Stroke It

by Ivy Jordan

  When we arrived at the marina, there was a man waiting for us. I had called ahead to make sure he had a boat ready for us. It was exquisite.

  “It looks great, my man, thank you.”

  I finished signing the papers and paying the man before I met everyone back outside. Matt was helping the girls into the boat and showing them around. He hefted a cooler into the boat and went out to grab another. The coolers were full of food and some beer for the day. I couldn’t wait to get out on the water.

  “So, what is the difference between deep-sea fishing and regular fishing?” Hailey asked me as I got into the boat. Matt got out and started to untie the boat from the dock. The man was definitely efficient. He was going to drive us where we needed to be.

  “Have you ever watched Deadliest Catch?”

  “No, but I’ve seen the previews.”

  “Well, it’s like that. You never know what you’re going to catch. Anything could come up that line because we’re in the ocean. It might not be a little fish like you see in a lake.”

  “Oh!” She looked out into the water. I knew that she was probably thinking about sharks. It would be pretty hilarious if we were to catch a shark; she would probably flip out.

  “I’ve never done anything like this before.”

  “Don’t worry; I will teach you. You look beautiful, by the way.” And, she did. She was wearing a pink bikini and a sheer t-shirt over top of it. I leaned in and kissed her on the mouth. She looked at me with surprise.

  “Just keeping up appearances you know. The paparazzi are everywhere, my dear.”

  She smiled, “No problem.”

  I couldn’t have cared less who was watching. I had a hard time thinking about anything but kissing Hailey these days. I wanted to do it all day long. I would have to try to reel it in a bit, but it was going to be hard. All I thought about was putting my hands on her. Matt started up the boat, and we started to pull away from the dock.

  It was going to be a nice relaxing day in the sun, and I couldn’t wait. There was a chance we would catch some fish, but even if we didn’t, we would have a blast. The girls started to apply some sunscreen, and I started pulling out the breakfast that we had brought. We all ate silently as we drove into the ocean. It was a beauty of a day, and I couldn’t have asked for better weather. We drove for about twenty minutes before Matt stopped the boat and anchored us into a spot. He and I proceeded to get the rods in position.

  “Why are there chairs in front of the rods? Are you guys that lazy?” Mandy asked.

  Matt laughed, “No, that’s in case you get a really big fish. Some of these suckers are really heavy, and they could pull you into the water. By sitting, you can brace yourself, and you have a better chance of reeling the fish in the boat.”

  “Oh, I see. What kind of fish are we expecting here? A great white?”

  “You never know,” he said with a wink.

  I moved all our stuff and put it away from the deck. The deck was likely to get wet, and I didn’t want any of the girl’s bags to get soaked; plus, we all needed room to pass.

  “Have you guys ever caught anything big before?”

  “I haven’t, but Matt caught a swordfish one year. It was nuts, that sucker fought like crazy.”

  Matt dropped the lines in the water and then turned back to the group. “Now, we wait.”

  Lunchtime was rolling around, and no one had caught anything yet. It didn’t matter because we were still having a blast. The beers started to get passed around as we relaxed in the sun. Everyone was getting a tan despite the sunscreen, and there was so much laughter on the boat.

  I was glad to see Hailey having so much fun. I had a hard time keeping my hands off her all day, but she didn’t seem to mind. Though she was probably just staying in character because that was her job. I needed to be careful – the last thing that I wanted was to remind her of the night we slept together. As much as I loved the memory, I knew she wanted to forget it, and I didn’t want to do anything that would cause her to leave.

  “So, how often do you guys come out here?” Mandy asked.

  “We haven’t been out in awhile, actually. We used to come out all the time. It’s a great way to unplug from stress and the work day, ya know? Just come out here and forget everything,” I said.

  “It’s beautiful,” Hailey said.

  “Yeah, it really is,” I said looking at her with a smile. She blushed.

  “What are we likely to catch?”

