by S. C. York
“Well, I haven’t seen anyone.”
“Blake’s staff is paid to be discreet and to know when they are needed.”
I raise my eyebrows, knowing they must have seen some pretty crazy shit over the years.
“Do you think they could make a caramel latte?”
“Vanessa, they can make anything.” He picks up the phone on the night table and orders for us both.
I enter the bathroom and open the cupboards in search of a toothbrush. Finding an array of new toiletries, I help myself. Ryan walks in behind me, meeting my eyes in the mirror as I brush my teeth. He smirks and starts removing his clothes, they fall to the floor in a swoosh. My skin flushes and I look away, turning on the faucet. The shower turns on, and I can’t help but raise my eyes catching a view of his naked butt in the mirror.
“I wanted to make you feel better,” Ryan shouts from inside the stall.
“What?”
“I’ve seen yours. It was only fair that I show you mine, although yours is better.”
I like this side of him, who knew he had a sense of humor? Quickly, I open the door and before I can chicken out give him a quick, hard slap on one butt cheek. He jumps in surprise, but before he can turn around, I’ve snapped the shower door shut.
“You’re going to pay for that, Lyman,” he calls out as I walk back into the cabin putting on my now infamous, yellow sundress.
I need to find Eva and TJ but most importantly, my coffee. I’m familiar enough onboard to find my way to the sky deck. Ryan said that’s where breakfast usually is served.
“The view up here is amazing,” I take a seat facing the island behind us, this part of Block has few restaurants and shops and is more secluded than Old Harbor where the ferries go back and forth all day. The shoreline here is exceptional. It’s scattered with coves and inlets. Thick sea grass and dunes line the isolated beaches.
“Where’s Ryan?” Blake asks.
“He had a work email he needed to handle. What are your plans today?” I ask while helping myself to a bagel and some fresh fruit.
“I thought you girls might like a tour around Block by sea, we could find a good spot to drop anchor, maybe Ryan and I could do some spearfishing.” He stands and gives Eva a quick peck on the cheek. He looks out over the rail, with his coffee mug in hand and sharp eyes noticing everything about his boat, he truly is a captain.
“I need to head up to the bridge in a minute to check the tide schedule,” he tells us as a steward comes out with a refill for him and carrying my iced latte.
Sitting back in my seat, I feel giddy where this weekend is heading. Raising my eyebrows at Eva, I whisper, “What happened last night?” She kicks my leg under the table and shakes her head, gesturing behind her where Blake still stands. He comes closer to us, putting his coffee down on the table, “I’ll get a deck hand take you both to shore. You can pack up your bags and spend the rest of the Fourth with us, here.”
“I know I’d like that,” Ryan says against my ear. He kisses my cheek, dropping into the seat next to me.
“Hmm, a weekend aboard a ten-million-dollar yacht or the futon bed at Dex’s house? I can’t decide. We need some time to think to about it, right, Nessa?” Eva says playfully.
“If we decide to stay, do me a favor, and don’t post it on Facebook!”
Ryan and I share a look, and we all burst out laughing.
“Wait, what about TJ? It was his idea to come to Block Island this weekend. I won’t ditch him.”
“He’s cool,” Blake replies nonchalantly, then turns and walks up the stairs to the bridge, over his shoulder he calls out to Ryan, “If you’re done working, take them ashore and make sure Eva gets her bikini!”
“Are you sure she needs it?” he asks. Both men laugh.
“I’m going to go get TJ and Lisa, to make sure they will be ready to go soon.” Ryan gives me a wink and heads inside.
“Eva, this is turning into the summer of love for all of us,” I say, watching the door Ryan just went through.
She whips off her sunglasses, staring at me like I’ve completely lost my mind.
“Chica, don’t read too much into any of this. Don’t get caught up in the moment forgetting who Blake and Ryan are—”
“Who’s that?” I hate how she is always so cynical. Her words puncture my heart, making it bleed just when I thought it had healed enough to try again.
