Page 65 of Didn't See That Coming

“Yeah, just need to get my sea legs, I guess.” I put my drink down and focus on the fishing rod so I can avoid looking at Liam. Whenever I look at him, I see everything he’s typed to Dudebro10 flashing before me. All the stuff he was vulnerable enough to share with Dudebro10. And I can’t risk Liam seeingthe truth in my eyes. “Cool rod.” Oh god, did that come out as an innuendo? Argh!

Liam gives me one of his lopsided grins, and my stomach flip-flops. He picks up another rod and tests its weight. “Watch and learn, kid.” With that, he swings the rod, but instead of unreeling, the bait only swings around and around, splashing all of us with spatters of raw fish guts.

“What the hell?” Jonas cries. “Dude, watch it!”

Peishan just looks wordlessly down at her pretty sundress, now speckled with dark red spots. She tries halfheartedly to brush off the spots but only manages to smear them across her dress. Liam grimaces, and he looks so lost and sorry that I can’t help snorting.

“It’s fine,” Peishan says as Liam hands her a wet wipe. “I expected to get dirty while fishing.”

“Nice,” Jonas says. “You’re not squeamish like most girls,huh?”

What is up with this douche and his endless “not like other girls” comments? I bite back my retort and focus on my fishing rod. Let’s see, how do I…

“C’mere, let me show you.” And before I know it, Jonas is behind me, both his arms around me, his hands grasping the rod over my hands. Oh my god. My entire body goes rigid. “Chillax,” he says, guiding my hands to the right before swinging the rod out.

The line unravels with a smooth whir, and with a satisfyingplop,the bait breaks the surface of the water. “See?” Jonas says, and I can almost hear the smirk in his voice. He steps backbefore I can shove him away, and I release my breath, wanting to peel off my skin so I can forget the feeling of his body pressed up against mine.

I’m still standing there, white-knuckling the rod, when Liam steps up beside me. “Hey, uh, I hate to keep asking you this, but…you okay?”

I give him a terse nod. “Just a bit seasick, but I’ll be fine.”

Liam nods, his expression unconvinced. “Cool. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it, I got my girl.” Jonas pops out of nowhere, carrying two fresh glasses of margaritas, which he pushes at me and Liam. “Two virgins.” I bet he thinks he’s real witty.

I slip the rod into a holder and take the fresh drink from Jonas. I wonder if I’m going to manage to see the end of this cursed day without shoving Jonas overboard. Fortunately, he goes to help Peishan with her rod. I notice that he does theexact same thing with her, putting his arms around her like they’re in a bad ad for sexy golfing or something. Sexy golfing? Where did that thought come from? Liam watches with a bemused expression, though he doesn’t say anything. Peishan doesn’t seem to give a crap one way or another and swings her fishing rod casually.

Just then, Liam’s rod twitches in its holder, and I jump so fast that I slosh half my drink on my legs. “You got a catch!” I shout.

Liam quickly grabs hold of the rod and yanks up.

“No!” Jonas cries. “Don’t do that, you’ll break it.” Hesnatches the rod from Liam and begins to reel the fish in with expert ease. I hate to admit it, but Jonas seems to know what he’s doing. Before long, we can see white froth on the surface of the sea as the fish is pulled farther up. Then a silvery fin breaks the water, and suddenly the fish is out and it’s thrashing and light catches its scales in a mesmerizing dance. We all can’t help but cheer as Jonas pulls it into the boat and drops it into a bucket. It’s a medium-sized fish with dark silver stripes going down its length.

“Cakalang!” Liam says. “Wow.” He looks up, beaming. “Can I cook it?”

“Really?” Jonas’s eyebrows knit together. “I have a chefhere.”

“Yeah, I’ve always wanted to clean and cook my own food from start to finish.”

Jonas raises his hands. “That’s really sick, but whatever, dude.”

“Do you wanna come with me?” Liam says to Peishan, but she shakes her head.

“If I see that poor fish being gutted and cleaned, I’m not going to want to eat it.”

I remember Sourdawg telling Dudebro10 that he believes we should all try to butcher and clean and cook our own meals at least once in our lifetime so we’re more aware of what it takes to put food, especially meat, on the table. He reasoned that we only mostly see animals in the form of neatly packaged meat in the supermarkets, and that if we were responsible for rearing or catching the animals ourselves, we would be a lot more respectful about our consumption. And now, Jonas andPeishan have just proven his point. They’re okay with eating the fish as long as it’s presented nicely to them and they don’t have to deal with the reality of killing and cleaning it. To be honest, I’m feeling a bit queasy at the thought myself, but I raise my hand. “I’ll come with you.” And before Jonas can say anything, I get up and follow Liam off the deck and into the yacht’s galley.

Liam glances behind his shoulder at me as we make our way indoors, and I could swear he’s about to say something—I can practically feel him trying to form the words—but the bartender spots us and says, “Can I offer you another drink?”

Liam shakes his head. “We’re looking for the kitchen?”

“Ah. You can pass me the fish you’ve caught and I’ll have the chef—”

“No, we want to do it ourselves.”

My chest expands at the word “we,” which is probably really pathetic, but hey, chests are gonna expand when they want.

“Of course.” The bartender leaves the bar and leads us to a side door. Opening it, he steps aside and ushers us in.

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