Chapter 9

Kyle saw them and waved when Steve and Lindy pulled into the lot. Steve pulled next to my truck and parked.

“Where’s your car, Kyle?” Steve asked as he got out of his car. Lindy slid out after him.

“We came in Trish’s new truck.” Kyle pointed at my Expedition.

“This is yours?” Lindy asked. “When did you get it?”

“My parents bought it for me. I’ve had it for about a week.”

Steve and Kyle went around to the back of the car, and Steve opened the trunk. Kyle returned to where Lindy and I were talking and asked where he could find a dock cart. I pointed, and he jogged off to get it.

While Kyle got the cart, Ted, Susie, Hank, and Cindy pulled up in Hank’s car. The girls got out and came over to Lindy and me while the guys went to get their things out of the trunk. Kyle came back with the cart, and the boys began to load.

“We should try to combine as much as we can, sweetie. We don’t want to be cramped in the boat,” I said.

Kyle nodded as he and Steve put all the food and sodas into one of the coolers and piled the beach bags, duffle bags, and fishing equipment onto the cart. Then Kyle said they were ready to go.

As we headed for the boat, I checked everyone’s shoes to ensure they wouldn’t mark the deck. Everyone was wearing tennis shoes except Cindy. She wore hard-soled sandals. I knew I’d have to tell her to take them off before she got onto the boat.

Kyle and I were beside one another as we walked down the pier. I was having difficulty keeping from laughing as we approached the small boat we would tease our friends with. Kyle and I stopped and turned toward it when we got to the boat.

“This is very nice,” Ted said as he looked into the boat.

“No kidding, I thought we would be on a little boat,” Hank said. “Let’s get it loaded and go fishing.”

Cindy looked at me and said, “There’s a bathroom on it?”

Kyle and I broke out laughing. Our friends looked at us like we’d lost it, and then Steve said, “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” Kyle said. “Come on, let’s go to Trish’s boat.”

“This isn’t the boat we’re going out on?” Susie said.

Kyle and I continued down the pier to Dad’s boat while shaking our heads.

“Here we are,” I said. “Cindy, you’re going to have to take off your sandals. I have flip-flops on the boat you can wear.”

“Wait a minute, are you guys telling me we’re going out on this boat?” Ted said.

I opened the transom door and stepped into the cockpit. Kyle grabbed an armful of things from the cart and stepped in after me. Our friends were still standing there when we looked back at the pier.

“Are you guys coming?” I asked.

Cindy bent over, removed her sandals, and got on board. Susie and Lindy followed her while the guys began offloading the cart. Kyle showed Ted, Steve, and Hank where to stow the fishing equipment while the girls and I put the sodas into the refrigerator in the cockpit.

“Where should I put the minnows?” Ted asked.

I reached under the gunwale, flipped a switch, and started the pump to fill the live bait well. I opened the hatch on the transom and pointed. “You can put them in here.”

Because no one in my family fished, we’d never used the live bait well.

Once we finished in the cockpit, I invited everyone for a quick tour. After showing everyone the boat’s interior, we went up to the flying bridge, and I fired up the engines. As the twin diesel engines warmed up, I told the group where the life jackets and fire extinguishers were. I asked Kyle to cast off the lines when the engines were warm enough.

Kyle recruited Steve to help him, and they went down the ladder. Hank and Ted said they would help and followed them down. Kyle told the other guys what to do, and we were on our way. I glanced at the fuel gauges and decided to top off the tanks before heading out.

Two attendants helped secure the boat to the pilings when I eased up to the gas dock. The man who ran the gas dock came out and said, “Hi, Trish,” calling me by name.

“Hi, Max. Top her off and give me a pump-out.”

“Okay. How are your mom and dad?”

“They’re doing fine, thanks. They’ll be down tomorrow. Max, this is my boyfriend, Kyle. Kyle, this is Max. He runs the gas dock.”

Max shook hands with Kyle, Hank, Ted, and Steve. While fueling the boat, Max talked about business.

“Trish, do you know anyone who might be looking for work? I need a couple more attendants for the summer,” Max said.

“I’m looking for a job, sir,” Ted said. “So is Susie.”

Max looked at Ted, then Susie. “Be here at six-thirty on Monday morning. Wear navy blue shorts or pants, no jeans. You’ll also need tennis shoes or deck shoes like Trish’s. I’ll provide the shirts.”

“Yes, sir, we’ll be here, or I will. How about you, Susie?”

