Page 70 of Break

Holy shit, she’s fucking caught something.

All three of us sit up straighter with her, waiting to see if she remembers the instructions we gave her earlier on what to do when this happens.

Her breathing picks up in excitement and she looks at us with wide eyes, blanking on what she should do next.

I don’t want to shout and jar her into dropping the pole, so I speak softly. “Did you set your bail?”

She runs her finger over the button and then nods her head quickly. “Y-Yes.”

“So, the next step is to relax and let the drag and rod do the work. Keep the tip angled up about halfway to the sky and point towards where you think the fish is.”

Mina nods continuously as Max instructs her, stumbling to her feet, and focusing on angling her rod correctly.

“A little higher… Okay, there you go,” he encourages. “Now, when you feel the line start to slacken, the tip of the rod will straighten out. When this happens, you’ll want to reel it in slowly. Cycle back and forth between letting the fish drag and then reeling when it stops moving.”

“Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh,” she chants over and over as she does exactly what Max tells her to do. “One… One of you should do this!” The line lets up and her hands are violently shaking as she tries to spin the handle to pull the line in.

Her breaths are coming quickly, like she’s on the verge of panicking, and her eyes are glistening with tears. I look at Max where he’s standing behind her, holding his hands out, ready to grab hold of her and give her his strength.He seems concerned, but isn’t quite ready to step in yet.

I stay low, sliding next to her on my knees and wait for her to stop spinning the reel and allow the fish to drag again. Reaching up, I settle my hand over hers to put pressure on her shaking fingers and give them a squeeze. “You can do this, sweetheart. You’re doing perfect right now, everything you’re supposed to do. Just keep working. Slow and steady catches the fish. That’s the saying, right?”

Her eyes flick down to mine, and she blinks away the tears. “Slow but steady wins the race, not the person who wants to climb the whole stairs in one stride.”

Grinning at her, I chuckle. “Ahh, that’s how it goes. Same idea though. So, slow… and steady.”

Sucking in a shaky breath, she stiffens her spine, refocusing on her task.

“Relax, honey.” Ethan’s gentle, but firm order, has her loosening her shoulders.

The three of us are hovering behind and around her. We’re ready to grab her if she loses her footing, since she’s not looking anywhere except where the line disappears into the water. She’s shaking like a damn leaf, but her grip is firm.

It takes another fifteen minutes before the first splash of a tail breaks the surface of the water about ten feet from the boat. Breathing out a sigh of relief, I whisper, “There she is…”

The line goes taut, and I feel the boat rock as Mina’s whole body jerks forward with the force of the tug. She cries out in surprise but doesn’t drop the pole. Instead, she grips it tighter until it slows down again.

Max steps closer to Mina, settling his hands lightly on her hips, and bends down to speak to her. “Don’t change up anything you’re doing. It’s getting tired. Once you’ve got it alongside the boat, one of us will help bring it up with the net for you.”

“I’m… I’m starting… to get… tired…” she pants out. Her arms are shaking, the muscles twisting and flexing as she pulls the heavy weight closer to the boat. There’s a sheen of sweat glistening on her forehead as she battles the fish that doesn’t want to give up yet.

“Almost there,” Ethan encourages her.

All of us are whispering and murmuring words of encouragement until I finally see a ripple in the water only a foot from us. Looking over the side, I see it swim close to the surface before dipping back down into the murky water. “Damn, sweet girl. That thing is huge!”

Ethan squats down with the net, ready to grab it from the water.

“When you see it on the surface again, hold it up for as long as you can so Ethan can get the net under it,” Max tells her.

Mina gives him a sharp nod, not looking away as she keeps her eyes zeroed on the surface of the lake. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, the fish comes into view again.

This time, I can’t contain my excitement for her when I yell, “Hold it, Mina!”

Her eyes squeeze shut as she grunts, using every last ounce of strength to keep the fish up. Ethan quickly dips the net into the water and, with both hands, hauls it out of the water, dropping it to the bottom of the boat.

With the immediate loss of weight, she stumbles back into Max, who’s quick to grab her and help her balance until she’s got her feet back under her. He’s laughing and congratulating her while Ethan untangles it from the net as it flops on its side, fighting to return to the water.

I’m still on my knees, now in front of her, and I look up into her fascinated and unbelieving eyes as she stares at her well-earned trophy. The smile on her face is fucking radiant, and I can feel the desire for her clogging my throat.

“You did so fucking good, sweetness!” I can’t help but praise her and tell her how proud of her I am. “Sofucking good. Look at this thing! It’s almost a full-sized largemouth. What do you think, Ethan? That’s got to be close to ten-pounds, right?”

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