AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Katie. And yours?”
“Rob.”
He doesn't hold out his hand, and I don't either. There's something between us, that same sexual spark from the first time we spoke, but this hallway is far too busy, and I don't know. I just have this feeling that if we touch, we just might not stop.
Maybe he feels that way too.
“Do you have any other questions for me?” I ask.
“I asked two, and you only asked one. Your turn to ask.”
“Why haven’t I seen you swimming?”
“Because you haven’t been around when I have.”
“Don’t want to swim when I’m around?”
“Maybe I like to cannonball too much. Thought I would spare you.”
“I’m not afraid to get wet.”
“No?” His lips twist into a roguish smile. “Just how wet are we talking?”
“That depends,” I tease.
“On what?”
“So many different factors.”
“I see.”
We stand around and flirt some more, for so long, in fact, that the class is done, and as soon as my mom heads this way, I nod to Rob and head off. I can’t say exactly why I’m making sure to hide from my mom the fact that I’m into a guy, but I do.
“How was your class?” I ask.
“Not terrible,” she says. “So many women, though.”
“Ah, so you don’t want the company of a guy, huh?”
“No,” she says. “It’s just that women can be so catty sometimes. Back in high school, I used to be friends with a lot of guys, but then your father came along, and…” She grimaces. “Another warning sign, I guess. He didn’t like that I was friends with guys, but he could be friends with whomever he wanted.”
“That’s some grade-A bullshit right there.”
My mom sighs. “I really did fail—”
“You did,” I say. “You should’ve had a drink instead of that class. Let’s get you a frozen cocktail and a mocktail for me.”
She laughs. “You want me to turn into a lush.”
“I want you to enjoy yourself and stop having regrets.”
“I won’t ever regret you or your brother, so there’s that.”
“And that’ll be our toast.”
* * *
The next day, when we wake, we’re at our first port, Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas. Mom and I aren’t completely money ignorant. We haven’t booked any excursions yet, and I don’t know if we’re going to.
