Luke steps back, nodding, but I can feel the heat of his gaze on me all the way to my room.
Fifteen
YOU’D BE THE FIRST
Liv
“Igrabbed the Cab!” Viv announces, holding two red wine glasses in one hand, the bottle in the crook of her arm, and closing the patio doors with the other hand.
With full bellies, we watch the sun’s slow descent. The sky is golden and reflecting off the ripples of the lake. I’ve never seen a sunset like this. We’re all supposed to share the same sky, and yet, sunsets out here in Maple Cove look nothing like the sunsets in New York City, blocked by the towering buildings.
Soft, wispy clouds create ribbons of white and pale yellow while the trees become darker and darker, until they’re nothing more than a silhouette in the backdrop. It’s golden hour. The patio lights have turned on, and the sounds of crickets off in the bushes create a strangely comforting hum. Viv pours the wine, and we watch as the sun sinks deeper and the sky darkens.
In the distance, the pontoon boat—fixed with string lights around the top—cuts through the water toward the dock. Josh leaps to the dock before the boat has fully stopped, dropping buoys and tying ropes. He helps a family climb off the boat. Looks like the family from this morning. They all stop andmingle, standing about the dock, looking back at the boat as if waiting for something. I follow to see what they’re waiting for.
The lights on the dock illuminate the boat enough that I can make out another woman still on the boat with Luke. Her hand reaches between them, and from where I’m sitting, it looks like she runs her finger down his chest.
“Um, that girl’s about to lose a hand if she touches Luke one more time. He’s claimed, babe. Step the fuck back,” Viv says from the seat beside me. She has her feet up on one chair, back against the other, eyes focused on the scene before us.
I can’t help but love her for wanting to go to battle for a guy that’s not even mine, but that’s just it. Luke isn’t mine. I have no claim over him, which means he’s free to do whatever he wants. I pretend I don’t feel the zing of jealousy coursing through me.
“Simmer down, Viv. He can do whatever he wants. It’s not like I walked in and called dibs.” Every word I say tastes bad.
“Yeah, no. She needs to back off.”
Voice muted, I look back toward the dock.
Luke takes a casual step away from the woman. His hands are in his pockets while hers are grabbing for him again. They talk for a moment longer, her incessant giggling ringing out across the space between the boat and where we sit.
Josh waits on the dock, politely nodding as the family talks. He keeps looking toward Luke, though, and anyone with two eyes and a brain can tell neither man is interested in the conversation they’re locked in.
Eventually, everyone but the boys walks past us into the house. The girls eventually sashay by. The one Luke was talking to is wearing a string bikini with a mesh coverup that covers literally nothing, and her makeup is flawless. I recognize her as the one who waved at Luke this morning. The way every part of her body hasn’t discovered gravity yet, I’d guess she’s in her early-twenties.
I amnotjealous. Not even a little.
Okay, no, I didn’t like that she was touching Luke and giggling with her friend like a pair of drunk hyenas, but do I have any say over it? No, I don’t. So I need to just… chill.
We catch the tail end of the conversation between the two younger women as they pass us.
“I like Josh, but he doesn’t really seem into me. He’s nice eye candy, though,” the friend says with her own maniacal giggle.
“He’stotallyinto you,” the girl who was hanging on Luke says. They glance at us as they pass, giving us a judgmental once-over before disappearing into the house. My guess is they haven’t lived on the earth long enough to appreciate a summer night in a hoodie and shorts.
Josh makes his way up, carrying a garbage bag around to the side of the house, throwing a nod our way as he passes. He returns, plopping into the chair Viv’s feet were occupying, and sighs, dropping his head back and looking up at the sky.
“Everything okay over there, sunshine?” Viv asks, picking up her glass of wine.
Josh lolls his head in her direction, reaches for Viv’s wine, sips, moans appreciatively, then holds it back out for Viv to take. It’s such a normal and casual move. Anyone who didn’t know better would think Josh had known Viv his whole life.
“Keep it. Looks like you need it more than me. Care to share what's on your mind?” Viv asks, pouring more wine into the glass and nudging it back to Josh, who takes another drink. He tilts his head from side to side, weighing his options.
“The sunset cruise is one of the best services we offer, aside from the view of my good looks, of course,” he begins.
“Of course,” Viv and I say in unison.
“And some families really,reallylove them, and take them…often.” He shakes his head like he wants to say more but doesn’t.
There is more to this. I look at Viv, waiting for her to strike.
