Chapter 19
More than a week later
It was a beautiful day. The sun was out, there was a soft breeze, and
it was hot but comfortably so. The water
of the Pacific was blue and clear, and the waves were pretty tame. It was a good day to be out on a boat and
supposedly a better day for fishing, but so far nothing had been caught. Plus, she wasn’t too concerned with catching
anything unless it was a tan. It was a
big boat for just four people; well six, but Rob and Tony, the owners of the
yacht, pretty much stayed out of their way and up on top of the cabin. They had all met up at Marina Del Rey and had
lunch at the cafe. Justin had picked her
up, and she was quite thankful Trace wasn’t driving with them. She needed some moments alone with him before
she got self conscious about having Trace make comments under his breath, stare
at her like she was trash, and then have Justin get frustrated and be in a pissy mood all day.
It had been like that ever since
she had met him. Unlike his mom, who
seemed to accept her a little more each time they were together, Trace kept his
distance and pretty much acted like an asshole.
He had no desire to get to know her better and had no desire to accept
her as part of Justin’s life. But that
was what she was.
She was apart of his world
now. He had made clear of that.
There had only been a couple days
that they hadn’t seen each other. Her
brother hadn’t been too happy that she stayed at his place a few nights but
didn’t get on her too much, especially after she made
it clear they hadn’t slept
together. They had hung out at his house
with his mom one afternoon. They had
hung out with Carlos and Alden and watched movies. One night they went out dancing and didn’t get
back until almost four. She had snuck
him into the apartment and stumbled into her bed room.
She was actually pretty surprised
nothing had gone on that night. They
were both still pretty tipsy. He should
have never drove them home, but they were acting stupid and not really thinking
about anything but finding a bed. They
were raunchy at the club, and he was saying dirty thing to her in her ear in
the corner of one of the booths of the VIP section. She had met JC that night and practically
crapped her pants. He didn’t stay around
for long because he had a date with him.
She and Justin couldn’t keep their hands off each other. When they got back to her brother’s place
they started to furiously make out in the car, and she invited him
upstairs. The whole walk she thought
about how good it was going to feel to have sex with him.
But then her head hit her
pillow. The amount of alcohol and the
time of the night made her eyes droopy, and when her body wiggled its way into
her sweet spot and Justin curled up behind her, there was no way she was going
to be able to do anything. They both
passed out.
She felt the bed move the next day
around
It was that night that she
realized she was on her way to being his girlfriend. He had introduced her to JC as “my
girl.” JC had had a little amused look
on his face and said that Justin had talked about her a lot. She knew right then that this was not a dream
or some huge joke or trick. This was
real. They had gotten to know each other
a lot over the few weeks. He had held
her at night and called her just to talk about random stuff. She noticed a change in him. He was happier every day they spent together.
They had become much more relaxed. They
were starting to get comfortable with one another like people who were in a
relationship were. And it finally dawned
on her that he really, truly did like her.
But Trace was another story. It was Justin’s hope that this little boating
trip would get them to bond more.
So far the only bonding she had
done was with the Cosmo she was reading, the diet coke she was drinking and
Hawaiian Tropic oil she had lathered herself with earlier.
She had hoped that she would get
to know the woman beside her a little more, but Ellen had started out helping
Trace fish, then had come back to tan her back and take a nap. She hated it, well the view of Justin with
this shirt off she loved, but other than that it was kind of a sucky
afternoon. She had gotten her hopes up
when Ellen had been so talkative and friendly at lunch. She didn’t have any female friends on the
west coast and figured Ellen was bubbly enough to be friends with anyone.
But she had realized that Ellen
wasn’t there to spend time with her. She
was there to spend time with Trace. They
were kind of like Justin and her a couple weeks prior. They had just started dating within the past
week, or at least that was what Justin had said.
So instead, Darcy sat sprawled out
at the front of the large boat, pushed up her sunglasses, let her ponytail whip
in the wind and read an article on kagle
exercises. She finished, flipped the
page and started looking at horoscopes.
Rob and Tony were still on top of the cabin, hanging out, and
occasionally climbing down the later from the large upper deck to the stern to
talk to one of the boys about fishing conditions. Justin knew someone that knew the two
brothers who took friends out fishing on their yacht and that’s
how they all got out there on the ocean in the first place. They had a mixed cd
playing and so far it was all oldies.
She smiled, read her horoscope for Libra, and tapped her feet as she
sang along to “Browned Eyed Girl.”
“So, Justin said you went to NYU?”
“Oh…” Darcy was startled for a moment and slowly
turned to look at the girl who was still lying on her stomach, but now her head
was turned towards Darcy. “No,
“Ahhh.” She nodded and pushed herself off the
reclined chair that was built into the bow of the boat. “What are you studying there?”
“I’m a History major. Don’t ask me what I’m doing with it.” She
laughed as Ellen turned around, pulled on her black and pink bikini top so it
was covering everything good and sat back on the chair. She inclined the back and then smiled at
Darcy with a sigh as she rested against it upright.
