My pace slowed as the distance waned, until I’d come to an awkward stop at the edge of the group. I was panicked and unable to glean enough air. Maybe I should bail. Slip away before anyone noticed me, and text Noah saying I felt sick. Why had Noah even invited me? We were hardly going to discuss family drama around others.
This was too much. Too stressful. I was bailing.
But then Noah looked up, his gaze unerringly finding mine.
Never mind, then. I managed a half wave and concentrated on breathing. At least if I passed out from anxiety I could blame the heat.
He came to meet me, smiling. “You made it.”
I shrugged, suddenly shy. “Yeah.”
“Come on, let’s get you on the boat.” He led me through the pack of teenagers, introducing me left and right, a social golden boy with a million friends and a smile for all of them—nothing like the angry, honest, guarded, romantic boy I knew. He helped me onto one of the boats, already filled with six others, then turned away to help a group of guys lifting coolers.
Cool cool. I didn’t need a social crutch. No, sir.
The boats pushed off. A dozen people crowded on ours, with Noah somewhere near the front. Had I thought, for some crazy reason, this would be a reasonable time for the two of us to hang out and talk? Silly me.
Still, we were on a boat on the water, so how bad could this be? Sun soaked my skin, and I took a deep breath. Someone turned on music, blasting Top 40, and someone else distributed beer. Everyonepeeled off their shirts, so I did, too, aware how even with a full-coverage bikini top, I had a lot on display. Whatever. Instead of being embarrassed, I had to own it, as Niko always told me.
A girl I hadn’t met before dropped down beside me and offered a pink can. “Hi! I’m Alex. Rosé?”
“I’m Abby.” I took the can but didn’t open it. Was it kosher to drink before noon?
“Noah says you’re family friends?”
“Uh. Yeah. I guess.”
“Cool. Are you here for the weekend?”
“All summer, actually.” We exchanged the routine introductions while two more girls folded themselves down by our sides.
“So, very important question,” one of them said to Alex. “What are you going to be for Kaitlyn’s party?”
“I’m thinking a jellyfish,” she said. “You guys are pirates, right?”
“Ugh, we were debating. Maybe we could find a good trio costume?”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Ursula and Flotsam and Jetsam? Katy Perry and left shark and right shark?”
“These costumes would solidly suck for two out of three of us,” Alex said with a laugh. She turned to me. “The party’s Blue Lagoon–themed.”
“What’s Blue Lagoon?”
“You know?” one of the other girls said—Chelsea, I thought. Chelsea and Jen. “The hot spring?”
“No.” I took in everyone’s shocked faces and decided to make a stab. “Is it... local?”
Chelsea and Jen exchanged the kind of look generally made whenyou thought no one could see you, not when you were directly in front of the person you were side-eyeing. Alex gave me a pitying smile. “It’s in Iceland.”
“Oh. I’ve never been to Iceland.”
What a stupid, stupid thing to say. Did I have zero social skills?
“You definitely should go,” Chelsea said. “You can get cheap deals through Reykjavík on your way wherever and extend your layover for a day or two.”
“Iceland really is great,” Jen said earnestly. “It’s one of the best places to see the northern lights.”
