Below the Barrel (Saltwater Springs #2)

4. Koa | Victoria, Australia

FOUR

KOA | VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA

Our driver stops the car next to twelve identical SUVs parked on an expansive hill in the middle of nowhere. I glance at Maliah who sits beside me, and I notice the worry etched along her features as she stares at the large hot air balloons in the distance. She’s never liked heights, but she’s also never had to face her fear out in the open like this, in front of people she doesn’t know and a camera crew, to top it off.

I open my mouth to share some comforting words, but she’s out of the car before I can get a single word in. That’s how she was this morning during our virtual training session with Gabriel. She only spoke to me when she needed a spotter, and even then, she avoided eye contact at all costs.

With a deep sigh, I open my door and climb out of the vehicle, not surprised to find a camera shoved in my face within seconds.

Not this shit again.

I raise a brow at the cameraman, a short blond guy. He backs away and glances over his lens at me, his face flushed.

“Sorry. First day on the job,” he says with a shaky voice. “My name is Matt.”

I ignore him as I glance over his head to see Maliah with her back to us, as she stares at the balloons in the distance timidly.

“Oh, right,” Matt says as he digs in his bag. “I was told you two need to wear these.”

He pulls out mini-Bluetooth microphones that are meant to clip onto our tops. Maliah slowly walks over and takes hers from him, clipping it onto her bubble-gum pink shirt. Matt does a sound check of her mic before giving her the thumbs up and turning towards me. He holds out the mic as I stare down at it.

I hate the idea of being watched and listened to at any moment. I’ve seen the narratives that reality TV pushes about people, and I don’t like the idea of that happening to me, or worse, to Maliah.

“Please,” Matt says, moving the mic closer to me. “I really can’t afford to get fired.”

With a glare that causes him to shrink away, I take the mic and clip it onto my black T-shirt. I let him do his sound check and then set off toward the hot air balloons where the other surfers and production crews are gathered, Maliah following quietly behind me.

“Look who finally decided to show up,” Charles calls out with a sneer as he stares at me.

I watch as he realizes Maliah is behind me and his whole demeanour changes. His sneer melts from his lips, replaced with soft vulnerability. His eyes, narrowed at me only seconds ago, now hold a warmth instead as he studies her. I recognize that look—it’s the same way I look at her when she walks into a room.

Jealousy twists in my chest like a knife, quickly replaced by fear. He’s seeing her the same way I always have. What if she sees something in him, too? The thought makes me feel sick and helpless.

“Bonjour, Maliah,” he purrs.

I glance over my shoulder to see with my own eyes how she reacts, expecting her to ditch me for him the way she did at our welcome dinner the other night. Instead, she surprises me by giving him a small smile that doesn’t reach her eyes before walking up to stand next to me, her shoulder brushing against my arm.

Charles stares at our touching arms before glancing up at me with narrowed eyes filled with venom. I can’t hold back my smirk as he meets my gaze, winking before I turn my attention toward the hot air balloon instructor.

“Okay, now that we’re all here, eyes to the front please,” an elderly gentleman says, clapping his hands together to attract everyone’s attention.

For the next twenty minutes he goes over safety and operational instructions for the balloons. I cling onto every word because there’s no way I’ll be putting Maliah’s safety, or mine, into anyone else’s hands. I know that a pilot’s license is required for this, but somehow SurfFlix was able to bypass that requirement for this activity. I glance at her from the corner of my eye when the instructor pauses to take a sip of water. She’s staring down at her intertwined fingers, twiddling her thumbs distractedly.

I hate that she’s forced to do this event despite her discomfort just because SurfFlix needs content for this ridiculous show, and because she’ll be kicked out of the whole tour if she doesn’t do as they say.

“Alright, it looks like everyone is in groups of four except for your team,” the instructor says as he limps over to me, Maliah, and Matt.

I nod. “Our coach has a personal emergency to attend to,” I share, curtly.

He nods in understanding before handing me a walkie talkie and pointing to the last available balloon on the field.

“That one is yours.”

I thank him before walking towards it, Maliah sticking close by my side as Matt follows us.

“Why do we have to do this?” Maliah whispers, as if her mic won’t hear her if she keeps her voice low.

“Apparently, it’s part of the new team building activities of the tour,” I say before glancing behind us to the camera. “Though I’m sure it’s more for entertaining television.”

“I don’t think you’re supposed to say stuff like that when we have the mics on,” she chastises.

I snort. “Was I supposed to whisper it instead?” Her cheeks flush. “Besides, I’ll say whatever I want to. I’m sure their editors will cut it all out of the final versions anyway.”

Matt jogs ahead of us, jumping into the hot air balloon basket and turning to face us for a better camera angle. I wish I could just float him and his ridiculous camera away from us, I’m sick of it all.

I help Maliah get in before following behind and locking the basket door behind us. She rushes to one side of the basket while Matt positions himself on the opposite side with his camera focused on her.

“Everybody ready?” the instructor’s voice comes through the walkie talkie.

“Yes sir,” I reply.

“Alright, you’re clear to depart.”

