“I’m Nox. You a friend?”
I rolled my eyes at his impression of Enoch.
“The guy was totally staking his claim. I mean, once I realized he wasn’t holding you hostage. Isn’t that what you and Em are always squealing about in your books you read?” Cole asked with a chuckle, releasing Hannah.
“Yes, but, like, those are books. Red flags are irrelevant in fiction,” Lottie said with shake of her head.
Hannah winked at me as she took her seat. “Sounds pretty hot.”
My cheeks flamed and I cracked open my water bottle, chugging down half of it.
“Oh, he is definitely hot. Totally jacked, too.”
I swallowed, pulling the bottle away from my mouth, “Oh, really?”
I gave him a‘do tell’expression.
“Dude, are you blind? I could see the muscle definition through his shirt. I don’t even like guys, and I was turned on when he sidled up behind us on the couch. And when he crossed his arms,” Cole paused, to mimic the pose, his muscles bulging. “He definitely could make some money filming military thirst traps”
My cheeks flamed even more, and thankfully Hannah noticed my discomfort and kicked Cole in the stomach. “So, what exactly are these karate moves you were going to use in a knife fight?”
Cole laughed, catching Hannah’s foot and holding it hostage as she tried to wriggle free of his grip. “I can show you, if you really want.”
“Alright, alright, children. You ready to get in the water, Cole?” Mason asked.
“Hell yeah!”
Mason stopped the boat in an empty stretch of water and pulled up a middle compartment in the floor of the boat. Inside was what I assumed to be the wakeboard and a neatly folded rope.
“Okay, then. Let’s get this party started!”
Cole removed his phone from his trunks pocket, the music suddenly pausing.
“This one goes out to my fellow emo-lover, Emory Crawford,” Cole said with a broad smile, pointing his finger at me.
The familiar guitar riff began, and I couldn’t help but smile back.
“Reprimanded, why shouldn’t I curse in an email I sent lying when I skip work?” he sang along, using his phone as a microphone.
He continued to sing, belting out the pre-chorus at a volume that had me scanning the area for onlookers. No one else on the water paid us any mind.
Cole pushed the phone into my face, and I relented.
“Faraday!”
I allowed Cole to pull me to stand, his arm slung around my shoulders as we finished singing out the chorus.
“And if I gotta hear the same song again from the manager’s Pandora playlist,” Mason chimed in, pointing at Lottie.
“I swear to God I’ll fill the sink with ammonia and chlorine and block every door,” Cole and I continued.
“And fill every vent! And fill every vent!” Mason screamed, his voice cracking.
“Hey, doofus!” Lottie shouted over the music, kicking her husband in the shin. “You’re just as much the manager as I am. And we all know that Emory controls the stereo when she’s working and forces us all to listen to her emo playlists.”
Hannah laughed at us all and I smiled to myself, Cole holding me tightly as we swayed with the motion of the boat.
Happy. This is what happy feels like.
