Chapter 10
PAISLEY
"I don't know about this." I stared at the wake out behind the back of the boat. "Is it safe?"
"Of course it is," Ryan said lightly. "The worst thing that can happen is you fall in the water."
"I think the worst thing might be that I humiliate myself," I said, grimacing.
All three of them had the audacity to grin.
"We've all done it," Blaise said. He'd stuck close to me since we stepped off the dock and onto the boat, even helping me into my lifejacket. "Ryan sucks at it."
"I fucking do not." Ryan narrowed his eyes at Blaise, but he looked like he was trying not to smile. "Blaise is the one who sucks."
"Notice how neither of them mentioned me." Morgan smirked. "That might be because they're jealous of how good I am. I'm also really good at waterskiing."
Ryan and Blaise both snorted.
"Keep on dreaming," Ryan told him.
"I don't need to dream, I can show you." Morgan didn't seem to be bragging, just stating a fact. "Why don't I show all of you how it's done?"
"I could use a demonstration," I admitted. The closest I'd been to seeing anyone waterski was on TV. Moving across the water, it seemed a hell of a lot more daunting.
"I'm more than happy to show you all my tricks, on and off the water.
" Morgan pushed his feet into a pair of skis, grabbed the handle that was attached to a rope and waited for the boat to stop before stepping off the side.
He turned around to face it and gave a nod for the boat to increase speed again.
Slowly, he lifted up out of the water until he was balanced on skis, riding the wake like he was born to do it. His hair, pulled back in a ponytail, whipped out behind him. He let out a whoop and raised one hand over his head like he was riding a bull.
"He made that look easy," I said.
"He's been doing this a while," Ryan said grudgingly. "We all have, but some of us don't have weeks off to play around."
The boat moved in an arc around Lake Aurora, pulling Morgan behind before he fell off the skis with a splash.
The driver turned the small boat around, slowed and stopped to let him climb back on board, skis in hand.
"See, nothing to it." He tossed the skis aside and sat down on one of the benches that stretched from one side of the boat to the other.
"Do you want to try?" Ryan asked.
"Of course she does," Blaise said. "I bet Paisley isn't scared of anything."
"I wouldn't take that bet," I said wryly. I was scared of a lot of things, including making a fool of myself. I didn't like being made a fool of, either. On the other hand, they went to the trouble of bringing me out here, so I might as well try.
"Okay, where do I start?" I let them help me off the side of the boat, Ryan and Blaise to either side of me. They showed me where to place the skis and my hands, and stayed with me while the boat slowly increased speed again.
"Remember to keep your legs apart and your knees bent," Ryan called out. "Balance your weight on the skis. That's—"
I didn't hear what else he said, I'd toppled sideways, straight into the water. I let go of the rope and swam for the surface, helped by the buoyancy from my life jacket.
Laughing, I popped up out of the water. "I almost stood up."
Arm over arm, the guys swam to me, and helped me back into the boat, into Morgan's waiting arms. I clung to him, trying to get my balance.
"Do you want to try again?" He brushed wet hair off my face.
"I think I'd rather watch the guys have their turn," I said. It wouldn't be long before we had to get the boat back to the dock.
"No one minds if you want to try," Morgan assured me. "But if you don't want to, no one minds that, either."
I looked up into his eyes. "I have to thank all of you for bringing me out here, but I think I'd like to sit and watch. It's so pretty here."
"You should see it in winter. The lake freezes over so we skate instead of swimming and waterskiing." He smiled wistfully.
"What position do you play?" I asked. "Let me guess, you're a D-man?"
He grinned. "Is it that obvious?"
I shrugged. "You seemed like the type. "I'm guessing Blaise is centre and Ryan is goalie." I watched them both climb back onto the boat.
"The opposition says it's unfair," Blaise said. "Ryan is so big, he takes up the entire goal."
Ryan shrugged at that. "Small guys are fast."
"We sure are." Blaise snagged up a towel and tossed it to me.
I managed to catch it and wrapped it around my shoulders. "Is this your usual summer Sunday? Out on the lake."
I caught a squeal from another woman waterskiing behind a different boat. People dotted the shore all around, having picnics and enjoying the sun. A group of teenagers took turns jumping off the end of the long dock, into the water.
No one seemed to have a care in the world.
"When we're not working," Ryan said. "We're busiest at the height of summer and all winter. I got today off, because I've worked the last eight." He didn't seem to mind.
I didn't think any of them were men who liked to sit around too much. Not that sitting around was a bad thing, just not their thing.
"I'm glad you did," I said sincerely. "This has been fun."
"We're just getting started," Blaise said. He gave me a measured look that said I was going to have to wait and see what they had planned for me next.