“Hey! That’s my thing,” I insist. “I’m the person with the plans and schemes.”
“Tough,” he says, shrugging. “It’s upside-down day. You ready?”
“No, I’m not ready in the least bit! I don’t want to get sick again,” I say, clinging to the carrot-colored kitchenette counter. “Especially not in that bathroom.”
“Told you before, seasickness is an inner ear problem. It’s sort of a battle between your senses, right? Your body is used to being on solid ground, and once you’re on a boat, your eyes are seeing one thing, and your inner ears are detecting another, and it’s one big sensory overload, and kablam! You’re sick.”
“Terrific for science. Let’s not do any kablamming.”
“Nope. We’re going to kablam until your body gets used to the water. The ginger helps your inner ear. So does antihistamine. That’s all motion-sickness pills are, really. And I’ve got them in case you need them.” He pats his pocket. “Remember last time, with the old fish and the sealant smells? I think that was a big factor. Strong smells make it worse.”
“It definitely didn’t help,” I agree.
“That’s why I cleaned, see? And I aired everything out. No smells. So today let’s start small. We’re just going to sail out for about a nautical mile, then I’ll stop the boat. Got it?”
Okay, adorable or not, I’m really unsure about all this and moan a protest.
“Mind over matter,” he says, gesturing to the deck above.
“I’m going to crack openyourmind for making me do this, Lucky Karras.” The only thing saving him is that even though I can’t see his spectacular hips at the moment, he’s smiling down at me with that beautiful smile of his, and his hair is a particularlyfloppy mess today, and it’s all driving me a little wild. All of it. All of him: the adorable parts, the sexy parts, and the parts that did all this research.
This is a much bigger boat thanBig-Enough. I wouldn’t call it a party boat, but it’s big enough for several people to take out fishing. I just wish it was someone else instead of me. Especially when Lucky forces me to strap on an ugly orange life jacket—“them’s the rules”—and leads me up four steps to a covered cabin with the boat’s controls and two seats. From here, I can see the deserted boatyard and the backs of all the brick warehouses that line the South Harbor. I can even see the Quarterdeck Coffeehouse, which is where I’d rather be right now.
“Deep breath,” he tells me. “And watch the horizon.”
That’s exactly what I do as Lucky starts up the rumbling engine of theNarwhal. Abandoning the lollipop in a wrapper inside my shorts pocket, I go for the stronger ginger gum, chewing down on it like a camel as Lucky maneuvers the boat around the Karrases’ small dock. Then we motor through the harbor.
I try not to look at anything, but I can tell we’re going the opposite direction from where we went in the smaller boat that first evening. Every once in a while, I allow my eyes to dart away from the horizon—toward the disappearing Harborwalk, cobbled streets, and bright flags blowing in the bay breeze. We’re up so much higher in this boat. It’s strange to be out here, to see it all from this point of view.
“You okay?” he asks.
“Don’t talk to me. I’m trying to concentrate on the horizon.”
“We’re almost there. You’re doing great.”
A few bigger yachts cut through the water near us, a few sailboats, too, but Lucky veers around them gracefully. At least I thought. When I watch the last turn, I feel the queasiness begin to rise up in me—it starts in the back of my cheeks and with a cold sort of sweat that sweeps over my brow.
“Oh no,” I tell Lucky.
“Okay, okay,” he says. “We’re just about where I wanted to be. Yep. Okay. I’m shutting the engine off. Look at the horizon. Are you focused on that?”
“Ugh.”
I feel the boat sway, then it goes quiet. Then it stops. After some loud grinding noise, Lucky puts a hand on the back of my neck. “You all right?”
“Think so.”
“You want to lay down on the deck?”
I think about it for a second. The queasiness is subsiding. Not gone, but better. “I’m managing. If the water would stop moving, that would be great.”
“I can help with that. It’s why I brought you out here.”
I blow out a hard breath and dare to turn in my seat to look up at him. “To kill me and throw my body in the water? Iknewthis was a Cape Fear situation.”
“Nope. I’m going to teach you to swim.”
I stare at him. “Um, what?”
