Page 5 of The Renter

“So, why didn’t you and the consultant keep seeing each other?” Kelsey asks.

“He definitely had a girlfriend in New York.”

“Dani,” Sarah breathes, scolding me.

“I didn’t know until later in our fling.”

The girls all give me a judging look, correctly assuming I kept seeing him even after I found out. “The sex was fucking good, okay? It was just a fling.”

“The Renter.” Kelsey giggles. “Sounds like he could be a fling. You’ve got an excuse to see him again. You have to return the cups.”

“Ooh! We’re cooking here,” Sam says, and I nod in agreement. “Your parents are still planning to drive us all home, right?”

“Right,” I say. My parents, likely already regretting their decision to let me regress with them this summer, had already planned on being our designated drivers. They know all too well what happens when we get together. “But how do we give them the boat and still get me back toThe Renter?”

We usually take the boat out in Williams Bay, andThe Renteris in Fontana.

“Food!” Sarah yells, jumping out of her literal seat in buzzed excitement. “Tell them we want to get dinner at Charlie’s.”

“Great idea!” Kelsey shouts, with a slight slur, and I realize my friends have been drinking a lot more than me today. I tap my fingers on my thigh. I’ve had four drinks. That’s enough, I mentally tell myself. I don’t need any more.

“See if your parents are cool with you leaving the boat at your aunt’s dock while we’re at Charlie’s, and you can head up to the cottage,” Sam suggests. “We eat, maybe you get eaten.” The girls all burst out laughing.

Kelsey chimes in, “My sister can pick us up after, too.”

“Let me see if there are any guest slips I can reserve for the night.” I nod, warming up to the idea. “One left!”The stars are aligning here.This could actually work. “You seriously want me to parade myself back up there and be like, ‘Let’s fuck’?”

In unison, they yell, “Let’s fuck!” at the top of their lungs. I’ve missed my best friends, and with that, we have a plan influenced by seltzers, sun, and seduction.

4

The doorbell rings, and I immediately feel a sense of excitement. It’s got to be her. No one else knows I’m here. I glance at my phone—5:23 p.m.

My cock stirs in agreement. If this is what a year without getting laid feels like—overanalyzing every interaction with a woman—I’m not sure I can take much more. Why would someone so young ever be interested in me? It’s insane to even think about her like that.

I head to the side door by the lake and spot her, a little more covered this time. She’s in a patterned sundress, holding the borrowed cups. I smile and open the door, checking her out. She looks like she’s in her twenties. God, I hope so.

“Hi, again.” She smiles, and I can tell she’s not entirely sober. “Thanks for the cups. I feel guilty for not washing them, but we just got off the boat,” she says quickly.

“It’s all good.” I smile, taking them from her. We pause, caught in a lingering stare.

“I’m Dani, by the way. Lisa’s niece,” she says, that amazing smile glued on her face.

“Hi, I’m Adam … the summer renter.” I immediately feel embarrassed.The summer renter?Really, man?

She bites her lower lip, and I can tell she is checking me out. Really checking me out. Ah, I freeze and take a deep, audible breath.

She tilts her head back, her expression shifting to something like … pain? My body tenses, my mind barely keeping control. Her neck is exposed, and I can see more cleavage than I think she realizes, thanks to our height difference.

“I’m supposed to tell you something,” she softly says.

I wait.

“Yeah …” She blushes, looking deep in thought. “I’ll go, and we can pretend this never happened.”

She turns and takes a couple of steps toward the driveway. I feel the urge to stop her, to say something. But I’m frozen, unsure of what I should do—though I know exactly what I want to do.

“Wait,” I finally manage.