  “We could catch anything from mackerel to sea bass, maybe even a barracuda.”

  Hailey raised her eyebrows. “Cool!”

  One of the rods started to move. Matt got up quickly. “Whoa, I think we got something.”

  I grabbed Hailey’s hand. “C’mon, I’ll show you how it’s done.” I motioned for her to sit in the seat across from the moving rod. I moved the rod so that it was in the hole right in front of her.

  “Okay, Hailey, we definitely have something here, so now we have to reel it in. We want to do that slowly so that the fish doesn’t get the better of us and we break the line.”

  She nodded, but I could tell that she was nervous.

  “C’mon, Hailey, you can do it,” Mandy called out.

  I showed Hailey how to reel in the fish. It fought her, and I was surprised at how well she handled the pressure. She didn’t let the fish get away. She was a total natural. With simple instructions, she easily let the line out when it was appropriate and then brought it back in when she had the chance. She fought some good solid ten minutes with the fish before she tired it out. When she reeled it out of the water, she squealed. It was a decent size red sheephead.

  “Oh my God, I did it!” She was out of her seat and jumping around with her sister. I had never seen two girls more excited about catching a fish. Matt finished reeling it in and took it off the hook. It flopped around on the deck before it took its last breath. Matt picked it up off the deck and laughed. “She’s a good size, Hailey; good for you!”

  Hailey was beaming and looked so beautiful when she did. I loved the idea of making her that happy, she deserved all the happiness in the world, and it certainly didn’t take much to make her that way.

  “Let’s get a picture of you with it,” I said.

  She smiled and came over, and Matt handed her the fish. “My God, it is heavy.”

  They all laughed as she held the fish while her sister took a bunch of pictures with her phone.

  “Congrats, Hailey.” I took the fish from her and Matt put it away. “How about we have some lunch and some more beer?”

  Everyone agreed, and I pulled out some sandwiches and cheese and crackers from the cooler. We all had a big appetite at that point and ate a lot. We then settled in for the day to see if anything else would bite while we had a beer. I leaned over and kissed Hailey’s shoulder blade. I watched with interest as her skin puckered with goose flesh.

  “Are you having fun, Hailey?”

  She looked over at me and smiled. “Yes. This is awesome. I would never have done this on my own. It’s so much fun, and I’m really proud of myself for reeling in that fish.”

  “Well, you should be. You did really well, especially for a first timer.”

  Another rod started moving, and Matt called out. He sat down in the seat, and we all moved around him, cheering him on. I was happy that I had decided to get the group together because we always had a good time. There was just a natural chemistry that you couldn’t fake if you tried. We continued to cheer Matt on as he pulled out a massive white sea bass from the water. The girls were screaming at the size of it, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Their reaction was priceless. We got it onto the deck, and Matt was standing while holding the massive fish. Mandy went about taking pictures as we all cheered for him.

  “What do you do with these fish?”

  “Well, we are going to eat them, of course. We will grill them up one night for you girls.”

  “Oh, really?” Hailey said with a laugh.

 
“Don’t worry; we won’t make you filet them.”

  She frowned, “Well, that’s a relief.”

  We relaxed for the rest of the day before we headed back to shore. Everyone was exhausted from the sun. We were thinking of going somewhere that might offer us a bit of shade for dinner. It had ben a long day, and we were all pretty weary. We took the opportunity to do a bit of swimming while we were out there, keeping an eye out for sharks. But when the girls got out, and it was closing in on dinner time, we couldn’t help but start to think about food.

  All I could think about, however, was the beautiful Hailey and how I wished I could wrap my arms around her and never let her go.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Hailey

  I was cooked from the sun. It had been a long day, but a fun one. I was a little buzzed from the beer and definitely on a high from catching the fish. I hadn’t been thrilled about getting woken up early for fishing, mainly because I had never been and all I wanted to do was sleep, but I was really glad we had gone.

