Chapter Twenty-Three
They rode to the marina and parked their bikes at the dock.
Noelle followed behind Jeremiah as they walked past rows of boats on either side of them.
They stopped at a small, white bowrider boat with a black accent lining.
Unlike Jeremiah’s car, his boat looked older.
There was a wind cover above the steering wheel and a seating area in the back of the boat that was just large enough to fit a small group.
Jeremiah stepped onto the boat and turned around, offering his hand to pull Noelle on as well.
“Welcome aboard the Caesar,” he said. “I’ll be your personal pirate today.”
Noelle giggled as the boat shifted under their weight. Jeremiah untied the boat from the dock and pulled the rope up. Noelle followed him to the steering wheel and watched as he put the boat in gear and coasted through the marina and out into the ocean.
“Wait, did you name your boat after your mom’s cat?” Noelle asked.
“Yeah.” He glanced over his shoulder at her and grinned.
“That wasn’t the boat’s original name, though.
It was called Serenity. You remember Mr. Drake from Hang High Parasailing?
” Noelle nodded. “I bought this boat off his brother when I was sixteen after I got my boat license. He put me on a payment plan because my mom and Pop said I didn’t need a boat of my own at that age, but that if I wanted one, I’d have to pay for it myself.
So, I saved up during the summers when I worked at Marty’s, and I saved the money my parents and Pop gave me on my birthdays.
I put it all toward paying off the boat.
Then on my twenty-first birthday I was able to access my trust fund, and I paid off what was left.
I renamed the boat Caesar, and that’s been the name ever since. ”
Him mentioning his trust fund reminded Noelle that money was certainly the biggest difference between them. And it reminded her that his money and their fake relationship went hand in hand, and it reinforced her theory that a real relationship between them probably wouldn’t work.
But they’d already decided to be friends so there was no point in thinking about that now. Not when she wanted to enjoy their last couple of weekends together.
“I didn’t know you worked at Marty’s,” she said.
“I can make a funnel cake with my eyes closed.”
He reached down and laced his fingers through hers and led her toward the seating area.
“Sit tight,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”
Noelle curled up in the corner of the boat and looked out at the water.
She inhaled the salty air. A few other boats were cruising through the ocean or idling in place as people fished.
The storm clouds had darkened over the past half hour, but it still hadn’t rained.
Jeremiah returned to sit beside Noelle, and he wasn’t empty-handed.
He placed an assorted box of Smith’s Sweets cookies and a water bottle in her lap.
“For you, my lady,” he said, bowing.
“Thank you!” Noelle laughed, delighted, as she opened the box. “Where did you get this?”
“While you were practicing with Harper and Ash this morning, I came here to make sure that everything was okay with the boat. I brought some stuff with me that I thought we might want.”
Noelle smiled at his thoughtfulness as she opened the box.
“As you can see, I haven’t turned into a cookie yet,” she said.
“Give it a few more days.” He winked as he took the box from her and grabbed a few cookies himself.
It started to drizzle then, but it was a light mist that didn’t yet suggest the threat of harder rain.
“Hold on.” Jeremiah hopped up and rummaged around near the steering wheel.
He came back, holding two old hoodies, and he handed one to Noelle.
It was dark brown and faded from years of wear and wash.
Heart Beach was written across the front in white letters.
His hoodie was the same but navy blue. “I usually leave these here on the boat just in case.”
“You’ve thought of everything,” she said, slipping on the hoodie. She pulled the hood over her head and covered the top of her braids. The hoodie smelled salty like the beach. “You said your grandfather taught you how to drive a boat?”
“Yep.” He slipped on his hoodie and stretched his legs out in front of him.
“He also taught Percy and Amara. We each got our boat licenses once we turned sixteen. My mom has hers too. She used to drive Pop’s boat sometimes, but he sold it a few years before he died.
He offered the boat to my mom, but she said she didn’t want it.
Percy and Amara said they didn’t want it either.
