“Because doing boyfriend stuff makes you look like you want to puke.”
“You’re right.” He grinned, snatching the bag back from me. “These are for me. I hope you’re not hungry.”
I wrestled the bag from him, grabbing a burrito at random and unwrapping it. Hot cheese and eggs filled my mouth and I groaned. “Why is cheap food so good?”
“That ex-boyfriend of yours wasn’t feeding you right ifStop N’ Shopburritos are making you moan like that.”
“Actually, he had expensive taste. Steak on weeknights. Prime rib and whipped potatoes on a random Tuesday. It was kind of exhausting.”
“Tell me more about your struggles, princess.”
“It was a struggle, thank you very much.” I stole a second burrito from his lap, smacking him with it. Isaac tried to dodge, jerking the wheel sideways and swerving the truck onto the wrong side of the road as he pulled out of the driveway.
“His standards were so ridiculous. I felt like I could never—"
“Never what?”
I took a bite, buying myself time, “Mess up. Be human.”
I watched Isaac in my peripherals, one hand resting casually on the steering wheel. Sunlight sparkled off the bay, casting specks of golden light across his tanned skin. Recognition tugged at my mind, and I couldn’t tell if it was a familiar cut to his jaw or the way it was easy to be with him, like we’d known each other for a lifetime.
The truck came to a stop minutes later. The sun on the water was blinding now, turning the churning surface white. Isaac handed me a pair of sunglasses, putting on his own and climbing out of the truck.
I followed him, frowning at the long jetty stretching into the bay. An orange marker sat on the end, identical to the one across the canal.
There were two other trucks parked on the side of the road beside ours. In the distance, I could make out figures standing still on the rocks with their backs to the wind.
Isaac lifted his tackle box and two poles out of the bed of the truck with grin. “You ready?”
I followed behind him, blinking despite my glasses. “I’m not sure if you could tell by looking at me, but I have no clue how to fish.”
“Trust me, I can tell.” He stepped carefully onto a hunk of rock, long legs stretching across the cracks.
To the right of the jetty, the water was deep and bottomless. There was nothing between us and the depths of the canal buta few slippery rocks. On the other side, the water was shallow, sand and seaweed visible through the waves.
Isaac moved quick and confident across the rocks, taking us deeper and deeper into the bay. My movements were slower, stepping carefully between rocks, staring warily at the deep end of the water where I was sure a shark was watching me.
“You can swim, right?” Isaac asked over his shoulder.
“In a swimming pool? Totally. In there? Probably not. That’s assuming I don’t get eaten.”
“There’s only bull sharks in the bay. They’re harmless.”
“That’s not what I’ve heard.”
He slowed to match my pace. “I’ve been skinny dipping in this water since I was knee-high. Nothing’s gonna eat you in there.”
I wasn’t reassured, sticking to the edge of the rocks near the shallow end until even that looked too deep to stand.
We stopped a hundred feet from the end of the jetty. Isaac dropped his tackle box, and handed me a fishing pole. “You’ve really never been fishing?”
“Not once.” I made a face. “Are you going to make me put a worm on this?”
“Of course not.” His eyes twinkled. “You’re going to use shrimp.”
“I changed my mind. I am sick of you.”
“It’s too late for that, darlin’.”