Take Two (17 page)

The dockyard was
two
mile
s
away, and I was regretting not
allowing
Matt
to
me
et me at my
villa
. It was extremely
dark outside and the complimentary flashlight wasn’t much help.

You did the right thing…You did the right
thing…You don’t really know him.

I could see a row
of
white boats
and yellow specks in
the distance. The closer I got, I saw that
those yellow specks were
small glass lamps
h
anging
off the side of the pier
. I could make out a man sitting on the edge.

“Good morning,”
Matt
stood up as I approached
. “It’s good to see you again.”

How can someone
look perfect every day? Every. Day.

“Morning,” I
yawned. “So
,
do we just run out there now and come back? Or do we stay in the water until we’re near hypothermia?”

“You’re not a morning person are you?”

“
I am actually
,
”
I stifled another yawn.

“Right.
We’re going to take my yacht out.”

“We’re actually going to take it on the water?
”
I couldn’t hide my excitement.

He looked as if he wanted to say something, something
sarcastic, but
he
just
took my hand and helped me onto platform.

He led me past
yacht
after
yacht
. Each one was
grander and way
more
regal than any of the ones I’d ever seen. Underneath the yellow lights I could make out some of their names: “The Majestic,” “The Finale,” “H.M.S. PMS,” and “We’ll Sea.”

Why hasn’t he let my hand go?

We
kept
walking until
we approached a super-
yacht
with
silver
rails.
The underbelly of the ship was black, while
the upper decks
—I counted at least four—
were painted
white.
I strained to see the fine cursive letters on the side of the ship.

“The name of your yacht is Steamy Windows?
” I looked up at him. “
Are you serious?”

He smiled. “You don’t love that?”

I rolled my eyes and suppressed a laugh.
We walked up
the yacht’s
staircase and he
finally
released
my
hand
so he could
open
the door.

I tried not to react
when I saw the inside of the ship.
It looked like it belonged to the lobby of a
world class
hotel I’d never be able to afford, a hotel even Sean would fawn over.

I wasn’t sure where to focus my eyes—the spiral staircase?
The massive skylight? The glass wall of fish? The sparkling white floors? The
shiny
gold fixtures?

Is that an elevator?

On one of the
white leather
couch
es
sat a beautiful
African American woman
with long black hair
. She
closed
her book and walked over to me.

“
Good morning, Miss Carter.
I’m
his
personal assistant
, Joan
.
It’s n
ice to meet you,
” she extended her hand to me.

How does she know my name?

“Nice to meet you
too
, Joan.
”

“
Hey
Joan,” Matt locked the door. “You can tell Craig to set sail now. Is breakfast set up?”

She
nodded her head and walk
ed away. Matt took my hand
again
and led me down the spiral sta
ir
ca
s
e
.

The room
below
was more impressive than the one above. Freshly coated
cherry
cabinets, stainless steel appliances, and—he even owned his own bar, complete with seating for ten and a liquor collection that covered an entire wall.

I took a seat by a porthole and pinched myself. I was sure I would wake up at any moment.

“Welcome to
my kitchen at sea,” he opened a cabinet.
“
Do you eat bagels?”

“Yes
.
”

“Good.
Joan orders the best bagels in the world.”

“You mean
she
cooks
the best bagels in the world
?”

“Oh, god no. That’s
some
thing Joan does
n
’
t do.
What about strawberries and orange slices?”

“I like those too.”

“And to drink?
Cranberry juice
?”
he placed a plate
of warm b
agels and fruit in front of me.

“That’d be great.”

All of a sudden, t
he ship began to move
.
I closed my eyes and
smiled
.
I
suddenly
remembered when Sean told me he had a yacht, when I jumped
and down upon boarding it,
when I spent the whole day pouting because he wouldn’t let it off the dock.

“You should try the
white truffle cream cheese,” Matt
sat down across from me. “
It’s amazing.”

I
looked out
the
porthole
but
couldn’t make out much in the darkness.
I couldn’t believe
I
was on a boat with
Matt Sterling
. I wondered why he was being so nice
to me
, why h
e
wanted to spend time with me.

