C H A P T E R T W E N T Y - T H R E E
breakfast of champions

dawny:
refers to going for a surf session early in the morning.

My friends made the promise of celebrating last night, and that's exactly what we did.

I woke up sprawled out on the cool hardwood floor, a knitted blanket draped over top of my body, as the sun which was shining through the window heated me up.

Slowly I lifted my head, my eyes adjusting to the bright lighting as I found Dawson laying on the ground beside me, my other friends on the couch, but Miranda and Trace were nowhere to be found.

I closed my eyes in an attempt to fight off waves of nausea. Trying even though my head was pounding, I attempted to recall the events that occurred last night.

Beer bottles were scattered across the floor and it was evident that last night I clearly had too much to drink.

The last thing that I remembered before I must have fallen asleep was the six of us playing Cards Against Humanity, laughing until our stomachs hurt.

Slowly I made my way up to my feet. The room spinning as I place my hand against the armrest of the couch to steady myself.

With my movements Dawson stirs, gripping the pillow I was sleeping on tightly as he pulls it closer to his body in the absence of myself.

I clumsily made my way into the kitchen, grasping onto furniture to keep myself upright while being extra careful not to knock anything down in the process.

Reaching into the cupboard I pull out a glass and fill it with some tap water before sipping on it as I observe the contents in the fridge.

I decided on making bacon, eggs, and pancakes for the group as I gathered the ingredients and placed them onto the counter.

When I was in the process of cooking the bacon, two hands wrapped around my waist pulling me backwards against a muscular body.

"Something smells good" the raspy voice says as they place a kiss against my cheek.

I giggle in response. "I sure hope that it tastes as well as it smells".

His hands leave my hips and instantly I miss the warmth I felt moments ago. He grabs the bowl of eggs from behind me and starts whisking them up as he grabs another pan.

"I hope you don't mind a little help, not that I don't trust that your food would be delicious" Dawson says as he pours them into a pan. "You know you could have woke me up to help you instead of doing this all on your own".

"I don't mind" I respond taking the bacon out of the pan giving Dawson control of the stove as I head to the counter behind him. "Besides you looked to peaceful when you were sleeping to wake you".

He smiles softly at me before it's interrupted by a yawn. "I appreciate that, clearly I was more tired than I thought. How are you feeling? You quite a bit to drink last night".

The mention of drinking has my stomach in knots as I fight back the nausea. "I really need to stop drinking. I always nurse the worst hangovers in the morning".

"Why don't you just sit down and let me finish up? There's not much left" he says reaching for the bowl of pancake batter.

"How about a compromise? I'll let you finish the pancakes so we aren't stuck eating burnt hockey pucks and i'll go set the table"

He nods as he starts on the pancakes and I begin brewing a pot of coffee.

"Do you even remember what went on last night? Everything's just a bit of a blur to me" I question as I gather plates while waiting on the coffee.

He laughs at my question as he makes his way across the kitchen to me, abandoning the pancakes that were in the pan. "You were something else. When we came back the three of you started drinking as Miranda brought out a bottle of tequila".

I groan at the mention of tequila as bits and pieces of memories start flooding back.

I clenched the bottle in my hands, throwing myself down against the couch and my legs across Dawsons lap as I took a sip from the bottle.

"How is it possibly that you" I emphasize by poking his chest "are my boyfriend?"

He grabs the bottle from my hands, placing it against the ground as he brings a bottle of beer up to his lips. "I wonder that as well, wonder how I got so lucky to have someone like you".

"Enough of the sappy crappy stuff" Miranda slurs between giggles as she snatches the bottle from the ground. "You two are too cute, it's nauseating".

I roll my eyes as Dawson pulls me closer, placing a kiss against my cheek as Miranda pretends to gag. "Let's go lovebirds, we're playing games".

The games remained a blur, the last thing I remember was Miranda dragging Trace to the back bedroom where they still were.

"Fuck" Dawson grumbles as I'm snapped out of my daze. "I burnt the damn pancakes" he exclaims pulling the pan off of the stove as smoke pummels off of the blackened rounds.

"And here I was thinking that it would be me to burn the pancakes" I say teasingly, my hip bumping up against his as I reach for the coffee pot.

"I blame you. You distracted me standing there looking as beautiful as ever" he says starting the pancakes again.

"Ill leave you too it then chef" I say leaning up and pressing a gentle kiss against his lips. "Try not to burn them again while I am gone".

He mumbles under his breath, pulling me in for another kiss before gently pushing me away. "I make no promises".

Leaving Dawson in the kitchen, I make my way to the dining room and start setting the table. Jessa sneaks in behind me and throws herself into a chair before placing her head in her hands.

"Remind me not to drink with Miranda again" she groans. "Where is she anyways"?

I place a glass of water in front of her and she gulps it down. "I think she's still in the bedroom, I was going to go wake her up".

"Good luck with that, you know how miserable she is in the mornings".

I sigh remembering how Miranda is as I begrudgingly head down the hallway and stop in front of the door.

On the other side of the door I hear snoring as I start pounding my fist on the door causing the sound to ring out through the house.

The snoring continues and with that I swing the door open and immediately want to close my eyes at the sight I'm greeted with.

Miranda was on top of Trace, clearly naked. I grab a sneaker from off the ground and throw it onto the bed, hitting Miranda in the leg as she startles awake.

"Ains" she exclaims grasping for the sheets trying to cover the two of them as Trace nearly jumps out of bed. "Haven't you ever heard of knocking before"?

"Knocking didn't work, you sleep like you're dead" I respond. "Breakfast is nearly ready if the two of you are wanting some".

With that I depart, closing the door behind me as I go to join Dawson in the kitchen to help him finish up.

When I found the corner, Garrett is standing there with Dawson, a piece of bacon in his mouth.

"Morning Ains" he says taking another bite. "Thanks for the food".

"So you'll thank her but not me?" Dawson exclaims clapping him on the shoulder as he grabs the finished plate of pancakes.

Laughter fills the kitchen as I help the two boys grab the finished plates, the two of them bickering as we make our way into the dining room.

Dawson takes a seat beside me as Jess lifts her head off of the table as we arrive.

"Thank goodness, I'm starving" she says grabbing a couple of pancakes and eggs as she begins scarfing them down.

The rest of us grab some food and begin eating, chatter filling the silence until Miranda and Trace emerge and join the four of us.

Jess and I give each other knowing glances as all eyes turn to the two of them, all of us knowing what occurred hours prior.

Dawson noticed and immediately try's to start a conversation before something was going to be said. "So, Ains and I need to get some more training in before the competition this weekend. I was thinking we could all head out and catch some waves, weathers supposed to be good for it".

I stop chewing on my pancake as the realization that the tournament was occurring this weekend. Six days to be exact.

My heart starts pounding in my chest as Dawson notices and discreetly places his hand against my thigh.

"That sounds like a great idea. Daws has been talking about how much you've been improving and how you're starting to look more comfortable on a board. I'm excited to see the Ainsley Matthews show us her stuff" Trace says trying to be encouraging.

A blush finds it's way to my cheek as I try to push away the negative thoughts that clouded my mind.

"I'm nowhere close to where I used to be, but Daws is right. I need to practice as much as I can if I want to stand a chance this weekend".

"I haven't seen you surf in ages" Jessa says with a small smile. "It's like the old Ains is back".

I try to meet her excitement and smile, but it's forced as the memories of Crystal and my doubts resurface, as well as one question that's been plaguing my thoughts.

Do I still have what it takes to compete?

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Word Count: 1665