“Hmm, let me see, I’ll have to work outside in the sun all day. Are you kidding? I’ll be here!” Susie laughed and thanked Max.

One of the attendants finished pumping out the holding tank while the other removed the fuel hose. He screwed the cap on and rinsed the boat with a hose, even though he didn’t spill a drop.

“Nine seventy-five. Want me to put it on the account, Trish?”

“Yes, please. Thanks, Max. We’ll see you later.”

After running the blowers for a few minutes, I started the engines, waited until they were warmed up, and asked the attendants to cast off the lines. Once I was free of the pilings, I eased away.

Ted, Steve, and Hank came up to the flying bridge and stood near me, watching what I was doing. They seemed nervous, and I asked them why.

“Well, I’m kind of embarrassed,” Steve said. Ted, Hank, and I have some money for gas but not enough to help.”

I snickered and shook my head. “You fixed me up with my sweetheart, Steve, so we’re even. Besides, Dad pays for the fuel and everything else for the boat.”

“Thanks, Trish. Thanks for inviting us.”

“My pleasure. I think we’ll have fun today. Where are we going to fish?”

Ted spoke up. “The man at the bait store said they’re catching fish near the light and at the dumping grounds.”

“Where should we go first?”

“The Saint Clair Light is closer,” Ted replied.

I nodded and guided the boat out of the marina into the lake. Once clear of the inlet, I pushed the throttles forward and brought the boat up on plane. The morning was still crisp, and the breeze felt good. I punched a few buttons on the plotter, found the light on the chart, set the autopilot, and sat back in the helmsman’s chair.

Kyle sat next to me while the rest of our group sat along the bridge’s port side and in front of the helm. Lindy turned around and smiled at me.

“Thanks for keeping it a secret, Lindy,” I said.

“Keeping what a secret?” Steve asked her.

“The boat. I’ve been on it before. Trish and I went to Cedar Point with a few of our friends. She asked me not to tell you about it so you’d be surprised.”

“Shocked is more like it. I want to get some pictures today. My dad will shit when he sees the boat I went fishing on,” Ted said. “We have a boat, a nineteen-foot trailer boat. This thing is almost as wide as our boat is long.”

“She has a sixteen-and-a-half foot beam, Ted.”

“How long is it?”

“Forty-eight feet. She carries eight hundred gallons of fuel and two hundred gallons of water. At cruising speed, her range is about three hundred miles.”

“How many miles per gallon?” Ted asked.

I chuckled. “At cruise, about a half-mile per gallon. We refer to it as gallons per hour, about fifty-five or so.”

“You mean we’re using over fifty gallons of fuel an hour?” Ted said. “Dad’s boat doesn’t use fifty gallons in several months of trolling and running.”

“Your dad’s boat doesn’t have three bedrooms and two bathrooms, Ted,” Hank said.

“The boat! Our house doesn’t have two bathrooms.” Ted laughed.

“How big are the engines, Trish?” Hank asked.

“The diesel engines are eight hundred sixty horsepower each. They’re the small ones. Viking offers one thousand fifty horsepower engines. Dad bought the boat used and took what came in it.”

When we got to the Saint Clair Light, a large permanent marker along the shipping channel, I slowed down to maneuver around the other boats anchored and fishing. Ted said any place was okay to get started. I put the boat into neutral and dropped the anchor.

Once the boat was shut down, we went to the cockpit and got ready to fish. The boys helped the girls rig up and told us what to do. Lindy and I baited our hooks, but Cindy and Susie wouldn’t do it.

“If you don’t bait your hook, you’ll have to go without fishing, Cindy,” Hank said as he showed her how to do it.

“If you don’t bait it for me, you’ll have to go without!” Cindy replied, then laughed.

“Like you’d ever cut him off,” Susie said. “You like it way too much.”

We all kibitzed as we stood along the gunwales and held our fishing rods. I began cranking the reel and pulled out a perch when I felt a tug. I squealed as I watched the eight-inch fish wiggling on the end of my like.

Kyle removed the perch and asked where he should put the fish. I opened a hatch in the deck and pointed into the fish hold. After Kyle dropped the fish into the tank, I turned on a pump to fill it with water. Because our boat was designed for offshore fishing, the fish hold was for much larger fish. The perch looked very tiny as it swam around in the rising water.

As things picked up, we all caught a few fish. When the fishing slowed, we had about fifteen perch in the hold.

