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Chapter 14
Grace
My purse had been recovered, and I did some last-minute preparation for a boat trip, such as check it and make sure I had my sunglasses and a scrunchie. I put on some powder and lip balm.
I really liked Alec's family. His mom and Evie were both cool women, and I wanted to earn their approval. I stood up straight and stared at myself in the mirror. I was fresh and clean and wearing top-of-the-line fitness clothing.
Yet my memory flashed back to a moment in time earlier in the day. I saw a vision of myself clumsily fumbling in the driver's seat of my Jeep, being doused with gasoline by someone who hated me. I visited that scene for a second in my mind. I felt the gut-curling embarrassment of it.
And then imagined myself literally flying up and away from that thought, that memory, that scenario. I saw myself leave it behind and go mentally to a different place.
I went to the thought of stolen kisses. I remembered how only moments ago Alec moved with reckless abandon and pinned me against the wall. He obviously wasn't inhibited by this morning's events, so there was no reason I should be. I made a conscious choice to put those thoughts out of my mind.
Moments later, we were on Ozzy's boat on our way to his aunt's house. I had met his Aunt Lucy, but I had never been over to her house before.
I sat close to Alec while we made our way through the bay. It was a wonderful day to be on the water, and I stared out at my surroundings feeling thankful. Alec was sitting close enough to me that our legs were touching, and he reached over and held my hand. Everyone could see us, and he was not being hesitant at all. He looked at me and leaned over a little bit.
"Are you good?"
"Yeah I'm good."
"You used to get a little seasick," he said.
It was true. I had gotten sick a time or two when we went out on boats with friends our freshman year. But mostly it was just because they weren't good drivers and I was scared.
"I'm good with boats as long as it's not really rough."
We made a little small talk with his mom, but it was really too noisy to enjoy a conversation.
I sat back, looking out at the glassy waters of the bay. Alec adjusted, wrapping his arm around me. I didn't look at him. I simply adjusted in his embrace, leaning into him, staring contentedly at the water as we rode along. I pretended to be calm and leisurely, but the feel of his protective arm around me caused me to experience that warm feeling in the pit of my stomach. It had been months without so much as a physical brush, and now I was wrapped securely in his arms.
He held onto me like it was the most natural thing in the world. I felt like I was fifteen again. I loved this man, and my body was buzzing as a result of being next to him. Every once in a while, one of us would say something to another person on the boat, but for more than half of the ride, we were quiet.
I was lost in thought, staring at the water when Alec's mom spoke up.
"Oh, shoot, I just got a text saying Aunt Lucy's going to the doctor. She cut her hand."
Ozzy slowed the boat enough to make the engine quieter, and he leaned in to pay attention to his mom.
"It's David who's texting me," she said. "He's over at her house. He said she cut it with a knife, trying to open a pack of cheese." Jenny looked at us with a worried expression. "It must be bad. She must need stitches because Lucy hates going to the doctor."
"How far are we from there?" I asked.
"Five minutes," Ozzy said.
"If she's bleeding heavily, they'll need to call an ambulance, but if it just needs sutures, I have that with me," I said. "I have a little kit in my purse. I can even numb it."
Jenny started typing on her phone.
"I don't know how bad it is, so get her more help if she needs it. But if it's just basic stitches, I wouldn't mind sewing her up. I'm pretty good at it."
Jenny had been listening to me and nodding the whole time as she looked at her phone, typing. "I'm going to text her and tell her that," she said. "I'll tell her you have a kit with you."
Lucy ended up waiting the few extra minutes for us to get there so that I could look at her wound and see if it was something I felt comfortable with.
She was in the kitchen, sitting at the bar when I went inside. She smiled weakly at me, and I hurried without rushing to her side.
"What do we have here?" I asked in my calmest nurse tone.