“That’s cool.”
“Yeah. It’s a great place to live and go to
school.”
“Yeah. I’ve only been to
It got quiet besides the sound of
the boat on the water and the quiet music.
Darcy almost started to panic.
She didn’t want to go back to having to find something interesting to
read, and she really wanted to talk with the girl that was only a couple feet
away from her. She hated awkward
silences and that’s how she had felt up until that point with Ellen. She searched for a topic and even though he
was probably the last person she wanted on her mind at that point, she brought
him up anyway. “So uh, how’d you meet
Trace?”
“Oh I’ve known him for a while
now.” She coughed slightly, put her
sunglasses on top of her head and dug in her beach bag that was beside her
chair. She pulled out a pack of Camels and pointed them to Darcy. “Mind if I smoke?”
Darcy shook her head. She wouldn’t have mind if the girl got naked
or started singing show tunes, as long as it meant they could have a
conversation. Ellen smacked the pack against
her hand twice, pulled out a cigarette and lit it, trying her best to block the
wind from her lighter. She threw the pack and lighter on the small glass table
between them and pulled the black ash tray closer to her. She took a deep breath and blew out smoke
saying, “My dad has been all around LA all his life in the restaurant
business. A couple years ago he decided
to open up his own club with some friends out in
Darcy nodded and then asked, “Are
you guys just friends or…” She stopped
herself and covered her mouth quickly with her hand. She cringed and then quietly said, “Sorry. I
shouldn’t-”
“No, no, it’s cool.” Ellen laughed and waved her off, pulling her
sunglasses back over her eyes. “Well, I
don’t know. It’s kinda weird. I mean we’ve been friends for a while, but
recently it’s been a little more.”
“I see.”
Darcy looked at her behind her
sunglasses. She wondered where she got
her bikini. It was really pretty with
black and hot pink diagonal stripes. It
was sporty looking but also sexy and flirty.
She almost asked her, but Ellen had her own questions. “So how did you and Justin meet?”
“In a doctor’s office,” she
chuckled.
Ellen laughed as well and tapped
her cig on the edge of the tray. “Does
it freak you out that he’s...ya know…”
Darcy sighed and took her magazine
off her lap and slid it into her tote.
“At first it really did. And I still
kinda have moments where I wanna be a teeny, but it’s hard. I mean, he’s so normal and down to earth.”
“Yeah, Trace says he’s really
taken with you,” Ellen said, pulling her hair into a messy ponytail.
“I bet he says some other things,
too,” Darcy grumbled.
“What do you mean?”
Darcy didn’t want to say anything
that would cause the girl not to like her, but she figured she would take the
opportunity to try and figure out where all the unnecessary hatred Trace had
came from. She waited for a moment and
finally said slowly, “I don’t really think Trace cares for me too much.”
“He hasn’t said anything bad to
me,” Ellen shrugged. “He told me you
were a nice, sweet girl.”
Darcy dipped her head down and
looked at her over the rim of her glasses.
She took in deep breath and said, “Really?”
“Yeah. I think he’s just a little freaked that
Justin’s gotten so attached to you so quickly, especially after his big break
up.”
“Maybe…I hope that’s it.”
Ellen shrugged took a long drag
and blew it out to the side away from them.
“But I told him that sometimes things just happen that way. I mean you can’t explain who you like and how
strongly and when.” She laughed, “Take
me and him for example. Here we are like
buddies for more than a year and then a week ago we’re just hanging out and he
kisses me and I’m like whoa….that was cool.
And here we are sorta, kinda, I don’t know, dating.”
“Aww…” Darcy smiled and turned a little in her
chair. “That’s sweet.”
“Yeah. He’s kinda protective over Justin. I mean, I never realized it until like a few
months ago, but Trace really is almost a father to Justin. Not like bad or anything, he just, Trace
keeps him in line. Yeah Justin provides
for him and stuff, but Trace is really more mature about a lot of things than
Justin. I don’t know.” She took a big breath. “It’s kinda a weird situation. I don’t even know that much about it.”
“That explains a lot, though.”
“Yeah.” She paused for a moment and started to
giggle, “I wonder if they’ll catch anything.”
“Who knows? I kinda want to fish.”
“I haven’t been since I was
little.”
Darcy started to think back on all
the times when she was in high school and her dad tried to attempt her to teach
how to sail. She was absolutely horrible
at it and only enjoyed it because she got to get a tan and spend time with just
her dad and her brother. Sailing was too
difficult, but fishing she could handle and she was pretty good at it, if there
was any type of technique to it. Maybe
she was just lucky. “My dad has a boat
and we’d got out some and he’d teach me a little bit, but it’s been a couple
years.”
“That’s cool.”
“Yeah, but I’ll put the fish off
'til later. Right now I need to work on
my tan.”
“No offense, but you are a little
light for being in LA.”
