Page 9 of The Catch

“Like I said, just enjoying the view.”

“Bet you twenty bucks I end up bunking with you two tonight,” Dani said, gesturing to Emma and Sonya.

Sonya laughed. “This is Cat we’re talking about. You’re gonna lose twenty bucks.”

“Stop it, Dani,” Cat said. “I have no intention of pulling ayouon this trip and hooking up with some random guy.”

“You could stand to take a page out of my book, Cat. What’s it been? A year, maybe more? Like you said, you’re on vacation. Have some fun.”

“I am having fun,” she insisted. Why were they always accusing her of not having fun?

Dani flicked a t-shirt at her. “Well, have some more!”

The last thing Cat needed was to be more like Dani. She could say that because Dani was like a sister. She was closer to Dani in most ways than she was her real sisters, given that they were ten and eight years older than her. That devil-may-care attitude was a front. Dani had had her heart broken too because that’s what happened with things like this, whether you admit it or not. People always want something different than what they say, and that’s why this game with Josh wasn’t going any further than a quick ride on the back of a jet ski with a cute guy.A cute guy who she hadn’t stopped thinking about since the night before.

“I told him I’d see him later,” Cat said, closing her eyes. “And I will.”

Three

“Y’all ever ridden one ofthese before?” Dylan ran his hand along the nose of a neon green Kawasaki, tipping his sunglasses to inspect it. He’d perked up since they last spoke, and he’d obviously showered and spackled his hair with product.

Josh stood knee-deep in the water beside him, looking effortlessly handsome like he might roll out of bed that way every morning. Cat allowed herself to explore that image for a minute while she watched Dylan stroke the big machine.

Josh’s other friend Shawn was up the beach, sprawled out in a folding chair that looked miniature under his frame. He’d looked as though he’d been forced from the room against his will, though it would probably take a team of horses to drag a guy his size anywhere.

Emma had spotted him first and saw her opportunity. Without a word, she’d set her towel down beside him and bowed out of the adventure portion of the day. Now the two of them were sharing a package of water crackers, and a Bud Light that Shawn had sworn was a secret hangover remedy. “Hair of the dog, honey,” he’d said, making a get on with it gesture with his hand. “Can’t have you missing your own party ‘cause of a little over-indulgence.” He was retired Navy, he’d told them proudly, so he had some experience.

“I’ve been on one,” Dani said. Dylan tossed her one of the life vests he had hanging off his arm, then threw one to Sonya.

“The real question is: have you ever driven one?” Sonya said, snapping her vest in place. “I don’t need to die in paradise because you’re wing-manning for your buddy over here.” She waved in Josh’s direction, and Dani and Dylan both laughed.

Cat did not.

“Sonya, you’re a nurse,” Dani said. “We’ll be fine.”

“That doesn’t mean I can save a drowning victim.”

“I was a lifeguard through college,” Josh said. He’d been quiet since they arrived, standing there with his big arms crossed over his chest, listening to Dylan crow. Cat got the feeling it was a familiar dynamic. “I guarded at the campus pool and taught surf lessons in the summer.”

She’d known him for all of twelve hours, but the anecdote snapped into the image Cat had been drawing of him with a perfect click. “I knew you were the white knight type,” she said.

He gave her a long, crooked smile, then waded further into the water to pick up the two vests that were sitting on what was presumably his ride for the day. It was a much less flashy, but striking, navy blue. Fitting.

Instead of tossing the vest the way Dylan had, Josh held it open, tilting his head to beckon her over. It was silent, simple, and goosebumps swept over her whole body when he did it.

She slipped her arms through the vest, and Josh reached around her from behind, snapping the straps into place. Then he spun her around and tugged on the shoulders, testing the fit.

Cat’s knees went wobbly. What exactly was it about him that was causing the invasion of butterflies swarming her insides like the eighth plague?

Josh shrugged on his own vest, and she pretended to be straightening her bathing suit while she secretly peeked at him from behind her aviators. Between their height difference and the darkness of the club, she’d only been able to study him from the shoulders up the night before. By the time she’d caught a glimpse of his face, practically doing a double-take at his perfectly arranged features, she’d been too close to do a full inspection without getting caught.

He was in good shape. Not surprising, since she’d witnessed his morning workout. A light sprinkle of chest hair shaded his toned pecs, and a darker trail led from his belly button down into his shorts. He wasn’t a Greek God type, but he was cut in all the right places, and the way his arm muscles bulged as he adjusted the tie on his suit made her taste buds flood. He looked like somebody’s really hot husband, or a picture a co-worker might have on their desk of their exceptionally handsome son—someone real.

“You wanna hop on?” he asked.

Cat hesitated. A couple nearby was getting situated on their own jet ski, and it suddenly occurred to her how close she was going to have to sit to Josh while they shared a ride on this thing.

Dani was already on the other jet ski, though, while Sonya walked around it, inspecting it like it was one of her patients. There was no going back.

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