“You’ve been on a yacht before?” he interrupted my thoughts.

“Yes.
”

“But you’ve never been on a yacht that actually
sailed
?”

“My ex never let
his
yacht off the dock.
He wasn’t into
exploring the
oce
an
. H
e just wanted to own
property on
it
.”

Did
I
s
ay that out loud?

“Were you married
to him
?”

“Engaged
…
He left me
for someone else
.”

“Hey,”
he
reached over and took on
e of my
strawberries
. “You
’re on vacation, remember?
Relax
.
Try not to
tal
k
about
anything
personal
.”

“Are you mocking me?”

“Are you amused?”

I
couldn’t help but
smile
. “I better not die out there. My sister knows you were the last person I was with.”

“
Well
, i
f you don’t enjoy the polar bearing, we could try the skinny dip
ping thing,” he teased. “
You did bring it up
.”

“
Please!” I laughed. “
How often do you use your yacht?”

“At least
once
every month
. I promised
myself I would learn how to sail it one day but I haven’t had the time.
I
read stage plays on it
most of the time
.”

“Stage plays?
For what?
”

“For Broadway.”

“You were really good on Broadway.”

Why did I say that?

“How would you know?”

“
The New York Appeal
always
gets
tickets
to the pre-opening
Broadway
shows
. T
hose ar
e the only e
vents I
attend.
You were in
Les Miserable
my sophomore year.”

“Too bad I didn’t meet you back th
en
.
I really miss Broadway.”

I coul
dn’t think of anything else to s
ay. My brain was
busy
processin
g his “too bad I didn’t
meet you back then
”
comment.

“
Mr. Sterling
,” Joan entered the ro
om. “Here are the life jackets. Craig is stopping the boat now.”

“Thanks
Joan,” Matt
stoo
d up and motioned
for me to f
ollow him. “Let’s head on out.”

The wind was
whooshing
wildly
on
the
top
deck. W
e fastened our life jackets—he
double checked mine—and walked over to the side of the ship.
He picked me up and
gently
placed me on the opposite side of the railing. He pulled himself over with ease and looked out over the water.

“This
water is perfect fo
r polar bearing.
It’s pretty calm
don’t you think?
That’s exactly what a first timer needs.”

I nodded my
head and clung to the railing. I couldn’t see the wat
er, but I could hear the waves
sloshing against the boat.

“Are you scared?”

YES!

“No…a little.”

“Don’t be,” he reached for my hand. “We can jump together.”

I squeezed his hand and
tried to
ignore
my racing heartbeat
.

“I’m going to say, one, two, jump. Okay? Y
ou have to jump when I say jump.
I don’t want to pull you in unprepared. Can you do that?”

I knew I must’ve looked like a four year old girl in that moment. All I could do was nod.

“One…”

Please don’t let me die…Please don’t let me die…

“Two…”

Don’t say jump! Don’t say jump!

“Jump!”

I let go of the railing
, hanging in the air for what seemed like an eternity,
and plunged into the icy water. The ocea
n shocked every bone in my body. I
t
f
elt like
all
my limbs were on fire
and
I could barely breathe.

I
felt chills up and down my spine and I wasn’t sure if I was still alive. I
silently counted to ten and opened my eyes.

“Are you okay?” Matt smiled.

“Yes,” I realized I was still holding his hand and let go. “
I’m
okay
.
”

That was amazing…

“Wakes you the hell up doesn’t it?”

“Definitely!”

“
The
ladder is coming
!” Joan looked
down at us
from the lower deck
and threw a rope
d
ladder.

“You first,” Matt pushed me closer to the ship.
“Be careful.”

I took my time climbing up the rope while Matt held it steady at the bottom. When
I
ma
de
it aboard, Joan handed me a warm blanket and a cup of tea.

“That wasn’t too bad was it?” Matt took a blanket from Joan.

“I
t was a
wesome
,” my teeth began chattering. “
I’ve
got to do that again one day.”