Darcy shrugged. She looked down at herself and knew that she
looked a little whiter than normal. She
didn’t have fair skin, so she kind of looked out of place, especially beside
the beach blonde, fit, and tanned Ellen who was confidently laid out beside
her. She covered her arms over her
stomach and said, “Well I haven’t really gotten out much. I’m kind of a hermit. I usually tan pretty easy. Hopefully I’ll look nice after this
afternoon.”
“Yeah. A tan comes with the territory out here. Well, I don’t know…” She laughed and stubbed out her
cigarette. “Justin and Trace sure are
whities.”
Darcy started to giggle. “I
know. They about blinded me earlier when
they took their shirts off. I just hope
they don’t moon us, then we might really go blind.”
“What are you laughing about?”
They both let out small gasps and
looked up to see Trace a few feet away, right in front of the cabin, bent over
and digging into the cooler that was there in the shade.
“Your ass,” Ellen said
flirtingly.
“What about it?” He flirted back.
“Nothing. We’re both lusting after it.” She said dramatically, they both started to
laugh at Trace who, popped open the can of his beer and rolled his eyes at
them.
“Shut up.” He took a swig, smiled at them and nodded his
drink towards them. “You guys want a
drink?”
“I’m good.” Ellen said.
“Me too.”
“Caught anything yet?”
“Nah,” He drawled out and turned
to walk back towards the stern. “I had a
bite earlier but it took the damn hook with it.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah. I think it was a barracuda, those things are
vicious.”
Justin appeared a moment later and
moved so Trace could get back to fishing.
He smiled a bright smile at them and she wished she could see his eyes
behind his sunglasses. He was standing
there shirtless with red swim shorts. He
was cut, a little sweaty from the sun, and looked absolutely delicious.
“Hello ladies,” He said grandly
and then proceeded to climb up the ladder to go to the top of the cabin.
“What a cheese ball.” Darcy
groaned.
“He’s damn hot though.”
Darcy bit her lip and looked at
him as he was up there, leaning against the railing, smiling, laughing, talking
with the guys. He looked so unbearably
sexy. Her face started to go read at the
just the thought of his body. “Y-yeah…”
“Girl don’t blush.” Ellen
exclaimed waving her hands around. “Be proud that you have a hottie.”
“I just…” Darcy sighed and kept staring. “Not to be
blunt…” She turned to Ellen and
grinned. “And sorry but you’re like he
only girl that I’ve gotten to gush with …”
“Gush away…” She smiled.
“He’s just…I’m having a hard time
being good around him.”
Ellen giggled a little and a
bright smile came to her face. “I know
what ya mean.”
“Just look at that…” They both watched
as he pulled himself over to the ladder and maneuvered himself down to the main
part of the small yacht. He turned around and she craned her body sideways to
watch him walk towards the back part of the boat. He nodded and then turned
back around and headed their way.
“It’s a nice view.” Ellen said quietly.
“Hey again ladies,” Justin said in
a dramatic voice, sauntering towards them.
Darcy smiled at him. “You’re such
a nerd.”
“I know.” He stuck his tongue out
at her and then pointed at Ellen. “Trace
wants you to go fish with him.”
“I’m talking…” She said with a
little attitude.
“Hey,” Justin put up his hands in
defense. “Don’t kill the messenger.”
“Dammit Trace…” Ellen grumbled and
stood off the chair, sighing, and then walking towards the back of the boat.
Once she was gone a devilish grin
appeared on his face and he started to walk towards her. “Hey…”
“Hi there.” She replied. He hovered over her and blocked the sun,
causing a shadow over her. He straddled
his legs over her chair and started to lean down. “What are you doing?”
He leaned down completely, using
the arm rest to brace himself above her.
He kissed her cheek and then her nose and before he dipped for her lips
he whispered, “Kissin’ ya.”
She had to hold on to him because
he was kissing her so strongly. After a
minute he pulled away with a smile and she just pursed her lips at him.
“Mmhmm...”
“Ellen’s nice, isn’t she?” He asked moving her legs so that he could sit
down a little bit on the chair.
“Yeah, I’m glad she’s here.”
“Will you put your hands on me?”
He said with a slick smile.
Darcy shook her head and paused a
moment before exclaiming, “What?”
“Sun block.” He said, magically
producing a bottle of banana boat in his hand.
He wiggled it at her and she sighed before nodding. He turned around and she spread her legs so
he could sit in between them on the lower part of the lounge chair. She squeezed a reasonable amount of the
creamy lotion in her palm and began to lather it into his shoulders.
His skin was hot and when she
looked over the rim of her sunglasses she could see he was a little pink on the
tops of his shoulders. “You’re already
starting to burn.”
“Lather me up baby.” He said in a
sing-songy voice.
“You having fun?” She asked as she
moved down his back. She smiled to
herself loving every moment of this. His
skin was so warm and smooth and she just wanted to hold him against her.
“Yup, you?”
