Page 41 of Novel Problems

“Good Lord, she’s fast!” George said, followed by something I didn’t catch.

“Sorry, what did you say?” I asked, turning to her so I could see her face clearly when she responded.

“I was saying why don’t we just try to kayak over to Little Pebble Point and back again, and then head to the pub? Unless you’d prefer to stay out here, of course.”

George waved her hand toward a point covered in green trees. I squinted at it. It didn’t look too far away—less than half a mile at a rough guess.That should be doable…and then there will be Aperol spritz.

“I like your plan,” I said, feeling more motivated.

“If you start paddling, I’ll try to sync with you.”

“Sounds good, Capt’n,” I said over my shoulder to George before turning back to focus on trying to recreate Olivia’s technique. For the first few paddles, it felt all wrong, but without the pressure of Olivia’s gaze on me, I was able to relax a little more, and suddenly something clicked. With my core engaged and my torso rotating like Olivia said, my paddles began rhythmically slicing through the water.

“Woo hoo! I think I’m getting the hang of this!”

George started paddling too, and we picked up speed.This is more like it!Now I understood the appeal, powering up the river, surrounded by sparkling water, blue skies, and gorgeous scenery. Maybe we could catch up to the others and go to the island after all. I felt strong and powerful and?—

Whack!George’s paddle smashed into mine. “Shit! I’m sorry!” George yelled.

“That’s oka?—”

“Oh fuck!” George exclaimed.

The kayak tipped violently to the left, sending mystomach lurching into my throat. I grabbed the side of the kayak to steady myself and then turned to see what was going on.

George leaned out of the kayak, frowning, trying to grab her paddle, which was in the water and floating quickly away from her outstretched fingers. I winced.There’s no way she’ll reach it.

George must have independently formed that conclusion, because she gave up attempting to grab her paddle, sitting back in her seat. “Goddamnit. Olivia recommended a relaxed grip, but mine was clearly a little too relaxed—I dropped it when our paddles collided. Sorry about that. That waiver didn’t mention death by paddling partner!” George’s cheeks were pink, whether from embarrassment or exertion I couldn’t tell. Either way, she looked damn cute, all hot and flustered.

I smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I’m totally fine. I’ll paddle after it.”

With newfound confidence, I headed toward the paddle floating in the water.Slice, slice, slice.It was only two feet away now. I tried to maneuver the kayak so George could reach out and grab it, but the only skill I’d mastered so far was the art of going straight ahead. Olivia’s crash course on kayaking hadn’t included tips on turning and stopping. In fact, every time I tried to pull the kayak closer to the paddle, it seemed to float farther away again.

After a few failed attempts, I decided to see if I could drag George’s paddle back using mine.

Holding my paddle at one end, I carefully put it over George’s paddle, effectively pinning it down, and started to draw it closer to me.

“Great work! You’ve nearly done it!” George called.

A puff of warmth expanded in my chest.You can do this, Hannah.

And then a gust of wind kicked up, and the kayak began to turn.

“Shit, shit, shit,” I muttered under my breath as I struggled to keep my paddle over George’s. I leaned out, twisting my body into an awkward position. The kayak lurched, sending my heart with it, and, in panic, I grabbed the side of the kayak again so I didn’t fall in—with both hands.

“Oh no!” My gut clenched as my paddle slipped into the water. Still holding one side of the kayak, I tried to grab it, but it was already bobbing away, well out of arm’s reach.

“I’m so sorry!” I looked around, hoping to spot someone who could come to our rescue, but Olivia, Blake, Jenny, and the kayak rental were all out of sight, and the only sign of life was a ferry in the distance, heading in the opposite direction. I peered down at the water. The sides of the kayak were too high for us to paddle back using our hands. My stomach sank. I’d been so close to collecting George’s paddle, and now we were even worse off than before.

I peered back at George to see how she was taking it. “The expressionup shit creek without a paddleis suddenly making a lot more sense to me,” I said, grimacing.

George erupted into laughter, apparently unperturbed by the loss of both our paddles. “We’ll just have to wait until someone comes past. At least we know Olivia, Blake, and Jenny will be back this way in the next hour or so.” George grinned at me. “Time to lie back and relax!” She adjusted her seat down, reclined, and closed her eyes.

I chuckled, but anxiety bubbled in my stomach at the thought of being stuck out here for an hour or more.I self-soothed by gazing at George, taking advantage of her eyes being closed to admire her tanned, strong-looking legs. The brown hairs covering them shone in the sun. My eyes traveled up her legs, past her flamingo shorts, life jacket and t-shirt to her face. She looked so peaceful, a faint smile on her lips, as she lay soaking in the sunshine. My gaze lingered on her lips. Despite all the reasons why dating George was a terrible idea, a sense of loss washed over me at the idea of not kissing those lips again.

Worried that George would open her eyes and find me gazing dreamily at her, I followed her direction and lay back, trying to relax my body and focus on my breathing.

Okay, this is quite nice.The sun was warm on my skin and sent a golden glow filtering through my eyelids. The kayak bobbed gently in the water. I let out a deep breath.

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