"So cold," I say. While I've dried off a bit, I'm still eager to get home and change my clothes.
"Besides, would you have wanted to spend all morning putting on makeup and doing your hair — just to capsize?" Erin asks.
Bonnie grumbles.
We follow William's instructions to finish up with the sailboats and take our life jackets off. After a farewell talk, they invite us to make use of the outdoor bathrooms if they're wet. Liam and I didn't bring spare clothes so there's no point going there.
There's also a cafe at the sailing club, and while others are hungry, everyone decides to go straight home for Liam and my sake.
"I'm sorry," I say as we walk to the car, knowing it'll be a while before we can eat. But in my defence, it wasn't my idea to capsize.
"I can sit in the front," Liam says, and glances at me.
I nod, and everyone piles into the car, Bonnie sitting in the back, besides Kennedy. I look at the back of Liam's head as the car drives on the ocean road. I wouldn't be surprised if he's sitting in the front for my sake. It's like he said — he's tried to be nice the entire trip. Maybe we could stop being enemies.
"Hey, do you want me to turn on the seat warmer for you?" Erin asks.
"I've already got in on," Liam answers.
"Seat warmer?" I echo.
"There're heaters in the driver and passenger seat," Bonnie explains. "It's so nice on a cold day, warms you up quickly."
Or maybe Liam's sitting in the front isn't an act of kindness after all, but him being a selfish motherfucker.
10
Liam: Perfect Skin
After sailing, everyone agreed to spend the rest of the day at the house, since we were all so exhausted. In the late afternoon, after everyone studied, Erin baked cookies. We ate them while lounging in the living room, scrolling through our phones while watching old Disney movies from our childhood.
Or, in Curtis's case, reading his book. He's started a new one about the property market in Australia, and he's read almost half of it in a couple of hours. I almost want to whip out the current fan fiction I'm reading — which totals 250,000 words — to prove I can read just as much.
That evening, Curtis announces he's going to read in his bedroom and presses a kiss on Kennedy's head before heading up the stairs to the attic.
"Is everything okay with him?" Kennedy asks me in the kitchen after Erin and Bonnie leave. We stand at the sink, and I rinse the dishes from dinner while she loads the dishwasher machine.
I know she's talking about Curtis. Even though he's put on a brave face, he's been distracted all day. Sometimes I'll catch him staring at me, eyes unfocused, and I wonder if he's going to start an argument. I hope not. After everything that happened on the boat, I don't want to fight with him, not anymore.
"I think so," I answer. Does Kennedy know about Curtis's fear of the ocean? I won't tell her if he didn't. "You should talk to him."
"I've tried to," Kennedy says. "He hasn't said much. You've also been quiet."
"Just tired," I say.
"That's what he said too," Kennedy says, raising a brow. She can always see through me.
"We talked on the boat," I admit. "About… that party."
Kennedy inhales sharply.
"We didn't fight," I say before she interrupts. "Much."
"Liam…" Instead of putting a plate into the dishwasher, she sets it on the bench and crosses her arm.
I continue rinsing the dishes. "We were sorting out our differences, and he talked about that night and how he was sorry."
"And?" Kennedy asks.
