Daniel Morgan stood on the docks next to Aiden, watching John help Zoë and Mackenzie climb into his grandfather’s speedboat. The moon was full above them, but Daniel could see dark clouds moving in, blotting out the stars. The wind across the bay was growing stronger, but John and the girls seemed oblivious.
“John,” Daniel said, “I don’t think we should be doing this.”
“Of course we should!” John assured him with a boisterous laugh. “Grandpa left me the keys for a reason.” He held out the boat keys jingling against the purple rabbit-foot key chain.
Even though Daniel was five years younger than John, he was taller than him by almost two inches, and he stared into John’s bleary hazel eyes with unease.
“You’re drunk, John,” Daniel told him. “You shouldn’t be driving.”
“I’m not drunk,” John insisted, but he swayed as he spoke. “You’re sober.” He laughed, then glanced back at the boat to see if the girls enjoyed his joke as much as he did.
“That’s my point.” Daniel turned to Aiden. “Aiden, help me out here.”
Aiden shrugged and smirked. “If John says he’s good to go, he’s good to go.”
“Oh, come on.” Daniel lowered his voice so John would be less likely to hear and protest the truth. “You saw him take, like, three shots right before we left the party.”
“It’s a boat. It’s not like he can run over somebody,” Aiden said. “You’ll be fine.”
Daniel wanted to yell at him. Aiden was supposed to be John’s best friend, and he was way more sober than John. He should’ve been helping Daniel out, but instead he had a bemused smirk plastered on his face as he watched the scene unfold.
Zoë slapped the side of the boat, trying to get their attention. The moonlight made the diamond clips in her short blond hair shimmer, and her dazzling smile had begun to look annoyed.
“Are we going or not?” she shouted.
“In a second! Keep your panties on!” John laughed again, then turned his attention back to Daniel. He put his hand on his shoulder and leaned in, like he was about to whisper words of wisdom to his brother. “These girls are ready to party. I’m going out there, showing them a good time.” Then he looked over at Aiden. “Are you guys with me?”
Aiden shook his head. “I’m gonna pass. I’m freezing my nuts off already.” He had his arms folded across his chest in an attempt to fight the cold.
“You drove us out here, but you’re not coming with?” Daniel asked in disbelief.
They’d been at a party when John had gotten the great idea that they should go out boating, and while Zoë had been the only one actively encouraging this idea, Aiden seemed to go along with it because he thought it was funny. So he’d offered to drive them all out to the docks, and the five of them had crammed into his sports car.
Now, in the cold darkness of the bay, Aiden apparently realized that the joke wasn’t actually funny enough for him to follow through with it. Unfortunately, it was too late, and now Daniel was stuck out here.
“Nah.” Aiden shook his head. “I think I’m gonna go back to the party and see if I can get warm with the hot Puerto Rican girl.”
“What about you, Danny Boy? Are you wussing out on me?” John asked.
Daniel groaned at his brother’s pet name for him. “Yeah, I’m in.”
“Whoo!” Zoë cheered. “Let’s get this started!”
“Have fun, bro,” Aiden told John, who jumped gleefully into the boat, making Zoë laugh.
“How are we gonna get home?” Daniel asked as Aiden started walking back to his car.
Aiden shrugged. “Call a cab.”
“Come on!” John yelled. “Let’s go!”
Sighing, Daniel climbed into the boat. He didn’t really want to go, but Aiden had a point. They were going out on the water, so they probably couldn’t get into any real trouble. Besides, if he went with John, he would be there to handle things if they got out of control. And if everything went fine, then maybe Daniel could even have a little fun.
When John started the boat, Daniel offered to drive so that John could have some alone time with Zoë, but John immediately dismissed him. Even though Zoë was sitting shotgun, Daniel made sure to stay up by John until they made it out of the close quarters of the docks. Miraculously, John managed to get out to the open water of Anthemusa Bay without crashing into other boats.
As soon as he could, John kicked the boat into high speed, making Zoë squeal with delight. Since John had handled the docks okay, Daniel relaxed a bit and went to sit down in the backseat next to Mackenzie.
The wind whipped over them, blowing Mackenzie’s auburn hair out behind her. She stared straight ahead, and when Daniel glanced over at her, he couldn’t tell if she was enjoying the ride or not.
Before tonight, he’d never even met her, and he’d only spoken a few words to her at the party before they left. He was here because of John, and she was here because of her friend Zoë. They had that much in common, at least.
The boat lurched to the side, and Daniel slid across the bench into her.
“Sorry,” he said and tried to scoot away.
“It’s okay.” She smiled demurely at him, and then neither of them said anything for a few minutes. “It’s cold back here.”
Mackenzie was wearing a light jacket, but it was freezing out on the boat. Daniel looked over at her and noticed her shivering a little.
“Here.” He pulled his hooded sweatshirt up over his head and held it out to her. “You can use my hoodie.”
“Won’t you get cold?” Mackenzie asked, looking at his T-shirt.
“I’ll be fine,” he insisted.
“Thank you.” She put on his sweatshirt, then settled in the seat next to him. “So, you’re John’s little brother?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“You look alike,” Mackenzie commented. “He’s, like, a shorter, stockier version of you.”
