Page 42 of Tight Ends & Tiaras
BEN
With a war cry,Johnny cannonballs into the lake off the side of the boat.
I study the water and shift uncomfortably. In theory, it should be fine. I already made Olly check to make sure the area was deep enough to dive.
He’s the only one of my friends who knows how rattled I get when we do dangerous shit. Of course, I still do the crazy crap, like waterskiing or whatever else we have on deck when we go on vacation together, but that doesn’t mean I don’t freak the fuck out internally.
It’s all a byproduct of losing my parents, or so my therapist says.
But I’m determined not to let my paranoia get to me.
I go flying off the boat and land close enough to Johnny to give him a face full of water.
“Motherfuck—”
He doesn’t get a chance to finish that word because I’ve dunked him, but he gets me back by sneaking up behind me and putting me in a headlock as we go under.
This is the dumb shit we do.
By the time I haul myself out of the cold water, my anxiety has taken a back seat.
I push my wet hair outta my face as I lock eyes with Sienna, who is giving me an appreciative once-over. But then so is Janelle. I don’t know if Sienna is making eyes at me because of my ex, but I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t like having Sienna’s attention.
The girls thus far have only dipped their dainty toes in the lake, but we’re just now getting to the main event. Shifting gears, Olly, who’s chatting up Amelia, the girl he’s been talking to for a few weeks, speeds across the lake as Johnny hoots and hollers, trailing behind us on skis.
Lily pitches her toy for the tenth time, and I retrieve it. I offer to hold the kid for a bit and give Janelle a break. Lily is extra-heavy with her life preserver. I know she’s not comfortable, but there’s no way in hell I’m taking her on a boat without one as Janelle suggested.
First, it’s against the law. Kids have to wear one in Texas. I checked. Second, it’s dangerous as fuck. Third, I probably wouldn’t last ten minutes without breaking into a panic attack over fear my kid might pitch face first into the water.
As soon as Lily’s in my arms, she wiggles and kicks and starts to fuss. I coo and bounce her gently the way I’ve seen Rider do with his daughter, but nothing seems to work. Within a few minutes, big tears well in her eyes, and she waves her arms at Janelle, who ignores her.
I try to tell myself this takes time, that this is all new for Lily, but I’m still bummed she hasn’t warmed up even a little.
After Johnny wipes out and we retrieve him, he pulls himself onto the boat and beelines it to Janelle. “Hey, sexy. It’s your turn.”
“Knock it off, asshole,” I growl because I’ve watched her turn him down all afternoon. “She’s not interested.”
As soon as the words are out, I realize it might sound as though I give a shit if she hooks up with him. I don’t. Not exactly.
As far as guys go, Johnny’s not a bad person, but he’s not someone I’d pick as the stepfather of my kid. And now that Janelle’s my baby mama, I realize every goofball who hits on her could potentially be in my child’s life permanently.
I look to Olly, because I’d happily accept him into this weird expanding family, but he’s busy flirting with Amelia.
Janelle bats her eyelashes at me, and I kick myself for opening my big mouth.
No, I’m not gonna do this.
Right here, right now, I decide to let her handle her business. Unless some guy is scaring her or getting in her face, I’m staying out of her shit.
“I’d like a turn,” Sienna says from the other side of me.
I watch her get up and strip off her tank and shorts.
Holy hot damn, she’s got a body. I watch, en-fucking-thralled, as she stands at the edge of the boat and lets down her hair, which shimmers like dark, melted caramel in the sun, before she wraps it up in another messy bun. She slips on the life vest, holds out her arms, and yells, “Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air!” before she leaps into the water with a carefree shout that makes me chuckle.
As soon as she gives the go-ahead, Olly roars the engine, and Sienna pulls up onto her skis like a champ with nary a wobble. It took Johnny three times, and he’s an elite athlete. Sienna zigzags over the wake, one way and then the other. After a few minutes, she kicks off one ski and goes slalom. We cheer for her because, yeah, she’s a baller out there on the water.
Sienna told me she does yoga and pilates, and I’ve seen her hauling ass on the treadmill at the gym, but until this very moment, I never realized that she’s every bit the athlete I am. But when she does a three-sixty, I swear my heart stops, except she pulls it off.
