“Race you back to the boat?” he challenges me, his eyes playful.
“First one gets the whole pack of sour worms to themselves,” I warn him.
“Deal. Three, two, one.” Luke takes off before he says go,and I scramble away from the shallow sandbar after him. I win only because I come around on the side with the ladder. Luke grabs my ankle, and we’re both heaving, laughing as we crawl toward the cooler.
“Fine, I’ll share, I’ll share,” I say, to get him to let go. He releases me after a beat, the skin on my leg tingling where his fingers were.
We grab the candy and lay out our towels in the sun to finish listening to the podcast. I work on my sketch, and Luke tells me more about his plans for community college and his mom’s business now that his dad is out of the picture.
“It just makes sense for me to stick around here and help out with the store,” he says. It sounds like he’s defending himself against an argument I haven’t actually made yet.
“And that’s what you want to do?” I ask, looking over at him. His eyes are closed and his brows knit together at the question. I want to reach over and smooth out the crease.
“It is,” he says. He opens his eyes and looks at me. “For now.” His lips turn up in a small smile, but his eyes don’t look happy. Before I can say anything else, Luke hops up. “You hungry? Want to head back and grab pizza at Dockside?”
“Sure,” I say.
Luke starts up the engine, and we head back toward Northport. He increases the speed, and I squeal as my hair whips around me.
“Slow down!” I shout through my laughter.
“Chicken!” he says, but he slows anyway.
At the dock, Luke expertly ties up the boat to the wornwooden post. We walk side by side to Dockside’s to-go window. The owner always donates free pizza to the blood drive, so I make sure to tip extra. Slices secured, I lead the way to the end of the dock, stepping over the rope holding an ancientResidents Onlysign that’s only there to scare off nonlocals. We find an empty slip and sit with our feet hanging over the water. Luke is quiet, watching the boats moving in and out of the harbor. I finish my first slice and put my plate down.
“That was really fun. Thanks for inviting me.”
“Of course,” he says, meeting my eyes. “I had fun too. Even if you are a wimp about going fast.”
I scoff and slap his arm. “Sorry I don’t have a death wish!”
Luke smiles. He looks down at his pizza, then back up at me. “But really,” he says, “thanks for coming. Going out on the boat has been weird ever since…”
“Your dad…”
Luke nods but doesn’t elaborate. I take the opportunity to ask what I should’ve asked years ago.
“Are you ready to tell me about what happened with your parents?”
He sighs, looks off to the left where another boat has just pulled in. I take a bite of my pizza and chew slowly, patiently.
“My dad cheated on my mom,” Luke says finally, not meeting my eyes.
“Maddy said she thought that was it. But that’s not all. Right?”
Luke shakes his head. “I’m the one that caught him.” His voice is a strained whisper, both angry and sad.
“Luke, I’m—” I start.
“Don’t be sorry,” he says, shaking his head. “Thing is…I made it worse.”
“No way. That can’t be true. Nothing he did isyourfault.”
“I didn’t tell my mom right away. I didn’t know what to do.”
“When did you catch him?”
Luke studies my face like he’s not sure if he should share whatever he wants to say next.
