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“I mean it.”
“Yeah, I know you do.” He sets the bottle down and leans forward. “Just remember, people can’t change unlesstheywant to. Not becauseyouwant them to.”
“He asked me to do this fake dating thing so he could focus on hockey. That’s it.”
“That’s notwhy, Auden,” Josh replies. “If he hadn’t kissed you in front of everyone? Yeah, I might have bought it, but he jumped on it like it was his only chance. He has feelings for you, and this fake dating bullshit is his way of dealing with itwithoutdealing with it. Don’t let him get away with it.”
I let out a quiet scoff. Josh raises one eyebrow. I lift a shoulder in a small shrug, then let it drop. “We’re just friends.”
Josh shakes his head. “Fine. I tried. I’m still taking the boat out.” He climbs onto the sleek speedboat tied up alongside the dock. “Can you get the ropes?”
I eye the beer he’s holding. “Should you be driving a boat?”
“Probably not.” The grin he gives me is wolfish. “Come on, Auden. It’s like a car but with no one else on the road and no speed limit.”
I roll my eyes, but I climb aboard after I untie the boat.
Josh grins, then sprawls out on the bench seat behind the captain’s chair. “Do your worst, Harmon.”
I approach the wheel apprehensively.
“Come on, you must have some fire beneath that good-girl exterior. Reid has never gone for the please-and-thank-you type. Plus, I heard you got your cousin pretty good last night. Keys are in the ignition.”
I’m really on a roll with questionable decisions lately, because I don’t hesitate any longer. I take a seat, turn the key, and press the lever that I assume is the gas. The boat speeds ahead like a racehorse leaving the gate.
“Holy fuck,” Josh exclaims as we speed across the open water. His dock is microscopic in seconds.
“I’ve never driven a boat before,” I call back to him.
I’m pretty sure he says, “No shit,” but it’s hard to hear over the whipping wind.
It’s fantastic. Euphoric. If I had a choice, I would never travel by any other mode of transportation but this ever again. The sun is sinking, casting dapples of orange across the surface of the water. The wind whips my hair back. There are no other boats in sight. It’s like I’m competing in a Formula 1 race—alone. We fly across the water so quickly it feels like we aren’t even touching it. Like we’re hovering above the surface, moving too fast to even leave behind a wake. I’d look back to confirm, but I’m terrified to take my eyes off of what’s right in front of me for fear of an island or lighthouse suddenly appearing. Do lakes even have lighthouses?
I don’t touch the speed lever for several minutes. It quickly becomes addicting: the rush of wind and excitement and adrenaline. Any decrease will be a letdown. Once I spot the opposite shore, I finally pull it down, more slowly than I started it. The boat slows and slows and slows until we’re barely moving at all. My heart pounds erratically.
“Nice work. Want a drink?” I glance back to see Josh lean over and open a small fridge tucked under the seat he’s splayed out on. “We’ve got beer, hard seltzer, and wine.”
“Is that allowed?”
“No. We’re breaking about ten rules the Canmore Town Council takes very seriously right about now.” He shrugs. “If anything happens, my parents will make it go away.”
“I’ll take a hard seltzer.” I sit down beside him and open the can when he hands it to me. “Sounds like your parents would get along well with mine.”
“Oh yeah?”
I take a sip of the fizzy alcohol. “Yeah, for sure. My parents have never met a problem money can’t fix—my dad especially. He paid six figures to store his sailboat at the Laguna Beach Marina. He’s never even been. It’ll probably get sold off in the divorce.”
“Your parents are getting divorced?”
“Yep. Been in the works for a year now. My dad handles a lot of high-profile divorces, but my mom refused to have it all go through his firm. That’s dragged things out a lot.”
“That sucks. I’m sorry.”
I shrug. “It is what it is.”
“Are you jealous of Elliot’s family?”
“Huh?” I’m taken aback by the question.
