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Nav
Nav’sbackstuckto the leather seat behind him as the condensation from his margarita dripped onto his bare knee. Everyone but Lexie was out dancing to music and watching the waves roll by as the Catamaran pushed through the blue waters.
As each of his friends were distracted by their significant others, Nav found his mind wandering to Lexie. He tipped back the remaining drops of the margarita letting it send a cooling sensation through his body as the ice brushed against his lips. He peeled his bare back away from the leather and stood, taking one last glance at his friends who had decided to ascend up the stairs onto the sky deck.
The loneliness he had consistently tried to avoid was starting to seep back into his mind, so Nav stood and slid the glass door open, stepping into the saloon as a rush of cool air brushed against his skin.
“How’s it going, Analise?” he sang out as he rested his cup on the bar.
She flashed a thin smile back at him, “Ah, it is well. Almost to Charlotte Amalie. You kids planning to head out for the night?”
Nav shrugged his shoulders as he popped a grape into his mouth. “Probably. My brother’s the real one in charge here this weekend. I’m just along for the ride.” She nodded in response and handed him another margarita. He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and tossed a $20 on the bar for her. She stared at it for a moment before he pushed it closer to her. “You deserve it! I promise I’ll get you more before we leave. Thanks for the drink, could I also get a bottle of water?”
She nodded and shoved the twenty into the pocket of her apron.
“Now, by any chance did you see a beautiful carrot top run through here earlier?”
She pointed ahead toward the bow of the boat with a soft smile. “Thanks, Analise.” As he walked up to the glass door and peeked outside, he could see Lexie sprawled out on the chaise bench seat with her straw hat tipped down over her face. Her long slender legs were poking out of a bright pink bikini and her smooth stomach led up to her perky breasts, barely covered in the shiny pink fabric. He took a moment to admire her body before opening the door and stepping out into the sun. He glanced her way, watching as she tilted her head to the side and lifted her hat up slightly, revealing her sparkling green eyes. He heard a groan escape from her lips and laughed in response.
“What? Am I not allowed out here?” he asked as he sat down on the seat opposite of her. She flung her legs down and pushed her body into an upright position. Her cover-up dangled delicately over her arms. She adjusted the hat back onto her head and pulled the sheer lace around her body, tying it in a loose bow in the front.
“That depends on what your agenda is,” she said.
“Whoa now, there’s no agenda. I’m just here to have a good time this week and I’m definitely starting to feel like a seventh wheel with all the love birds on this boat.”
That made her snicker. She pulled her face up to meet his. The sun gleamed against her green agate eyes and her auburn hair was blowing lightly in the slight breeze around them.
“I did some research on the itinerary before we left--our first stop is a place with lots of shopping, some live music, and apparently great food.”
Nav nodded. “Of course you researched.”
She took a swig of her drink and narrowed her eyes at him. “I asked for travel plans like... I don’t know, ten times on the group chat and everyone ignored me every time! I needed to make sure I could afford whatever we were going to do...”
A blush spread across her cheeks. He understood her concerns because he too was hesitant to dive too deep into his savings for this trip. He knew their friends meant well, but they often overlooked the financial aspect of things because it wasn’t ever something they had to worry about themselves. Lexie and Nav were used to playing catch up—thrifting when they could and saving every penny so they could participate in the lavish activities their friends did.
“So what is on your itinerary for today then?” he asked, diverting the conversation.
“I never got that far because I have no idea if Adam has plans for all of us once we dock. Do you know?” she asked.
“It’s Adam...do you really think there’s a plan?”
Her lips curled into a smile. “Right, but Kennedy helped, so there’s gotta be a plan. There’s no way she would travel and spend all this money without a plan. You and I both know that.”
Nav laughed. He didn’t know Kennedy extremely well due to his slightly estranged relationship with his brother, but after spending a weekend with her a year ago, he grew fond of her type-A personality.
He turned his attention to the front of the boat as more of the shoreline came into view. Boats lined along the port dock in varying shapes and sizes. A shadow cast across the Catamaran as they glided beside a cruise ship parked at the end of the dock. He gazed up in wonder, forgetting about the current conversation, simply in awe at the size of the ship.
“I’m going to see what the plan is,” Lexie said with confidence. As she stepped away, the sun beamed upon his face again and he tilted his head back, letting his thoughts wander through the recesses of his mind thinking back to the moment he lost Lexie for good.
He had gone back to Otsego a few short months after he left, after realizing he was the victim of fraud. Adam, the hot-shot computer programmer, came to the rescue to save him from even greater financial ruin. Nav arrived at Adam’s place at the most inopportune time as he and Kennedy were planning a small get together for their friends, so Adam sent Nav to the grocery store with Kennedy’s list.
He grabbed a cart and meandered through the store haphazardly throwing items in while trying not to panic about his impending financial doom. As he approached the milk cooler he caught sight of a familiar swoosh of red hair as a slender woman in front of him bent down to pick up a piece of paper off the ground. He felt the moment play out in slow motion as she stood tall and turned to open the cooler, landing her eyes right on his. She stared for a moment before shutting the cooler and fumbling with the list in her hands. His eyes followed the motion of her hands and landed squarely on the massive diamond on her left hand, which had replaced the green gemstone she had worn since they were seventeen. Seeing that ring again made Nav’s heart sting with a rush of jealousy and hurt knowing she’d replaced his spot in her life with the man standing beside her.
He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, the jolliest man he had ever seen slipped his arm around her waist as he lowered something into their cart. Nav forced his eyes to focus back on hers, which were twinkling with joy. Her lips were fighting against a smile as the man leaned in to kiss her cheek. He was oblivious to Lexie’s distraction, apparently only having eyes for the most beautiful girl in the grocery store. Nav didn’t blame him one bit. Lucky bastard.
