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and keep my mouth shut about Colby’s
knowledge. I’m not really sure how Jace feels about my east coast
friend. If he’s anything like Vin, Colby probably isn’t his
favorite person, and it’s a fire I’d rather not play with.
    “Do me a favor, though,” Jace says. “Keep
your eyes open for any local competitions, even if they’re small.
When you find one that seems good, stick Logan in it. Just Logan.
You know, to be on the safe side.”
    I continue to nod, unsure of what I should
say. Is this how it’ll always be with us? Will I always feel like
he’s an awkward stranger, even though I’ve been around him for a
little while now? Will I always secretly wish it was Vin sitting in
this office, even though fighting with him would’ve been
inevitable?
    A knock on the office door jerks me back to
the issue at hand. Joe steps inside, all smiles, but his happiness
quickly fades upon seeing us.
    “Did something happen?” he asks, eyeing Jace
more so than me.
    Jace quickly shakes his head and laughs it
off. “Nah, just a long day with a lot of learning,” he says. “I’m
just trying to take it all in. But we’re good.”
    Joe smiles. “You’ll catch on sooner than
later, I promise. I know you,” he says. “I bring good news, so
maybe that’ll help. I spoke with Rob, and he’s all in for this
board shop. He’s looking to retire soon and get out of the
business, and until now, he’s had no one to pass his knowledge down
to.”
    The words float around me like the dust
particles from the new shop – small and scattered but sparkling
with hope and light, like tiny stars bouncing around in a dark
galaxy, trying to find their ways to each other to form a supernova
and light up the universe.
    Rob Hodges. He’s the guy whose board shaping
convention we never made it to that day when Emily convinced Miles
to paint a lizard on his face. I instantly smile when I remember
her squealing about being their own little garden. I’m really glad
we took the wrong exit. That day was worth the epic Brooks
brothers’ showdown that happened hours later.
    “I want you to bring Theo over to my house,”
Joe tells Jace. “I know he avoids me, and you can’t deny it for
him. I understand his guilt, but he’s always been part of my
family. I want this for him. Jake would’ve wanted this for him.
This is my chance to give him the dream that my son didn’t get
to.”
    And that alone is all the hope I need. Theo
will be our supernova.

Chapter
Five
    “You can’t do this to me,” Miles says with a
groan. He leans against Colby’s kitchen counter, only one crutch
under his arm. “I’ll starve to death while you’re gone.”
    Topher gives him a dramatic eye roll but
doesn’t bother with a comeback. It’s hard to believe that Miles has
actually calmed down in the last hour since I broke the news to him
that I was going with Topher this weekend in his place. It makes
sense for Ocean Blast Energy not to want him for the photo shoot. A
surfer on crutches isn’t exactly what you want in a magazine ad.
But it does ruin all of Miles’s plans for the next two days.
    I hesitate before speaking, but I refuse to
walk on eggshells around Miles Garrett. “You can’t buy groceries?”
I ask.
    He shakes his head. “I never go grocery
shopping. My mom just always had food in the fridge. When I go to
Emily’s, she’s stocked up for me. If Topher leaves me here for the
weekend, I’ll shrivel up and die,” he says, in the most serious
fashion.
    I bite down on my lip to avoid laughing. I
bet Miles is the kind of guy who lies in bed moaning and whining
when he has a cold. Mr. Tough Guy isn’t really all that tough.
    “Have you seen the shit Colby buys?” Miles
asks me. He nods toward the cabinets. “Even his damn pasta noodles
are organic. Who makes fucking organic noodles? That’s supposed to
be carbs and the good stuff. He’s like a damn cow out in a field
with his organic lettuce and shit. I’m not even kidding.”
    As if