Page 69 of Jesse's Girl
“The fuck I don’t!” He screws up his features. “C’mon. It’ll be great. Like old times. Ada’ll be there. And Adrian’s coming in from Seattle. We even invited Marcus and Ada’s folks.”
I cast a glance over to Marcus, who’s still furiously working the pump.
“If you’re still in town, you have to come.” Kai holds his hands out wide at his sides. “Gonna be a killer party… and you could meet Nadine…” He waggles his eyebrows.
“Uh, sure!” I plaster on a brave face. “If I’m around, yeah. Thanks, Kai.”
“Would you need a plus one?”
“Uh, no, I?—”
“Kai, get your damn board out of the car so we can get a move on,” Marcus interjects. “I’m sweating like a motherfucker over here.” He plugs the valve on his inflated board and wipes his forehead with the back of his hand. “You two social butterflies can hash out the details on the water.”
The water level is low and calm at this part of the river, the glacier-fed chill from upstream warmed to a more comfortable temperature under our paddleboards. Marcus rides just ahead of me, and Kai paddles to my right. The sun is blazing as we drift along with the sleepy current and, even with sunglasses on, I squint at the river’s sparkling surface. The odd group of teenagers bobs along past us in inner tubes, and a gaggle of drunk college students hollers enthusiastic nonsense our way as they slip past on a large floating platform with built-in beer coolers.
Floating down Black Bear River is a summertime tradition in Lennox. I smile to myself, thinking of all the summers I’ve spent here. I can’t count the number of times we bailed off our inner tubes into this water, pulling ourselves back up, sunscreened limbs slipping and squeaking against the scalding black rubber. A sense of place—of home—tugs at me as I cast a look at the rolling mountains rising above the opposite bank.
A sudden desire to get back to the apartment hits me in the gut. I want to see Ada before she leaves for work.
Shit. How much longer will we be out on the water?
I clench my jaw, shifting my feet with a wobble. Renee’s nearly a foot shorter than me, and her board is sized for her much smaller frame. Water laps up over my feet as I tilt a second time before finally finding my balance.
“Easy, Jess,” Kai cautions beside me.
“I’m fine,” I say, getting back into the groove and squeezing the handle of my paddle. Determined to keep my shit together, I put some force into paddling ahead to catch up with Marcus.
Kai follows suit, the three of us riding side by side.
“Hey, man,” Marcus says, glancing my way. “Renee told me things didn’t go so great with Maya on your date.”
Fuck.
“Nah,” I say casually and clear my throat. “Didn’t hit it off.”
“Who’s Maya?” Kai pipes up.
“Renee’s friend,” Marcus explains. “She set them up.”
I squint over at the mountains, not wanting to invite any more inquiry into my love life.
Marcus continues. “Maya’s pretty hot, Jess…”
“Never said she wasn’t,” I shoot back.
“Thought you wanted to have a bit of fun this summer.”
“I mean… Sure. Look, it just didn’t work out, okay?”
“Maya told Renee you seemed distracted during dinner…” He lets the statement hang like an unanswered question.
My lips form a thin line as I brace for what might come next.
When I don’t take the bait, Marcus presses on. “You got something on your mind, man?”
Your sister.
I shrug, grasping for a plausible story. “Uh, well… I’ve been talking more with my mom. I guess that’s kinda been on my mind.”