Page 8 of Sea La Vie (The Outer Banks #1)

“I saved the last one for you. You think you can handle it?” She holds out a chunk of fish that smells like it came straight from the trash can and nods toward an empty hook dangling from a pole.

I eye the fish skeptically, and she notices my hesitance by acknowledging it with a smirk. Reluctantly, I hold out my hand, and she drops the slimy chunk into it as I hold back a cringe.

She does this for fun ? And somehow comes out of it smelling like sunshine and vanilla? I’m already dreaming of the shower I’m going to take when I get back, even if Lucille limits me to a solid three minutes because “the cost of water ain’t cheap.”

I busy my mind with baiting the hook rather than focusing on how disgusting it is and choke back my gags. Finally, I step back and arch an eyebrow at my work. “Looks pretty great to me.”

“Not too bad for a first timer,” Lainey agrees.

“I think you’re forgetting that Grandpa took us fishing every summer,” I say. And while I loved it then, the thought of touching a slimy fish now gave me the ick, but I won’t tell her that.

She nods in approval then turns to look at me. Her face contorts quickly into one of disgust. “Next time, get a pair of gloves though, you weirdo.” She releases the line into the water with a soft buzz, just as I notice the gloves she must’ve set out for me sitting on the edge of a cooler.

“Oh, I’m fine,” I assure her, regardless of the heat that’s climbing up my neck. I don’t know why I’m so determined to prove to her that the city hasn’t changed me that much. I can do what she does and be fine. She cocks her head dubiously then points inside the cabin.

“There’s a sink in there if you change your mind.”

Another wave of the stench floats past and I cave.

“I’m going to go see if I can fit my entire body into it,” I mutter, and Lainey bursts into laughter.

Maybe my embarrassment is worth it if I get to hear her laugh like that.

It’s a sound I didn’t know my soul needed until I heard it again last night.

Now, I’m an addict, constantly chasing more of it, more Lainey, more everything.

I shuffle past her and plunge my hands into the sink.

When I’m finished, I find Lainey at the edge of the boat, staring out at the horizon.

She’s mostly turned toward the water, and I’m momentarily taken aback at how beautiful she is.

The wind is blowing back what messy waves her hat hasn’t contained, and a soft smile sits below high cheekbones.

Her arms sit across her chest and she’s leaning against the side of the boat, one long leg stretched out across the other.

The sun begins to extend its warmth, and I watch as Lainey sheds her beanie, then sits down and stretches her neck to the sky, letting out a breath of air.

“How often do you come out here?” I ask, joining her.

“Well, for the past few months, I’ve been coming out everyday. Or every day that the weather lets me, more accurately.”

“Why?” I can’t help but ask. “Do you…work anywhere?”

She arches an eyebrow and shoots me a pointed look. “What makes you think this isn’t my job?” She turns from me and points her head back toward the sun, closing her eyes.

I run my hands through my hair, eyeing her carefully. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just curious, that’s all.”

She straightens her spine and sets her jaw, as if expecting a fight. “Well, it is. I fish for a living. For now, at least.” She cracks an eye open and peers over at me.

Out of all the things I thought she did for a living, this was not one of them. I had imagined her as a nurse, a barista, basically anything other than fishing. “For now?” I can’t help but ask. “Do you have plans of doing something else in the future?”

“Time to get moving,” she says, ignoring my question. “Nothing’s biting here and we’re wasting time. The sooner you get your family’s cottage fixed up, the sooner you get to leave, right?”

I frown, wondering why the sudden change in topic and cold attitude. “I don’t know when I’m leaving,” I say. “But the sooner I get the cottage liveable again, the sooner I’m not sharing a living space with Lucille, and right now that’s all I’m really worried about.”

The corner of Lainey’s mouth turns up ever so slightly.

“Why do you assume I want to get out of here so badly? I just got here.”

Lainey shrugs. “I figured since you hadn’t been back since—,” she trails off and bites her lip.

I sigh, resigning myself to address the elephant in the room—or boat—earlier than I had planned.

