Chapter 10
10
MARCUS
I can’t stop looking at her.
She’s so distracting, I’ve almost wrecked my boat. Twice.
Wearing nothing but a pair of little cutoff shorts and a tank top, Ryan has her feet up on the bow of the boat, her pink toenails for the world to see. Those ever-present long, toned, tan legs are on full display, and it’s doing a number on me.
Ryan gazes up at the sun, letting the warmth pass the bill of her hat and heat her face. “So, this is what you do to relax, huh?”
“One of the ways,” I confirm, trying to keep my eyes on the horizon and not on her legs.
Spinning around to face me, she places her feet on the bottom of the boat and reaches out to pet Buddy. “What are the other ways?”
I shrug, motoring along as we head for my favorite fishing spot. “Fishing, sitting out on the deck, walking through the woods, four-wheeling. That kinda stuff.”
Her nose scrunches up. “I haven’t done any of those things,” she says almost absently to herself.
“You’ve never walked in the woods or sat on a deck?”
“Well, not like you have. I’ve walked in the rain forest and other exotic places while on vacation, but nothing like Pine Village. And the decks I’ve sat on are attached to penthouses and yachts, not cabins.”
I nod, understanding what she’s saying. Her lifestyle and mine are totally different. She’s caviar and I’m hot dogs, champagne and cheap draft beer. That’s never bothered me before—not that it bothers me now—but the difference just feels so drastic.
Feeling her eyes on me, I meet her gaze and do everything I can to ignore the bolt of lightning that strikes my guts. It’s crazy how fast my heart starts to beat and how shallow my breathing becomes with just one glance.
“So, where are we going anyway?”
“My secret spot,” I tell her, making a left into a narrow inlet.
“Like…the spot where you take all your victims?” she asks, worrying her bottom lip as she glances around.
I snort. “Nope. Just a special place I go that isn’t inundated by visitors and boats. I catch lots of fish back here.”
She sits up straight on the aluminum bench. “Fishing? We’re going fishing?”
“Sure are,” I tell her, steering the boat up the waterway.
“Like…catching them?”
I can’t help but smile. Her Hollywood is showing. “Yep.”
“Umm, I’ve never done that before.”
I pull into the small cove and shut off the motor. Once I drop anchor, I reply, “I’ll teach you. It’s pretty simple.”
She looks around, fidgeting with the hem of her shorts. “I don’t know, can’t I just…watch or something?”
“Nope,” I insist, standing up slowly and moving to grab the fishing poles. “What if you’re on one of your big fancy yachts and it crashes. You could be lost on some uncharted island and need to fish to survive.”
Her eyes widen and her mouth falls open. “What? That wouldn’t happen.”
I shrug, unwinding the hook and preparing to slip on the bait. “It might. It’s not like you can just call an Uber from a remote island.”
As if sensing my challenge, she sits up straighter and holds out her hand. “Fine. I’ll fish.”
I adjust the pole, moving it toward her so she can grab on to it. Then, I reach into the cooler and pull out the small container of worms. The moment I flip open the lid, she gasps. “What is that?”
“Bait,” I tell her, pulling out a long earthworm and holding it toward her.
“Oh my God, I’m not putting that on the hook! Gross,” she bellows, making a disgusted face and gagging.
“Got to, Princess. It’s the only way to ensure your survival,” I insist, shaking the worm at her and fighting a smile.
She continues to stare at it, and even the look of horror is cute as hell. Ryan closes her eyes and swallows hard. “I don’t think I can,” she mutters, her face pure torture.
“Sure you can,” I reassure. “I’ll talk you through it.”
Ryan continues to stare, and I can practically see the internal struggle going on in her brain. She doesn’t want to, but she doesn’t like being weak either. The respect I have for her climbs a bit more. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she whispers to herself, holding out her hand. It’s shaking pretty hard, and I fully expect her to snatch it away before I can hand off the worm, but to my surprise, she doesn’t.
“Oh my God, it’s so gross,” she cries the moment the tips of her fingers wrap around the worm.
“You’ve got this, Princess,” I insist, letting go.
Taking a deep breath, she holds it up, her entire body rigid. “Now what?”
“Now you’re gonna slide it onto the hook.”
“Oh God,” she groans, her entire body shaking in disgust.
“Now, slide it over the hook like this,” I say, gently grabbing her hand and helping her.
“This is barbaric,” she insists, making a gagging noise that brings a smile to my face.
“There. See?” I hold up the hook and show her the completed task.
She gapes at the hook and then down at her hand. “I’m all…gross!”
I can’t stop the chuckle. “Lean over the boat and wash off your hands,” I tell her. “Carefully, so you don’t tip the boat.”
Her eyes widen to the size of saucers. “What? We can tip?”
“Of course we can,” I tell her, even though it’s less likely in this boat than others. It’s deeper than normal and has the flat bottom, making it a little less tipsy.
She’s like a statue, trying to reach over and clean the wet dirt off her fingers. “I can’t believe I did that. So nasty,” she grumbles to herself, scrubbing the worm guts and muck off her hand.
