"Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another." – Ephesians 4:25

Alana had just finished her pre-competition stretching when she glanced up and saw a familiar figure walking towards her. She rolled off her left hamstring and raised one hand against the glare of the sun. As soon as the figure walked under the shade of a palm tree, blocking his face from the harsh glare, Alana broke out into a grin. It was Trevor!

She quickly hopped to her feet and sprinted over. Because her wetsuit was rolled down to her waist, the arm sleeves flapped haphazardly around her torso. She laughed and came to a breathless stop in front of Trevor. "You made it!" she exclaimed.

Yesterday they had talked over the phone, confirming that Coach Alvarez was on his way up to meet with Alana. To her surprise, Trevor had said he would join Alvarez and hang out with the gang in Ventura.

When Alana and Trevor met face-to-face, he matched her smile with one of his own. "It's been too long, man," he said. "How have you been?"

"Great!" She beamed and turned to look at the man who stood a half-step behind Trevor. "And I'm assuming you're—"

"Coach Alvarez," he finished, leaning forward to shake her hand.

Alana's fingers were dwarfed in his large ones. The man was huge—tall, buff, and overwhelming, yet with a surprisingly gentle personality. Even his voice seemed too light and high-pitched for his body. But Alana liked him immediately.

While the first heat of the morning got underway, Alana chatted with Trevor and Alvarez. They mainly discussed her potential training schedule, which ultimately depended on Alana's current physical state. Coach Alvarez said he would base only part of her training off how well she surfed. The other key components, including nutrition and cardiorespiratory fitness, would be determined later during her first real training session.

When it was time for Alana to get ready for her heat, she bid Trevor and Alvarez a brief goodbye before hurrying over to the judges' booth. As she pulled on her jersey, she felt someone give a slight tug on her ponytail.

"Hey!" Maya greeted her. "I haven't seen you all morning. Where did you run off too?"

Alana gave her a quick rundown of her conversation with Trevor and Coach Alvarez. Maya squealed when she heard Trevor's name. "When can I see him?" she asked excitedly.

"After our heat, of course!" Alana laughed. "Now come on; let's grab our boards and get going."

The girls talked happily as they got ready for their heat. The energy between them was almost tangible as they bounced up and down on the shoreline. It was broken only momentarily when Cole walked up and gave Alana a few words of encouragement, and then Maya was back to her hyperactive self. The other competitors looked at her and Alana strangely, wondering why they were so talkative. Usually the atmosphere was thick with tension before a heat, but not in Maya and Alana's case.

As soon as the horn went off, they sprinted into the water. Alana grinned and closed her eyes as she coasted onto her surfboard. Spray from the water rushed up and over the nose, flooding the front of her wetsuit, but it didn't feel as cold as she expected. The bright sun overhead and the exciting vibes radiating from her best friend were enough to keep her warm.

Only when Alana reached the lineup did she find it funny that Maya was so happy. Her friend hadn't been this lighthearted since before her fight with Jake.

"So," Alana asked when she finally got a break in between Maya's chattering, "I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Oh! Go ahead." Maya brought her knees up to her chest—something that took a lot of balance on her thin, teetering shortboard—and waited expectantly.

"Don't take this the wrong way," Alana laughed nervously. "But...why are you so happy this morning?"

Maya's smile wavered for the briefest of seconds. "Well..."

Alana glanced at the horizon. Still no sign of waves. She dipped her hands into the water and stroked closer to her friend.

"I actually don't know," Maya admitted. "Something really weird happened yesterday."

"Weird how?"

"Well..." Maya wrinkled her nose. "Let's just say Jake found me at the front of the school and apologized."

Alana's jaw dropped open. "He what?"

The other girls turned and stared at them, so Alana hastily lowered her voice. "That's so great!" she whisper-shouted. "What did he say? What did you say? Are you guys back together?"

"No," Maya said slowly.

Alana suddenly remembered that she and Jake had avoided all contact that morning. Obviously they weren't together, which could only mean one thing.

"Did you turn him down?"

Maya shook her head vigorously. "Actually, after Jake gave this amazing confession, I—uh—ran away."

Alana's jaw fell open again, this time a little lower. "I'm sorry?"

"I ran away," Maya repeated, embarrassed. "It wasn't my brightest moment, I know! I didn't get a chance to say anything to Jake, so I turned tail and took off."

"Oh, Maya," Alana groaned. "Jake is probably...probably..."

"Heartbroken?" Maya offered.

"Yeah." Alana winced. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad about it."

