Alex didn’t say anything when I got out of the van. I walked as fast as I could across the parking lot, telling myself I wouldn’t cry. Not for a guy I’d only known for a summer. Not for someone who would end up as a blip in my life, even if we had loved each other. With every step I took toward the dock, it became harder and harder to blink back the tears, and by the time I boarded the boat, they were falling faster than I could wipe them away.
—
“You look like shit,” Nina said when I walked into the crew mess. She looked at me with raised eyebrows and set her mug onto the counter.
“Thanks, Nina.” I pushed past her and headed for the laundry room, not wanting to be in here when Alex came inside. “I don’t really want to talk,” I called at the sound of her footsteps behind me.
Nina followed me into the laundry room and shut the door behindher. I ignored her, starting on a bird-of-paradise fold with a cloth napkin I’d grabbed from a pile on top of the dryer.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on or what?” she said, hopping onto the washing machine.
“Or what.”
“Fine, I’ll talk until you decide to, then.” She folded her hands in her lap. “That was some show you and Alex put on last night, and I’m not talking about the karaoke. Don’t think I didn’t notice the lipstick on his face after your little rendezvous in the parking lot.”
I folded the napkin in half diagonally and didn’t respond.
“I thought you’d be happier, though,” Nina continued. “I told you he was just confused about his feelings for you. Those kneecaps, really, who can resist them? So is he still a good kisser now that you know him? Yes or no? My guess is yes, given his refined palate and how wrinkled your dress was. Though you look miserable, so maybe no?”
I kept my eyes on the napkin in my hands, folding it until I had a sloppy-looking diamond.
“It’s the minivan, isn’t it?” Nina continued. “You know I have a thing for soccer moms—the mom jeans, the bob haircuts, the whole Target aesthetic really gets me going. But it’s the minivans. I just can’t do it. I get that sliding doors are very appealing, but wouldn’t an SUV—”
My fingers were jittery as I tugged the last fold of the napkin, and my bird-of-paradise looked more like a bat out of hell. “Oh my God, Nina, please shut up!”
Nina snatched the napkin from my hands, her fingers flying as she refolded it with more skill than I possessed even on my best days. “I’ll think about it, if you’ll tell me what’s going on.”
“All right, all right! We made out in the parking lot and he told me he loves me. And yes, he’s still an excellent kisser. And no, I’m not happy, because none of it matters. He and Greyson are moving across the country, and who knows if we’ll ever see each other again. Oh, and then there’s the fact that Mia, Kitty, and Greyson got caught in the yacht’s hot tub lastnight. And Alex and I just got into a fight, and I said some horrible things I didn’t mean, and I’m still too pissed at him to do anything about it.”
“Whoa, Jo Jo.” Nina hopped off the washer and set the bird-of-paradise onto it. “Deep breath, now,” she said, pressing her hands onto my shoulders.
I sucked in a breath through my nose and exhaled in one big whoosh out of my mouth, like Greyson had shown me.
Nina patted my cheek. “First, bravo on the kissing. You needed a good spit swap. Second, I guess we know what Greyson’s deal was last night. And finally, I am very sorry to hear he’s leaving. That’s the butts.”
“The butts?”
“It sucks ass! Is that what you want me to say? I was trying to be polite. And I’m sure Alex knows things are... difficult right now. Just apologize later.”
Nina pulled me into a hug, and I leaned my head on her shoulder as she rubbed my back in big circles.
“I can’t imagine he’ll want to talk to me after this morning. But you’re right. This is the butts,” I said.
“I really wish you’d say that more often.”
“The butts?”
“Sure, but I meant the part about me being right.”
I rolled my eyes.
“And I may have heard about the hot tub incident already.”
I pulled away from her. “You did?” Had the owners found out? I’d only met them the few times they’d taken out the yacht themselves. Mr. and Mrs. Green were nice, but they expected nothing less than perfection. I didn’t think they’d have any second thoughts about firing me if they felt I deserved it. Would I be losing my job on top of everything else today?
“Officer T told me,” Nina said. “I made him promise not to tell Cap or the Greens.”
Relief flooded through me, and I wrapped my arms around her, picking her up off the floor. “Nina Lejeune, you are the best human being.”