“You know who they are. Do you really believe we are the first girls Blake and Ryan have hosted on the Majesty this summer? Don’t be naïve. I’ve heard about it for the last three weeks at work. It’s easier not to get hurt if you keep your head in the game.”
“Eva, I hear what you are saying. I just wish for once, you could stop being so negative. Ryan finally opened up to me last night. He was different—told me some very private things about his past that I don’t think he would share with just anyone. I might be ready to let someone in again.”
“Really? This is the same guy who a few weeks ago rented a hotel room after knowing you for two days and expected you to go, right?”
She’s angry. I rarely challenge her, content at being the follower in our friendship.
“You’re right. Absolutely right. I know I haven’t mentioned Ryan in weeks, but I was thrilled to see him last night. I’ll be cautious, but I’m putting all my chips down on the table and going all in for Ryan Stone.”
She looks incredulously at me, “Have you lost your damn mind? Did you not learn anything from what happened with Sean? Nessa, you need to slow down and take your foot off the gas pedal, or you’ll end up going over the cliff again. I hated seeing how you were last year—broken. I worried about you all the time…you had disconnected from everything.”
“Yes, I was completely numb. I barely remember those days, I felt like a robot mechanically going through the motions.” I shudder at the memories, “I don’t ever want to feel that way again.”
“Nessa, every time I went to your dorm room you were sleeping. I still can’t believe you didn’t flunk out. Only you could graduate with a high GPA and be totally checked out.”
“I know, academics always came easy for me, but I never applied myself as hard as I could have, oh well. So, what do you think I should do? I really like him, Eva.”
“I’m not sure. You and I are complete opposites, I know I could handle it, but you can’t seem to stop yourself before the fall.”
“So teach me.”
She’s about to answer when TJ appears towing Lisa behind him. I give him a grin and suck down the last of my drink. He ducks his head, pouring coffee for himself and Lisa, then holds the chair out for her. That’s my TJ, always the gentlemen.
“I just refueled and as soon as everyone’s ready, we can head to shore to get your things,” Ryan announces. He sits next to me, so close; our bodies touch from arm to ankle.
“Coffee first. I need a gallon after the night I had,” TJ replies.
Lisa gives a few high-pitched giggles, and I see them playing footsie under the table. Eva and I roll our eyes at the two of them, and she whispers, “Do we agree that girl is totally annoying?”
“Yep,” I answer.
Eva’s distracted by Blake as he walks down the short flight of steps from the bridge, “I need you to hurry. If we are going to have time to cruise over to Mohegan Bluffs and get back in time to secure a prime spot for tonight’s fireworks, you need to get a move on.”
“Alright, clock’s ticking. You heard the captain. I’m leaving in five minutes, whoever is on the aft deck, ready to go gets to shore. If you’re not there, you’ll have to survive with what you’re wearing,” Ryan announces.
I move to get up from the table hoping to be able to take a quick shower before we go, but Ryan’s arm snakes around my waist, stopping me.
“You won’t need any clothes this weekend,” he says playfully.
My face turns red, when everyone around the table snickers at me.
“Well, unlike Eva, I don’t skinny dip, sor
ry,” I say, jogging down the stairs to the main deck and bolting inside before my five minutes are up.
The water is rougher than it was last night, I jostle hard with each wave that slaps into the Zodiac as Ryan races us back toward shore. Blake warned us a small thunder system is moving past a few miles out to sea. I’m gripping the side so hard to stabilize my body that my hand is numb and white. My legs are soaking wet from the spray kicking up, and I start shivering. I’ve lived near the ocean my entire life, but I’ve never spent a weekend at sea, much less on a multi-million-dollar yacht. Looking away from the rolling waves, my eyes study the man who is an enigma to me. Ryan handles the small watercraft just as masterfully as Blake as he darts around buoys and other boats that have dropped anchor. It’s obvious he has done this many times before.
