Xtina knew seeing Gavin with another girl was going to be painful, but she had no idea how hard it was going to be to see how beautiful the new girl is, and how very much in love with Gavin she is, how the two of them go off on their own like they are in their own little world.

But that is why she asked Coby to come with her, and he doesn't leave to be miserable for very long. he asks her to dance, but Xtina shakes her head sadly: she doesn't want to dance, she wants to cry.

As she's about to tell Coby that this was a big mistake & could he please just take her home, Coby pulls her aside. "Look at me, Ti," he says, holding her face so she is forced to look at him. "Since we got here, you haven't been able to take your eyes off him, but you're not with him now, Ti, okay? You're with me..." he says, his voice as quiet as a whisper, thick & coarse with emotion. His glance wavers away from her eyes for a moment, his lips tremble as he swallows, like he has more to say, but cannot speak it. Standing so close to him, Xtina can feel a sort of heat rising from him. "Have you ever ridden a wave, Ti?" he asks suddenly, and she answers quickly, "No, I don't go in the water, Coby," wondering if he means to distract her with idle conversation. But the way his heavy lidded eyes burn into hers, the way his hands play fitfully on her shoulders & in her hair, the way his lips move & curl before he speaks, she knows he's trying to communicate something important & she concentrates on his words, trying to hear the meaning behind his speech. "I can't describe what it's like, Ti, to be in the curl of a wave..it's more than 'awesome', it's more than a rush...but the thing is, you have to stay in control, ahead of the break. If you lose it, if your footing slips, just a little, the curtain crashes on you. You get pulled under & the water..the water is an amazing force, Ti, it sucks you all the way down & pushes on you with a pressure like nothing on the surface can do. You're at it's mercy..and it has no mercy, it slams you around like a rag doll, you can't see & you can't do anything to help yourself. Your own board can kill you when you wipe out, Ti," he says, and then lifts his hair to show her a scar that runs beneath his hairline. "My board cut my head open here. If it weren't for the lifeguard, I'd be a dead man," he continues, and Xtina gasps to hear such a story. She hadn't really ever thought about surfing before, or considered that it might be dangerous. "Coby, that's awful," she says, but she wonders why he's telling her this, here & now. "Listen, Ti," he continues, and she can tell he's growing more nervous with each word, standing so close to him, she can see his heart beating wildly beneath his shirt, "Right now, I feel like I'm on a wave & I'm going to lose control, like I'm going to wipe out harder than I've ever wiped out before. I have never been as scared of anything as I am right now, do you understand me, Ti?"

Coby doesn't have Gavin's eloquence, but his eyes say everything his surfing metaphor was not quite able to make clear. He's in love with her, she realizes. He doesn't wait for her to answer him, but draws her into deep & loving kiss. "Don't ask me to pretend that didn't happen, Ti," he whispers in her ear, "I can't do it anymore. And I can't watch you looking at him anymore."

Xtina kisses Coby the same way he kissed her. Thinking back on the last few days, she realises she's never felt more at ease with anyone than she is with him. "No more pretending, Coby," she whispers in his ear, "You're much more than my best friend."

It's not like she would be able to deny it happened now, anyway..Diego's already gossiping about her & Coby to Zach. What a bunch of gossip mongers they all are!

NEXT