Buddy takes the opportunity to get close, trying to figure out what she’s doing. When he moves, the boat shakes, causing her to reach out and grip the side. “Buddy, stop!”
He does as instructed and looks on with curious eyes.
“He’s okay,” I say, reaching down and petting his head. “Maybe after we fish for a bit, we can see if he knows how to swim.”
She looks on, curiously. “Don’t all dogs know how to swim?”
I shrug my shoulders and adjust my ball cap. “I’ve never owned a dog, but the chances are pretty good."
She nibbles on her bottom lip. “But not definite.”
“Nope. I suppose there’s a chance he can’t swim.” I glance down at Buddy and add, “Only one way to find out.”
She gasps. “No! You can’t just throw him in and pray for the best,” she argues, making me laugh.
“I won’t. I’m just pulling your leg,” I say, prepping the line to be cast. “Ready to catch a fish?”
She sighs. “I guess.”
We go through the motions a few times, me explaining when to release the line. She pays attention to me, but closer attention to the dangling worm on the end of her hook.
“Wanna give it a try?”
She nods, almost eagerly, but she covers it well by clearing her throat and averting her gaze.
Be careful, Princess, or you might actually enjoy this.
It takes her three tries to get the motion and release timed right, but when she does, her cast sails smoothly into the water. “See? A perfect cast.”
She smiles widely, causing my balls to tighten. If I’m not careful, I’ll be pitching a tent bigger than the one my grandpa taught me to pitch when I was seven.
We sit in silence, the only sounds surrounding us the gentle movement of the trees and the frogs croaking. This is the life. I can’t see myself anywhere else but here. It’s Small Town, USA, where everyone knows you, and I have plenty of opportunity to do what I love. I couldn’t get this in a big city, like LA. The thought of living in a city of that magnitude makes me break out in a cold sweat. To me, that’s a nightmare I want nothing to do with.
After a few minutes, she starts tapping her feet. “So, now what?”
“Now we wait.”
“Wait for what?” she asks, holding her fishing pole carefully while still bending down to pet Buddy.
“Wait for the fish to bite.” I reach down and pull two bottles of water from the cooler. The first one, I pour into Buddy’s bowl and hand the second one to Ryan.
She takes the water. “Thank you. And what do you mean, wait for them to bite? How long does that take?”
I shrug my shoulders, throwing the empty water bottle into a plastic trash bag and grabbing a fresh one for me. As I twist off the cap, I reply, “It depends. Sometimes they start biting right away, and other times, it could be hours.”
“Hours?” she asks, her eyes wide in surprise. “You know, I love seafood, but I never realized so much work went into it. I may have to reconsider the next time I order lobster or crab legs.”
I take a hearty swig from my bottle. “Well, you’re not gonna find either of those two in northwestern Wisconsin, Princess. You’ll see walleye, bass, perch, and trout here.”
She scrunches her nose. “I don’t think I’ve had those.”
“Well, then you’re in luck. We’ll fry up whatever we catch.”
She seems to consider the thought for a few seconds before nodding. “Why are you being so quiet? I mean, besides the fact you rarely engage in conversation, unless you’re being asked a direct question or statement.”
“Fish respond to the vibration and noise. That’s why you’re supposed to be quiet when fishing, so you don’t scare them away.”
“Quiet? The whole time?”
“The whole time,” I confirm, the corner of my mouth curling up.
“That’s impossible in my world. Where I come from, silence is unwelcome, especially on reality TV. No one would tune in if you had nothing to say,” she says, staring off into the distance.
It’s the first time she’s brought up the television show. The only reason I know about it is because of my Google search, which continued earlier this morning. It’s how I heard about Vaughn, her boyfriend, and whatever bombshell he dropped on TV. But as much as I wanted to learn about Ryan and her life, I refused to click on any of the links. I want to hear it from her, not from some entertainment media source, so while I scrolled through and read the headlines and saw some of the pictures they accompanied, I didn’t read any of the articles.
Which brings me to Vaughn. What a smarmy douche, if you ask me. I can tell by his pictures he’s a high-maintenance, spoiled jackass, who wouldn’t know how to find a clit with a compass and a map. The thought of him having his hands anywhere near Ryan makes me want to kill someone, which I can’t understand. They’re dating—or were dating, depending on which headline you read. Scrolling through my phone, it was a reminder I should stay as far away from her as possible.
Yet here we are.
“Tell me about LA.”
She glances up, yet her eyes are shielded by the brim of the ball cap. “I thought we were supposed to be quiet.”
Kicking my feet up on the side of the boat, I remove the cap on my water bottle and say, “Humor me.”
She sighs and returns her gaze to the water. “LA is…fast. Everything is done in a hurry, but there’s so much to do or see, always some place to go, a hand to shake or a cheek to kiss.” Her tone is thick with…melancholy, but I try not to dive too deeply into why. Maybe she’s missing the hustle and bustle of the big city. Pine Village doesn’t hold a fraction of the fame, glitter, and lights that a place like Los Angeles does. I can see how someone who’s used to the city life would long for it again when facing a small town like Pine Village. Not everyone is made for this kind of life.
