Rock the Boat (23 page)

The saltiest water I’ve ever tasted fills my mouth, making me gag. I kick until the water’s not as deep, but another slap lights my foot on fire. The pain is so strong I’m positive this is what it must feel like to be electrocuted.

My toes search for the sandy bottom again, but my legs are in no condition to carry me to shore. I try to float on my back, but I’m too lightheaded to get my brain to cooperate with the rest of my body. All I can do is wait until it’s over. I did this to myself. I was being stubborn.

Like my prayers have been answered, strong arms wrap around my middle and hold me above the water. I’ve never been so glad to see Lincoln.

“I’ve got you,” he says. “You’re okay, baby.”

“Easton?” I’m too weak to say much of anything else, my body limp and lifeless in his arms. Little by little, the water covers less and less of my body as he carries me to shore. He lays me in the sand at the edge of the water, but the sun’s beating down in my eyes, and I can’t see his face. Maybe I imagined it. Maybe he’s not here.

It’s only when he’s back at my side that I realize I wasn’t hallucinating. Tiny droplets of water fall off the stands of his hair, each one landing on some part of me. My eyes focus on his lips, his words coming out muffled at first like he’s far away from me. But as soon as he touches my face, everything comes into focus. “Easton,” I whisper.

“I’m right here. Why were you out there alone? Do you have any idea what could have happened to you?”

“I needed to relax and get away from Lincoln.”

“But you hate the water, baby.”

“I didn’t think I was going in that far, but before I knew it, it was really deep. Easton, my legs are on fire. I don’t think I can get up.”

“You were stung pretty bad. The lifeguard’s coming to help you, and then you’re going back to the ship to see the doctor.”

“I don’t want to go alone. Will you stay with me?”

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before releasing it. “I’m not leaving you.”

“Even though I left you?”

“Even then.”

“How did you know where to find me?”

He laughs as he shakes his head. “I wasn’t about to let you go out with that fuck nut alone. I followed you.”

Despite my leg being on fire, I smile. I can’t think of a better way to describe Lincoln. “He’s the biggest fuck nut I’ve ever met in my life. He’s nothing like you.”

Easton’s quiet for what feels like forever, but his touch never stops. He’s still holding my right hand, and stroking my cheek with his other. “Fuck, what’s taking them so long? I’m two seconds from carrying you back to the ship myself.”

“I’m okay. It hurts, but you’re helping.” All I can see are the clouds above my head and the bright blue sky. I’m sure everyone on the beach is watching us, wondering what happened to me.

“What in the actual fuck is that asshat wearing?”

“You say fuck a lot. I kind of missed it.”

“I think it’s deserved when it comes to him. Am I wrong?”

Considering Lincoln doesn’t once come to my side to ask how I’m doing or tell Easton to back off, I think he deserves whatever Easton wants to say about him. “Noelle had it right all along. He’s not a good guy. Being with him was uncomfortable.”

“Please tell me he didn’t touch you, Lark.” His grip on my hand tightens while he waits for my answer.

“He didn’t. Not even close.”

He exhales and then his hands are gone from mine. Two men take over, telling me to stay still as they roll me on my side and shove a hard backboard underneath me like I was in a car accident instead of stung by some insane jellyfish posse.

Without warning, they lift me, my stomach dropping and my hands reaching out for something to hold onto to. “Easton?”

“I’m right here.”

He stays by my side until we’re stuffed in the back of a van that’s so hot I’m sweating. Easton reaches to crack a window, but the air is just as warm, if not worse. “What smells?”

“The vinegar they put on you to stop the sting from spreading.”

“Oh, I thought it was clean water. That’s disgusting. Karma is such a bitch.”

Easton moves from his seat to the floor and slides close enough that my head now rests in his lap. I can’t see his face, yet I sense he has something he needs to say. After all, I did run out on him. I deserve to be yelled at, called terrible names, and then some.

But he doesn’t raise his voice. He simple asks, “Why
did
you go with him, Lark?”

“Because I felt like we were a mistake, and it hurt so much. I did the only thing I could think of at the time. Now that I’ve had time to think about it, it wasn’t the least bit rational. It was the wrong choice.”

“Do you still think we’re a mistake?”

“Me and you?”

“Me and you,” he repeats.

“No, we’re the opposite. Someone who saves my life will never be a mistake.”

“Even Grant?”

I think long and hard, realizing Grant wasn’t a mistake either. He may have broken my heart, but had I not been with him, I wouldn’t have ended up finding Easton. For that reason alone, I can’t regret Grant. “Can we finish this conversation when we get out of the van? I can’t even see your face while I’m talking to you.”

“We don’t have to. It doesn’t matter if he was a mistake or not. All I need to know is if you’re coming back to my room tonight, or if you plan on going your own way.”

Separating is the last thing I want, but I don’t know how to continue a relationship with someone who isn’t willing to open up to me. Other than his band, I don’t have a clue who he is without Midnight Fate. “I admit I panicked when the envelope came and your name wasn’t on the piece of paper anymore. I love being with you, Easton, but there’s a lot of unanswered questions that have come between us—and you’ve made no attempt at making sense of any of them. And then I saw you with another girl in your arms and I stopped trusting you.”