She carefully examined his tattoo
underneath his neck as she rubbed the block into his back. “Yup, catch anything yet?”
“No, I suck,” he whined.
She giggled and pulled away so she
could put more lotion into her palm. She
rubbed her hands together. “Can I try
later?”
“Of course, you know how?” He
looked over his shoulder.
She put her hands back on his
shoulders and massaged the lotion into his hot skin. “I use to fish a lot with
my dad and brother.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” She made sure all the white cream was soaked into
his skin and then moved her hands down to his chest, pulled herself up against
his back. Her face was by his cheek and
she kissed him there and then said,
“There all done.”
“I’m glad you are here.” He said
back to her as she pulled him back against her front so they could lay back together.
“I am too.”
He didn’t say a word as he moved
himself so that she was beside him and half laying on him. It was almost as if they were spooning. It would have been horribly uncomfortable if
she wasn’t there with him. But with his
arms around her and his lips kissing her neck and shoulders she could just melt
into him and stay there forever. She had
to smack him when his teeth started to tug on the tie to her white string
bikini, but she enjoyed the flirting.
He started to hum something in her
ear over the sound from the stereo of the some song she had never heard
of. Soon the humming evolved into
singing that was right by her ear. “Something
strange has come over me, a raging wind across my seas, and girl you know that
your eyes are to blame…”
She turned a little to look at
him. She had heard him sing in the car a
little and hum to himself, but never had he really truly sung in front of her,
or to her. She started to feel her face
burn a little bit. She didn’t know why
she was blushing so much that day, but she was.
“You’re singing to me…”
“Mmhmm…” He kissed her forehead sweetly and
continued. “Cause I’m fallen, fallen,
girl I’m fallen for you.”
“What is this?” She asked him.
He pulled away and asked her in a
surprised tone. “You don’t know and
you’re an Nsync fan?!”
“It sounds familiar.”
“It’s a song from that movie Joey
and Lance did.”
“Ohhh.” She nodded
and pulled her sunglasses off as a big white cloud covered up the bright sun.
“Ok.”
“Did you see it?” He asked she
pulled his sunglasses off as well. She
turned to put the pair on the table and then eased back into his arms
again.
“Believe it or not, I didn’t. I think I’m the only Nsync
fan that didn’t. I was a little
terrified of the idea of them acting.”
“Mmm this is a nice song.” He
sighed and began to kiss her neck.
It took her a minute to register
it, but as soon as she realized it was Smokey Robinson’s “Cruise” she smiled to
herself. “It is
a good song. Kinda appropriate since we
are on a boat.”
“Baby lets cruise away from
here….”
She sighed as Justin sang
along. She knew it was probably a really
cheesy thing for him to do, singing to her as they were smushed together in the
lounge chair, but she didn’t give a damn. “I like you singing to me. I’ve never been serenaded before…”
“And if you want it you’ve got it
forever. This is not a one night stand…”
“Don’t give me ideas.” She giggled
and he pinched her side a little. She
ran her fingers up and down his arms that were around her and moved her head to
the side so he could whisper the words up the skin of her neck.
“Let the music take your
mind. Just release and you will find…”
He paused and said, “Sing with me…”
“That’s cheesy…” She giggled as they
listened to the chorus.
“Hush…” He said and then continued
to sing, “Baby tonight belongs to us.
Everything’s right, do what you must…”
She turned around a little and
said to him, “You’re trying to get me to fuck you, aren’t you?”
“Darcella!”
He exclaimed in a disapproving tone, but the smile on his face didn’t hide any
of his excitement. He knew she was
flirting.
“Well…”
She cocked an eyebrow and he
pulled her close and growled in her ear.
“Don’t make me horney when I just have on a bathing suit. It’s embarrassing.”
“Just release and you will find…”
She sang lightly and wiggled her butt against his lap. It was easy for her to
push into that particular area with how they were spooned against each other.
She bit her lip when his hands held her hips still.
“Dirty girl…” He whispered and
seductively tugged on her earlobe with his teeth.
She started to feel his hand run
across her stomach. One moved down to
her thighs and gripped her there lightly.
His other hand trailed up slowly in between her breasts and she started
to laugh. She was ticklish and would
love to lay there and have him touch her.
But when she glanced up she could see Rob and Tony looking out over the
water. “Stop…”
“Why?” He breathed huskily into
her ear.
“What if one of
them sees?” She whispered.
“Let ‘em
look.” He growled and made an attempt to grab at one
of her breasts.
“Justin!” She sat up and adjusted her top. Messing around with him and on a boat would
be fine. Hell, even with Trace and Ellen
there it’d be fine, but not with two men she didn’t know above them steering
the boat along the water.
“What? Trace and Ellen are probably doin’ it by
now.”
Her mouth dropped and she pushed
his shoulder a little bit. “I didn’t know this was some sort of race.”
