Page 33 of Standing Still

“Who is that?”

“Day Away,” he says with a heavy sigh as he releases me. A man is leaning against the railing, grinning at us. He taps the peak of his cap before turning back to the group of men on the boat with him, all of whom just witnessed what we were doing are laughing and hollering.

I duck inside and put a hand against my chest, trying to slow my heart and avoid the knowing stares of those men. I watch as their boat passes. It’s much bigger than Ben’s, probably cost a couple of hundred grand. It has two decks, and their fishing equipment at the back of the boat is top of the line.

I turn my attention to Ben, who has his hands on his hips, watching the boat as it overtakes us and continues on. There is a scowl on his face and once they are far enough away, he shakes his head and lets it drop forward. I step back onto the deck and look between him and the Day Away boat.

When he turns round, all the lust is gone from his expression. In fact, he looks downright thunderous. It is the way the asshole helming that boat gave him a condescending and smug grin.

Okay, I hate them too. And not just for interrupting us when things were getting good.

“That’s who you’re competing with?” I ask, stepping up beside him as he bends down to put the lid back on the cooler that held our food and water. Even that seems inferior. I’d noticed the spread of food at the seating area on their deck.

“Yeah.” Ben moves past me, making sure the fishing lines are pulled back and secured. He glances at me, then heads back inside to the controls. “If you don’t want to catch anything, I’ll take you back.”

“We don’t have to.”

His look tells me there is no changing his mind. The mood is well and truly gone. So we’re not even going to talk about what we just did? I frown, but he pulls up the anchor and faces forward again. The Day Away boat is still very much visible given its sheer size. I sit down as he steers us back around and we head back to the docks, quiet the whole way.

After he ties us up and helps me off the boat, he looks at me and heaves out a heavy breath. “That guy,” he says, indicating with a nod back out to the water. “He pretends to be friendly, but he’s a sleazy fucker who constantly tells me how much better things will be out here if we just sell to him.”

“I’m sorry,” is all I can think to say.

“What are you sorry for? It’s not your fault. It’s not even your fault your dad has left a clause saying we need to do exactly that.”

Ben grabs the cooler and turns, but he waits for me. I reluctantly follow him. I can see the Day Away offices, like the boat, they’re huge and ostentatious. George’s looks like a shack in comparison, but I know they’re doing a really good business and are highly thought of in Mystic. He secures the cooler in his trunk again and leans his shoulder against it as I approach.

“My parents are having a cookout. I was gonna take you, but I understand if you don’t want to.”

“Why wouldn’t I want to?” I ask, getting annoyed with how he is acting. He just shrugs. “Did you tell them I’m coming?” I cross my arms. He nods but says nothing. “Then that is where we’re going.” I climb into the truck without another word.

He takes a few minutes, but eventually he gets in the truck, too. I glance over at him.

As we pull away, he sighs and looks over at me. “Sorry, the guy just rubs me up the wrong way.”

“So I saw,” I say with a shrug. “Why do you let him?”

“Because he’s a prick and takes great pleasure in winding me up.”

“Ignore him.”

“Easy for you to say.”

“Easy to do,” I point out. “Ever think he keeps it up because he knows it gets a rise out of you?”

Ben scowls again and looks back through the windshield. Today has taken a turn. I didn’t see coming and I’m wondering if it’s a bad idea to go to his parents’ house. It will be nice to see them again, but Ben is a completely different person now and I’m not sure that is something I want to be around.

I get it though. That guy was an asshole and that boat… Shit, it looked so ridiculous out on the river. We’ve never had anything that big and gaudy out on the Mystic before. I can see why he’s pissed, but he doesn’t need to turn that on me.

“I’m not pissed because of what he did,” He speaks, as though he read my mind. “I’m pissed at what he saw,” Ben says, as we turn onto the block where he grew up.

I look at him in surprise. He looks pointedly at my mouth. “Oh,” I say, realization dawning.

“Yeah,” He grimaces. “No one gets to see you like that.”

“It’s not like we were undressed.”

“Don’t care,” he snaps. “I wouldn’t have done it if I knew we’d have an audience. You don’t deserve to be stared at like that. And I know exactly what those assholes on that boat would have been thinking. I don’t want them thinking of you like that.”

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