“I can explain what you saw, and I can guarantee you it wasn’t what it looked like.”

“I had no way to know that. I still don’t.”

“Not that I wanted you to see me holding her, but had you waited in the hallway for another minute, you would have seen me dropping her off in Dom’s arms. That wasn’t another woman. It was Gina. The same girl who signed me up for The Perfect Match.”

I lift my head, trying my best to sit up, but Easton gently presses on my shoulders, stopping me from moving. “I need to see your face,” I tell him. I need proof that he’s telling me the truth. Proof I’ll only find in his eyes—those same eyes where his deepest secrets hide.

“We’ll be on the ship in a couple minutes. You’re not getting up until they look at you.”

Even though he doesn’t come right out and tell me about his past, Gina, or the wings on his back, the tone of his voice tells me all I need to know. I was wrong—so very wrong. I took it too far by going out with Lincoln. “I’m sorry.”

He neither accepts or rejects my apology, instead climbing to his feet and closing the van window. “We’re here.” It stings when he doesn’t forgive me, and as much as I deserve it, I still can’t keep my tears from falling down my cheeks and soaking my neck. I may have messed up the best thing to happen to me.

Once I’m safely in a bed in the doctor’s office, Easton pulls a chair next to the side of my bed before reaching for my hand again in what feels like the beginning of goodbye. It only makes my tears fall harder. “Please don’t cry.”

“I’m scared.” I’m scared he’s going to walk out of this room and I’ll never see him again. Even worse, I’m afraid I’ll never feel this alive again. Because despite the anger, tears, and frustration, he gives me more than I ever thought I needed. He’s taught me I don’t always have to take care of myself on my own. That it’s okay to depend on a man for even my most basic needs—love and happiness.

“We’ll finish this conversation once you’re done here. That is if you’re still coming back to my room.”

“You’re asking
me
?”

“Well, yeah. It’s still your choice. I can’t make you do anything you don’t want to do.”

“Easton, there’s no place I’d rather be.”

Had you told me this morning I would end up ditching Easton for Lincoln and then almost drowning in the ocean only to be saved by the guy I tried to walk away from, I’d say you are certifiably crazy. Only I can’t say that, because that’s exactly what happened.

“You’re sure you’ll be okay?”

I tell Easton, “Yes,” for the third time in the last five minutes. He has a meeting with his boss, and from the look in his eye, it’s an important one. Most likely, it’s about the contract—since the time has come to make his decision about the band. “I’ll be fine. I’m always making you late—hurry up.”

He runs his hand over his slightly sunburned face and nods his head. “If you’re sure.”

“You heard the doctor, I’ll be out of here in fifteen minutes.”

Before Easton can argue, the nurse who has helped me since they wheeled me on the ship shows him to the door. I mouth a silent, “thank you.” As much as I don’t want him to leave, he has someplace more important to be.

As promised, a bottle of Advil and discharge papers are in my hand no less than ten minutes after Easton walks out the door. The nurse offers to wheel me back to my room, but I don’t want to be confined to a chair for the rest of my trip. He’d probably insist on it, but the pain’s a lot better, even if my leg is still swollen and sore.

What I don’t expect to find when I get back to my room is Noelle standing in front of the sofa with someone’s hands on her hips. His face is blocked by her body, but as I hobble farther into the room, I’m not surprised to see the drummer from Midnight Fate sitting in front of her.

Noelle peeks over her shoulder and a soft blush slowly creeps up her neck and covers her cheeks. Right away it’s clear, she really likes this guy. And I can finally say, he’s her type—he’s the exact opposite of Lincoln and just enough bad boy for her to be enamored.

“Sorry to interrupt.”

Noelle lets go of Lane once she realizes I’m hurt. “What the hell happened to you? And where’s Lincoln?”

“Stung in the ocean and I hope Lincoln’s choking on his Speedo.”

She’s speechless for a few seconds, opening her mouth and closing it before getting actual words to come out. “Wait, what? Are you okay?”

“I’m doing better than I deserve considering what I did.” Lane glances at me and moves around Noelle to stand up. He doesn’t have to leave on my account. “Sit, it’s fine.”

“You’re sure? I don’t mind waiting outside.”

“Positive. I was actually with Easton. He’s meeting with your boss right now.”

“That’s a relief. We were looking all over for him. That’s actually how I ended up here.”

“How did you end up with Noelle’s tongue down your throat? I feel like I’m missing some key parts to the story.”

Noelle covers her face with her hands, groaning. She has no room to complain. Her specialty is putting me in uncomfortable situations. It’s actually refreshing to be on the other end of it for once. “Despite what you’re thinking,” she says. “I didn’t force him to come inside.”

“That’s a shame because I actually approve of whatever it is you’re doing. Especially considering Lincoln is a prick and you’re actual match is off limits.”