"Don't worry, I've had enough of that already." Maya forced a laugh. "I spent a lot of time thinking yesterday. And last night. And this morning."

"What are you going to do?" Alana asked after a pause.

"Well, that's why I've been so happy." She smiled slightly. "I finally made up my mind to talk to him today. I dropped my afternoon shift at Scottie's in order to do it."

"Good." Alana grinned and splashed her playfully. "So you've been covering up your anxiety with excitement, is that it?"

"Something along those lines." Maya looked out towards the horizon. "Oh, I think a set's coming in."

Alana spun around, ready to paddle. "I think you're doing the right thing," she said. "But just to let you know, this conversation is so not over yet."

"Don't worry, I'll tell you how it goes after I talk to Jake."

"Good." Alana grinned. "Do you want this first wave?"

Maya shook her head. "It's all yours."

Alana immediately launched forward and paddled to the inside of the peak. Once the other girls saw she was in position, they gave up and let her have the wave. Maya hooted when Alana stroked into the peak and popped up to her feet.

"Perfect 10!" Maya shouted over her shoulder.

Alana laughed and raced down to the bottom of the wave. She would try. Knowing that Cole, her teammates, and Trevor and Coach Alvarez were watching from shore only fueled her spirit. Instead of caving into the pressure, she thrived on the feeling of gliding across the wave. She channeled all her emotions on the upcoming section of whitewater. In one fluid carve, she cruised up and over in a perfect floater. With her increased speed, she raced out to the flat part of the wave before turning back to the whitewash, making sure to keep her arms spread and knees bent. The result was a huge arc of spray that landed in the water long after her wave had passed.

With each maneuver, Alana felt her adrenaline rising. She was focused on nothing but the board beneath her feet and the power of the wave all around. Only after her last turn did she raise her head and survey the crowd on the shore. Though she couldn't pick out Trevor and Coach Alvarez, she was sure they'd be smiling. Her wave—which, unfortunately, hadn't been a perfect 10—was still good enough for the judges to warrant a 7.90.

It looked like her heat was off to a terrific start.

Later that afternoon, when the surf competition was over, the gang's morale was sky-high. Coach Kerr had reassured the Ventura High team all day to try their best without worrying too much about their results. This wasn't a make-or-break competition—next month's was. In just a few weeks, the team would have their work cut out for them. The upcoming competition would be the one to determine whether or not they moved on to the NSSA Championships.

Both Blaine and Koa ended up finishing second place in their divisions while Alana and Cole finished third. It wasn't his best result, but Cole was still happy. The entire gang, in fact—with the exception of Jake—seemed to be in good spirits. Everyone was excited to talk with Trevor and get acquainted with Coach Alvarez. Alana's new training was the talk of the afternoon, and it would be an understatement to say that the others were jealous of her opportunity.

But Cole's jealousy was largely overshadowed by his pride. He was extremely pleased for Alana's sponsorship deals, for placing in every single competition thus far, and for even having her own personal trainer. Her surfing career was taking off, and Cole couldn't be happier. It didn't matter that his own surfing was overlooked. He was completely and totally absorbed in her.

When the crowds dwindled away and the beach was left relatively empty, Cole finally found some time alone. The last competitors and coaches headed home, leaving only a few rambling tourists and diehard surfers on the sand. But Alana, instead of leaving with the others, had opted to stay behind and freesurf with Trevor. This would give Coach Alvarez another chance to watch her surf in person, this time without the constriction of a heat. Alana was free to shred as hard as she wanted without fear of wiping out or getting in the way of a competitor.

Before she entered the water, however, Cole kept her occupied with relaxing on the warm sand for an hour. They lay side-by-side on their towels, talking and joking with Trevor. During a lull in their conversation, Trevor stood up and brushed the sand off his boardshorts, yawning. "You guys are going to put me to sleep," he said teasingly. "I'm better grab my board before I get any more tired."

"Make it fast," Alana said, eyeing the waves over her shoulder. "High tide is going to hit in a couple hours."

Trevor nodded and headed across the sand to the parking lot. That left Cole and Alana lying together in a comfortable silence, listening to the crashing of the waves and the distant chattering of other people on the beach.

Alana yawned and rolled over from her stomach onto her back. "Trevor's right," she said. "The sun feels so good, but it's making me sleepy."

Cole suddenly laughed. "You know what? I think it was so funny the way Trevor reacted when we told him that we're dating."

Alana closed her eyes and smiled. "I know, right? But I think it was awesome how he said we're a perfect match."

