Page 17 of The Bosun

Of course, Owen wouldn’t take what I said seriously.

“That’s not going to happen, and you know it. We can’t stay off the boat when we have guests. What’s wrong with you?” I furrowed my brows as I looked him over. Owen was acting a little strange, and I wasn’t sure why. Did he want to dock so he could hook up? Because that so wasn’t happening.

“Nothing,” he said defensively. “Is it wrong that I like seeing you happy for once?”

I tried to decide if what he was saying was all there was to it, but I couldn’t get a read on Owen. Maybe it was just that I’d been less of a hard-ass the last two days. Whatever it was, I didn’t have time for it.

“Put the ladder down in case anyone wants to use it instead of jumping in,” I ordered. Pushing past him, I walked to where the ladies all stood with their snorkels in hand. Scout had given them out while I was listening to Owen’s bullshit.

“Are you ready?”

“More than ready,” Zelda said as she eyed Scout up and down. He’d taken off his shirt and was putting his lifejacket back on.

“Great, you can either jump in, or there’s a ladder in the back that you can take to get into the water.”

Stella looked toward the back.

“Come on, Stella, don’t be the stereotypical black woman who doesn’t want to get her hair wet. Jump in,” Reagan said in the snottiest tone I’d ever heard.

I looked to Stella at the comment. She was black? Not that I cared, but I had no idea.

“You can fuck off right now, Reagan. Don’t bring up my race ever again, or I’ll bring up what a slut you are.” Her voice was hard with what sounded like hurt in her words.

Stella stepped onto the seat, looked back at Reagan, and flipped her off before she jumped.

5

Stella

That fucking bitch.Reagan knew that I didn’t love to get my hair wet, but who the hell did? I hated spending the time washing and drying it only to then either have to straighten it or curl it. It was a waste of time. Plus, with three hot guys around, I didn’t want to look like a wet dog when I came out of the water. It had nothing to do with being black.

“Hey, are you okay?” Pen asked, panting after she made it over to me.

I’d swum a good distance from the boat and everyone on it. I hoped Reagan got the hint to stay the fuck away from me, or I might push her under and hold her there.

“Why is she trying to push my buttons?” I asked, not taking my eyes off the boat where Scarlett and Zelda looked to be chewing her out. At least, I hoped so.

“Probably because she doesn’t have any of the crew members drooling over her, and she knows she’ll never live up to your beauty.”

I loved the way Pen tried to build me up, but it was also annoying. There was no way in hell Reagan was jealous of me. She went from sugar daddy to sugar daddy to support her and her plastic surgery addiction.

Scarlett, Zelda, and Reagan turned to look our way, but they were too far for me to see the expressions on their faces. “She needs to stay the fuck away from me, or I’m either going to drown her or push her overboard.”

Pen’s hand came up out of the water and landed on my shoulder. “I agree, and if you need an accomplice or an alibi, I’m here for you.” Pen always knew what to say to get me out of my funk and to start laughing. Now was no different. We laughed and talked until our group was in the water and started to make their way toward us. “Ignore her and enjoy the day. When else are you going to be on vacation in Spain on a chartered yacht for free?”

She made a good point.

“Never. I’m going to hang back, so I don’t do or say something stupid.”

Pen’s eyes creased at the corners. “Do you want me to hang back with you?”

“I’ll be okay. I think I need this time to myself, you know.”

“If you want any company, you know where to find me.” Pen swam their way, leaving me to myself. I watched as she talked to them for a moment before all eyes were back on me, and then the guys helped them adjust their masks on their faces so they could go underwater.

Putting my mask on, I placed the mouthpiece in and immediately felt like I could barely breathe. My breath picked up until it sounded like I was about to hyperventilate or Darth Vader, but at least I was breathing. Not about to let Reagan ruin my vacation, I dipped underwater and tried to make sure I kept the tip of my snorkel above water. I didn’t need to be saved a second time this week.

The moment I saw all the tiny fish swimming along the rocks, all my troubles drifted away. There was a sense of peace floating along in the warm water. When I spotted a tiny octopus hiding in the swaying grass, I popped up to find I was alone. Where the hell did everyone go? Looking around, I found the boat with Owen on it, so I wasn’t lost. As far as I could see, there was only the cove we were in and the beautiful blue water.

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