Chapter 21
TWENTY-ONE
Rhett
Fifteen Years Ago
P enelope set the case of beer at the bow of the boat and turned toward me, her hands on her bare hips. “Is that the last load, lover boy?” She wore her cutoff shorts unbuttoned and rolled down so low that I wasn’t sure why she’d bothered wearing them at all, considering she only had on a string bikini on top.
Whatever her reasoning was, I was relieved she’d decided to wear them. Enough of her was showing as it was.
I set another case of beer on top of the one she’d just carried. “Yep, that’s it.”
She used her finger to count all the booze we’d piled up in the corner of the bow and looked at me with a scowl. “Five cases of beer and four handles of vodka? That’s all you got for the beach house? Tell me you have a secret stash hidden in your backseat that I just didn’t see?”
I adjusted my baseball hat lower on my face. “We’re only going for two nights.”
She smiled. “I don’t think you realize how much I can drink.”
I realized.
I’d seen her drink more times than I could count.
But I’d also witnessed her hugging the toilet when all that liquor caught up to her.
“Timothy has a fake ID,” I said. “I’m sure if we run out, which would be a miracle, then he could make a booze run.”
She rolled her eyes. “Timothy …”
“What about him?”
She stared at the edge of the marina, where a sailboat was on its way into the dock. “Been there, done that. And so over it.”
I cleared my throat. “It?”
“Yeah … It .”
It was nice enough to let us stay at his parents’ beach house. And It felt the same way about her, so Lainey and I had to convince him to allow Penelope to get an invite.
But I wasn’t here to argue with her. She could think whatever she wanted about Timothy. No matter what I said, it wouldn’t change her mind.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Well, you’re about to be spending a lot of time with Timothy during this trip and in Europe, so—I don’t know—play nice, I guess.”
She sat on the side of the bow, swinging her legs in the air. “I just wish there were some new guys coming to his beach house and not the same old crew you guys always hang out with.”
“Penelope, that crew, they’re our friends.”
“And your friends are all taken. Blaaah .”
“Why is that a problem?”
I swore she was trying to stick out her chest when she said, “Because they’re all married up and there’s no room for me to squeeze in.” There was suddenly a smile on her face. “Especially you. You’re, like, beyond taken, and that’s just annoying.”
I squeezed the visor of my hat with both hands. “Stop.”
“Stop what? Confessing my love? Don’t deny it—you love hearing it.”
I shook my head. “I don’t.”
“Now, you’re just lying to me.” She nodded toward the duffel bag I’d packed my clothes into. “You wouldn’t happen to have anything in there that’s stronger than booze, would you?”
“Just some weed.”
She waved me off. “I’m not talking about weed, Rhett.”
“Then, you’re shit out of luck.”
She laughed. “No, you’re shit out of luck because I don’t share.”
I had no idea what she meant, but I wasn’t going to ask. I didn’t need anything she had or wanted or was or wasn’t willing to share. Weed and alcohol were good enough for Lainey and me, and I knew my girl, and she probably wouldn’t do much of either at Timothy’s beach house.
“Are we getting out of here anytime soon?” Penelope asked. “I’m ready to hit the water.”
I scanned the boat to see if everything was in place and what was left to do.
My dad had gotten the forty-two-foot center console about two years ago, around the same time I’d gotten my driver’s license, so while I was learning the rules of the road, I was also learning the rules of the water. She had four 400s on the back and a decent-sized cuddy that was under the bow—a place I’d slept a few times over the years, especially before Lainey came back into town—along with a head that came in handy whenever Lainey was on the boat since the girl drank more water than anyone I knew.
“I just have to untie the lines,” I told her, “and we can get going.”
She used her hand to block the sun out of her face even though she had a pair of sunglasses on her head. “Whatever you need, I’ve got you, captain.”
“I’ve got to call Lainey first. I promised her I would before we took off.”
“Yes, get my sister on the phone. I’m dying to tell her how much of a snore you are.” She grinned.
I wanted to chuckle; I just didn’t have it in me.
I took my phone out of my back pocket and hit Lainey’s number, holding my cell up to my ear.
“Hi,” Lainey answered.
“Hi, baby.” I peeked at Penelope, who was now doing something on her phone, and I turned my back to her, walking toward the stern.
“Are you on the boat with Pen?”
“Yep.”
“How’s everything going? Are you all packed up and ready to go?”
I tapped the top of an engine. “Once I hang up with you, we’ll get going. It should take me about thirty minutes to get to Timothy’s. We’ll be there waiting for you.” I watched a twenty-five-foot bowrider pull out of the marina, its wake far larger than it should be.
“I’ll be leaving here in about an hour,” she said. “Hopefully, the traffic won’t be too bad, and it won’t take me long to get to the beach house.”
“Will you call me when you leave?”
“Of course. In the meantime, will you take some pics of you and Pen on the boat? I want to document every second of the next couple of months before we leave for USC.”
I gripped the edge of the plaster, next to one of the cleats, and attempted to keep my voice down. “You want pictures of me with Penelope?”
“Is that okay?”
Jesus, I could only imagine how much Penelope would love that.
“Lainey—”
“I know. It’s not your thing. But this one time, will you do me a favor and snap some for me?”
I sighed. “Really?”
Lainey didn’t know how I truly felt about Penelope and how I was getting so tired of her behavior. I kept that to myself. But my sounds made it clear that her constant presence was wearing on me, and I was sure Lainey was picking up on that.
“Rhett, she’s going to be in New York soon, and I won’t be able to get these moments back. Who knows if she’ll come home for summer breaks or even holidays?”
There was emotion in her voice, and I couldn’t handle hearing it.
“I’ll take some,” I told her. “Don’t worry.”
“Thank you.”
Penelope had mentioned wanting to talk to her sister to tell her how much of a snore I was, so I turned toward the bow to get her.
“Hey, Penelope, do you want—” My voice cut off when I saw what she was doing.
What the fuck? Is she fucking serious?
I couldn’t believe my eyes. I couldn’t believe Penelope.
I ground my teeth together, attempting not to sound pissed when I said to Lainey, “Never mind, she’s busy. Don’t forget to call me when you leave the salon.”
“I won’t. I love you.”
“I love you, Lainey.”
The phone went dead, and I squeezed the rubbery cover, my brain scrolling through all the things I wanted to shout at Penelope while she sat on the floor of the boat.
Her legs were folded in front of her, and she had one of those makeup compacts in her hand. Lainey had them all over the vanity in her bedroom, so I recognized what Penelope was holding.
But Penelope wasn’t putting on makeup.
She held the compact upside down so the mirror lay flat on her palm, and she was using a credit card to chop up a mound of white powder that she’d dumped in the middle of the glass.
With each pass, she formed a new small, thin line.
And the dollar bill that was balanced on her lap told me those lines were about to be snorted up her nose.