Chapter 25

Bright and ridiculously early the following day, Rory had to rise to get the boat. He’d assumed they could just bring it to the campground dock, but his dad said they wanted someone to check its condition before it left the marina.

Tyler compared it to renting a car. Some rental companies walked you around the vehicle to note any dings or scratches before leaving the lot. When the rental car was returned, they did another walk-around. He told Rory that the boat owner wanted it back in the same condition it was in when he rented it to them.

Rory unloaded his motorcycle from the trailer for his ride to the marina. He checked his weather app, and it was currently 82 degrees, perfect for riding. By midafternoon, it would be 109 degrees.

Tyler had laughed the first time Rory made the ‘it’s a dry heat’ joke. Tyler had said anything over 100 degrees was hot, no matter the humidity.

When Rory arrived at the marina, it thankfully wasn’t hard to spot the three-story boat, even though the marina was huge, with 1,500 slips.

Rory shut off his bike and walked it down the dock. Already, boaters were loading up for a day on the lake, and everyone seemed friendly. When he finally came to the houseboat’s slip, he smiled. The name of the boat was Working Girl.

An overweight man in his 40s with a captain’s hat that had seen better days leaned over the rail from the middle deck.

“You Rory?” he called out with a big toothy grin and waved.

“Yes, sir.”

“Park your motorcycle, and Willy will stow it onboard. Come aboard, and we’ll do the walk-through.”

The man turned out to be Captain Grumby, a likable man with a quick wit who wanted to be called Skipper. His first mate was Willy, a young man who was probably college age and skinny as a rail. It would be a great summer gig to work on a party boat. Even someone like Willy would have a shot at drunk college girls.

Skipper showed Rory the boat. The first deck was the house part, with a living room, dining area, kitchen, three bedrooms, and two baths. Skipper informed Rory that they’d just gotten the air conditioning working, so there’d be a place to get out of the heat.

The second deck was open on all sides and was where Skipper would pilot the boat. The top tier was open to the sun, and Rory predicted that only the bravest or drunkest would venture up there during the heat of the day.

As the skipper gave Rory a tour of the boat, he noted everything that wasn’t working or was somehow damaged. He simply said he wanted the boat back in its current condition come Sunday.

When the tour was finished, they began their journey to the campground. Rory put on his new sunglasses and found a comfortable lounge chair on the top deck. The sun, its warmth, the sound of the boat cutting through the water, and the breeze all put Rory in a good mood. He hadn’t felt this relaxed since moving to The Valley. As he lay out in the morning heat, Rory felt alive. He closed his eyes and thought about how much he needed this vacation.

His move to Vegas had been unsettling. But Rory was now starting to feel like this might be where he could get a new start. Things had gone well enough that he’d even quit having nightmares about his mother’s passing. The sadness was no longer persistent, no longer a constant reminder of his loss. It still reared its ugly head now and then, but he could finally say he was starting to feel like himself again.

Then Rory’s thoughts turned to Summer. Waking up with her in his arms had been a first, and he liked it. He hoped they would be together come Sunday, but he found that the thought of it not happening didn’t bother him as much as he expected it would. Yes, it would suck, but he’d survived sixteen years without her. He was confident he would be just fine if she bailed on him.

Rory realized that working for his dad had changed him, and porn class had unlocked many mysteries. He knew that the Rory who’d arrived from Chicago would have done anything to make a relationship with Summer work. He would have gladly surrendered his family jewels in a velvet bag to her had that been the price.

But having sex with other girls had shown him that there were viable alternatives out there. That, combined with the knowledge Sophie had imparted, gave him the realization that his wishes in a relationship were just as important as Summer’s. The doormat analogy rang so true. Given time, he would begin to resent Summer if he let himself be one. So, walking away no longer felt hard.

His goal, though, was to make it happen. Summer would be his first love. Maybe even his last. Rory didn’t know how to describe it other than he just knew she was the one for him. His body reacted every time he saw her. No other girl came close to affecting him the way Summer did.

With his goal in sight, Rory felt a smile touch his lips.

Somewhere between a minute and an hour later—he wasn’t sure which because he’d kept falling in and out of sleep—the engines slowed. Rory got up so he could watch Skipper dock the boat. He wondered why they were coming in at an angle instead of straight in. The mystery was solved when Skipper put the boat into reverse to stop its momentum. The stern slid toward the dock and ended up parallel to it.

Rory came down to the second level.

