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Burdened with my thoughts, I don’t realize Erik is speaking to me until he waves his hand in front of my face.
“Hey, buddy. Where are you? You’ve got a bite.”
I snap out of my daze and look at my line, staring at it for a few seconds before registering that I need to reel it in. The fish gained a lot of ground while I was lost in my thoughts, and as a result, it takes a lot more time and effort than it should have to bring in. But in the end, I haul in a nice catch.
Erik helps me pack the fish in the cooler and then grabs two beers. He hands one to me, and I take a long pull before setting it down to stretch out my exhausted limbs.
“So, where were you at before?” Erik asks.
“Huh?” I say, my earlier daze forgotten.
“You know, when you hooked that fish? I’ve never seen you so lost in thought.” Erik sips his beer.
“Oh, that. Sorry. I have a lot on my mind.”
“Uh, yeah. I got that. Want to fill me in?”
“I’m not sure where to start.” I take a drink.
“How ’bout the biggest problem?”
“I’m not even sure which that is.” I shake my head.
“That bad?” He grimaces.
This is the perfect time to tell Erik about Simon, but we have three more days on the boat, and I don’t want to ruin them. Then again, if I wait until the last day, Erik might be pissed I didn’t say anything earlier. This trip is turning out to be more stressful than relaxing. Well, at least there’s one thing I can get off my chest without getting anyone on this boat mad.
“It’s not bad at all,” I tell him. Erik cocks an eyebrow. “But it is complicated.”
“The only time a guy uses the word complicated, it’s because of a woman.” Erik starts to sip his beer then abruptly spits it out. “Holy shit! Is this about a woman?”
I eye him warily. “Is that so surprising?”
“Uh, yeah. You’re the eternal bachelor.”
“Not trying to be,” I say defensively.
“You weren’t trying not to be,” Erik fires back. I take a sip of my beer rather than concede the point. “Is it one of the hotties my wife set you up with?”
“No. She works for Charlie.”
“So?”
“So, that’s the problem.” I exhale deeply and take another sip of my beer.
“I’m not following, man. Can you try saying more than just a few words at a time?”
Erik hates it when I’m cryptic. Leave it to him to call me out, again. “I met her at the office. I stopped by to see Charlie after a staff meeting, but everyone had gone out for drinks, except her. We talked a bit, and it was, I don’t know, a pretty intense conversation even though we’d just met.”
“What do you mean by intense?” Erik interrupts.
I run a hand through my hair and take another sip. “Real. It was a real conversation, not something polite or forced or even superficial. I can’t explain it.” I shrug. “Anyhow, Charlie came back and found us talking, and I guess he noticed something because the next day he asked me not to get close to her, so it wouldn’t make it harder for her to work there.”
“Bet that pissed you off.”
“A little.” I nod. “Charlie didn’t have any trouble finding the perfect woman, so he can’t understand why I would. And I admit when I was younger, I wasn’t looking. He never got that lifestyle. I didn’t think he held it against me.”
“Does he, though?”
