Page 107 of Dr. Stone
But sometimes, she would creep back into my mind…on the days off, of course. And that’s why I decided to seek refuge on my sailboat, get the fuck off dry land, and immerse myself in the ocean.
“Come on, bitch yapper,” I smirked at the little guy who was acting like he owned the entire marina as he trotted on his leashat my side. “I can probably start calling you Duke again, since apparently I’m not into dating anymore,” I said, picking him up and stepping onto the one lady who wouldn’t leave my ass.
“It’s fucking strange,” I said to Duke—because honestly, this was my life now outside of work. “The heart, physically? I know how it works inside and out. Medical science has given us the tools to fix almost everyone I’ve opened up on the table.” Duke yawned, unimpressed with my monologue as I continued to coil the ropes. “But all that science, all the skill and study, doesn’t mean shit when it comes to what that damn organ tries to tell my brain.”
I laughed to myself and slid Duke into the custom life jacket I had made for him, not long after Kaley cheerfully handed him over, saying,‘I promise he’ll make you happy.’Such a sweet kid.
Even though I told Kaley I’d just take Duke on my off days and some nights, I made it clear he was still hers, but we’d share custody. That was mostly because, yeah, I felt like a piece of shit about the dog. I got the little guy for the girl who dumped me, but from what Ash told me, Andie had completely shut down, closed off from everyone and everything. Said she didn’t want to hurt the dog by not being around enough to take care of him.
Fucking weird as hell, the way she suddenly flipped toward me, toward Ash, and toward just about everything. One day we’re good, the next she’s checked out. And it wasn’t just me she walked out on; she left the cutest damn dog on the planet behind, too. You don’t just walk away from people, and a dog like Duke, unless something deeper is going on. But shit, if she wasn’t even talking to her best friend about it, why would she ever open up to me?
I glanced over at Duke, smiling at how he sniffed the wind once the boat started picking up speed coming out of the marina. The damn dog sucked as part of a family unit, but he was man’s best friend while sailing on a boat.
I felt my nerves tightening from all the emotions I was still carrying, but the boat was doing her job, slowly unraveling that tension, and out here on this beauty, on the water, I felt no pain.
That afternoon,I split a turkey sandwich with Duke, anchored about thirty minutes offshore, near Catalina Island—the one place I had no memories of Andie. Out here, I could escape her.
I picked a secluded spot to anchor, away from other boats and people, because the last thing I needed was this damn dog losing his mind barking at every little thing.
I tossed a chip over to my pal, watching him with amusement as he sniffed it. “It’s horrible for us, but who gives a fuck?” I said, crunching into a plain potato chip and savoring everything about the unhealthy snack.
If it weren’t for a sailboat moving in our direction like they knew me, I would’ve wondered why the dog started barking like a mother fucker.
“Duke, shut the fuck up,” I said, trying to see who was sailing directly towards me.
The closer the boat came, the more insane Duke got.
“I can’t deal with your ass right now,” I muttered, scooping Duke up and setting him in his bed below deck.
When I came back up, I blinked in disbelief. The approaching boat was Jake’s—and riding shotgun was his clown-in-crime, Collin.
Jake swung his sailboat in like he was pulling into a frat party, not thirty minutes off Catalina. Collin stood on the bow, shirtless, beer in hand, grinning like spring break came early.
“Ahoy, bitch!” Jake saluted me with a smug smile.
I squinted. “What the hell…you trade in the yacht for this midlife crisis?”
“Permission to come aboard, Captain Pathetic?” Collin bellowed, already wobbling like he was auditioning for community theater.
Before I could say no, he leapt across with the grace of a drunk gymnast. Jake followed, tossing me a line.
“You two are like herpes,” I snapped, catching it. “Unwanted, impossible to get rid of, and always showing up at the worst time.”
“Aw, see? He missed us.” Collin clapped me on the back. “That’s basically a hug in Jace-speak.”
Jake gripped my shoulder like he was either about to give me bad news—or drag me to Vegas. “We come bearing gifts.” He ducked below deck, then reappeared with Duke tucked under his arm like a football and two beers in the other hand.
“Poor dog locked up while Daddy cries into his IPA?” Jake tsked, handing me one. “You’re gonna need this. Maybe both.”
Suspicion prickled. “For what?”
Collin raised his bottle in a toast. “For Operation Fix-Your-Pathetic-Love-Life.”
I snorted. “Christ.”
Jake cracked his beer. “It’s about your girl. And the mess she didn’t tell you about.”
My pulse spiked. “What—she wants me back? Sent you two clowns as messengers?”