It was almost nine, and I was getting hungry, so I told the others we had bagels and asked if anyone wanted some. When everyone said they’d like something, I put my rod in a holder and went to the cabin. The other girls followed me, offering to help.

“I’m going to make coffee if anyone wants some,” I said as I went to the galley. “We have orange juice in the refrigerator if you’d rather have something cold.”

While I prepared the coffee pot, Lindy took out the juice and the glasses while Susie and Cindy began cutting bagels. Cindy said it would be nice to toast the bagels, so I opened a cabinet and showed her the four-slice toaster.

“I should have guessed. What don’t you have?”

“This boat has everything,” Lindy said. “We had a blast when we took our trip.”

I pointed at a cabinet in the salon. “There’s a CD player if you want to put on some music. The CDs are in the drawer under the stereo.”

Susie went to the entertainment center, selected a few CDs, and loaded the player. She turned on the receiver and adjusted the volume. Music came out of the speakers, and we all started to sing along with the song.

Once the bagels were cut and the coffee was finished, I told the boys. They put down their rods, came in, and began fixing their food. Steve and I drank coffee while the rest of the group had juice or soda.

We all sat at the table and chatted as we ate. Steve asked a few questions about the boat, and I answered them.

“You know a lot about this boat, Trish. I’m impressed,” Ted said.

“Dad and I spent a lot of time learning about it when he bought it. He doesn’t use it as much as he did but gets out occasionally.”

“If I had a boat like this, I’d be out all the time,” Hank said.

“I love it, but it’s not much fun alone. I’ll go to the marina and sit in the sun, but I don’t go out alone.”

Kyle put his arm around my shoulders. “You don’t have to go out alone. I’ll go with you anytime you want.”

Everyone at the table said they’d go whenever I wanted to.

“It seems like the fish quit biting here. Maybe we should go down to the dumping grounds,” Ted said.

I got a chart, spread it on the table, and asked Ted to show me what he was talking about. He pointed to the area on the chart, and I noted the coordinates. Lindy offered to clean up while I drove to the new location.

The guys and I went to the cockpit and took care of the fishing rods. While the guys finished stowing everything, I went to the flying bridge and started the engines. Once we were ready, I pulled the anchor and started down the shipping channel. Kyle stood behind me and asked about the chart plotter.

“Take these coordinates and enter them in.” I showed Kyle how to program the unit, and he entered the numbers. “Now push go-to, then all we have to do is follow the indicator.”

I stood up, stepped aside, and said, “You drive.”

Kyle took over and began steering the boat. After watching Kyle for a few minutes, I checked on my friends.

“No, I don’t think she does,” Lindy said as I walked into the salon. “Trish doesn’t let Kyle fool around.”

“How do you know?” I asked, startling Lindy.

“Oops, sorry.” Lindy blushed. “Kyle said you guys only made out when Steve asked him.”

I grinned. Part of me wanted to tell them we’d done more than kissing, even if it was only touching, but I didn’t. I was so happy Kyle didn’t divulge our activities and wasn’t about to spoil it.

“What does the shit-eating grin mean? Are you and Kyle getting it on or not?” Susie asked.

“I’ll never tell.”

“Why not? All of us are doing it with our boyfriends,” Susie said.

“I’m not!” Cindy said.

“You may not be fucking Hank, but I know you’re sucking his cock. We doubled, remember?”

“True, but I’m not bumping uglies like some people I know.”

Susie laughed. “Bumping uglies? My pussy isn’t ugly, and neither is Ted’s prick!”

I felt slightly left out as I listened to the girls taunt one another about their sex lives.

“How about you, Lindy? Have you given it up to Steve yet?” Cindy asked.

When Lindy nodded, I looked at her. She hadn’t told me she was having sex with Steve.

“What can I say? I got tired of being a virgin. I figured I was going to do it sometime. Why not with Steve?” Lindy said while grinning.

I felt the boat slow and ran out to see what was happening. When I got to the flying bridge, I glanced at the plotter and saw we were at our destination. I didn’t say a word to Kyle as he asked Ted where we should try first. Ted pointed at a buoy and said, “Over by the C marker.”

“What’s the C marker?” Steve asked.

“It’s a turn marker for sailboat races. At least that’s what my dad said,” Ted replied.

“That’s what I heard, too,” I said.

Kyle looked back at me and asked if I wanted to take over. I glanced around, noticed no other boats close, and shook my head.