  The day had been fun in a lot of ways. The fishing was definitely the highlight of the day, and then there was, of course, Caleb, who kept kissing me every chance he got. I don’t know why it surprised me; it was my job after all to play his girlfriend, but I still found myself astonished when he would wrap his arms around me or pull me in for a kiss. I couldn’t complain, nor did I want to. I loved being close to him, even if it was just for show.

  We were heading back to the shore to grab some dinner. Caleb knew of a great seafood place on the water that we could go to for dinner, and the idea of eating some crab made my stomach grumble. When we docked, Matt got out of the boat and tied it up. He then helped Mandy and I out of the boat while Caleb hauled out the coolers. We were bringing our fish to Caleb’s parents’ house to eventually grill. We packed away our coolers and Caleb settled with the owner.

  We then piled back into the car and drove to the seafood place. It wasn’t far from the marina and was a happening place. Caleb talked to the hostess and got us a table outside on the patio. It didn’t look like there was any room, but the hostess knew who Caleb was and made sure to get a table ready for him. It must be nice just to walk into any restaurant you want and know that you would have a table. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted that life – that was one of the many benefits I would have as an actress.

  The hostess led us to the table, and we all settled in. Looking out at the view I was mesmerized. It was so beautiful, and although we had already been out on the water that day, the view startled me every single time. It was breathtaking.

  “It’s so gorgeous out here,” Mandy said as if she was reading my mind. We all nodded and then started opening our menus. I decided to get a plate of crab and lobster with mashed potatoes, and it was all I could do not to drool all over the table. The waiter arrived, and Caleb ordered us a pitcher of beer, and we all put in our food orders, as well.

  We chatted for a little while about the fish and the things that were going on during the week. We were tired, and it was mindless chit chat for awhile. I sipped on the cool drink the waiter had brought, letting it refresh me from the day. It was a great day, and I was thankful that I was getting the opportunity to be part of these kinds of days.

  We got onto the conversation of the majors, and Matt was talking about how good Caleb was doing so far. I couldn’t help but beam with pride. I always knew he was a good player from what I read on the internet, but having it confirmed by Matt only made me happier for Caleb.

  “Now we just need to focus on what Dr. Brentwood told you.”

  Caleb nodded almost lost in thought.

  “Are you seeing a doctor?” I asked carefully.

  He looked over at me and smiled. “Yeah, it was something that the sponsor suggested. I actually went, and I think that it ended up being a good idea. I have a problem at the majors, and the doctor thinks it’s too much pressure. So, he gave me some ideas to try to prevent it from happening again.”

  “What exactly is the problem?” Mandy asked. We weren’t being nosy; we all genuinely cared about what happened to Caleb. I, for one, wanted to hear what he really felt about the fact that he choked when things got close.

  “I choke. I will finally get to there, everything looks good, and then I manage to do things to fuck it all up. I suddenly start playing poorly, mainly because I can’t breathe or focus on anything. I choke like a rookie.”

  “Easy there, man; it’s not your fault.”

  “Why do you think you do that?”

  Caleb thought for a moment while he took a swig of his beer. “I don’t know. I talked to Dr. Brentwood, and he says I’m under a lot of pressure. Which certainly makes sense because I don’t even think about the tournaments until I get to the majors. That’s when things really count. The fear of failure takes over then, and I end up doing exactly what I’m afraid of – losing. My father is ready to throw in the towel with me, I swear.”

  I felt for him. I couldn’t imagine the type of pressure he was under, especially when it came to his father. My parents were definitely unimpressed with my career choice, so I could relate.

  “So, what are you going to do about it?” Mandy asked.

  Matt jumped in. “The doctor told him to focus on things that make him happy. Instead of focusing on the mounting pressure of the day, for example, he will focus on good things and not let the rest get to him.”

  “That sounds like a great idea,” I said, smiling at him.

  “Yeah, hopefully it works,” Caleb said.

  “It will, buddy; we got this one in the bag this time,” Matt stated confidently.

