Stella placed her elbow on the table and rested her head in her hand. “Is that an invitation?”
“Yeah, I mean, it would have to be once the season’s over, but I’d love to show you around.”
“Well, if I get my life together by then, I might take you up on your offer.” She took the last bite of her croissant sandwich and closed her eyes. A dreamy smile filled her face.
“I hope you do.”
“And I have a feeling I should have left you two alone today. Maybe you could have gotten a hotel for a few hours.”
“While that would have been nice, I couldn’t have you wandering around by yourself.” Stella reached across the table and held Penelope’s hand for a moment. “If we’re meant to spend time together, we will. Hopefully, there won’t be interference by the crew tonight.”
“If you need the room, just let me know. I can sleep on a lounger.” Pen waggled her eyebrows at us.
“I’m sure we can find someplace else, so you’re not displaced from your bed.” I laughed. It was hilarious her friend was trying to get us to hook up.
“This is getting embarrassing,” Stella groaned.
“It’s all good,” I leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I think it’s cute.”
“It looks like it’s going to rain. Maybe we should start to head back to the boat.” Stella’s tone stated she wanted to do anything but go back.
“What’s a few sprinkles?” Pen blew her off.
“She’s probably right. The wind has steadily been increasing, and it might get nasty.”
“Fine,” Pen huffed. “You two are no fun, which means you’re perfect for each other.”
“Yes, that’s exactly what it means when two people have common sense.” Stella bumped her hip with her friend.
Linking her arm with mine, Pen winked up at me. “Thank you for being our tour guide, even if it was only for a short while. You made the day most enjoyable, and tonight you’ll make Stella’s night.”
“Pen!” Stella shouted, her eyes narrowing as she gave her the evil eye.
“What?” She laughed, nearly tripping over her feet. “I’m just stating the obvious.”
“You’re putting way too much pressure on something that might not happen. Look at what happened last night.”
“Well, I won’t let anyone interrupt you two. I’ll make sure to keep them all busy. I’ll get Zelda and Scarlet on it as well. They’re team Stella needs to get laid.”
My body shook from the laughter I was trying to hold back.
“I feel like some teenage boy whose father takes him to a brothel to lose his virginity. Thank you, but I don’t need your help.”
Stella pulled on my arm until I looked down at her. “Please don’t think I’m desperate or that there’s something wrong with me. Yes, it’s been a while, but I’m not going to die if I have to wait. It’s not your job to break my celibacy streak.”
Wrapping my arm around her shoulders, I pulled her closer as we walked. “How long has it been?” I asked quietly. That way, it was easier to pretend Penelope wasn’t alongside us.
“Two years, but it’s not like I’ve been actively trying to have sex. One year of it was while I was married.” Stella wrapped her arm around my waist and leaned into me. The simple movement felt so right that it scared me. “If you’re ever married, and your spouse doesn’t have sex with you, let me tell you right now she’s getting it from somewhere else.”
“Either that or you were never doing it right in the first place, and she’s giving it to herself.” Pen broke out into a laugh and slapped her leg. “Can you imagine?”
No, I couldn’t imagine going a year without sex, let alone two. I needed to make tonight good for Stella. Better than good. I wanted to ruin her for all other men. I wanted her to think of me every time she was with any man in the future.
“Anyway, the next year was our divorce, and I didn’t want to give our town another reason to talk about me. It’s bad enough they all know he cheated on me and is having a child with another woman.”
“That can’t be easy. I’m sorry.” I hugged her to me.
“That’s why I’m moving away. I want a fresh start in my life.”
“I don’t blame you. I did something similar when I started to work on the boats. I wanted to forget about my old life and focus on the future.” I tensed at giving away too much, afraid they’d ask questions, but they must have sensed it was something I didn’t want to talk about.
We were silent as we walked toward the marina. I was surprised I’d had a fun time with them. I’d been dreading the whole day for no reason.
The marina came into view the second the first drop of water hit.
“Did you feel that?” Stella asked, her pace quickening.
“No, what was it?” Pen asked.
“Rain,” Stella said in a ‘you’re stupid’ tone.
“Or bird piss,” Pen shot back with a cackle.
“Ugh, that’s all I need to think about is a bird taking a piss on me. Thanks, Pen.”
A few more drops landed on my skin, but I kept quiet since the two of them were so amusing.
“Okay, I felt something,” Pen admitted.
“It’s probably a bird circling and pissing all over us,” Stella started to laugh, and we soon followed after her.
“That’s so gross.” Pen faked gagged.
“You’re the one who brought it up, not me. You deserve a little bird pee on you,” Stella threw back.
Droplets landed on the surface all around us, but I didn’t think any of us felt them as we laughed. Pen started to spin in circles and shouted. “Pee on me all you want.”
I could only stand as I watched Stella join in. Her arms spread wide, with her head tipped back.
After all she’d revealed to me today, it was nice to see her let loose and have fun.
“We should run,” I yelled as the rain started to fall harder. We’d be drenched by the time we made it to the boat.
The wind swept by, and the temperature dropped just as quickly, causing Stella to break out in goosebumps.
“This is our punishment for having fun without the others,” Pen yelled from behind me. I could hear her flip-flop feet slapping the ground as she ran.
“It doesn’t matter because we had fun,” Stella shouted over her shoulder. “Run faster.”
“I’m trying,” Pen laughed from behind us. “You’re too damn fast.”
“That’s because we don’t want to get wet.”
I didn’t mind getting wet. If I did, working on a boat would be the worst job ever.
Our steps slowed as we arrived to board the boat. Bending over, we quickly took off our shoes, and my gaze met Stella’s. Electricity connected us for a brief second in time.
“Go get warmed up, and I’ll see you upstairs later.” Her mouth opened, but I didn’t want to hear her say it was a bad idea now that we were back. “I promise to find you, even if we have to kick Pen out of her own bed.”
“Let’s go,” Pen said, breaking our moment as she pulled Stella away.