The conversation I had with Eva an hour ago plays in my head. Maybe I should listen to her. I’m falling too fast and I need to slow down, but I’m not sure how to tell my heart it needs to go back in the cage when it just found freedom again. Closing my eyes, I feel the wind whip across my face blowing my hair behind me like a curtain and vow to rein myself in. Protective barrier back in place, I open my eyes with a newfound steel resolve vowing not to let another man make a fool of me.
“You okay, Vanessa?” Ryan calls out over the powerful engines.
I don’t want to shout over the noise, so I just nod my head pretending everything is fine and shift my gaze back to the water.
He slowly throttles back the motor as we get closer to land and we coast to shore, still propelled forward by the powerful momentum.
TJ takes off his sandals and vaults over the side, hauling us onto the beach.
“Seriously? My feet are going to get cut up on rocks and shells,” Lisa whines, “The ship was first class but dumping me off here definitely is not.”
I can tell TJ’s annoyed with her, “Guess she’s not as cute as last night now that you’re sober, huh?” I tell him under my breath as he holds a hand out to me, helping me climb out.
“Why didn’t you take us over to the pier where we were last night? I’m going to ruin my new Coach sandals in all this wet sand,” Lisa wails.
“Because it’s the Fourth of July on Block, did you not see the hundreds of boats we passed out there?” TJ says, then turns his back on her. He starts walking down the beach toward town, literally leaving her behind. Guess the magic of the night has worn off for them.
“You guys go ahead back to your friend’s house. I need to make a few more calls. Do think you can meet me back here in an hour?” Ryan asks, pulling me in for a tight hug. I hold myself stiff in his embrace.
“Vanessa?” He knows I’m off.
“We’ll be back in an hour; I’ll see you then, okay?” I answer, not meeting his gaze. I pull away, but he grabs my arm, forcing me to look him in the eye.
His gaze is probing and intense, and I’m going to cave. This tough girl routine doesn’t come naturally to me. But he frowns and lets me go before I can explain.
“Hello? Is anyone going to carry me up the beach?” I’ve completely forgotten about Lisa.
“Sorry, sweetheart, your free vacay is over,” Eva answers. She links an arm in mine and we follow TJ’s lead back to town leaving Lisa and Ryan behind. But as I walk away, I feel his gaze burning holes in my back.
“So you’re giving Ryan the cold shoulder, huh?”
I shrug, kicking a pebble with my sandal, and watch it roll down the street. “ I feel terrible. He hasn’t done anything but be super sweet to me. I just was thinking about your warning to me the entire time he was ferrying us back from the Majesty.” She doesn’t respond and we reach the dirt driveway to Dex’s summer rental.
The house is silent. Everyone’s probably out to breakfast or already at Ballard’s securing their prime spot for tonight’s fireworks.
“Eva, what happened in the hot tub last night, did you get in there naked?” I ask her when we reach Dex’s guest room. She digs through her bag ignoring me.
“Well, you definitely have more guts than me. I can’t believe you had the nerve to lecture me about Ryan when you climbed so quickly into Blake’s lap like so many other girls before you. I hear the hot tub’s his classic move.”
She continues to ignore me, shoving her clothes into her backpack. I sit on the bed and keep needling her. “Did you hear the story about how he screwed up in the Caribbean last year? That was a close call, huh? Blake could be a father right now. And the drugs—I hope he’s at least clean now.”
She pauses, but her head’s still down. Her fist clenches around the rolled-up t-shirt she’s packing, but I don’t shut up. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing, Eva?”
Finally, she looks up.
“Of course I know what I’m doing and I’m no angel either.”
I shake my head. She is something else.
“How do you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Stay so calm and indifferent.”
“I’m not indifferent. I just know how to play the game. All those Friday nights you stayed in your dorm room crying into your pillow over Sean, TJ and I became close. He’s taught me a lot.”
“TJ? What kinds of things did he teach you? What are you talking about?” Immediately intrigued, I stop packing and sit cross-legged on the floor, she has my full attention, “Spill, how does the great Eva Cruz never get her heart broken?”
“Don’t be so dramatic. It’s very simple. I don’t make any man the center of my universe. I keep myself interesting and busy while letting them know they are on the back burner, and me—I’m on the front.”
