Page 31 of Pretty Wild

“Umm, I’ve never done that before.”

I pull into the small cove and shut off the motor. Once I drop anchor, I reply, “I’ll teach you. It’s pretty simple.”

She looks around, fidgeting with the hem of her shorts. “I don’t know, can’t I just…watch or something?”

“Nope,” I insist, standing up slowly and moving to grab the fishing poles. “What if you’re on one of your big fancy yachts and it crashes. You could be lost on some uncharted island and need to fish to survive.”

Her eyes widen and her mouth falls open. “What? That wouldn’t happen.”

I shrug, unwinding the hook and preparing to slip on the bait. “It might. It’s not like you can just call an Uber from a remote island.”

As if sensing my challenge, she sits up straighter and holds out her hand. “Fine. I’ll fish.”

I adjust the pole, moving it toward her so she can grab on to it. Then, I reach into the cooler and pull out the small container of worms. The moment I flip open the lid, she gasps. “What is that?”

“Bait,” I tell her, pulling out a long earthworm and holding it toward her.

“Oh my God, I’m not putting that on the hook! Gross,” she bellows, making a disgusted face and gagging.

“Got to, Princess. It’s the only way to ensure your survival,” I insist, shaking the worm at her and fighting a smile.

She continues to stare at it, and even the look of horror is cute as hell. Ryan closes her eyes and swallows hard. “I don’t think I can,” she mutters, her face pure torture.

“Sure you can,” I reassure. “I’ll talk you through it.”

Ryan continues to stare, and I can practically see the internal struggle going on in her brain. She doesn’t want to, but she doesn’t like being weak either. The respect I have for her climbs a bit more. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she whispers to herself, holding out her hand. It’s shaking pretty hard, and I fully expect her to snatch it away before I can hand off the worm, but to my surprise, she doesn’t.

“Oh my God, it’s so gross,” she cries the moment the tips of her fingers wrap around the worm.

“You’ve got this, Princess,” I insist, letting go.

Taking a deep breath, she holds it up, her entire body rigid. “Now what?”

“Now you’re gonna slide it onto the hook.”

“Oh God,” she groans, her entire body shaking in disgust.

“Now, slide it over the hook like this,” I say, gently grabbing her hand and helping her.

“This is barbaric,” she insists, making a gagging noise that brings a smile to my face.

“There. See?” I hold up the hook and show her the completed task.

She gapes at the hook and then down at her hand. “I’m all…gross!”

I can’t stop the chuckle. “Lean over the boat and wash off your hands,” I tell her. “Carefully, so you don’t tip the boat.”

Her eyes widen to the size of saucers. “What? We can tip?”

“Of course we can,” I tell her, even though it’s less likely in this boat than others. It’s deeper than normal and has the flat bottom, making it a little less tipsy.

She’s like a statue, trying to reach over and clean the wet dirt off her fingers. “I can’t believe I did that. So nasty,” she grumbles to herself, scrubbing the worm guts and muck off her hand.

Buddy takes the opportunity to get close, trying to figure out what she’s doing. When he moves, the boat shakes, causing her to reach out and grip the side. “Buddy, stop!”

He does as instructed and looks on with curious eyes.

“He’s okay,” I say, reaching down and petting his head. “Maybe after we fish for a bit, we can see if he knows how to swim.”

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