Page 24 of Necessary Roughness

“Why the hell did you even bring it?” she asked.

Before I could answer, I heard a clanking sound coming from her oversized bag. Almost like ice shaking around inside a thermos.

“What the hell is that?”

She froze. “Nothing.”

“Claire!”

She looked down at her feet, embarrassed. “You know I wouldn’t be spending the day on a yacht without Clairsmopolitans.”

“Claire,” I said, growing annoyed. “The invite says there will be drinks on the boat!”

I held the invite directly in front of her face.

“This just says full bar,” she said, studying the invite. “Leonard’s idea of a full bar is probably just moonshine with a giant jug of Sunny D. I’m not taking any chances!”

Fair enough.

“Now,” she said, snatching the invite out of my hand to study it further. “How do we find his boat?”

We both turned and inspected the yachts in the immediate vicinity.

“Can you call him?” she asked, her eyes darting around as she searched for the vessel.

“This is Leonard we’re talking about here. I don’t think he has a cell phone,” I answered, pointing in the opposite direction. “But I don’t think we’ll have a hard time finding it.”

Claire’s jaw hit the floor as her eyes spotted Leonard’s boat.

It was impossible to miss.

The yacht’s exterior was painted in wild, clashing colors. There were patchworks of psychedelic patterns accented by stripes of orange and neon green.

“Are you kidding me?” Claire asked. “We have to spend the day on a clown barge?”

But as we drew near, I could see that the boat itself was a classic luxury yacht. The sleek hull looked like polished fiberglass. The exterior featured multiple decks, each furnished with comfortable-looking lounge chairs and shaded areas for escaping the sun.

On the upper deck, a hot tub was bubbling and glistening, beckoning us to climb inside.

The boat itself was a luxury behemoth fit for the super-rich. Leonard had simply made some alterations. He had obviously personalized it in a way that suited his eccentricity.

Instead of a classic figurehead, Leonard had installed a life-sized statue of a mythological creature. As we approached, I could see that it was, in fact, a large mermaid.

How quaint.

From a distance, I had only noticed the hot tub on the upper deck. But upon closer inspection, I could see that it was filled with unusual, oversized furniture, like something out ofAlice in Wonderland. The lounge chairs were weirdly shaped like teacups, and the dining table was a chess board with moving pieces.

I couldn’t decide if I was ecstatic about spending the day on Leonard’s boat, or terrified.

“Well, you ready to board this floating eyesore?” Claire asked, shaking me from my awe.

Suddenly, Leonard appeared on deck and ushered us aboard before we could turn back.

“It’s now or never!” he exclaimed.

Never. I choose never.

But I didn’t say it aloud. In fact, I was still curious about experiencing something that was normally reserved for the ultra-rich, something so exclusive that you practically had to be a billionaire to own one.

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