“If you tell me you’re out of room in your suitcase, then you’re fucked, because you’re not using?—”
“It’s not that. You just have one thing to add.”
“Ijust have one thing to add? What could—” I turn, only to see something being thrown in my direction. I barely catch it.
Then I hold it out.
It’s the pair of shorts that I didn’t buy.
“What? You got these for me?”
“Yep.” He says it simply. “You liked them. There was no reason not to get them.”
“Nate, they’re too short.”
“They’re not. You looked great, and you deserve to have things you look great in.” He shrugs as if it’s nothing and turns away.
I stare between him and the shorts.
I always thought I could read Nate like the back of my hand.
Now I wonder if I’m missing things.
chapter six
Nate grabsour luggage and I stare at the massive boats in the distance. We’re not fully on the dock yet, but my heart’s been slowly going up in speed since I first saw the water. It glistens innocently in the summer sun, as if it couldn’t kill a human with ease.
It makes no sense. I’ve never even been in the ocean, but the thought of being over something that I could drown in makes me want to hightail it out of here.
“This’ll be fun,” I mutter.
“You okay?”
I go from staring at the water to staring at the boat. “It is in fact onwater. What the fuck was I thinking when I agreed to this?”
“These are the questions I had.”
“There’s no way I can do this.” I shake my head. “You should go and I’ll fly home.”
“Maisie, nothing bad is going to happen on this cruise.”
“And how do you know that?” My gaze cuts to him. “So many things could go wrong. And I can’t even swim.”
“I’m lifeguard trained.”
I blink. “Since when?”
“Since forever. The point is, if you somehow fall into water without a life jacket, which is a bigifsince I’m not planning on letting you get near a railing, I’ll be getting you back to safety.”
There’s something sincere about his words, and his tone feels alien to me. I’m tempted to sink into this moment forever with the version of my best friend who obviously cares so much for me, but he’s waiting for me to continue on with all the things that could go wrong.
“What if the boat sinks?”
“I’ve seenTitanic. We would both fit on that door and I would save your ass.”
“There’s no guarantee we could even get a life jacket.”
“I’ll fight anyone for a lifeboat and a paddle. And then I’ll drag you with me.”
