Page 34 of The Jilted Lovers Club
I exhale sharply, then force myself to commit, stepping onto the board with my arms out wide, the paddle clenched in my right hand. The second my foot lands, my core tightens,adjusting to the wobble. For a split second, I sway but—miraculously—I catch my balance.
“You did it!” Ashton raises his paddle in the air, grinning. Water droplets fly from the blade, hitting my sleeve.
I narrow my eyes. “Did you just splash me?”
“What? Me? Never.”
I point my paddle at him. “You’re going to regret that.”
He smirks. “We’ll see.”
I follow his lead as he applies his paddle to the water, and we head downstream with the current. He teaches me how to move the paddle like a C, the arc curving away from each side of the paddle board, to keep the board straight. Once I get the hang of it, I feel sturdier. I realize it really will be hard to fall off, though not impossible. A few times I still feel wobbly. I’ve never been gifted in the athletic department. Even when I took dance classes, I was always one of the bottom five.
But as we keep going, I marvel at the fact that I—Jordy Gallo—am actually doing something that can be considered sporty, and I am not that bad at it.
I catch up to Ashton, and we match pace as we continue with the current.
“Did you and that guy at the dock used to be friends?” I ask. He glances at me and shrugs.
“Not exactly,” he says. “Brett went to school with Sasha, and when we first moved here, she introduced me to all these people she grew up with. But they were allherfriends, not mine. I just kind of tagged along while she caught up with everyone. When she left…” He shrugs again. “I mean, it’s not like I knew them well enough to grab beers with them in real life, you know? It’s like, that’s just something you say when there isn’t anything else to say.” He glances at me. “You know what I mean?”
Of course I do. I nod and offer a small smile, plus the same words he used on me, “It has to start somewhere, though. Right?”
He rolls his eyes, but grins. “Okay, fine. I asked for that. I guess I don’t really want to hang out with anyone, or get to know them. If it weren’t for Sasha, I wouldn’t even know any of these people. Now that she’s gone, I just don’t think they’re interested in getting to know me.”
“Or, there’s a third reason,” I say, applying my paddle as my board drifts too close to his. “Maybe you’re rejecting them before they can reject you.”
He tilts his head at me, raising an eyebrow. “Sounds like you know what you’re talking about.”
I push the paddle in again, moving slightly faster. “Maybe a little,” I say.
We take a break near a bridge, just three miles downstream. Ashton sinks to his knees and I do the same, keeping my balance as he ties our boards together. Then he opens the snack pack he brought and hands me a container. I bite back a smile as I open a mini charcuterie with crackers, cheese, grapes, cured meat, and some olives. He also pops a mini bottle of champagne and hands it to me before doing the same for himself.
“There is nothing like sparkling wine on the river,” he says, tapping his glass bottle against mine with a tink.
Side note: I’ve been off my strict food plan since I landed in Lahoma. I’m usually so disciplined, eating only vegetables and lean proteins to keep myself slim. I’ve never had a weight problem, but I’ve also never given myself the chance. Besides Italy, that is. When I was traveling, I enjoyed every food that landed in front of me, and at least two gelatos a day. But when I came home, I was in the gym every single day, banned carbsfrom my diet, and drank a gallon of water daily until the weight slid off.
Now here in Lahoma, I’m eating things like the crackers and cheese in front of me, Bec’s delicious waffles and bacon, and drinking whole milk like calories aren’t a thing.
Besides the guilt and my mom’s voice in my head, I’m loving it. Everything tastes so good. Probably because most of it comes from a nearby farm. I’ve never had food like this, where there’s a story behind each ingredient. Food has always been a burden to me, something to control and manage. But here? It’s not just nourishing for the body, but also for the soul.
“Thank you for doing all of this,” I say after taking a sip of bubbles.
“What?” He grins at me, that intoxicating crooked smile of his. “This was nothing.”
I shake my head. “This was not nothing. You’ve been so good to me ever since I got here. Even though I hate depending on you, I’m kind of glad the hotel thing fell through. Otherwise, I’d be spending every night alone in my hotel room and just focusing on work.”
“No you wouldn’t.” He nudges my leg, and even though his hands are cold from the champagne bottle, I feel the warmth of him travel all the way through me. “You probably would have charmed this whole town without me monopolizing all your time.”
I scoff, nudging his foot with mine. “That’s where you’re wrong, buddy. I don’t make friends, and with the rocky start I had here, I was definitely not charming anyone. If it weren’t for you, this whole project would have felt like a disaster. I probably would have quit halfway through.”
“So, that’s where I went wrong.” He winks, but his grin falls when I don’t return his smile. “What?”
I quickly mask my features, smiling to hide my discomfort. But inside I’m beating myself up. God, I’m such an idiot. He’s only been hanging out with me to be nice, not because he likes my company. I mean, of course that’s the reason. The fact that I’d even think otherwise is so completely stupid. Fuck, this whole paddle boarding trip is so obviously just another one of his nice guy moves, and he’s just counting down the days until I leave.
“Sorry, I think I’m just overheated. That sun is unexpected.” It’s true. I’m sweating through my layers, but I can’t let him know I’d relaxed into believing any of this was more than a kind gesture.
“I have my dry bag, if you want to take off your sweatshirt and place it in there,” he says, grabbing the bag and handing it to me. I take it, hating that this dark cloud inside me is ruining what had been a perfect day. I slip off my sweatshirt, sliding it into the bag before handing it back to him. His eyes glance down, then quickly to the bag as he takes it back.
