Mason shakes his head.“She told me a couple of days ago that she doesn’t have a fishing license.”
Gen nods in agreement.
Wait, is this the reason we’re out here at five in the morning?Gen and Mason talked about fishing and now Mason’s taking her?Not exactly my idea of romantic, but if he was listening to something she wanted to do, I can’t argue.
“Technically, neither of you should fish without a license,” Mason adds.“But we can probably get away with it if we split up.These boats are too small to accommodate both me and Jaeger, anyway, and I don’t want to leave you girls alone.”
I could admire Mason’s protective nature if I wasn’t so panicked about being marooned with Jaeger.My stomach is so taut it’s threatening to eject the large meal I just ate.
Eric would do this—be a friend’s wingman and hang with a girl’s best friend so his buddy could get to know someone.That’s all this is.That’s all Jaeger’s doing too.He doesn’t care if he’s alone with me.Why should I care?
Releasing the involuntary clamp I have on my airways, I breathe deeply and approach Jaeger’s boat.The fishing poles are loaded inside, along with a tackle box and a small cooler.
Jaeger reaches out and I take his hand.It’s padded with muscle, warm and firm, and it engulfs mine.A shock of heat rushes through my chest, previous dreams of that hand on my body dive-bombing any hope of rational thought.I stagger into the boat, my butt landing with a jarring thud.
Jaeger steps inside and passes me a paddle.I brace myself against the side of the boat, digging my fingers into the metal.Fantasies aren’t cheating.Still, this has got to stop.
“Head for the outcrop.”Jaeger points to the dark rock wall a quarter of a mile away.
I dip my oar in the water and we attempt a rhythm as we paddle out on to the lake.I’d like to say it’s a smooth ride, but I’m chopping and splashing, maneuvering my paddle like a hacksaw.My coordination leaves something to be desired.
“Why over there?”I ask as we near the place he pointed to.“Shouldn’t we go deeper?”
“This is deep, and the fish like coves.It’s also closer to shore—less labor on our part.”He sets his oar down, his gaze intent on my face.For a moment, he doesn’t move, he simply stares, his jaw working as if he’s trying to decide whether or not to say something.
Gen and Mason are closer to shore than we are.Hushed conversation floats over from their direction, but nothing I can decipher.Jaeger and I might as well be alone.I glance away and focus on the obsidian water.
Jaeger’s warm leg brushes my calf as he reaches for a pole.“You’ve never done this before?”
For a moment, I wonder what he’s talking about.The heat from his leg and the proximity of his body has me thinking of make-out sessions and cheating on boyfriends.Multiple yeses to the former, no to the latter.
Then I remember we’re supposed to be fishing.“No.”
“I’ll bait your hook.”
“Excuse me?”Why does everything he says sound like a pickup line?
He raises an eyebrow and pulls a wiggling worm from a Styrofoam container.He spears the worm on the end of a hook the size of my pinky.
I throw up a little in my mouth.Why am I here again?
Gen and Mason’s boat has drifted farther away and I can’t hear anything from them now.
“Here.”Jaeger holds out the fishing rod with the worm still wiggling on the end.“Press the button on the reel and drop the line in to the water.”
I’m trying to concentrate on his words, but I can’t stop staring at the impaled worm.I gingerly take the reel, holding it so Mr.Worm doesn’t touch me, or get knocked against the side of the boat, adding insult to injury.Lowering the tip of the pole, I let him float on the lake’s surface.Maybe the little guy will get lucky and escape his torture device while Jaeger finishes his instructions.
“When I tell you to, lock the line in place.”
Bossy, are we?Who am I kidding; I absolutely need point-by-point instructions.
I press the button and the line sinks, whistling as it descends.Now the worm is drowning.Fishing cannot be humane.
Jaeger gives the signal and I press the button to stop the reel.I grip the rod as if it were an ax and stare at the end, no clue what I’m supposed to be waiting for.
Jaeger pulls another worm from the Styrofoam container, and I look away.I know what’s about to happen.I can’t watch this one’s fate at the end of Jaeger’s hook.
Why does that bring to mind my own destiny?
