Page 32 of Count My Lies

“We started the tradition in San Francisco,” Violet says. “Jay surprised me with a sunset cruise around the marina the first year we moved there, and we’ve done it ever since. We’ve upgraded a little over the years, haven’t we, babe?” She laughs a little sheepishly.

Jay gives her a strange smile. I’m not sure if he doesn’t like her calling attention to their money, or something else. Maybe I was wrong before; maybe something is going on between them that I don’t know about. I look to Violet, but she seems unbothered, still smiling.

“Well, I’m going to take us out,” Jay says, starting toward the back of the boat. He brushes against me as he walks by, and I can smell the spearmint again. My heart skips a beat.

“Can I pour you a glass?” Violet asks me, holding up a clear plasticcup. There’s a cooler at her feet with a bottle of champagne on ice, as well as a bottle of sparkling apple cider. Both are open, half-full.

“Sure,” I say, and she reaches for the cider. She tips the bottle too quickly, and the cup overflows, bubbles spilling over the side. Violet shrieks and we all laugh.

“Whoops!” she says, holding the glass out so she doesn’t get wet. “I’d be a terrible bartender!” When the bubbles subside, she hands it to me. “For the birthday girl.” I take it from her, smiling.

“Cheers!” Violet raises her cup. Harper and I do the same. “Cheers!” we both echo, our plastic cups all knocking together. The cider is crisp and sweet, its bubbles effervescent in my mouth. Everything is as perfect as I imagined it would be.

“Ready?” Jay calls out, and we all nod.

The three of us climb to the front of the boat, Harper in Violet’s lap, our faces to the wind. Behind us, the sail unfurls, billowing in the wind. The boat begins to move, slowly at first, then faster, until we’re out of the marina, into the harbor on open waters.

“I love it out here,” Violet says, inhaling deeply. “Jay’s colleague has a boat that we go out on sometimes, too. It’s one of my favorite things to do in the summer.” She tips her head toward Jay. “If you’ve never been sailing, you should ask him to show you how.”

“To sail?” I look back toward Jay. He’s standing at the back of the boat, holding a rope in his gloved hand. He has a pair of tortoiseshell-rimmed Wayfarer sunglasses on, his hair tousled by the wind. He’s as handsome as I’ve ever seen him.

She nods. “It’s fun. It’s easier than it looks.”

I hesitate.

“Go!” She smiles encouragingly.

Cautiously, I stand, the boat rocking over the small waves, and,wobbly, make my way toward Jay. I glance back at Violet, who has already turned back around. She’s pointing something out to Harper—another boat, maybe—who is nodding emphatically.

Jay smiles at me as I approach. “Everything okay? Not seasick, I hope.”

I shake my head. “Violet said you’d show me the ropes.” I look down at the ropes in his hand. “Literally, I guess. I’ve never been sailing before.”

“Yeah, sure, I’d be happy to.” His smile broadens into a grin, white teeth appearing. He looks genuinely excited by my interest.

I smile. “Okay. So.” I look up at the sails and the ropes and pulleys. “This looks complicated.”

He laughs. “It really isn’t. We’ll start with the basics,” he says. “This is the tiller.” He points to a wooden stick-like thing behind us. “It’s used to steer.”

I nod. “Got it.”

“Go on, then,” he says, like he’s daring me.

Hesitantly, I reach out, wrap my fingers around it, then look back toward him.

“Nice grip,” he says. His tone is teasing. My whole body flushes, heat radiating through me.

He grins again, bites his lip. God, he’s good-looking. I press the back of my hand to my flaming neck. Is he flirting with me?

“And these”—Jay points to the ropes, still smiling—“are called sheets. Each sheet refers to the sail that it controls. This sail”—he points to the sail directly in front of us—“is the mainsail. The front sail, toward the bow, is the jib. So, when you want to move the mainsail you use the mainsheet; if you want to move the jib, then you will pull the jib sheet. Make sense?”

I swallow hard, willing my blush to fade. “Yep, seems easy enough,” I manage.

He shows me the boom, which, apparently, I should watch out for, lest it knock me over, and the stays and shrouds, which look like wires, and the halyard, which looks like more wires.

“You with me?” Jay asks.

“Mm-hm.” I nod, trying my best to sound convincing. I am not, in fact, with him. I’m having trouble focusing on anything besides the way his arm keeps brushing against mine.

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