I ignite the burner in the centre of the balloon, waiting as the warm air begins to lift us off the ground. I crank the heat higher so that we reach the same height as the other team, then lower the heat to stabilize us at that height, before I glance at Maliah.

She has a vice grip on the basket railing, eyes squeezed shut and a slight tremble racking her body.

Go comfort her.

Absolutely not. I shake my head to get the words out of my mind. If we were on better terms, then maybe, but if I try to do that now, she might just push me off this balloon. Plus, comforting her in front of the camera will just give them a fake storyline to run with that could cause more damage for her reputation than good.

“Crap,” Matt says, lowering his camera with furrowed brows.

“Everything okay over there?” I ask.

“Yeah, just a weird camera glitch. I’ll need a few minutes to fix it.”

I watch as he slides to the floor and begins playing around with his camera, tongue jutted out of his mouth as he concentrates on whatever it is he’s doing.

Now’s your chance.

I glance at Maliah and before I can change my mind, I walk over to her and bump her shoulder with mine.

“How are you hangin’ in there?”

“Shut up,” she says through clenched teeth, eyes still squeezed shut.

I take a deep breath and try again. “It’s probably scarier than it has to be because you’re closing your eyes.”

“Shut. Up.”

“You probably think we’re minutes away from space.”

“I hate you,” she mutters.

Hearing her say that out loud hurts more than it should. It doesn’t surprise me, though; she’s treated me like her worst enemy ever since I broke up with her.

“Yeah, you’ve made that very obvious over the last year,” I say, trying to sound lighthearted but failing miserably when she opens her eyes and turns to study me.

I swallow past the lump in my throat as her ocean blue eyes hold mine. I feel like I could drown in their depth. She tears her gaze away from me, opting to focus on my shirt instead.

“I’m not your problem anymore, Koa. You don’t have to try and comfort me when I get scared.”

She turns her gaze to the view, and I watch as her eyes go round before she jumps toward me, gripping my shirt with trembling fingers. I mentally kick myself for feeling as happy as I do with the fact that she ran to me for safety, as if I’m still her safe space.

I instinctively wrap my arms around her, pulling her in closer, and rest my chin on top of her head.

“I want you to be my problem, Mal,” I mumble, ignoring how she stiffens in my arms.

After nearly a whole minute, I feel her wrap her arms around my waist in return, causing my heart to pick up at a rapid pace in my chest.

“I don’t remember you being such a cuddler,” I lie. She used to love cuddling at every opportunity she could get—in the morning, evenings, and between the sheets.

I hear her scoff, but she doesn’t say anything more as we stand embracing each other as if nothing ever changed.

“I fixed it,” Matt shouts, jumping to his feet and pointing the camera in our direction.

Maliah releases me and pulls out of my hold in an instant, returning to facing the views with a face flushed red. I glare at Matt before turning my back to him and standing shoulder to shoulder next to her.

“We never speak of that moment, ever. Got it?” she hisses.

And just like that, my bubble of happiness and obliviousness bursts and reality sets in like a tidal wave.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I reply, not bothering to hide the disappointment from my voice as I turn around and walk back to the burner after noticing the other balloons beginning to descend.

I use the burner and the venting system to release some of the hot air from the balloon and steady our descent to the landing site, trying my best not to frown as Matt turns the camera toward me.

Griffin:

Wait, she hugged you back?

I sigh as I stare at my phone screen. I’ll probably regret telling him about what happened between Maliah and I on the hot air balloon earlier today, but staring at the ceiling from my bed with my thoughts raging wild wasn’t doing me any favours either. So, I turned to the only person I knew who could keep a secret.

Me:

Yeah, but like I said, as soon as the camera was on us, she was gone from my arms and telling me that the moment never happened.

I’ve replayed the interaction in my head on repeat and I can’t make sense of it. Does she hate me or not? Does she still have feelings for me?

Griffin:

Do you know what this means?

I tap my finger on the edge of my phone as my scowl deepens. I mean, what else could it mean? She’s obviously embarrassed to be seen anywhere near me. Once a poor kid, always a poor kid—as her father put it. But I don’t tell Griffin that.

Me:

What?

Griffin:

She’s not over you, bud. I think it’s time you pull out all the stops. Remind her why she fell in love with you in the first place. Remind her she’s still in love with you.

And how the hell am I going to do that?

I let out a groan as I re-read his text. He makes everything sound so much easier than it really is. How does anyone convince Maliah Cooper to do anything? I’ve known her for the better half of my life, and I’ve never been able to do that. Not even when we were together.

So instead, I do something I absolutely know I’ll regret. Something utterly stupid. I exit my conversation with Griffin and click on Maliah’s name instead.

Me:

Sweet dreams.

I wait until my message switches from delivered to read. Another five minutes of waiting, but she still hasn’t replied. Regret crashes over me like a boulder when I realize she’s not going to reply. I curse under my breath, turn my phone off for the night, and toss it onto my nightstand harder than I meant to. Rolling over, I squeeze my eyes shut, letting the calm nothingness of sleep take over.