They never liked being on the boat as much as I did.
And I already had my own boat, so I didn’t need Pop’s too. Now I’m wishing that we’d kept it.”
“What was the name of his boat?” Noelle asked softly.
“The Minnie. He named it after my grandmother.”
“That’s so sweet.” Noelle glanced down at the photograph of his grandparents on the back of the Smith’s Sweets cookie box. His grandfather gazed at his grandmother with such obvious adoration.
“Yeah, they really loved each other,” Jeremiah said.
“On the flip side, my parents’ relationship was the opposite of my grandparents’.
They fought all the time. It was a relief when they split up when I was in middle school.
They’re friends now, though. It was like once they were no longer married, they were actually able to like each other. ”
“My parents divorced when I was young too,” she said. “But I was only three, so I don’t remember any of their arguments. My mom said they just became incompatible after a while.”
Jeremiah nodded as he grabbed another cookie. “I think maybe the key to lasting love is making sure you really like the person before you fall in love. That at the end of the day, they’re your friend first.”
Noelle swallowed thickly. It wasn’t until after Jeremiah was done speaking that he seemed to sense the irony of his words. He and Noelle had just agreed to stay friends very recently. He coughed and focused his attention on closing the top of the cookie box.
“I agree with you,” she said, after a beat. “Friendship is the best foundation.”
He looked at her again with a soft smile. Her butterflies preened their wings for flight.
“Thank you for the books,” she said. “They were perfect choices.”
“Good. I did a lot of poking around online for research.” He smiled wryly. “Book recommendations are all up and down my algorithms now.”
She smiled back and held his gaze. She liked him so much.
But what would talking about their feelings again do?
Earlier, she’d been so confused by Amara and Danny and how they’d stared at each other with so many things clearly left unsaid.
But she understood their behavior now. She laughed to herself.
Jeremiah leaned closer. “Why are you laughing?”
“Nothing.” Her eyes roamed his face, and then a fat rain drop landed right on his cheek.
Jeremiah jerked back and looked up at the sky. More raindrops fell in quick succession.
“Okay, we should go,” he said.
They ducked under the cover above the steering wheel for shelter.
As Jeremiah steered them back toward the marina, the rain intensified.
The wind blew harder, rocking the boat. Noelle experienced a moment of panic where she imagined them getting blown off course and marooned in the middle of the stormy ocean.
But that was the kind of thing that happened to paddleboats.
Plus, Jeremiah looked assured and in control as he steered. It was really sexy, actually.
Once they reached the dock, Noelle hopped out and tossed Jeremiah the rope and he made quick work of fastening the knot and securing the boat to the dock.
Rain was falling in heavy sheets now. They ran to their bikes and pedaled through the downpour.
Thunder rolled across the sky. Noelle struggled to see in front of her.
Riding a bike through this weather was low-key scarier than being on the boat.
As they pedaled through town, they saw other people running in the rain.
Beachgoers, carrying their chairs and coolers.
Kids running barefoot, their laughter tinged with a bit of fear.
Neighbors welcomed passersby to wait out the storm under the protection of their enclosed front porches.
A man who owned a convenience store was handing out umbrellas, free of charge.
When they finally arrived at the Smiths’ house, Noelle and Jeremiah rushed up the empty driveway and stashed their bikes in the garage before dashing up to the door.
They stumbled inside. Without the sunlight illuminating the house through the windows, everything was dark.
They kicked off their wet shoes and left them at the door.
“Hello?” Jeremiah called out. No one responded. He checked his phone and scrolled through his texts, squinting at his screen. “Amara and my mom met Robin and the girls at the mall. Percy’s at the coffee shop. They’re all waiting out the storm.”
“So it’s just us?” Noelle asked.
“Just us,” he confirmed.
A flash of lightning broke across the sky, and Noelle jumped. “Shit,” she whispered.
Gently, Jeremiah took her hand in his. “Come on,” he said.