I bite back a giggle and I walk away to join the girls, who stand in a circle.
"Hey, how hot's that guy?" Kennedy whispers to me, pointing to where Curtis talks to Alex.
"I know, right?" I say, then frown. "I hope we're talking about the sailor guy and not your boyfriend."
Kennedy laughs. "That wasn't an overt insult, so good job! Seriously though," she says, lowering her voice. "Thank you for being so nice to Curtis these past couple of days. I really appreciate it."
I think about complaining about the difficult work, but in the end, I shrug. "I suppose it's good practice to force myself to be nice, anyway."
Kennedy stands up on her tippy-toes to hug me, and we turn to Bonnie and Erin, who are discussing the sailing boat arrangements.
"I really hope we're not grouped with someone random," Erin says, twisting a curl of her hair. "I don't want to make small talk for an hour."
"Surely not," I say. "I better be with one of you."
I'm not grouped with the girls, though fortunately they're grouped together. I'm grouped with Curtis.
"Just us?" I ask William.
"Just you two," he confirms.
Great.
"This is lucky," Curtis says once William's walked away.
Is he trying to be nice again? Our interaction yesterday was weird enough. Maybe I was just taken aback when he complimented my body because I expected him to tear me into pieces — I'd caught him looking at my bare chest a few times with a frown. But he was… kind. Which made me feel weird. But also pleased.
"Are you being sarcastic?" I ask.
"Because you've sailed before," he explains.
Ah. "Yeah, but that was years ago. Sailing should be easy, though. Remember what they said?" I gesture to the staff members.
William orders us to walk to the line of small white sailboats which are positioned nearby a slope of concrete that leads to deep water. The sailboats aren't big, but sturdy.
William and Alex instruct us to get into the boat and say that they'll push us into the water. Everyone organises themselves in a line to wait for their turn.
In my periphery, I see Curtis looking down, so I follow his gaze. He's looking at my hands — my fingernails, I'm guessing. Bonnie painted them metallic blue yesterday, and I think they turned out well.
"Well," Curtis says, getting my attention. "It's also lucky that I'm with you, and not a random."
"I… yeah, me too."
Curtis smiles at something over my shoulder, and I turn. Kennedy waves at us with a closed-mouth smile, before being ushered into a boat with the cousins. Understanding rocks through me like a bullet. I know that smile.
The hint of niceness these last couple of days… Kennedy must have made him promise not to be a dickhead too. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. He's almost completely stopped scowling at me. Our small conversations at the beach house have been civil. He's still not as nice as I've tried to be — so obviously I'm winning the kindness competition, which makes me feel a bit victorious — but at least he's trying.
Good. I was sick of being the only one making an effort.
Finally, it's our turn to get into the sailboat. "Try not to capsize," Alex says with a wink as he and William push us out onto the water.
I laugh, but Curtis's eyes are wide. "What did that guy say about capsizing?" he asks.
"Oh, nothing." I wave a hand. "Come on, let's sail."
The sail has already been aligned to follow the others, but Curtis tinkers with it a little. I lean back on the seat and stretch out my legs, gazing up at the sky. It's not too cold, with my hoodie and t-shirt under my life jacket.
Soon, the whole group is on the water, following William and Alex's boat. The further into the ocean we get, the more the boats spread out. Occasionally Curtis and I will adjust the sails, but we don't have to worry about it too much this early on the sail.