“It’s not…” She took one glance at his pout and his eyes
squinting to look at her in the sun that was now free of any cloud cover and
she gave in to him. She turned around
and crawled over him, laying on him a little bit, with her front pressed into
his. She kissed him and he moved one of
his hands to her cheek and the over down to her grab her ass a little. When they pulled away he looked down at her
chest breathlessly and moved his hand from her check to dance along her
collarbone. “I miss ‘em.”
“Baby lets cruise…” She sang to
him as he glanced up and then reached down to cup her breast. “Lets float, lets gliiiide…”
She wasn’t much of a singer but she tried her best to sound sexy when
she quietly sang the words to him, biting her lip and sliding her body against
him a little. He was making her horney as hell and had to lean
down against him so he’d pull his hand away because her nipples were getting
hard. “Ooo, lets open up and go
inside…”
“And you call me dirty…” He said
breathlessly, his mouth hanging open and his eyes staring at her with
desire. He held her still against him
and finished the line for her, “And if you want it you got it, forever, I can
just stay there inside you and love you baby…”
It was too much. She wanted him bad and she hated that they
were on a damned boat. She was almost
going to ask him if he wanted to go crawl down under the cabin where they had a
bedroom and a bathroom and fool around.
But then he licked his lips and she couldn’t think but one thought in
her head. “Shut up and kiss me,” she
said, holding her arms around his neck and licking her bottom lip back at him.
“How cliché,” he laughed at her.
“Fine…” She huffed and made a move
to leave. “Don’t…”
But he pulled her back straight
against him and chuckled, “En contraire…I’d be glad to shut you up.”
He didn’t take any time before
meshing his mouth with hers and holding her body tight against his. She could feel him against her, his skin, his
heat, and she wanted him so desperately bad.
She felt his hips against hers and groaned when he pushed into her
slightly. Even though she knew they
couldn’t do anything much more with other people around, she was willing to
take whatever he’d give.
-------------
A few hours later
“Holler if you get something.”
She felt his arms wrap around her
shoulders from behind and took a deep breath, breathing in the smell of banana
scented suntan lotion mixed with the smell of beer from his lips. He kissed her cheek and she turned to look at
him. “Mmmkay. Where you going?”
“Gonna lay down and take a nap
possibly.” He smiled and winked at her.
It was getting near evening. The sun was still out but lower in the sky, and they had about
another hour until they were going to head back to the marina.
“Oh ok…” She realized that she was going to be left
there with Ellen who was plopped down on Trace’s lap and smoking another
cigarette.
“I think I’m going to go read some
more,” Ellen said as she got off his lap.
“But…” He started. Darcy closed her eyes and groaned
silently. She didn’t want to be left
alone with Trace. It had been a good
afternoon so far. They had all been
civil to one another, but that was mainly because she and Trace hadn’t
personally talked or been alone together.
She almost hoped he’d go with Ellen and leave her by herself.
“Catch me a fish Trace! I demand a fish!” Ellen said laughing. He grabbed at her, but she scooted away. Darcy smiled.
It had been a fun day. She and
Justin had been just as playful, and she loved every minute of it.
“Hey, it’s not my fault they’re
being difficult today,” he yelled at her.
She flipped him off and
disappeared to the bow where Justin had just gone.
It was quiet. It was hard to hear the music in the back of
the boat and the wind had picked up so the noise of the waves on the boat was a
little bit louder. So all there was was her, Trace, a big ocean, a little yacht, and two
fishing poles. It sucked. She wanted to crawl back with Justin and take
a nap, but she awkwardly felt like she couldn’t move. She was stuck. And when she glanced over and saw him
completely not interested in her and amazed with the something in the other
direction, she realized she couldn’t break the ice between them. Hell,
She felt a tug on her line and
gripped the rod a little tighter. She
shook her head when nothing happened for a moment. It was a pretty strong tug, but she figured
her hook must have caught on some kelp or rock or something. As soon as her grip loosened it tugged again,
this time even harder.
“Weird…” She muttered.
“Duh nuh…”
She slowly glanced out of the
corner of her eye to see a smiling man, lounged in his chair, one hand on his
beer the other tipping his hat up a little. His rod was locked into a holder
against the back of the boat. “Dun nuh…” He said a little louder, chuckling
under his breath.
She narrowed her eyes at him.
“That’s not fun- holy shit!” She was
jerked forward out of her seat and felt the rod almost fly out of her
hands. It was in a resting holder against
the boat but not locked in. She felt
Trace right beside her in an instant.
His hands helped her pull the rod
up and he said calmly, “Let the line go…”
She unlocked the line and it immediately started flying out. The reel spun rapidly. Soon it stopped and she stared at the rod.
“Oh my god…” She breathed and
cautiously
“Have you ever fished before?” He
said with a smile.
“Yeah but- but little baby fish
five years ago.” She turned to him with
wide eyes, “What kind of bait are you using?”
“Girl, we’re fishing for sharks!”
he said confidently.
