He rolls his eyes. “I swear Rebecca is rubbing off on you.” Turning to his sister with narrowed eyes, he adds, “Trust me, that’s not a good thing.” His words say one thing, but the smile on his face says another.
Rebecca frowns and smacks his arm.
He shoves her back hard enough for her to fall right into the seat behind her. Grabbing my hand, Andrew leads me toward the back of the boat to strap me into Rebecca’s board.
“Are you ready?”
“No.”
He laughs as if I’m joking. Then he helps ease me off the boat. He jumps in after me and grabs my waist, one hand oneach hip. “What are you doing?” I jolt as if he just electrocuted me with his touch.
“Relax, I’m just trying to help you get seated in the water how you’re supposed to.”
I try to relax, but that’s nearly impossible when Andrew is grabbing me like this. It’s not like he’s never touched me. We hug each other hello and goodbye, and we full-on wrestled my first summer at the lake. It’s just different now.
For starters, I’m just in my bikini and a life jacket, and his hands are directly on the bare skin of my waist. Then there’s the fact that Andrew has been treating me differently this summer. He’s been a little extra sweet around me, complimenting me and looking out for me. Oh, and we can’t forget the fact that every time he so much as grazes my pinky, I feel electricity through my whole body. Right now, it’s a miracle I’m even conscious after this amount of skin-to-skin contact.
Andrew’s words bring my attention away from his body and back to the task at hand. “I shortened the rope for you before we got off the boat. That will give you more upward pull and make it easier for you to stand up when my dad starts going. Bend your knees, like this.” He hikes his knees up to his chest. “You’ll sort of be crunched up like this.” He motions again. “Stay crunched until you’re over the top of the board then stand up slowly. Don’t rush it.”
My jaw drops. “That’s all you’re going to say? What if I get up? Then what?”
“If you do get up, you’d just shift your weight so your dominant foot is in the back. If you get up on your first try, I’ll give you fifty bucks on top of the book and ice cream. That’d be incredibly impressive.”
Determination fills my body.I’ll show him. I could use fifty bucks. Think of all the books I could buy with that money! I bend my knees like he showed me. “Like this?”
He moves one of my knees a little bit. “Morelike this.” He motions for me to move my other leg to match. “Do you want me to tell my dad to hit it?”
Despite my determination a second ago, fear kicks in. “No, Andrew. I don’t want to do this. I hate trying new things. I hate being bad at things.”
“You don’t know you’ll be bad at this though because you’ve never done it before.”
He’s smart. I’ll give him that. “I’m bad at water skiing though, and I don’t want to fall. What if I face plant? That’s going to hurt so bad!” Panic wells up inside of me.Oh God! Am I on the verge of tears right now? Heck no! I’m not about to cry over this.
He grabs my waist again, but this time his touch is firmer, a steadying hand to tell me he’s here for me. “First of all, you’re not bad a water skiing. Although you’d be much better if I had taught you instead of Rebecca. Just saying. Second of all, if you face-planted, you won’t be going fast enough for it to hurt. Plus, it’s not that far of a fall. You’re kind of short.”
I narrow my eyes at him, but the smile he gives me in return absolutely melts me, and I can’t help but laugh and smile back as I mock offense. “Hey! I thought you’re supposed to tell me there’s no way I’ll fall!”
“I’m just stating the facts. Come on. You’ll be so proud of yourself for trying! You didn’t get in the waternotto try it. Plus, there’s a reward waiting for you.” He wiggles his eyebrows. I know he’s talking about the bookstore and ice cream, but my pounding heart doesn’t get the memo. Instead, it’s picturing Andrew leaning in for a kiss. I bet he’d be a really good kisser with those full lips and the tenderness of his touch.
“So, you ready?”
I shake my head a little as I refocus again. “Yeah.” I nod. “I can do this.”
“That’s my girl!” My heart flutters at his words. “I’ll tell my dad to hit it. If you need to stop for anything, just use the same signal as tubing and skiing.” He takes his hand and slices itacross his neck to be sure I know it, as if I haven’t been using it for the past six summers.
I nod as my hands feel a little shaky.I’ve got this. I’ve got this. I’ve got this.“She’s ready, Dad! Hit it!”
“Woohoo, Emma!” Rebecca cheers me from the boat, waving her hands crazily in the air in her usual flamboyant manner.
Mr. Martin starts the boat’s motor again and nods at me. “Starting now.”
I feel the rope begin to pull, and I try to remember Andrew’s instructions, but I panic. The rope tugs and I try to push with my legs to help me get up. As a result, I faceplant just like I said I would. The crash of the water fills my ears and I scramble back to the surface.
I see Rebecca hanging off the back of the boat, giving me an eager thumbs up. I turn to find Andrew swimming toward me. He’s smiling. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” At the sight of his face, I grow self-conscious. “Are you laughing at me?”
“What? No!” He looks genuinely offended that I’d think that. “I’m proud of you. You were right there! You just need to let the boat do more of the work for you. Don’t fight it so much. Give it another try.”
