The Up & Coming Magazine

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That didn’t take long, I mused. Roseann was bound to be the one to go down first. Shelly had brought her a glass of water, and Juan was telling her what to do from the door. Heaven forbid he step into the room and lend a hand.

“Juan, why don’t you go above deck or go get ready for dinner. We are going to see to Roseann and will be up shortly.

“I’m fine,” Roseann slurred as she tried to shoo us away from her side.

“Be that as it may, I think you should drink some water for now, and I’ll see if I can rustle up some coffee to sober you up a bit.”

 When I went to the kitchen, the cooks were busy preparing for our dinner. It looked like chicken and pasta with oyster sauce was on the menu. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but is there any coffee I can get. One of the girls had too much to drink, and I think a cup would do her good.”

“No ma’am, but we have instant.”

“That’ll do.” I chuckled under my breath. Serves Roseann well. She’ll have to settle. Taking the steaming brew of fake coffee with me to the room, Roseann appeared better than when I had left her.

“Here, drink this, it will sober you up some.”

She took the offending mug from my hands and sniffed it. “What in God’s name is this? This isn’t coffee. It’s ewe… I can’t drink this. Doesn’t the kitchen have a latte or anything else?”

“No. This is all there is. It will have to do.”

“Dear God in heaven, I must truly be drunk if I’m drinking this cup of mud.”

I looked over Roseann’s head to Shelly, who was still holding the glass of water, and lifted a brow. A small smile escaped, and Shelly gave me back the same roguish grin. Shelly and I left Roseann to recover from her afternoon of debauchery to attend dinner.

As the ladies and Juan sat around the tables that were set up and enjoyed their evening meal, discussing little to anything that was of any consequence, I noticed the small boat across the lake. He appeared to be fishing in the dark. Drawn to the man, I excused myself and went over to the starboard side of the ship to see if I could get a better look at him.

Peering into the night, I saw him raise a hand as though he was waving to me. Could it be that it was Mike in the boat fishing in the dark.

I waved back in hopes that just maybe, if it was Mike, he would row over to our boat and meet me at the lower level. I would gladly sit under the stars with him than dance the night away with a bunch of Loonie women.

As the boat came closer, I saw it was Mike. His smile was wide, and his eyes sparkled in the moonlight. He motioned for me to meet him on the water level where the watercrafts were stored.

 “What are you doing out here?” I asked him as he came alongside the landing.

“I was hoping I’d see you on deck. I’m glad you saw me. Here, let me.” Mike held out his hand as he helped me into his small fishing boat.

“Are you taking me fishing, Mike?”

“No. It was just an excuse to get out from under Ron’s thumb. He hates these little weekends away from Amy. It was his big idea to have the weekend on the lake. He thought if he was close to her that he would feel better.”

“Did it help?”

“Nah. He still is pining over his wife. Poor bastard.”

I chuckled. “He really does love her, doesn’t he?”

Mike laughed, “Yeah, for some unknown reason, he does.” He shook his head. “I don’t see it.”

“What, Amy’s not your type?” I questioned, curious as to what Mike’s type was.

He looked me over. “Nah, not my type at all.”

“Really. What is your type?” I teased before I realized what I had truly said.

I wasn’t so sure I wanted to know. Maybe it was a blonde bombshell like Shelly that had the perfect size breasts and a rear end he could spank over his lap. Ugh. The thought nearly had me wanting to see if I could walk on water just to get away from him.

“I think you know,” he said.

“I’m sure I don’t.”

Mike edged closer, and the boat wobbled a little to the left, then right, causing me to hold onto the bench with more vigor.

Brunette and large brown eyes that I could get lost in. They remind me of rivers of milk chocolate.  Her skin is pale and flawless, just like the porcelain doll my sister had on her dresser when she was a child.

“Oh well, I guess you better high tale it to the other side of the lake. There may be a bar that as one of them waiting for you.”

“Why would I do that when I have her sitting right here next to me?”

The giddy teenager inside of me felt like the senior varsity football player just stopped at her locker to have a little chat while all the other girls looked on, getting ready to pounce. I tucked a stray hair that came out of my ponytail behind my ear to keep it from blowing in my face and asked, “You’re not just teasing me, are you?”

His smile lit up, and he leaned closer in. “Would I do this if I was?” Mike’s touch was soft, and every butterfly in my belly took flight. His finger ran down my cheek and across to my chin. He tilted my head, so I was sure to look at him.

His mouth found mine, and let me tell you, it was the best first kiss ever imagined. My toes began to curl. Our tongues danced slow without any of the awkwardness that comes with finding your footing on a first kiss. It was pure magic until it wasn’t.

It could have been ten minutes or an hour, I don’t know. What was certain was that I didn’t want it to stop, and I was definitely hoping we would be doing that again.

Someone yelled from the boat, “Ooh, girl, do you think you can go horizontal on that thing?” I heard a loud gasp, then Amy yelled, “Ronnie, get your ass back to this boat and get your hands off my brother.”

“I yelled back. He’s your brother-in-law, and I can do what I want with him.”

Mike placed his arm around my shoulder. “Yeah, Amy, I think I’m taking her for the weekend. She’ll catch up with you next time.”

I laughed, I knew he was joking until he wasn’t. Mike cautiously went back to the back of the little boat, placing his hands on the little handle of the motor, and began moving towards the shore.

“Where are we going? I asked, stunned that he wasn’t taking me back to the yacht where I was to spend the weekend.

“I hope you don’t need your things, I think we should get out of here and do our own thing.”

Did I want to do my own thing? I mean, with Mike, or should I stay on board the floating crazy town for the weekend?

“I kinda’ do need my things.”

“I’ll bring you back in the morning, and you can collect your stuff. For now, I’m too damn intrigued about the woman in my fishing boat to let her go for the evening. I want to know more about Ronnie and what makes her tick.”

Collect my things. Like, leave the party. Was that even an option? I gave him a rueful smile and decided what the hell. Mike was the first man to make me want to just dive right in and go for it.

I had a feeling that coming on this little annual weekend retreat was going to be the best decision I ever made. There was going to be little regrets. Who knew what tomorrow would bring, but if I learned anything in my short life, and the woman on that boat, just go for it. I found Mike by proximity, and I don’t believe it was an accident. My heart hasn’t fluttered since the moment he took my bag from me, and I have a feeling it will continue to flutter for some time.

This was written by our contributing writer, Shannon Hrimnak.