“Lainey, I don’t know if you remember, but the day we went over to Pirate Island with you and your brothers, Cara and I had snuck out of the house because our parents were in the middle of having one of the biggest fights they had ever had.

I grabbed Cara and got out of there so she wouldn’t have to listen anymore.

And when we got back, our parents wasted no time telling us they were getting a divorce.

I was crushed that I didn’t even get to finish out the summer with you.

” I took a deep breath and continued. “And then…I told you I had been accepted to UCLA and you were so angry with me. You said you never wanted to speak to me again, if I recall correctly. But, please hear me out. I took that opportunity because it was my only choice. I had a free ride, Lainey. I wanted to wait a year for you so we could go to Eastern Carolina, I really did. But I had to take that offer to make something of myself.” I wring my hands together before finally shoving them in my pockets.

“So yes, I did try my best to erase all the memories of this place from my mind. My final memories here weren’t exactly happy. ”

Lainey’s eyes mist over and she turns from me. “I’m sorry your parents were fighting that day.”

I wish she’d say more about the fight we had.

I would rather just fight about it and get it over with so we can at least try to be friends again.

I shrug and let out a pent-up breath. “It was what was best for them, and us. Mom didn’t even bother going back home.

She took me and Cara to the airport with what we had in our suitcases.

We flew to Ohio and stayed with one of her friends for a while. ”

“You never even got to say goodbye to your friends?” Lainey asks, her brows drawn together in a deep V.

I shake my head. “Nope.” Not that we had many , I say to myself.

Lainey walks to the edge of the boat and peers out at the sun that’s stretching across the sky, tinting everything to a balmy pink.

“I always wished you would’ve changed your mind.

But, I get it now. Looking back, I realize how selfish I was.

” She pauses and chews on her bottom lip.

“It took me a long time to realize I was wrong, but I was so proud of you. You found a way out, and from the looks of it, you really excelled.”

I lean against the rail of the boat and study her.

She’s still the same wild Lainey from years ago, with her mess of tangled waves and freckles splattered across her nose like an abstract painting.

She’s tall, lean, and tan and I’m sure if it weren’t for the necessary waders, she’d be barefoot right now, sporting a rainbow of friendship bracelets on her ankle.

Time has been very, very kind to her, dousing her with beauty and grace.

But I also notice the way the line between her eyebrows never fully goes away, even when she’s smiling.

And that her smile doesn’t quite reach her sparkling eyes the way it did years ago.

It looks like Lainey’s worried about something, but what, I have no idea.

“For what it’s worth, I tried finding you on social media. If you have one, you must have it locked down tighter than the Pentagon.”

Lainey snorts. “Why would I need social media? Everyone I need to talk to lives within a five mile radius.”

That makes me smile. Still stubborn too. Then, a thought hits me.

“You didn’t even have social media in college?”

“I didn’t go to college,” Lainey mutters. She starts fiddling with a loose strand on the sleeve of her shirt before she finally jerks it free.

“You didn’t?” I ask. “But Eastern Carolina was your dream.”

Lainey scoffs. “Yeah, well, things change. Other people have dreams, then someone else needs help, and eventually dreams just kind of…disappear altogether.”

Is she talking about waiting tables at Shuckin’ Hucks? Did she give up all her dreams to help her family? Before I can ask, she walks to the back of the boat and starts pulling up the anchor. “The hardware store is definitely open by now. Are you okay if we head that way?”

“I’m kind of at your mercy,” I say. She rolls her eyes then walks back to the wheel. I take my place at the back of the boat and enjoy the rest of the sunrise…and the view of my friend from years ago.

We’re headed back with a date scheduled for a contractor to come out, some paint and rollers, cleaning supplies, and a few other odds and ends.

It took all of two minutes before Lainey bumped into someone she knew who knew someone who had an uncle whose brother (or something like that) was a contractor, and within ten minutes, an appointment was scheduled to fix the hole in the ceiling Tuesday morning.

That leaves only the smaller things to me like painting, changing out the hardware, and ripping up the nasty carpet so I can decide what to do with what’s underneath.