“What?” She’s talking in metaphors and losing me fast.
“Who gets married at twenty-two these days? No one, that’s who. I’m not going to let myself get hurt because, unlike you, I know how to stop myself before the fall.
“I didn’t have a chance to tell you last night, but I’ve started doing some things to feel better about myself.”
“Like you need any help with that,” I snort.
“Aww, Chica. My little chicklet, I love you, too,” she coos and pats my face. “I just bought the study guide for the GMAT, and I’m going to get my MBA. And you know what? It makes me more appealing to people and employers.
“I have big dreams to get out of our small town, and I’m too busy achieving them to wait around for a guy to call or text to meet up. I do the meeting up. No one will be able to pin me down for a date, I’ll be too busy. I’m Eva Cruz, dammit. I just signed up for Mandarin Chinese lessons at Three Rivers Community College. I’m already fluent in Spanish, with Mandarin under my belt and an MBA, I could get an international business degree. Maybe study abroad, who knows, the possibilities are endless. No one in my family has ever done anything like this.
“My abuelo was a fisherman in the Borough before the gringos with money came in turning it into rows of summer homes. My mom started out as chambermaid at the Mystic Hilton, and now she manages the entire housekeeping department. An achievement, but I crave more, so much more,” she finishes, twirling in a circle, and I see both the dream and determination in her eyes as she flops on the floor next to me.
“You’ll do it, Eva. If anyone can it’s you. You have more drive and confidence than anyone I know.”
“Gracias, my first Mandarin class starts this Wednesday.”
“I can’t believe we just graduated and you want to go back for an MBA already.”
“Yep, I want to be successful and have my own career. I’m not looking for a long-term romance or a man to get me what I want.”
“Have you considered which grad schools to apply to?” I cringe at the thought of her going away, which is totally selfish of me since I already have my future plans.
“If I can get a scholarship, I’m going to Brown or Dartmouth. My tía lives in Rhode Island and if I do some light housework for her, she’s agreed to let me stay with her rent free while I earn my degree.”
“I’m confused. What about Bla
ke? Are you guys together now or is this just a summer thing?”
She eyes me coyly, “Well, I kind of want it to turn into something more, but if it doesn’t I’ll be alright. I won’t be too far from him either way. In fact, I still plan on working at Foster’s. I’ll just ask if I can cut back to part time. I know everything you are saying about him and it’s all true, but trust me, I know what I’m doing. Blake’s changed. He hasn’t touched anything but an occasional drink and he’s been so supportive of me furthering my education.
“Blake’s going to be traveling a lot this year. Charles wants to expand the business more into the European market. He’s planning to send Blake over to negotiate the deals. So, he won’t be around much anyway so there won’t be any awkward coffee machine run-ins if things don’t work out.” She gives me a tight hug, “Thanks for being a good friend. I promise I’ll be okay.”
“You always did have a stronger back bone then me. I don’t know how you do it. I swear you’re more like a guy when it comes to relationships.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not into girls, but if I was...” she picks up her beach towel and whips my butt with it.
“Ouch,” I shriek. Rolling on the floor together, laughing hysterically, a feeling of peace settles over me, like everything’s going to work out. I just have to have faith. The door creaks and I look up, seeing TJ and Dex in the doorway with their mouths hanging open.
“What? Dex wanted to see what all that shrieking was. He was worried,” TJ says innocently.
“Just us girls, having some fun,” Eva says winking at them.
“Come on, we have to meet Ryan soon,” I say, slapping her on the knee and zipping up my bag. Two days. I get to spend two whole days with Ryan Stone on the Her Majesty. Am I ready?
The loud horn of Her Majesty blows loudly, a warning to other boats that the queen is coming through. Blake expertly guides her out of the harbor and turns out to sea where he and Ryan have planned the day for us. They gave strict orders to change into bikinis and stay in them. I close my eyes and let the thrumming of Her Majesty’s powerful engines vibrate through my body as she drives through the water. One could get used to this.