The four guys talked for a moment, then decided where to stop. Kyle pulled back on the throttles and put the boat in neutral. I watched as he dropped the anchor. When Kyle looked at me and asked if he’d let out enough rode, I nodded and told Kyle the sequence for shutting down the boat.

We went down to the cockpit and began to fish. I called the other girls, and they came out and joined us. Over the next hour, we caught a few more fish. We talked about our summer and plans for the upcoming school year.

The weather was perfect. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and a gentle breeze kept it from being too hot in the sun. Cindy said she wanted to change out of her sweatpants and put on her bathing suit. When Lindy and Susie agreed, I decided to change too.

The four of us went into the cabin and down to the staterooms. We chatted as we all changed in the master stateroom. I went slowly, wanting to see how revealing the other girls’ suite would be.

Lindy was tall and thin with medium-sized breasts. When she put on her bikini, she looked great. Cindy was bigger than the rest of us. Her breasts sagged when she removed her bra, and her suit did little to cover them. When she put on the bottoms, you could see the cleft of her butt cheeks above the waistband.

Susie pulled out a tiny bikini and held it up. The two small triangles of thin material would have barely covered her nipples. The bottoms were also minuscule.

“Do you think I should wear my Wicked Weasel bikini?”

“Whatever blows your skirt up,” Cindy said.

Susie laughed, dropped the suit back into the bag, and pulled out a more modest one. Susie was built about like me but a bit taller. I decided to wear my bikini and pulled it out of my duffel bag.

As we changed, I noticed Cindy and Lindy trimmed their pubic hair as I did, and Susie was shaved bald. Once we all had our suits on, we put on shorts. After we put our clothes away, we went back to the cockpit. The guys whistled and made comments about how hot we looked.

I picked up my rod, baited my hooks, and lowered my line over the side. Kyle moved closer to me and grinned. Leaning close, he kissed my shoulder. “You look great, baby.”

My smile was so big I could feel the skin on my face tighten. Kyle bent his head down and kissed the back of my neck. I turned my head so he could reach my mouth, and we kissed deeply.

“Are you having fun, sweetie?”

“Yeah, thanks for letting me drive the boat. The guys were all jealous of me. You wearing your hot bikini makes it worse for them.”

“How about Cindy? She has bigger boobs than I do.” I glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention to Kyle and me.

Kyle shrugged his shoulders, then kissed my nose. “I’m not interested in her. I love you.”

“You’re too sweet, honey. I love you, too. How long do you think we should fish?” I felt a tug on my line and reeled in a perch as I finished saying it.

“When the fish stop biting.”

Cindy announced she was tired of fishing and wanted to lie in the sun. Susie agreed, and the two of them reeled in their lines. I asked Kyle to watch my rod and, once the two girls put their rods away, led them to the foredeck.

“My dad had this pad installed. You guys can sun here if you want to.”

“This is great,” Cindy said. “When are we going to go swimming and have lunch?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “When the guys are finished fishing, I guess.”

Susie grumbled and said fishing was boring. Cindy said she was having fun but wanted to do something other than fish.

“I’ll talk to Kyle and see what he wants to do.”

“Do you have to ask Kyle for permission?” Susie asked.

“No, of course not, but we talk things over. We respect one another’s feelings and ideas.”

Susie laughed and stretched out on the pad. She looked up at me, shading her eyes with her hand. “Ted respects my pussy. He does what I want him to if he wants to get any. You have to get with the program, Trish.”

Cindy shook her head. “Susie, you’re such a slut!”

“Like you don’t use sex to get Hank to do things for you. All girls do.”

“I do not,” Cindy said.

“Don’t give me your bullshit! You know damn well you do. I’ll bet you promise to give him head if he doesn’t want to do something you want to do, and he does it.” Susie rolled onto her stomach and propped her chin in her hands. “I know Ted will.”

Cindy and Susie continued to talk about how they used their bodies and sex to get what they wanted from their boyfriends. I left them on the foredeck and returned to the cockpit to fish.

Kyle moved closer to Steve and the other two guys. The four of them were talking about fishing for Muskies. I picked up my fishing rod and stood next to Lindy.

“Lindy, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what do you want to know?” Lindy replied.

“Do you ever use sex to get Steve to do what you want?” I kept my voice low so the guys couldn’t hear me.

Lindy glanced at the guys, then back at me. “No more than he does.” She chuckled and grinned. “We both like it too much. I like sex as much as Steve does.”