The sun is high in the sky now, and my stomach starts to rumble. Lainey has shed her waders and I’ve done the same, enjoying the breeze on my skin. I hear muffled laughter and turn around. Lainey is standing behind me, biting her lip to keep from doubling over in laughter.

“What?” I ask, paranoid. Did my trunks fall down without me noticing? Did I step in toilet paper back at the hardware store?

“Enjoying the breeze?” Lainey asks, pointing to my shorts.

“Why?” I glance down at my shorts. Sure, they’re cinched as tight as possible. The previous owner was a few sizes bigger than me, and they’re faded from red to orange but isn’t vintage all the rage right now?

“I think a moth found its way into your dresser and had a little feast.” Lainey covers her eyes with her hand but peeks through the slit of two fingers.

I reach my hand around to feel for what she’s talking about and find…

nothing. Instead of the textured fabric I was expecting, my hand is touching the soft cotton of my boxer shorts.

My face immediately heats as I try to recall which ones I’m wearing—praying they’re not my favorite Baby Yoda ones, but my more simplistic black ones instead—when suddenly, a whirring noise fills the air, disrupting my train of panicked thoughts.

Lainey hops up and runs to a bent pole and I follow, one hand thrown around my backside. She heaves and reels and heaves some more until finally, she nods over her shoulder and says, “Get that net, will you?”

Finally feeling useful and ready to show her I’m not some uncultured city boy, I do as she says as she guides me on where to place the net. I manage to scoop up the fish and…is that an octopus?

Together we heave it over the side of the boat, and within seconds the octopus Houdinis itself out of the net and slithers straight toward me.

I scream so loud I startle a seagull perched on the edge of the boat.

All my thoughts of the hole in my shorts are gone, because I don’t have time to be embarrassed.

This slimy, disgusting creature is climbing my leg faster than Usain Bolt in the 2008 Olympics.

The last thing I see before my world starts to go white around the edges is Lainey doubled over in laughter.

“Help me!” I screech, my voice foreign even to my own ears.

“I’m going to pass out, Lainey. I can’t see.

Everything is dark. Please help me,” I beg.

Who knew my voice could become so high pitched so quickly.

I sound like the middle school version of my sister.

“It’s on my arm! Oh my gosh, it’s suctioned to my arm!

” Lainey’s cackles are poorly muffled by her fist and I’m afraid if she doesn’t get this thing off me soon, I’m going to hurl or seriously pass out.

“Open your eyes and breathe, Tate. It’s not suctioned to your arm…yet. Is that a tear?” Lainey giggles as she pries off the slimy parasite and throws it over the edge into the water. It swims away, and I manage to take a breath before I open my eyes.

“No,” I mumble, wiping away what I’m sure is actually a tear. “It’s seawater. But even if it was, that thing was trying to strangle me.” I peer over the edge with a shudder, making sure it’s gone for good.

Lainey’s eyes glimmer mischievously, and she bites her lip to refrain from bursting out in laughter again. Her lips are red and chapped from the wind, but still perfectly beautiful. Why I'm paying attention to these things when she nearly let an octopus kill me is beyond me.

“Did we even get the fish?” I ask, desperate to change the subject.

“Yep. I threw it on ice while you were squealing. Are you ready to head back or do you want to stay out a little longer? Your call.”

What I really wanted to do was take a hot shower and wash the slime out of my hair, crack open the new book I bought at Eden’s shop yesterday, and maybe even indulge in a glass of wine or two.

It’s early afternoon but I deserve a little day drinking after that.

But am I about to tell Lainey that? Absolutely not.

I really want to prove to Lainey I’m more than an entitled, sports car driving, yuppy man from the city. I want to show her that I’m still the same Tate from years ago, ready to have fun, and be a little spontaneous…or that I can be. If I let myself.

“Nope. I'm actually having the time of my life. You couldn’t pay me to go in. I'm ready to seas the day.” I grin at my own joke. “Get it? Because—,” I wave my hand around gesturing toward the ocean.

Lainey shakes her head in disbelief. “Let’s get you out of here,” she says. And immediately, relief courses through my body at the thought of all those little luxuries being within reach.