Me? I never want to leave.
“Sounds…fun.” There’s no hiding the fact it’s not my cup of tea.
She giggles. “Yeah, clearly. You’d probably hate it there.”
“Probably.” I won’t hide the fact.
“Anyway, my dad is a pretty big deal, and so is my mom. When I was eighteen, I started doing these online videos for other girls about the right ways to apply makeup, how to pick the correct colors for your skin tone, things like that. It took off, and the next thing I knew, I had my own YouTube channel with sponsors.”
“Really? There’s money in that?” I ask, trying to understand the concept.
She gives me a look. “A lot of money in it. So, when I was twenty-two, I decided to invest my money in myself. I started my own makeup brand.”
Okay, that impresses me.
“Wow, that’s cool.”
She smiles warmly. “Thank you. I love it. Some people may not consider it a job, but it is. It’s a lot of hard work, honestly. Everything from the product development to testing and marketing. I had no idea how much went into it, but now that I have my hands in it, I feel like I’m finally doing something. Not just for me, but for others too.”
Ryan stares out at the water but isn’t really seeing it. She’s lost in her own head, so I give her a little bit of time to work through it. Buddy rests his head on her bare legs, as if sensing she needs a friend. Her hand runs across the top of his head, her fingers combing over his ears as she gazes off into nothing.
Just as I’m about to ask about Vaughn, her line jumps. It catches her by complete surprise, and she yelps, gripping the pole in her right hand tightly. “Oh my God!” she bellows, her brown eyes wide with shock. “What do I do?”
“You reel it in,” I start, reaching out my hand before quickly pulling it back. She needs to do this on her own. “Slowly,” I clarify, giving her the steps she needs to pull in her fish. “The hook appears to already be set, so lift up and then turn the reel as you bring the end of the pole back down toward the water.”
She follows instructions, her face lined with determination. She does as she’s told several times until the fish is right outside the boat. I can tell by looking at it, it’s a decent-sized rainbow trout. Grabbing the net, I steady the end of her pole and move to the side of the boat. “Hold still. I’m going to help you get it into the boat.”
I bend down and scoop it out of the water with the net. With my hand on the line, I stand up and lift the fish. “Nice catch. I’d say he’s probably twenty inches long, and about five pounds.”
“Holy shit,” she replies, laughing and taking in the fish hanging on the line. Her eyes are sparkling like chocolate diamonds. “I can’t believe I did that.”
“See? You’re a total badass,” I say, wearing a smile on my own lips.
“Oh my gosh, that was a total rush. Now what?”
“Now, you take the fish off the hook.”
Adamantly, she shakes her head. “No. No way. I’m not touching that…thing!”
“Aww, come on, Princess. You already touched a worm and put it on the hook. You can do this.”
“No I can’t,” she insists, shaking her head.
“Sure you can. Here, hold the fish,” I say, practically thrusting it at her.
She screams and jumps back. The moment she does, the boat pitches hard to the right, and as much as I try to find my center of balance, I don’t have time to adjust to the quick movement. The result sends me flying. My hands reach out for anything to stop me from falling, but it’s no use.
Cold. Water.
And just as I hit the lake, I hear the sound of another splash. The moment I come up for air, I see Ryan’s arms flailing about as she bellows for help. I swim toward her, my hands wrapping around her slender waist. “Are you all right?”
She gasps and sputters. “What the hell happened?”
“We fell in,” I deadpan.
“I know that, but why?” she screams, kicking her feet. “Oh my God, this water is nasty!”
I look for Buddy, who’s still in the boat, tail wagging and tongue hanging, ready to play too. He’s jumping around, and I can read his intent all over his face. “No, Buddy. Stay.” The last thing I need is to retrieve a dog from the lake too.
I give Ryan a gentle shove toward the boat, helping make sure she stays afloat. “Come on, Princess. Up you go.”
She grabs the side of the boat and hoists herself up as I push. She’s not graceful, but I’m not sure you really can be at this point. When she falls onto the bottom of the boat, I prepare to pull myself up. “Ryan, move to the other side. We need some counterweight.”
She rolls over, Buddy practically jumping on top of her, thinking it’s time to play. When she’s on the opposite side, I grab hold of the boat and pull. I fall just as gracefully into the boat and sigh.
“I can’t believe that happened. It was in my mouth, Marcus.”
It takes me a moment to catch up, and even though I realize she’s talking about the water, I laugh. Hard. Full belly, lying on the bottom of the boat and unable to catch my breath, laugh.
And do you know what?
It feels good.
Even better, Ryan joins in and laughs along with me. Of course, it could be crying I hear, but I’m pretty sure she’s laughing.
“Come on, Princess. That’s enough fishing for today.”
She turns, sopping wet and still looking absolutely breathtaking. “You know, I think I’m done fishing.”
“For today?”
She pins me with a look. “Forever, buster. For. Ever.”