  I loved seeing Matt being so good to Caleb – they were true friends, which was rare to find these days. They were good together, and they always had each other’s back. Our food arrived, and no one spoke until the waiter was gone. Everything looked so delicious that I couldn’t wait to dig in.

  “Let’s get off that depressing topic anyways and on to something better. Let’s talk about Hailey’s blossoming career,” Caleb said.

  I blushed deeply, but I couldn’t help but smile. I looked over at Mandy, who was smiling as well.

  “Oh, I think I’m out of the loop. What’s going on?” asked Matt.

  “Caleb took Hailey to that movie opening the other day, the one for the horror flick. She made some connections, and Rick Bendell wants her to audition for his next film.”

  Matt put his hand up for a high-five, and I gave him one. “Good girl, Hailey, that’s awesome.”

  “Yes, I have your friend to thank for that one.” I grasped his hand under the table and squeezed. I was pleased when he didn’t let it go. “He introduced me to Rick, and, well, we really hit it off.”

  “So, what’s going on with that? Have you heard back from him?” Caleb asked.

  “Well, after you sent over my comp card, he contacted Jillian. They are still in talks about everything right now, but Jillian said he didn’t have enough nice things to say about me. She certainly expects to have an audition date soon.”

  “Whoa, Hailey, that’s awesome. We are going to have another celebrity in our midst, aren’t we, Caleb?”

  Caleb nodded, smiling.

  “I want more than anything for this to work out. I feel like my career has been stalled lately, and I only just got started. It’s kind of scary.” I couldn’t believe that I was saying all that out loud, but I felt comfortable with everyone at the table. I wanted to get it out there and deal with my fears. I didn’t want to be haunted by them anymore.

  “I want to be an actress so badly. To just DO something with myself, you know?”

  “You will get there, Hailey; I totally believe in you,” Mandy stated firmly.

  “Yeah, we all do,” Caleb agreed. I smiled at him. I loved how sweet he could be – you would never know that from reading all the bad stuff about him and women online.

  “Thanks, guys; you have no idea how much that means to have people believe in you. Well, I guess you
know what I mean, Caleb.”

  “Yes, definitely.”

  There was a moment of silence as everyone dug into their delicious food. I was lost in thought about everything we had discussed so far. It was really nice being able to talk to them that way. We were all getting to know one another much better and becoming real friends. It made the job a lot easier and definitely a lot more fun. I had no doubt in my mind that we would all stay friends after the job was done. How could we not when we got along so well?

  “So, Mandy, what are you going to do when your sister becomes famous?” Matt asked her.

  “Aside from being insanely proud of her, I plan on going after my own bit of fame.”

  “In what way?” Caleb asked.

  I was working hard on my crab, cracking shells and pulling out delicious meat while I listened to my sister talk about dreams I had heard a million times. I loved hearing about them, though. Just like mine, I wanted her dreams to come true. She deserved it. She worked hard, and having a job in writing was not easy.

  “Well, it’s usually every writer’s dream to hit the New York Times Bestseller list, and that’s my dream, as well. I want to write a book one day and have it go big. It’s always been my dream to be walking through a bookstore and seeing a book that I wrote on the shelf. Just thinking about it makes me excited.”

  “No doubt. That would definitely be very cool,” Matt agreed. “There is so much talent at this table that it’s crazy. What would you write a book about, Mandy?”

  “I think I would like to write children’s books, actually. I think when I’ve had some more life experience I would eventually write a memoir, but for now, I have a lot of interest in children’s books. Mainly, the ages between 9-12, so I could write chapter books; they are a lot of fun.”

  “Wow, that’s insane. Good for you. You’re right, Matt, there is a lot of talent at this table,” Caleb said.

  I looked up from my crab feast and looked at Matt. “What about you, Matt? What are your big dreams.”

  He pondered that for a bit when the waiter stopped at our table. Caleb ordered another round of beer and Matt waited until the waiter left to speak.