke, but he had to admit, she rarely left his thoughts. And now he had the strangest longing for something a lot like what Jax and Lexi had. Comfort, companionship, friendship…love?
Fuckin’ A, he must have hit his head underwater. He didn’t know the first thing about love. He sure as shit didn’t know anything about kids. And she lived in fucking DC.
“Zach?”
“Huh? What?”
“We’re still meeting at Lahaina for dinner?”
“Oh, right. Sure.”
Jax grinned and nodded. “See you there.”
While Jax and Lexi started for the parking lot, Zach turned, searching for a towel. He found one of the crew members standing ready with fluffy white terry. He usually had to find his own. Only Ian had crew members fawning over him.
Zach took the towel with a chuckle. “I could get used to this.”
“You might have to.” Marshall wandered to his side and lowered his voice. “This is real, Zach. The studio execs want to sit down once they shore things up with the bean counters. This is your first step toward the Hollywood Walk of Fame.”
Zach laughed. “We’re a hell of a long way from that.”
Excitement bubbled beneath the surface, but he’d learned too often over the years that getting excited about something before it happened was as good as willing your defeat. His best breaks came when he planned, trained, visualized, worked hard, stayed positive, and trusted in the universe.
“Closer than you think,” Marshall insisted. “Your hard work with the stunts this season has paid off. Being a member of the Surfers’ Hall of Fame isn’t hurting your credibility either.”
“Now that,” he admitted with a chuckle, “that was seriously cool.” He tossed the towel over his shoulder. “I’m going to stop by the hotel to clean up before dinner. I’ll see you at the restaurant.”