Whatever Floats your Boat

Chapter Eighteen

Copyright © Georgie E. - Fruitea on Wattpad  

Chapter 18

The phone rang twice before it went to voicemail. There was no denying it; he was ignoring me.

"Douglas, you better not be on that phone again!"

I sighed, slipping my phone into the pocket of my coat before Coach came up to me. I smiled, looking up when he finally came between me and the sky, casting a shadow across my face and allowing a break from the squinting.

"I was just taking in the view, Coach," I said with a sugary-sweet smile. "Great aesthetics."

Coach rolled his eyes. "Just be ready to get in the water," he spat. "Honest to high heaven, Sirena has more go in her than you do lately." I looked over to Sirena who was at this moment gasping at something on her screen before her fingers flew over the touch-screen keypad. "This has nothing to do with that Windermere boy, does it?"

I scoffed; "You know about it too?"

"Of course I do." Coach's chest buffed out. "Boys gossip more than girls do, you know?" I rolled my eyes. "I don't like it that you're dating the competition."

"And I don't care," I snapped. Kendal was very much a touchy subject at the moment.

Coach looked over at the boys, seeing that they were fine with shoving each other whilst Jacey, one of the obstacle sailors made the boat move in serpentine along the water. Jacey wasn't the best but at least he didn't make me green round the gills like Harley did.

With a sigh Coach sat next to me, planting his elbows on his knees. "Why don't you get back with Beck?" I opened my mouth to protest, was he out of his mind? Coach raised his hand to shut me up and with a tight jaw I smacked my back against the railing. "You had drive when you were with Beck, I can only see that this boy is trying to make you lose in the Waters Race."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"The thought hasn't even crossed your mind?"

I opened my mouth to protest but something stopped me. The secret he wants to keep to himself... He could hardly be that pathetic to date me with the motive to win the races, right? But what had all that been about keeping secrets until it was irrelevant? Was he waiting until after the races to tell me why he wanted to help?

Coach smiled and patted me on the shoulder. "Break it off sooner rather than later; you can dedicate yourself to the water then." He stood up and marched off to break Ben and Smithy up from the play fighting that was getting out of hand.

I stood up, shedding myself the parker wrapped around me, and went over to the front of the boat. It was weird being on Beck's boat again. Not because it was the place everything went wrong, I'd been on it numerous times since that day, but because it was the first time I had been with the time since the groping in the corridor. To see them here; laughing, joking, trying to make conversation with me, it was all too surreal.

It didn't take long for Beck and Harley to come over, flanking either side of me. "Hey Baby, long time no see."

"I wonder why?" I said flatly as I found interest in the way the water foam attacked the paintwork of the boat. I had thought this every time I'd stepped onto this boat but The Little Pizzi really needed a spruce up.

"I don't know, I thought a girl would be calling my name in seconds after the show I gave you."

"You mean; the show you gave your friends." I sent Beck a glare. He shrugged it off. "Honestly, the only thing a girl would be calling after that show is the police."