Her mouth dropped and her eyes
bugged out of her head. “What?”
“I’m kidding.” He laughed and she breathed a sigh of
relief. She knew they wouldn’t be
fishing for sharks, at least she hoped not.
But whatever it was on the end of her line was fast and strong and was
probably about as dangerous. Her reel
started to spin out again, and she cautiously sat down and timidly held her
rod. “We’re just going for like sea
bass or something, but you got something fast here.”
“I’m about to run out of line,” she
said in a panicked voice. She wanted to
ask him to take the line for her, but she didn’t know how. This was Trace. He hated her and he wasn’t about to help
her. At least she didn’t think.
A moment later the line was taut,
and she was standing up again with him behind her. She felt petty thinking what she was, but she
really wished it was Justin that was behind her, pressing against her and
trying to help her do something with the sea monster on the end of her
line. “Reel that son of a bitch in girl!” Trace yeehawed. He held onto the rod and she tried to turn
the reel towards her.
She could barely get a revolution
of the reel when she gave up and said, “Look, apparently Free Willy wanted a
snack. I’m not gonna be able to reel
this ‘son of a bitch’ in.”
“I’m helping you,” Trace said
matter-of-factly.
Suddenly, they were both hurled
forward and she said, “Holy shit.”
“This is awesome,” he laughed and
she moved out of the way, tired of being pushed against him and tired of being pulled
around by whatever it was.
“Do you want me to get Justin or
Rob to help?” she asked when she managed to get away. She watched him immediately sit down in her
chair and thrust the rod into the holder, expertly locking it into its place. Apparently, he had done this before.
“Nah, we can do it.”
He glanced at her and she said,
“I’m not pulling a man eating shark with a bazillion teeth
up on this deck.”
“It’s not a shark. It wouldn’t have taken this kind of
bait. Come hold this for a second.”
“You don’t know! Sharks eat anything!” She yelled and he just laughed. She reluctantly held onto the rod and the
wire for a second while he put on a double lock. “Sharks are unpredictable!”
She felt another harsh tug on the
line and a hard pinch on the center of her palm. She was pulled forward and she felt Trace
pull her back from almost being thrown into the water. “Whoa!”
“Oww…” She stumbled back, looking at her hand.
“You ok?” He asked with concern, reeling in, his arm
muscles working overtime.
“Yeah, it just pinched me.”
He ignored her and continued to
try and reel the thing in, pulling back and then letting the fish pull him
forward as he reeled. “We’ll have more strength with the double lock.”
“Trace…” she said. He ignored her, completely enraptured with
fishing. She cleared her throat, retied
her sarong at her hip, and said louder, “Let it go Trace.”
“Hell naw, we’ll tire it out,” he
said with a drawl.
“Cut the line,” she demanded.
He turned his head and have her a
look. “Girl this is DAMN big fish.”
She rolled her eyes at him and put
her hands on her hips. “Fuck yeah it’s a
big damn fish!” She pointed out to
ocean. “It’s fucking Jaws out there, now cut the damn line!”
“Darcy…” He sighed. “Come on girl. It’s not-“
Both of them stopped and stared as a huge blue and silver striped Marlin
thrashed into the air a hundred feet or so from them and dived back down into
the water. “Whoa….”
“Oh my god!” She said with a
smile, “It’s so pretty!”
“You’re such a girl.” He chuckled.
“Well it was!” She huffed and pouted. Normally, she didn’t act to spoiled but she
was proud for getting such a big fish.
Ok, so Trace had done all the work so far, but she had felt the
tug. “I want it.”
“Nah, we’re gonna cut the
line.” He was still fighting it out with
the fish.
“But you said…”
He turned to look at her with
raised eyebrows. “You see the nose on
that sucker. We might be able to get
everyone else down here and reel it in, but then that sucker would cut us the
fuck up.”
“Aww.”
“Here hold it for a moment.” She leaned over and held onto the rod near
the base. He reached up for a moment and
took the lock off the reel and the line started to fly out again. She watched as Trace lifted his hips a bit,
stuck his hand down in his pocket and pulled out a small wooden device. He flipped it open with his hands and looked
up at her.
“You got it?” He asked, and she nodded with a smile. For some reason she liked the fact he had a
pocket knife. She had never met any guy with
a pocket knife before. All the guys she
knew had a pocket with a cell phone in it or a money clip.
They waited for the line to go all
the way out and he said “hold tight” to her and she did. A second later she felt the pulling stop and
looked over to see a cut wire and Trace putting his pocket knife back. She felt a little sadness but it went away
and she waved to the water, “Bye Marlin.”
“You gonna cry?”
She narrowed her eyes at him as he
got out of her chair and plopped tiredly in his own. “I’m not that girly.”
He chuckled after taking a sip of
his beer. “Girl! The first thing you said about that giant was that it was
pretty.”
“Well it was, wasn’t it?”
He started to laugh but then cut
himself off. “Was bout as big as shaq’s coc- Sorry.”
