Edge of the Water

Popcorn in hand, Zoey plopped onto the comfort that was her bed. Her blue flannel pajama pants rubbed against her legs. Even though it was too warm for them, they reminded her of home and she couldn’t bring herself to wear anything else on her and Belle’s girl nights.

To her left, Belle was sitting upright in her bed, popping bits of unbuttered popcorn into her mouth. She had changed out of Jon’s clothes shortly after she arrived back at their room.

Zoey hadn’t seen her in the boy’s clothes, so Belle thought she was off the hook, but Zoey had seen the sweatshirt bundled up in Belle’s hamper. She wasn’t snooping, but she had an eye for catching unusual things, and a Blackhawks hoodie with Toews written on the back of it was unusual.

The only reason Zoey hadn’t said something about the clothes was because Belle was clearly on edge. Zoey was certain that it was about whatever had caused Belle to come back in Jon’s clothes, but she was too nervous to ask what. Even after their years of friendship, Zoey hadn’t found all of Belle’s hot buttons and was too afraid she might press one.

As Belle tossed another healthy piece of popcorn into her mouth, Zoey licked the butter from her fingers, then wiped them across her blanket. Belle rolled her eyes at Zoey, before laughing loudly. The girls were similar, but different in so many ways.

Mean Girls was nearly over, and Belle was usually asleep by the time Regina George got hit by a bus, but tonight that was not the case. Zoey assumed that Belle’s nerves were keeping her awake, but she couldn’t be sure.

When the credits for Mean Girls began rolling, Belle popped in her copy of Mulan and Zoey was quickly singing along with the main character. For reasons she didn’t understand, her voice calmed Belle down and she was asleep before the princess had a chance to enlist in the military.

Zoey took Belle’s gentle snoring as her cue to turn off the television and step out of the room. She had stayed inside all day and was dying to get a breath of the fresh ocean air.

It was just past midnight, so the deck’s bars would be filled with people, but the front of the ship would be nearly empty. It was the best time to be on the deck; she and Belle had learned that their first week on the ship.

Still wearing her old pajamas, Zoey made her way through the hallways and to the front of the deck. She passed the kitchen, which was slowly dying down as some of the employees finished washing up the last of the dishes. The ship still refused to buy a mechanical dishwasher, and all the dishes were done by hand.

The moment Zoey stepped out of one of the ship’s swinging doors the cool breeze hit her face and sent chills through her body. She paused for a moment and took a deep breath. The smell of the salt in the air tickled her nose.

Sliding her feet across the hardwood, Zoey made her way to the farthest end of the ship. She climbed the few steps to one of the larger platforms and gripped her hands onto the metal railing. Her gaze was locked on the moon in the distance. It was only a quarter lit, and Zoey could just barely make out the dark side of the moon.

“Nice pants.”

Zoey whipped around, her hair flying as she turned. Behind her, Patrick Kane stood with a large smile on his face and his hands stuffed into his pockets. His light hair lit up with the moon; the light covering the entire surface.

Placing her hand on her chest, she breathed in deeply. “You startled me!”

“Sorry,” Patrick said, laughing. “I was at the bar and I saw you come over here, so I thought I’d say hello.”

“Hello.” Zoey smiled.

Patrick took a step closer, shuffling his feet as he moved. His hands gripped onto the railing, the same way Zoey’s had just minutes before. They took in a deep breath together, opening their mouths to speak at the same time.

Biting her lip, Zoey motioned for Patrick to speak first. He took in another deep breath before speaking.

“About the other night.” Patrick pulled his hands from the railing and turned, leaning his back against the cool metal. “I didn’t mean –” He took a deep breath. “When I left your room, I didn’t do it to make you mad or leave you hanging or anything like that. You were drunk and you were cute and everything about you made me want to stay. But I couldn’t. I had to leave before anything happened.”

When Patrick stopped speaking, Zoey let out a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding. He turned to her, as if waiting for a response, but she didn’t know what to say.

After a few moments, Zoey tilted her head to the side, giving him a small smirk. “You think I’m cute?”

Throwing his hands to his sides, Patrick laughed. “Out of all of that, that’s what you picked up?”

Nodding her head, Zoey pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Patrick laughed again and rolled his eyes jokingly.

“Will you have a drink with me?”

“Dressed like this?” Zoey held out her arms, showing off her less than appropriate outfit. Her old pajama bottoms had lost most of their color, and her purple top had a V-neck that was almost too low.

“I think you look great.”

Taking a step closer, Patrick reached his hand out to her. She paused, biting her lip. When he wiggled his fingers, she grabbed them and he pulled her to his side. He placed his arm over her shoulder and kept her close to him until they reached the bar.

“We’ll have iced teas,” he smiled at Tito, before turning to Zoey, a large smirk on his face. “No alcohol.”

Tito nodded knowingly, his large, charming grin plastered on his face. He returned with their drinks just seconds later, and handed one to each of them.

Zoey held her glass cup in the air, knocking it against Patrick’s. “Cheers.”