“I’ll send you a message when we’re headed this way. I need to get everyone up and moving,” Rory said.

“Thanks. I’ll see you in a little while,” Skipper said.

Rory got off the boat as Willy unloaded his bike. He thanked the first mate and rode the motorcycle to the motorhome. He found Jace and Sean sitting at the picnic table.

Rory got off his bike and asked, “Girls kick you out?”

“They’re putting on bikinis,” Sean explained.

“They said that when you got back, you should start breakfast,” Jace added.

“Did they?” Rory asked suspiciously.

“Maybe not, but we’re starved,” Sean said as he gave Rory a pleading look.

“At some point, you’re both going to have to learn to cook,” Rory said.

“Not this weekend, though,” Paige said as she, Stacy, and Gigi walked over and joined the boys at the picnic table.

“I can help you,” Stacy offered.

“Breakfast casserole or pancakes?” Rory asked.

“Both!” Sean called out.

“And make some coffee,” Gigi added.

As they went inside, they could hear the girls talking in the bedroom. Rory put Stacy in charge of pancakes as he made a ham, hash brown, and Swiss cheese casserole and put it in the oven. Then he and Stacy got organized and began to make enough pancakes for twelve teenagers.

While they cooked, the girls came out. Summer came to Rory and kissed him. She was wearing a cover-up, but when his hands ran up the back of her thighs, he found that underneath was a thong bikini. He now understood why they’d kicked Sean and Jace out.

“Oh, good, Rory’s cooking,” Julie said to get Rory to focus on something other than his hands holding Summer’s butt.

“You know what we need with that, don’t you?” Summer asked as she untangled herself from him.

“Mimosas!” Alice said.

Summer went to the refrigerator and found a gallon jug of orange juice and bottles of champagne. While the girls made the cocktails, Rory started the coffee.

Once everything was ready, they began to take plates of food and drinks out to the tables. Rory set a plate of food in front of Sean, and he dug in, all while managing to play his video game on his phone. If Rory had pulled that at home—if he’d ever even owned a phone—his mom would have confiscated it for a week.

After breakfast, those in the group who hadn’t already done so changed, and they all gathered to go to the boat. Chad and his group showed up. Rory was happy to see Clare and her best friend, Gretchen, were with them. Chad had brought the Whitman twins and his best friend, Kevin.

“We were going out on the boat,” Summer said to invite her sister.

“Let me grab my suit,” Clare said.

“You’re all invited,” Summer added.

Chad and the twins opted out. They planned to rent jet skis from the campground. Kevin said he would rather go with the rest of them on the boat. The campground was about a mile from the water, so everyone piled into cars and drove down to the docks.

Skipper and Willy welcomed everyone aboard and took them out.

“Let’s get some sun before it gets too hot,” Gigi suggested to all the girls.

Rory gave Sean and Jace the sign that they should follow them to the top deck.

“Help us arrange the lounge chairs,” Gigi ordered the boys. When Sean was being his typical useless self, she turned on him. “And you go down and get us bottles of water. They should be in the fridge.”

Sean stomped off, leaving Rory and Jace to experience the unveiling. Sophie and Stacy wore regular bikinis, while the rest had bikinis with just enough cloth to be almost decent.

The ‘almost’ was because as Gigi pulled her cover-up off, it caught on her bikini top and exposed her to the world. Seeing her perfect breasts in the light of day left the boys with their mouths open, and poor Sean had missed it.

“Hey! Remember me?” Alice asked Jace.

Rory snapped his head over to Summer and gave her a sheepish grin. There was no denying he’d been caught.

“I left my suntan oil in my bag. Can you get it for me?” Summer asked.

Rory played the dutiful boyfriend after being caught looking at another girl. He was halfway down the stairs when he heard someone talking in hushed tones.

“Stop calling me,” Kevin said in a weary voice. “You broke up with me, remember? I don’t want to hear from you again, or I swear I’ll break this phone in half.”

Rory let out a deep breath. Break his phone in half? Kevin had no idea what life was like without a phone. Rory hadn’t understood that until he got his first one once he moved here.

He cleared his throat to let Kevin know he wasn’t alone.

“Are you okay?” Rory asked.

“I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“No, I get it. I wish I understood women,” Rory said.

“Why? What’s wrong with you?” Kevin asked.

“I don’t really want to talk about it,” Rory fired back.

Kevin gave him a weak smile.

“Mine broke up with me so she could date someone else. Then when he dumped her, she thought she could come back.”

