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Chapter 7
The air was colder by the ocean. Lucy had chosen a floaty summer dress that clung to her waist and danced with the breeze. Her hair was tied back in two loose braids that both fell over the same shoulder. She could hear the music from the yacht the moment Josh pulled up in the small parking lot. It filled the night around them as they got out of the car. “Well, that’s noise pollution right there,” Josh said with a wrinkled nose. “No doubt our father will get complaints about this.”
Lucy rolled her eyes. She couldn’t help it. She turned her head slightly, so that he wouldn’t be able to see her do it. “It’s a party.” She turned back to him with a smile. “There’s going to be music.”
The yacht was impressive. It wasn’t until Lucy had climbed on board, though, that she realized just how impressive it was. The main deck had a stage big enough to fit an entire band at the front. Expensive-looking lighting hung overhead, and hundreds of people were standing where the dance floor would later be. The music that Lucy had heard from the car was being played live. A heavily tattooed woman and three guys were standing on the stage, doing their thing as people talked over them.
“The drinks will be on the floor below,” Josh explained when Lucy turned to him. “There’s a bar down there, so it would make sense.”
Lucy followed Josh’s lead to the stairs and down them. When Josh had said there was a bar, Lucy had imagined a small, self-serve kind of deal, but she’d been wrong. It was like a night club. The bar was at least eight feet long and it was stocked with every kind of liquor that Lucy could think of. The lights were low, keeping the room dim, but large, sliding paneled windows filled the bottom half of the room and looked out onto another large decking area and the stars expanding away from it.
“This place is crazy,” Lucy told Josh as they walked over to the bar. A silver service barman walked over to her and waited patiently for her order. “Is this a free bar?” she asked him after she’d taken the time to inspect his perfect hair.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Okay.” Lucy grinned. “I’m going to need some champagne.”
“That’s not a problem.”
“Wait,” Lucy called, before the waiter had a chance to fetch her a glass. “You might as well just bring me the bottle and a straw. I don’t want to be coming down here every two minutes.” She smiled at him sweetly when he gave her an outraged look.
“I’m not sure that I’m meant to do that,” he told her sternly. “I think, perhaps, you should leave enough behind the bar for other guests too?”
Lucy stared the bartender down. “Do you know who I am?” she asked, although she knew perfectly well that he did not. “I’m the step-daughter of the person who owns this boat. The wage you’re earning tonight is coming directly out of my family’s pocket, so if I want a bottle instead of a glass,” she paused, so that he would have a chance to soak in what she’d already said, “then, you better get me a bottle.”
“I’m sorry,” the bartender said quickly. The look of disapproval melted away from his face. “I’ll go and get one for you now.”
“I see you’re already causing trouble,” Daniel said from behind her. She turned on the spot and found him standing next to Josh. She’d forgotten that Josh was there. The adrenaline spike she’d had from talking the barman down had rushed her brain and disabled it.
“I see you clearly don’t know how to hire staff.”
“Here you go,” the barman broke through their conversation. Lucy heard the bottle being put down on the bar and then Daniel laughing.
“You’re just skipping the glass completely, then?” he asked when he watched the barman placing a straw beside it.
Lucy shrugged. “I’m saving on the washing up.”
“I’m glad that you’re having fun.” Daniel smiled at her, then turned to his brother with a curious stare. “I’m surprised to see you here, though; I thought you said, after the last time, you’d never come to one of my parties again?”
“What happened last time?” Lucy asked before she could stop herself.
Daniel turned to her with a guilty grin. “It wasn’t that big of a deal. It was perfectly safe.”
“It wasn’t safe,” Josh cut in.
“How wasn’t it safe?” Daniel demanded to know. “It’s not like the whole place could have caught on fire. We were surrounded by water. It was the perfect place to try it.”
Josh rolled his eyes. “You’re an idiot.”
“And you’re my twin.” Daniel grinned, as though that meant the insult had been sent right back to Josh.
“What did you do?” Lucy broke through their bickering. “What did you set on fire?”
“I didn’t set anything on fire,” Daniel said, feigning shock and horror.
“Yes, you did,” Josh said firmly.
“No, the slide just melted a bit.”
“The slide?” Lucy asked as she tried to piece together the bits of information they were giving her. None of it made sense, though, with the addition of their bickering.
Daniel laughed. The look of confusion on Lucy’s face had him smiling as he opened his mouth to explain. “I rented out a water park last year. I threw this party there and there were fireworks. I figured if I shoved a few down my shorts, I’d go down the slides faster. You know,” his grin got bigger, “rocket power?”
“You did not.” Lucy had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.
“Well, there was water everywhere, so it wasn’t like I was going to start a fire.” He shrugged.
“Did it work?”
Lucy noticed a glimmer of surprise in Daniel’s eyes. “It worked until they started to get hot and melt the slide I was on.”
“Our father had to pay for the whole place to be refitted,” Josh’s disapproving voice interrupted their conversation. “It cost him a fortune to put right. I can’t believe he’s letting you use the yacht; I wouldn’t trust you with anything of mine.”
“Well, it’s a good thing I don’t want anything you have, then,” Daniel dug at his brother. Was his comment directed at her? she wondered as she watched the brothers argue. Was Daniel saying that he didn’t want her? Why would he say that? She’d never said that she wanted him.
*******
Chapter 8
The top deck of the boat was almost impossible to navigate. It had taken Lucy less than a minute to lose Josh in the crowd. It had been on purpose—she’d made a mistake by bringing him, and she knew that. Josh was a good guy, but he wasn’t the kind of guy that you could have fun around. The sound of girls screaming caught her attention and she pushed her way through the crowd to see what she was missing.
“See you down there,” a girl in a white bikini screamed at the watching crowd as she climbed up onto the railings of the boat. Lucy watched as the girl dove into the ocean below and disappeared out of sight.
“Are you going to jump?” Daniel’s voice filled her ear. She jumped. She hadn’t realized that he was anywhere near her.
“I don’t know.” She let the straw from the bottle in her hand drop from her lips. “I probably shouldn’t.”
“Why?” Daniel asked her teasingly. “You’re not scared, are you?”
“Do I strike you as the kind of girl who scares easy?”
“I don’t know.” Lucy looked down at his hand, which had settled on her hip. They were standing close. The crowd around them was pushing them ever closer as they spoke. “Like you told me, I don’t know who you are. Maybe you’re going to have to prove yourself.”
Lucy looked back to the railing. There was a guy climbing up onto it. He wasn’t dressed for the water below. He was wearing jeans. Lucy thought about the feeling that would be in his stomach, as he stood on the edge. She wanted that feeling. Even though the world was starting to blur around the edges, she wanted the feeling. “I don’t need to prove myself to you.” She could feel a smile pulling on her lips as she looked back at Daniel and found his eyes waiting for
hers.
“You’re right.” He nodded. “You don’t need to prove anything to me, but what about for yourself?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re the one who’s trying to be someone you’re not. So, what are you going to do? Are you going to carry on being her, or are you going to jump?”
Lucy knew that she shouldn’t. She knew that she’d drunk too much. She knew that the waters below would be cold and that her dress wouldn’t survive the carnage of the ocean. She also knew, though, that she was going to do it. How could she not? Daniel was challenging her. He was challenging her to be herself. How could she not rise up to that challenged? What real damage could it do?
She pushed her way to the front of the crowd before Daniel had a chance to say anything else. She could feel the crowd turn its attention to her as she stepped forward into the small open space they’d allowed for climbers.