I stared into the water and thought about what she had said. “Cindy and Susie seem to use sex to get what they want from Ted and Hank.”

“Maybe it’s all they have in common. When I started dating Steve, I wouldn’t let him do anything more than play with my tits. We did more after a few weeks, but not until I was sure he would stay around. It’s too easy to get a reputation.”

“How long did you guys go together before letting him do anything?”

Lindy grinned. “A long time, over two months.”

Two months didn’t seem like a long time. Kyle and I had been dating for almost three months, and I just started letting him touch my boobs.

“How was it the first time you did it?”

Lindy glanced at the guys again. “Not so great because it was in the back seat, and neither knew what we were doing. It only lasted a few minutes when we finally figured it out.”

“Did it hurt?”

Lindy nodded. “Yeah, it pinched a little. It was like getting a shot at the doctor’s.” She smiled at me. “Are you thinking about it?”

I laughed and shrugged my shoulders. “I’ve been thinking about it, but I thought about it before meeting Kyle.” Lindy joined my laughter and nodded her head.

Steve asked what was so funny. Lindy told him it was girl talk.

“One thing I know for sure is after I finally did have sex, I liked it. Steve is getting very good at it.”

“Are you sorry you did it?”

“No, I’m sorry I waited so long. It seemed like a big deal for a long time, but after the first time, I found it wasn’t, not to me anyway. Unlike Cindy and Susie, I don’t go around broadcasting what we do, but I love it between you and me.” She grinned. “All of it!

“I never got to apologize for the time we doubled, and Steve and I got all hot and heavy in the backseat, Trish. Sometimes I get carried away.”

I smiled at Lindy and shrugged my shoulders.

“Once we started making love, I quit thinking about everything and let myself go. I used to think about everything we did together, but it kept me from enjoying it,” Lindy said.

Lindy caught a small fish. After removing the hook, she tossed it back into the water, put a fresh minnow on her hook, and lowered the line into the lake again.

“How about you and Kyle? Have you let him do anything yet? I asked Steve what he knew, but he said Kyle never talks about what you guys do, not sex anyway.”

“Kyle and I are doing okay. I love it when he feels me up and plays with my boobs.”

“I’ll bet he likes it too.” I nodded. “Has he ever pulled the old ‘blue balls’ trick on you?”

“What are blue balls?”

“I guess he hasn’t. Steve never tried it, but a couple of guys I went out with said they’d get something called blue balls if they didn’t get to come. They told me it was dangerous for a guy and could cause damage.”

“Did it work?”

“Yeah, I was dumb! I gave a few guys a hand job before I found out it was a bunch of bullshit.”

“How old were you?”

“I don’t remember, sixteen or seventeen, I guess.”

“Hey, Trish, it looks like the fish are finished. Want to try another place or do something else?” Kyle asked.

“Whatever you want, baby.”

The guys reeled in their lines, put their rods in the rod locker, then Steve and Kyle stowed Lindy’s and mine. When Kyle said they were ready, I asked him to start the boat.

Kyle came over to me and said, “Are you sure?”

“Do you remember how to do it?”

“I think so. Run the blowers, start the engines, then pull the anchor when the temperature and oil pressure are up where they belong.”

“You’ve been paying attention. That’s it.”

Kyle grinned and went up to the flying bridge. He went through the sequence, looked down into the cockpit, and told me he was ready. I joined him on the bridge and gave him a hug.

“Good job, sweetie. I could teach you how to dock and stuff if you want me to.”

“I’d love it, baby. I like going out on the boat.”

I smiled and tipped my head up so he could kiss me. “Aren’t you getting hot in those jeans?”

“Yeah, maybe I’ll change into my shorts or trunks.”

“Well, go change if you want to. I’ll wait for you. I think I’ll get a soda.”

Kyle chuckled. “Aren’t you going to help me change?”

I was a bit startled by his comment. It wasn’t something he’d usually say. I was also tempted to call his bluff if it was one. “No, I think you can do it yourself.” I chuckled and smacked his bottom. “Go change.”

Kyle and I went down into the cockpit. He went into the cabin after telling the other guys he was going to put on his trunks, then we’d leave. Ted and Hank followed him, but Steve stayed in the cockpit with Lindy. I took a diet soda out of the refrigerator and pulled the tab.

“There’s plenty of soda and stuff to drink,” I said. “Help yourselves.”