"Perfect, huh?" Cole wiggled his eyebrows.

"Don't you remember? He said that we have the same interests, the same faith, and the same personality."

"I don't remember the part about our personalities being the same." He smirked.

"Yeah, that part caught me off guard. I guess he means how we're really open about stuff."

"Huh." Cole rolled onto his back and rested his head in the crook of his hands. With his elbows pointed outwards, his arms now blocked the sun from his eyes, allowing him to glance over at Alana without being blinded.

She sighed and spent a few seconds playing with the sand between her fingers. "Cole," she asked suddenly, "do you think we're open about stuff?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it might be too early to have this conversation...but I know that lack of communication is what put a wrench in Jake and Maya's relationship."

"That, and their stubbornness."

"Touché." She grinned. "But I don't want that to happen with us."

"It won't, Alana. Trust me."

She looked at his askance. "Do you think we communicate well?"

He raised his head and stared at her. "Well, yeah."

"Okay," she said, a little uncertainly.

Cole watched as she raised herself onto one elbow. "What's bothering you?" he asked quietly. "Did Trevor's comment go to your head?"

"No, not really," she said, though her tone betrayed her confusion. "I know that our relationship is built on a solid foundation. But I have to be honest with you." She stared out at the ocean while wisps of her blonde hair blew over her shoulders. Cole had to force himself to concentrate on her words while he stared at her seemingly effortless beauty.

"There's something I haven't told you," she said. "It's really awkward"—here she chuckled quietly—"but, honestly, I just need to get it out in the open."

Cole waited patiently, though his pulse kicked up a notch at the memory of last night's conversation with Taylor. Immediately, his thoughts took a whole new turn. He hadn't slept well at all. He couldn't even look his father or Blaine in the eye. But coming to the beach for the surf competition that morning, it was like Taylor's news had been nothing but a bad dream. It was their dirty little secret. But was it right to hide such a scandalous secret when Cole was in a relationship with another girl?

"Um," Alana said, blushing slightly, "so about the same time that you had a crush on me during the surfing safari, I actually found out that someone else liked me too." She paused. "Koa, actually."

Cole was quickly jerked out of his reverie. "Wait, Koa? I thought you said you two hadn't kissed?"

Her blush darkened. "We didn't," she said hastily. "Trust me, we never even got as far as holding hands. When I found out about his crush on me, I told him that I wasn't interested in a relationship at the time. But now I feel terrible because just a month after my conversation with him, I started dating you."

Cole frowned. "Thanks for letting me know. But are you sure this isn't supposed to be—what's the word—confidential between you and Koa?"

"Yeah...about that." She sighed. "Look, the only reason I'm telling you is because now that we're officially dating, we need to be able to trust each other. Don't me wrong," she said, smiling, "I'm not saying that you need to give the rundown of every relationship you've had."

Cole smirked. That would be a long (but pitiful) list, ripe with failures and regrets.

"But seriously, I wanted to let you know because I feel like Koa has been distant from us lately. He and I have talked things through multiple times, but I've also noticed that he has been acting differently around you."

Cole nodded. "I've noticed that too."

"Well, please don't let him know that I told you."

"Of course. Thanks, Alana."

She smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. Placing her other hand on the sand behind her, she leaned back and relaxed into an easy stretch. "Man, it feels good to get that off my chest!"

"What, you haven't told Maya about this thing between yourself and Koa?"

"No," she laughed. "Now that would definitely end in disaster. Maya wouldn't be able to keep the news to herself."

"True," he chuckled.

"But I know I can trust you. And by the way," she said, cocking her head to one side, "I'm surprised at how well you're taking the news."

"What? Am I supposed to be jealous or something?"

She grinned. "Maybe."

He laughed and swiped his hand against the crook of her elbow, causing her to lose her support and topple forward onto the sand. But while she laughed and gazed up at him with those stunning blue eyes, he felt a deep sense of regret. He'd been drowning in anxiety last night, but had fortunately mastered his emotions this morning before the surf competition. Now a single conversation with Alana had changed all that.

Cole looked away, guilt gnawing at his stomach. He had to tell her—he had to tell someone. The news of Taylor's pregnancy was eating away at him like cancer. Before he could explode in anger like last night, though, Trevor suddenly reappeared with his surfboard in hand.

"Ready to hit the waves?" he asked.

Cole swallowed, forcing his emotions aside. He would worry about this problem later. The longer he put it off, though, he knew the harder it would be to confront it.