He snorts. “Just as long as you promise not to throw me overboard again.”
“Oh, I make no promises.” I lower my voice. “Actually, I was just thinking how great it is that we could pull this off. It’s been a while since we’ve hung out like this. All of us, I mean. Hattie and the others too.”
Holden smiles softly. “Yeah. I thought that on the way here.”
It had been a spur-of-the-moment decision last night to get everyone together, but somehow it worked out that we could all go. We’ve gone to movies as a group and hit a few bars, but we haven’t taken the boat out. It used to be our thing, back before adult life got in the way.
“Finally,” Hattie calls when she sees us. Holden’s twin is wearing a purple bikini under a pale yellow shawl. Her dark blonde hair is in a perfectly curled ponytail with white sunglasses resting on her head.
Beside her, Camila and Mateo are in similar sun-ready attire. They each wave at us in greeting.
“I was about to leave without you,” Hattie says, leaning over the side to take Holden’s bags.
“You wouldn’t dare,” Holden says.
“Oh, I absolutely would.”
“Yeah, well. Korie decided they needed to stop at the store for more wine coolers, and then we had to play cooler roulette to fit it all in.” He throws a teasing glance my way, but I ignore him. The truth is, we got lost on the way to Cole’s apartment and had to circle back, losing about thirty minutes in California traffic. “Anyway, Hattie, this is Cole. Cole, meet my sister, Hattie, and our friends Mateo and Camila.”
Cole lifts a hand in an awkward wave. “Hey.”
“We work together,” Holden explains, “and he’s, uh… in the market for new friends, I guess you could say, so I invited him.”
Hattie’s grin sharpens. “Oh yeah? Well, you won the lottery then, because we kick ass.”
That earns a laugh from everyone—including Cole, which is a good sign.
Fifteen minutes pass as we get the coolers tucked away, bags stashed into the small cabin below deck, and loose stuff secured so it doesn’t fly away once we pick up speed. Cole fumbles around, unsure of how to help or where to sit.
“Make yourself at home,” I say. “Only seat that’s taken is the captain’s chair. That’s all Holden’s.”
Cole sits on the bench behind it.
The boat isn’t massive, but it’s got plenty of room for the six of us to spread out.
Once everything’s set, Hattie and I untie the boat from the dock and push off. The engine roars to life, and within minutes, Holden is easing us out into open water.
“This is amazing,” Cole says over the soft rumble of the engine.
“Yeah, you’re welcome to come anytime. We go out often in the summer.”
He nods slowly, as if afraid to commit to another outing. “Is it yours?”
Holden laughs once. “You think I can afford this on my salary? Nah, it’s my parents. They let us use it whenever we want.”
“Gotcha. What do they do?”
“They’re doctors. Well, retired now, but they were.”
I make my way toward the front as we pick up speed—my favorite place to ride when we’re in full throttle. The wind is sharp and refreshing against my skin. After a while, Holden calls my name, pointing out a blue whale in the distance.
It’s the kind of day everyone dreams of on the ocean.
We anchor in one of our favorite coves about forty minutes later. To my relief, there are only a couple of other boats here, far enough away to give us privacy.
The water is calm, the kind of place where you can float for hours without thinking. Occasionally, we’ll see people parasailing off the cliffs to the south, but so far, the sky is empty.
Hattie cranks the music, and Mateo passes out beers, despite it only being ten in the morning. Time doesn’t exist when you’re on the water.
