Outside the Lines(62)

“And you’re here…?”

Ben arm is still around me. His fingers press into my waist and he leans a little closer. “I’m here with Felicity.”

Mindy squeezes her sunglasses so hard I think they are going to break. “You two are here together?”

“Generally, that’s what ‘I’m here with’ means,” Ben quips, and I see a side of him I haven’t really seen yet: annoyed. At least I’m not the only one instantly irritated by Mindy.

“Min,” Zoey starts, turning around. “Aren’t you coming?”

Jake is still standing by the dock, hand out, waiting to help Mindy into the boat. She shakes herself, smiles, and climbs aboard.

“I don’t get it,” Mindy says as Jake works on untying us from the dock. “How…” She shakes her head and looks at each of our faces again. “How do you know them?”

“Jake is my brother,” I say slowly so she can follow along. “He’s getting married to Danielle, who’s friends with Zoey, who apparently is your sister. And I invited Ben for the weekend.”

I grab a wine cooler from the insulated bag full of alcohol and ice and twist off the cap, needing booze. A lot of booze. I’m spending the holiday with Mindy fucking Abraham.

Deep breaths. It’ll be fine.

I lean back against Ben and let my head rest on his shoulder. The boat idles out past the no-wake zone and Jake pushes it ahead out to sea. Okay, out to lake.

Water splashes the girls up front and they shriek like the Wicked Witch of the West and dash back behind the windshields … and closer to Ben and me.

“It’s so cool you and Mindy know each other!” Danielle says, much to Mindy’s chagrin. I know she talked shit about me when they were up front. “Crazy how small the world is.”

“Crazy,” I echo.

“And Mindy knows him,” she goes on, eyeing Ben. “It’s like it’s meant to be or something.”

“That’s not the words I’d use to describe this,” I mumble and Ben stifles a chuckle.

“So,” Danielle says carefully. “Do you have a date for the wedding? Jake says no but…” Her eyes go to Ben and Mindy snickers.

“Looks like it’s the singles table for you,” Mindy says softly, but we can still hear her.

“I’m her date,” Ben says and puts his hand on my thigh.

“Oh, great!” Danielle says and turns away. I let out a breath and watch the lake zoom by. I know where we are going. It’s a small, man-made cove off the shore that’s perfect for swimming. Or just floating and drinking, in our case. It’s about half an hour away from the dock. The girls chatter about wedding stuff, all the while Mindy shoots us dirty looks. Is it my imagination or is she glaring at Ben and not so much me? Ben tells me about some upcoming projects he’s working on, and says I’ve been a good muse.

I take that as a huge compliment.

“Nice Ariel suit,” Mindy says when the boat slows down outside the cove.

“Thanks,” I say, incorrectly thinking for a split second she’s actually complimenting me.

“Are those supposed to be sea shells?” She peers over the top of her sunglasses. “And where did you find that, the kids’ section?” She turns to her sister, expecting her to flash me the same nasty look. Zoey looks down and I know she’s torn between laughing and agreeing and not insulting her best friend’s soon-to-be sister-in-law.

“They’re clams,” I say and look down at my breasts. “And if a store put out double-D-sized tops in a kids’ section I’d be concerned.” I’m not quite a double, but I do fill out a D nicely. Mindy doesn’t need to know that, though.

“I like it,” Ben says, leaning forward to look at my boobs. “It looks good on you.”

“Thanks,” I say. “Everyone wants to be a mermaid, whether they admit it or not. At least for a day.”

Mindy just scoffs and turns around. Jake bitches at me to get up and help him anchor the boat, since I know how to do it. A few long minutes later, we’re ready to jump into the chilly water. Ben jumps in, going under. I slowly lower myself down the ladder off the swim deck.

Legs in. No problem.

Getting my pelvis in. That’s a problem. I suck in a breath and go down another step.

“Come in,” Ben says, treading water. “It’s not bad.”

“It’s cold!” I protest and slowly go down another step. I’m on the last one. Crap. Getting my nipples in the cold water is the worst. I mentally count to three then push off the small ladder. I doggie paddle over to Ben, who is holding my lifejacket. I push it under water and use it as a seat. Ben tries to wrap his arms around me and kiss me, but accidentally pushes me off my floaty seat. He catches me and we both go under. Laughing, he pulls me up.