Lindy asked Steve to get her a soda. Steve returned with two drinks, one for him and a can for Lindy. We went up to the flying bridge when Kyle returned and prepared to leave. I yelled down to Cindy and Susie, telling them we were going. They got up and walked back to the cockpit.

“Where to?” Kyle asked as he stepped behind the wheel.

“I don’t know. Do you want to go to Fisher Bay or go for a boat ride first?”

“I’d like to go for a ride. I like driving the boat.”

“Okay, let’s run up the Middle Channel and see what’s happening at Gull Island. Maybe we can picnic there if it’s not too crowded.”

Kyle pulled the anchor, and we headed up the shipping channel. When we came upon a freighter, I told him how to go around it. We noticed how it dwarfed our boat as we passed the ship.

Ted, Hank, Susie, and Cindy came up to the bridge and sat on the bench seats. When I asked about Lindy and Steve, Susie said Lindy was helping Steve change into his suit.

“I am not,” Lindy said as she stepped onto the bridge.

A few minutes later, Steve joined us. We all chatted about the morning and fishing as Kyle kept the boat centered in the channel. I had told him how to program the chart plotter before we left the Dumping Grounds and set the waypoint for Gull Island.

“Where are we going?” Ted asked.

“Kyle wanted to go for a boat ride and check out Gull Island to see if there’s room for us to anchor and have lunch,” I said.

Kyle laughed. “If I’d known we were going to Gull, I would have brought some beads.”

I groaned and smacked him on the arm as Kyle laughed out loud. Steve asked what Kyle was talking about, so he told the group about his first trip to the island. The guys all hooted and hollered while the girls giggled.

Turning to Kyle, I grinned. “That’s okay, sweetie. I’ll get you some beads.”

Kyle’s head snapped toward me. “You started it!” I said.

Susie laughed, pulled her top above her breasts, and shook her shoulders. “Is this how you get beads?”

We all laughed as she pulled the top back over her breasts and sat down.

“That’s all it takes,” I said. “Dad told me some guys took off from work and started what’s known as the ‘Jobbie Nooner.’ Over the years, it’s grown into a huge party. It’s on the last Friday in June every summer. According to Dad, the girls flashed their boobs, but soon it became like Mardi Gras. The guys started using beads to get the girls to flash their tits. Now it seems like it doesn’t matter if it’s the Jobbie Nooner day or not.”

“Sounds like fun to me,” Susie said.

Ted looked at her. “You like flashing your boobs.”

“Yeah, and you like looking at them.”

Everyone was laughing and making jokes. When Cindy dared Susie to go topless, she pulled her top off and sat down like it was the most natural thing in the world. Sitting with her breasts exposed to the group, Susie taunted Cindy until she was also topless.

Lindy and I didn’t join in, even though Susie and Cindy tried to talk us into it. Kyle kept glancing at the two topless girls, and I pinched him. Cindy and Susie put their tops back on and continued to call Lindy and me chicken.

When we neared the island, I noticed there weren’t as many boats as I’d seen there at other times. It was still early for the partiers to arrive, but I knew more people would arrive later in the afternoon.

The water around the island has several sandbars and deep areas. Even though the Viking’s draft was close to five feet, if you found the right place, you could back in and only have a few feet to swim until you were in knee-deep water. I maneuvered the boat into a position where I could anchor with the stern near a sandbar.

Once I was in position, I dropped the anchor and backed up. I used the winless to adjust the anchor scope and put the boat where I wanted it. When I was where I wanted to be, I waited a few minutes to be sure it wouldn’t move into shallow water and hit the props in the sand.

I shut down the engines and turned on the stereo. Lindy went below and returned with a stack of CDs she wanted to listen to. Once the CDs were loaded into the player, she sat beside Steve.

We sat on the bridge for a while, watching what was happening. Several boats anchored near us, and a couple of them looked deserted.

“It looks like no one is on some of the boats,” Cindy said as she pointed to a twenty-four-foot express cruiser.

“They might be down below. Sometimes people come out here and spend the night,” I told her.

We decided to take a swim and went down to the cockpit. I opened the transom door, lowered the swim ladder, and we climbed into the water.

The guys headed for deeper water, swimming toward the bow while I stood on the sandbar with the girls. When the guy returned, they said they would explore the small island. A few feet from the stern of the boat, the water was only a foot deep. On the other side of the sandbar, it dropped off to about four feet before rising again. Beyond was the shore of the island.