“Mine can’t decide if she even wants to date me,” Rory shared.

“Women,” Kevin sighed.

“What are you going to do?” Rory asked.

“I plan to have fun this weekend and worry about the drama later. Maybe if I’m lucky, I’ll find someone this weekend, and getting dumped won’t hurt as much.”

“Wait here. Summer told me to get her suntan lotion. I bet if you play your cards right, there might be someone who’ll let you put it on them,” Rory said.

“I’m sorry, but I was prepared to not like you. Chad said you were a jerk.”

“Chad never gave me a chance,” Rory said as he went downstairs.

He found Nick, Sean, and Bart playing video games on the big-screen TV. Rory liked to play as much as the next guy, but there were girls and a vacation to be had. He could play video games when he was at home.

He went to the main bedroom, which he and Summer had claimed. Since they planned the trip, Sophie and Gigi were given the other two.

He found the suntan lotion and went up to grab Kevin. The two of them climbed the stairs up to the top deck and saw Jace and Alice kissing. The rest of the girls were sunning themselves.

“Where’s Sean with our water?” Gigi asked.

“Goofing off with Nick and Underpants Boy,” Rory shared.

“Underpants Boy?” Gigi asked.

“Bart,” Paige said.

“Who?” Gigi asked again.

“The kid who acts like he’s a stoner,” Clare explained.

“Oh,” Gigi said, finally figuring out who he was. “Bartolomeu Ward ... Sophie’s friend.”

“At least you brought Kevin. Maybe the two of you could help put lotion on our backs so we don’t burn,” Gretchen said with a predatory leer.

Rory leaned over to Kevin and mock whispered, “That one is trouble. Maybe you should take her.”

Everyone chuckled when Kevin looked nervous.

Rory went to Summer.

“Roll over,” he ordered.

He put some oil on his hands and began at her neck using his newly learned skill: giving a massage. Summer let out a low moan of pleasure when he started working on her shoulders and back.

Kevin watched what he was doing and gave Gretchen a similar treatment.

“I sure hope we get a happy ending,” Gretchen teased.

Poor Kevin flushed with embarrassment. Rory predicted she would help him forget his ex.

“I call next,” Julie called out.

“You have your own boyfriend. Go get him and make him bring back the water,” Summer said.

“Put your cover-up on because Bart and Nick will have strokes if they see your butt,” Sophie called out.

Julie grabbed it and headed downstairs.

Rory had skipped Summer’s butt and was working on her feet when she rolled over and gave him a smoldering expression.

“It’s getting hot, and I think I need to go into the A/C,” she told him.

Rory nodded as he took her hand, and they left the girls and their catcalls.

When they entered the cabin, Bart took one look at her butt and said, “Come here and sit on my face.”

Before Rory could react, Summer walked up to Underpants Boy and slapped him hard.

“What the fuck, bitch?” Bart yelled but then yelped when Rory lifted him off the couch by his shirt.

“What did you say?” Rory asked.

Bart’s brain apparently re-engaged because he quickly apologized to Summer and Rory. As soon as Rory let him go, he ran for the stairs.

Nick chuckled.

“I can’t believe I’m down here playing games.”

“Sophie and the rest of the girls are sunning on the top deck,” Rory told him.

“Sounds good. I’ll give you two some privacy. And I’ll make sure Bart behaves,” Nick promised.

Julie and Sean were missing. Summer heard them in Gigi’s room, getting busy.

“Sounds like we might not be the first,” she said.

Rory pulled her into the bedroom and closed the door. Summer went to the bed and untied her bikini top. She sat there, naked from the waist up, as Rory stared at her. He looked like a starved wolf about to ravage her, but what it did was make her nipples get hard. It made her feel oddly ... in control.

Rory walked over and sat beside Summer. The way he began to kiss her, with a mixture of passion and love, ignited something inside her. It started to burn down all her defenses. Summer was tired of denying what her body wanted, what she really wanted, just because she was afraid Rory might hurt her.

She wasn’t going into this blind. Rory was a nice guy. And with her eyes wide open, she knew she could protect herself. She didn’t just want his body. Summer really liked him, and not in the ‘let’s be best friends’ way. Damn her traitorous heart for making her feel this way about a boy.

He reached out and grazed his palm on the outer side of her left breast, causing goosebumps to spread out over her skin. Summer moaned and closed her eyes because his fingers caressing over her skin were already undoing her last defenses, and Rory wasn’t really touching her yet.