That Summer

14. It's Time

14. It’s Time

“Hell no,” I say as soon as we pull up to the dock. There’s a big sign that reads Parasailing! Only $39! I never ever thought going parasailing was a good idea for me, especially since you’re in the air over water, which has sharks.

No.

“Nell, don’t be such a wimp,” Gage complains. He walks up to the booth and pays for the five of us, making sure we know that we’ll be paying him back. He grabs five lifejackets and motions for us to follow him down to the boat ramp.

“I’m not doing this,” I demand firmly. I latch on to Sebastian’s arm, but he starts pulling me down towards the boat.

The driver of the boat and instructor make everyone sit down and give us a lesson on what’s going to be going on. I’m too petrified to even remotely pay attention.

“Who’s going first?” the instructor asks, clapping his hands together. I think his name is Dan or something.

“Nose goes!” Anna shouts. Automatically, Gage, Sebastian, and Anna stick their fingers to their noses. I sigh and tighten my lifejacket to where I’m practically suffocating.

“I guess that leaves Nell and Max,” Sebastian announces. Anna smirks at me. I hesitantly step onto the edge of the boat. Max jumps off, splashing me with saltwater, and swims out to the place where we’ll be sitting.

I can do this. All I have to do is swim the ten or so feet to the parasail. That’s it. I can do this.

“I can’t do this,” I say, my breathing picking up.

“Nell, come on. It’s not that bad. Be brave,” Sebastian says. He comes up behind me and places his arm around my shoulders.

“I can’t,” I say. I look up to him and find him staring at Max.

“Nell, come on,” Max shouts from where he’s sitting.

“Just jump, Nelly,” Sebastian encourages. I take a deep breath, and before I can psych myself out even more, I jump. I swim hurriedly to the parasail.

Max offers his hand to me and pulls me up. He straps us both in, and suddenly, I’m petrified with fear. There are sharks in this water. I overheard some fisherman saying that he’d caught a nine-foot bull shark this morning, a.k.a the most aggressive shark on the planet.

“Nell, hey, calm down,” Max murmurs, pushing himself closer to me. He grabs my hand. “You’re hyperventilating. Just breathe.”

He’s doing something with his other hand, and suddenly, the boat takes off, and we’re getting pulled in the air.

Once we’re out of the water, my breathing starts to become regular again.

“You okay?” Max asks softly.

I can’t hear anything but his voice. There’s no wind rippling by, and I can’t even hear the boat motor. It’s just us.

I nod and tuck a stray strand of hair behind my hair. “Thank you,” I practically whisper.

“For what?” he asks.

“For trying to calm me down. I know you hate me, but I really appreciate it.”

He gives me a weird look. “Penelope, I don’t hate you. I’ve never hated you.”

I wave him off. “Yeah, well, don’t like me. Whatever.”

“Did I ever say that?”

“No.”

“Okay, then it’s not true.”