His face clouded as he finally seemed to process her stress.
“I thought I’d mentioned that before, but maybe not. Telling girls you’re a manny isn’t exactly the best pickup line.”
“I don’t understand. What even is a manny?”
“Manny,” he repeated flatly. “Nanny, but male.Man-ny.”
Augie tried to recall their conversations on the boat. They hadn’t talked much. They’d met late in the day, and she’d assumed he was like the other guys: a hockey player sophomore at St. Cloud. Still, she remembered the moment she first saw him.
Augie and Leah had been at the party about two hours when theguys decided to tie all three boats together in the center of the lake. They were silly and tipsy from endless sun and margaritas, and they’d been dancing on the back of the smallest boat when the wave of a passing pontoon made Augie stumble. As she fell backward, someone had caught her. He’d introduced himself as he helped her to her feet, but she’d been too busy laughing with Leah to pay attention. She’d barely looked at him as she replied she was “Allie Von Whatever.” It wasn’t until the sun shifted and he pulled up his sunglasses that she did a double take, instantly sobering. Those eyes. Penny eyes. That’s when she’d made the joke about Abe Lincoln, grabbing his cheeks to look closer as his smile pressed into her palms.
“If that’s a compliment, I’ll take it,” he said, still grinning, their faces inches apart. When the boat rocked again, Augie grabbed his arm for balance.
“Of course it is. Who doesn’t like Abe?” Augie didn’t add that she had always been obsessed with pennies—that she and her dad used to collect them, constantly searching for glints of copper on the sidewalk.
“All right, Mary Todd. I’ll take it.” He’d laughed then—that rasp!—and Augie was so charmed that as the boat swayed again, she let herself bump into him. He didn’t push her away. Instead, as the music switched to an old middle school hit, he slid both her arms up around his neck, and they started dancing—laughing and joking as he grabbed her hips, spun her around. At one point, she caught sight of Leah over his shoulder mouthing, “SO HOT,” and Augie had to smile. It was the most fun she’d had in months. She loved being Allie Von Braun.
Augie wasn’t sure how many songs had passed after that, but eventually, they started dancing closer, the space between their bodies dissolving. She felt the heat of his skin on hers, his breath on herneck, and a new pull took over. So, as the boats started toward shore, Augie grabbed Leah and asked for a pep talk. Asked for The Babe’s keys. As the sun lowered, the boats docked, and everyone made their way to the beach, she’d led him down to the cabin.
“Look, I’m a babysitter, okay?” he said now, bringing Augie back to present. “I know it’s not the sexiest summer job, but it’s a good gig. Good money. Like I said, we spend all day at the pool. We’re here all the time. So.” He lifted his palms as if feeling for rain.
Augie gripped the stair’s banister, unnerved by the desire she still felt for him. Micah’s face flashed in her mind, which made her want to cry.
“I was never supposed to see you again,” she blurted out.
They both went quiet. His ears and neck tinged red.
“Okay. Got it.” He pointed a finger at her in a way that told her he was trying to make light of the comment.
Augie’s throat stung.
He picked up a backpack and let it hang off one shoulder.
“You know, I really am just here picking up Max and Cooper,” he said, turning defensive. “I’m not actually stalking you. Before this week, I had no idea you worked here. That you even lived here.” His face twisted as he picked up another bag. “I gotta go. The boys are falling asleep, and the Crawleys want to stay later. It sounds like a real party.” He looked to the ceiling as the color drained from Augie’s face.
“The Crawleys? Danika and Bill?” she choked out. “That’s who you work for?”
“Yeah!” He looked excited, as if this was good news. “Do you know them?”
Augie couldn’t help it then. She sat down on the stairs. On top of being here, in her life, at the Club, he had to be working fortheCrawleys? While Augie had never liked them, since that happy hour, she’d resigned herself to hating Mrs. Crawley. Augie didn’t usually throw around the wordhate, but there was no other way to describe how she’d felt when Mrs. Crawley had bumped into her—yelled at her—and made her drop that tray. It hadn’t even been Augie’s fault, yet of course, she was the one who’d had to apologize in front of everyone. This was how the Club worked. This was how the world worked.
“I guess I know them, sort of.” Augie could not picture Chat living at the mansion they’d built down the block. While you couldn’t see their house from the road, photos from Zillow had been passed around. It was magnificent—all glass walls, modern angles, slate roofs. Augie even remembered the price tag: three and a half million.
“But wait, so how long are you in town? With them?”
“I’m only here for the summer. I’ll go to Europe this fall, finally, if I can save as much money as I hope. So, don’t worry. I’m leaving the whole country at some point.You’ll never see me again.”
Augie swallowed, recalling the first time he had mentioned Europe. They had just gone down into the boat cabin, and he’d been rambling on about his travel plans. She couldn’t fault him for it—given she’d asked if he wanted to go down to the cabin “to talk.” She was still endeared when he took it literally, though. She would never forget his face when, in the small, confined cabin—the bed tucked into the alcove behind them, the swivel table to their side—she’d untied her bikini and let her top fall to the floor. Mid-sentence, he’d finally stopped talking.
“Hey, are you okay?” He dropped the backpacks and came toward her, crouching in front of her as he rested his elbows on his knees like a baseball umpire. Again, the smell of him—new car and soap and grass—engulfed her.
Augie held her head in her hands. She knew she was being dramatic, but she wasn’t okay. This wasn’t okay. No matter how special the day with him had been, she did not need more distractions or stress. What she really needed was to get it together. She could not fail whatever test this was. She couldn’t let another man throw her off course.
Augie breathed in, exhaled through her teeth, and stood up so fast she felt lightheaded.
A second later, he reluctantly rose to meet her.
“I’m sorry,” Augie said, her tone forceful. She adjusted her bowtie. “I can’t do this right now. I’m on the clock, and I guess you are, too, so let’s keep to our jobs. Let’s pretend the boat never happened.”