“It’s ok,” she replied shyly as
she perched herself into her chair. She
crossed her legs and looked out at the horizon.
“You need to lighten up.”
She turned to him quickly. “Excuse
me?”
“Like…” He sighed. “I feel like I can’t joke around you.”
“What?! You’re the one that hated
me before you even met me.”
“Look…”
She cut him off, not wanting to
have him say it. He thought she was a
snob and that was the worse thing anyone could ever think of her. She tried her best to not act that way and
thought she had done a good job around Justin.
Plus, he hated her before he even knew her so the whole blaming it on
her needing to lighten up was bull shit. “No no!
Trace I’m sorry that you don’t like me, but I’d really like to know what is it that I do that makes you hate me. Is it the way I look or something because
from the moment Justin introduced us I just felt like you thought was
horrible.”
“Shit Darcy…” He sighed.
But she was on a roll and wanted
to get this out. She hated it when
people didn’t give her a chance and just stuck a label on her before they got
to know her. “I mean, not to sound like
a bitch, but I hate it when you’re around.
I’d love love love to hang out with Justin and his best friend, ya know? I’d love to
get to know him because he’s really important to this guy that is really
important to me. But when you’re around
I feel anxious and awkward and I don’t have a good-“
“Ok, ok!” He said and then moved
his hands over his face. “I get it. I’m sorry! I just…”
“Say it. Please!” she demanded. She didn’t want him clamming up when it
seemed like maybe they were getting somewhere.
“It’s nothing personal, Darcy,” he
said slowly. “I think you’re a nice
girl. But the last thing Justin needs
right now is a girlfriend-“
“How dare-“ She
cut him off and then he did the same to her.
“You wanna
hear what I have to say or not?”
She curled her feet up in her seat
and held them. “Sorry.”
“Where did you meet him, Darcy?”
He sighed. “You meet him at the damn
shrink. I know, a lot of people go to them, but not for the reasons Justin
does...well, did.”
She turned and he was looking at
her almost like a father would look at a child.
And she felt childish, but also terrified. She was scared that he was going to say
something was really wrong with Justin, something she wouldn’t be able to live
with. “Is he like a schizophrenic or
manic depressive or something?”
“No, no. He’s just really, really fragile.”
“I know that Trace. He’s told me all about Britney and how fucked
up he was-“
“It’s not just Britney,” he said
harshly. “I know you think you know everything about him, but you don’t. I don’t even know it all. He’s got some inner stuff that he has to work
out and honestly, I don’t think you help him do that. I think you let him push it away and cover it
all up.”
Emotions rocked her and she
started to feel a little seasick after being on the boat for six hours. For
some reason, the fear of losing him hit her hard, and she realized how much of
a mess she would be if he was gone. “So
you want me to break up with him?”
“I- I don’t know what I want.” She
looked at him and he was sitting back against the chair, gripping the arm rests
and looking a little pale himself. “Now that I see how attached he is, I’m
almost terrified to think what would happen if you guys did break up or stopped
seeing each other.”
It was quiet and she looked down
at her knee. She had a bruise there from
when she banged it on the side of his kitchen table 2 days ago when he was
determined to make her pee in her pants from a tickle fight. She smiled at the memory. They had done so much in the past week and
learned so much about each other. They
had bonded and become closer. They were
together and she cared about him more than anyone, including herself, realized.
She licked her lips and whispered,
“What’s wrong with him, Trace?”
“I don’t know. I don’t even think he knows. He’
just…fragile.” She took in a deep breath and laid her head on her knees turning
the other way. She had the urge to cry
and took in a shaky breath. “Shit girl,
I’m...I’m sorry. Are you ok?”
“Fine,” she muttered.
“Look…” She turned her head back to look at him. “I just wanted to explain why I’ve been an
ass and say I’m sorry. It’s nothing
personal against you. I really think you
are a great girl.” He paused and looked
down at the floor. “It’s not just him
I’m worried about either. Justin, well
when he loves someone, he loves
someone. And I’d hate to see you get
pulled down into this and something go wrong.”
“Wh-what could go wrong?”
“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “But…” He looked down at his feet and flip
flops and a smile tugged at his lips.
“I mean, I haven’t seen him this happy in a really, really long time.”
“Is that bad?” She asked in a
timid voice.
“No, no that’s good. That’s very very good. And it’s all because of you.” He smiled at
her and she just stared back at him as he stood up off his chair and stretched. “Ahh, sorry.
I really don’t mean to scare you off or do anything like that. I just wanted you to know why I was such a
bastard. I’ll try to make it so you
don’t hate being around me anymore.”
“Ok…” She uncurled herself a
little and watched as he started to walk away.
“I’m gonna go see what they’re up
to. If I get a bite just holler and
we’ll see if Jaws is ready to take us on.”
