Page 32 of The Science of Attraction

“Hey, guys, there’s a fish in my pool!” Liam shouted, sounding both surprised and delighted, and I couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled free as I turned to find him pointing excitedly toward the far side of the river like a little kid.

“Then how about you drop your voice so you don’t scare the poor thing away? Maybe try and catch it instead.” I sent another cast into my own pool and watched Liam run the idea through his head.

He looked down at the rod in his hand and then back up at me, and it didn’t take much to imagine the frown on his face. “How?”

“Oh. My. God. You’re serious, aren’t you?” I retrieved my cast and waded back to the riverbank before heading downstream to where Liam stood with a huge smile on his face. The cutest, most kissable smile I’d ever seen.

I waded out and talked him through the next few casts as a decent-sized rainbow trout darted between the patches of soft water and current, laughing at us from less than ten metres away.

“It’s all about presentation.” I circled my hand around his on the rod to help him with the next cast.

Liam glanced my way. “I’m not interviewing for a job on his damn team.”

“No.” I moved behind him and we cast again. “There, that’s better. Presentation just means placing the cast without alerting the fish and then manipulating the fly in the current so it looks like food.”

Liam gave a huff of amusement. “Oh, so pretty much like cruising? Bait and hook. You should’ve just said.”

“Yes, Liam, it’s exactly like cruising,” I deadpanned. “Now move the rod a little just like—” I jiggled it in his hand. “There! Shit!” The line fell free and the trout skipped away to swim another day.

“Wait. What happened?” Liam spun to face me, the shock of disappointment clear on his face. “He was right there. He took the damn fly. I felt the tug. How could he get away?”

I clapped Liam on the back. “Welcome to the world of fly fishing.”

He stared at me, confused.

I pulled a what-can-you-do face.

Liam looked outraged. “Did I miss the relaxing recreational part?”

I snorted and steered him toward the bank. “A question I ask myself on a regular basis. Come on, let’s get a hot drink and warm up.”

“But he was right there!” Liam continued to protest as we waded out of the water, crossed the stones, and then up over the flood embankment to the ute. “And that happens all the time?”

I nodded and grabbed the chilly bin from the bed of the ute. “I catch a trout on average maybe thirty to forty percent of the time, if I’m lucky.”

His mouth fell open. “You’re kidding me, right? Fucking hell. I hate this sport already.”

I laughed. “It’s as frustrating as golf, with the added bonus of standing in freezing water for hours on end. You wanna do it again?”

Liam’s face lit up. “Abso-fucking-lutely. I hate losing, especially to a damn fish.” He put his rod aside and began helping me unpack the ute.

“Hey, losers.” Brent appeared at the top of the embankment holding two sizeable rainbow trout aloft. “It’s not just hot drinks today.”

“Bastard,” I growled as he made his way down to the ute and jiggled them in front of my face.

“Easy as pissing.” He looked between Liam and me. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you two. Guess it’s all to do with skill.”

“Shut up and hand them over.” I snapped my fingers at him. “Liam and I will clean them.”

“What?” Liam’s horrified expression said it all. “Do you not remember the part where I told you I don’t do dead fish?”

I arched a brow. “Doyouwant to eat?”

He considered the two fish, narrowed his eyes, and said nothing.

I grinned. “Yeah, I thought so. Come on. Grab us a drink and I’ll show you the ropes. There’s hot water in the thermos or beer in the chilly bin. I’ll take a beer.”

He chose a beer as well, grumbling all the way about bossy shepherds, but when I finally got him working alongside me on the dropped tailgate, what followed was lots of laughter and teasing and altogether too much rubbing of elbows and nudging of hips. Interacting so openly with a guy I was attracted to was a complete mindfuck and totally surreal, and yet it also felt weirdly... normal. Strange but nice,reallynice. Too nice.

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