Daniel and John shared the same unkempt dirty blond hair and the same hazel eyes. Daniel was muscular, but he was leaner than his brother. John was broad-shouldered and bordering on husky. They were both quick to laugh, although John may have been a little bit quicker.
“It’s funny, because you’re taller than him,” she said.
Mackenzie brushed a hair out of her eyes, and Daniel realized that she was rather beautiful. Something about that simple gesture—the way her slender fingers brushed up against the pale skin of her forehead—disarmed him, and it took him a second to answer her question.
“I had a growth spurt last year,” Daniel said. “And now I’m six-foot.”
“How old are you?” Mackenzie asked.
“Fifteen.”
She narrowed her eyes, almost as if she didn’t believe it. “I thought you were older than that. I think it’s because you have mature eyes.”
“Thanks. I think.” He smiled. “How old are you?”
“Eighteen,” Mackenzie said proudly. “I’m a senior.”
“Cool,” Daniel said and did his best to look equally proud. “I’m a freshman.”
“You’re cute,” Mackenzie said with a hint of sadness in her voice. “But it would never work out between us. I don’t date younger guys.”
“Neither do I,” Daniel replied.
She raised her eyebrow. “So you only date older girls?”
“No, I just don’t date younger guys,” he quipped.
Mackenzie smiled but didn’t laugh. “Funny.”
“Have you been friends with Zoë for a long time?” Daniel asked.
“Since grade school.”
He looked ahead to where Zoë and John were talking and laughing. “So does it ever get easier?”
“What?” Mackenzie asked.
“Being the sober one.” Daniel looked back at her.
“Well, I’m not completely sober, but . . .” She sighed and considered it. “I don’t know if it gets easier. Most of the time it’s fun, but sometimes I do get sick of being the reasonable one while everybody else has fun.”
They’d gone farther out in the bay, almost to the point where it became the ocean. Daniel was about to suggest that John turn around, but John made the same decision himself and turned the boat back. They’d been zooming past Bernie’s Island, and John began driving in fast circles around it.
Bernie’s Island was a small island, just big enough for a cabin, a boathouse, and lots of trees. The only inhabitant was an old British man named Bernie McAllister, and while he’d become a bit of a hermit in his later years, everyone in town knew of him because of his island.
“Whooo!” Zoë yelled, holding her arms high above her head as John whipped around the island.
“Zoë!” Mackenzie shouted, her eyes fixed on the bald cypress trees that extended beyond the edges of the island. “Quiet down. You’re gonna wake up Mr. McAllister.”
“Who cares? He should wake up and enjoy this glorious night!” Zoë smiled radiantly back at her best friend. “You need to live a little, Mackenzie!”
“Yeah, whoooo!” John joined in and did a fist pump, but he steered away from the island, going back toward the mainland.
“Maybe they’re right,” Daniel said.
“You think we should wake up an old man?” Mackenzie asked in surprise.
He laughed. “No. Maybe we should loosen up. Have some fun.”
“Wanna do a shot?” Mackenzie asked and pointed to the oversized purse sitting on the bottom of the boat. “I think Zoë has a bottle of vodka in her purse.”
Daniel shook his head, smiling mischievously. “I meant, why don’t we break some rules?”
Mackenzie appeared intrigued. “Like what?”
“Like your rule about not dating younger guys.”
“I don’t know,” she said with faux-seriousness. “That’s a pretty big rule.”
“Well, maybe we could start simple,” Daniel suggested. “With just kissing younger guys.”
Mackenzie pretended to think about it, but when he leaned in toward her, she didn’t move away.
Then the boat suddenly jerked to the side, nearly tipping so it was completely vertical. Daniel grabbed onto the boat with one hand and Mackenzie with the other to keep her from going overboard.
“Shit, John!” Daniel shouted once John had righted the boat. Somehow, both John and Zoë had managed to stay aboard, and Daniel made his way up front, meaning to talk some sense into his brother. “Slow down! You’re gonna flip the boat.”
“Everything’s fine, Daniel.” John brushed him off. “Go sit back down.”
“Why don’t you and Zoë sit down for a while?” Daniel asked. “I’ll steer, and me and Mackenzie can sit up here.”
“I got it,” John snapped. “Stop acting like Mom. I’m fine.”
“Yeah, Danny Boy.” Zoë giggled and swayed with the waves. “We got this.”
“Zoë, come back and sit with me before you fall over,” Mackenzie said.
When boat lurched again, Zoë really did almost fall over, and Daniel grabbed the waistband of her jeans just in time to keep her from going over. Mackenzie put her arm around her friend’s waist and led her to the back, where she could hold on to her.
“Great,” John muttered after Zoë had gone back. “Now you scared the girl away.”
“Look, now you can go back and sit with her and put the moves on her.” Daniel was hovering over John, practically talking in his ear. “Wasn’t that your reason for taking the boat? She’s good to go, John.”
“Yeah, well, I would’ve, but you ruined it.” John glared up at him. “I’m not gonna let her think that I’m letting my kid brother boss me around.”
“She doesn’t even—” Daniel was in the middle of arguing with his brother when he glanced out to the open water in front of them as the boat’s light flashed on something.
A girl swam right in front of them, her head and shoulders above the water. Her eyes were wide in surprise, and they were about to hit her.