He smiled at her and she managed
to smile back at him. Soon he was gone
and she was left alone. It was what she
had wanted a half hour ago and now, now she wanted him to come back. She wanted someone to come back there and be
with her. She didn’t want to be alone
right then. Her thoughts were screaming
at her and she wanted to talk to Justin and ask him to be honest with her and
tell her what’s really going on. But
then again, what if it was nothing more than what he had already said. Trace didn’t know what was going on inside,
he just knew how Justin was acting.
Maybe Justin handled things badly.
She was afraid to think what would
happen if they got in a big fight or worse.
She knew she wasn’t the best with handling situations like that and if
Justin had to go to therapy for it, well, that would not be good. She made a small pact right there that she’d
do everything she could to keep them from going down that path.
“Hey you…”
She jumped when she felt a hand
skim down her arm. The air was already
started to cool her body that was tanned and warmed from the day in the
sun. His fingers touching her lightly
caused chill bumps to rise against her skin and she shook him off. “H-hey.”
“What’s wrong?” he said, cautiously
sitting in the fishing chair Trace had been in.
“What’d he do?”
“Nothing. I just…”
She shook her head and closed her eyes, trying her best not to let her
fears get the best of her.
“Come here,” he demanded, and when
she looked up she saw him pat his lap and then open his arms. She went quickly and willingly to sit in his
lap and curled up against him. He held
her tightly. He was warm and she leaned
her head against his shoulder, feeling much more at ease with him there. “Do I need to go beat him up?”
“No, no.” She giggled and he kissed her forehead. “Actually we got along. I caught a marlin.”
“A marlin?!” He pulled away with surprised eyes.
“Yeah, it jumped out of the water
and we had to cut the line because it was massive.”
“My little fishergirl.” She turned
a little and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and neck, holding him
tightly. She kissed his shoulder and
sighed. She felt him run his hands up
her back and he quietly asked, “Darcy, what’s up?”
“I’m just so happy to be with
you,” she said covering up the truth that she was worried about him, them.
“I…I’m happy to have you with me,
too.” He pushed at her body a little and she pulled back to look at him. He immediately captured his lips with hers
and kissed her very softly. When he
pulled away he said, “I’m gonna be leaving in a few days.”
“What?” She felt her eyes
water. She didn’t want him to
leave. She’d be lonely and bored and
without…without him.
“I have to go to
“For how long?” She asked with a
worried glance.
He shrugged and dipped in to kiss
the tip of her nose. “I’m not sure. I’m hoping no more than three days but I
could be there a week. I gotta do some
album stuff.”
She nodded and looked off to the
side. “Oh…”
She held him tight knowing that he
was probably going to tell her that he was leaving that night and wouldn’t be
back for forever. She hated that. She hated the feeling of possibly not being
with him. Sure, she had enjoyed the time
by herself the past few weeks because she got to gush and dance in her room or
look forward to seeing him soon. But
this was him being gone for more than a day.
This was her having to miss him.
“I want you to come with me.”
She stopped and turned to look at
him. He was smiling that half smile she
had grown obsessed with. “What?”
“I want you to come up there with
me.”
She couldn’t contain the smile on
her face. “Really?”
“Yeah. I mean, you told me you missed
She held him tightly against her and
softly kissed his neck right where she knew he loved. “Sometimes I even wonder why I came out here
and didn’t just stay in the city.”
“You got to meet me,” he
whispered. She just nodded and whispered
a “yeah” against his skin. She opened
her mouth against him a little and kissed him more seductively, moving down to
where his shoulder met his neck. His
skin was hot. He had burned a little,
but had also picked up a tan. His
freckles had emerged and she let her lips play along them. She felt him shift underneath her and heard a
sigh escape his mouth. She smiled.
“So will you come?” He asked,
clearing his throat.
She pulled back and looked in his
eyes. He hand ran down her side and held
on to her rear. She started to smile
even bigger. “You sure? I don’t wanna be a burden or anything.”
He returned her smile and pulled
her straight against him. “It’d be a
burden if you weren’t there. I just, I
don’t think I can go without seeing you for a week.” He moved his chin forward
and kissed her. She was surprised at
first and soon melted into him and let his lips cast a spell on her that she
didn’t ever want to be cured of. His tongue glided gently into her mouth and
back out. He pulled away and kissed the
corner of her mouth, making a trail of kisses to her ear and holding her
tightly. He kissed her cheek and
whispered, “I’m falling for you Darcy. I think I’ve been falling for you for a
long time.”
She held him tight and didn’t want
to let go. Trace had been right. He was fragile, but at least he was
happy. And she knew she was the reason
for that.
She was making him better, pulling
him out of the shell that he had been pushed him back into. And she was turning his life into happiness
that he desperately deserved.
It made her feel incredible to
know that she was the one that was doing all that for him, and that at the same
time, he was falling in love with her while she did it.
But what made her smile and made
her hold him tightly as they looked out on the Pacific was the fact that he was
doing the exact same thing to her, turning her life into happiness. The only difference was, she had already
fallen.