Unknown Waters

Music mixed with the sound of the waves crashing against the side of the boat as it raced through the waters of the ocean. Laughter lingered in the air while several teenagers grabbed another can of beer out of a cooler.

Col Pierce stood behind the wheel of his father’s boat navigating the choppy waters until they had reached a destination suitable to anchor in. The boat itself was large, one of the biggest fishing boats owned in their harbor, and from where he was sitting he could see every person on the bow of the boat holding onto the rail as they went. Glancing down at the radar on the dash he easily turned the wheel to steer, following the line he was supposed to, until coming around a cove where they could float peacefully. He pressed a few buttons, pulled a few levers, and took the sunglasses off the top of his head before charging back up the stairs where his friends were waiting.

Mingling with the group that was on the bow of the boat he let the warmth of the sun spread along his naked torso. A smile tugged at his pink lips when a blonde girl approached him, bikini barely covering what she was trying to hide, and he slung his arm around her shoulders.

“Enjoying the party Amber?” She took a long drink from her cup and nodded.

“You always know how to make a girl have fun.” Her blue eyes were hidden behind her own pair of sunglasses but he could hear the innuendo in her statement. Removing his arm he carefully let his fingers glide across the back of her neck before stepping away from the five people. That was his give to most girls. A gentle touch on their neck.

Walking toward the stern he was already picturing the positions he would have Amber in before the afternoon was over, the small bedroom beckoning him to take her for the third time on that bed. His brown eyes fell on a brunette curled on a small bench with a book resting against her thighs. A sundress covered whatever suit she had decided to wear that day, most likely a pair of board shorts and bikini top, and her toes were wiggling in the sun. Not very many people ventured toward the stern because it was smaller, making it obviously more cramped, which gave his best friend the opportunity to sneak away from the crowd.

“You know, I ask you to come with me on these small trips to actually hang out with me.” Col dropped himself down on a crate that was next to the bench. Snatching the book off her legs he skimmed the pages and let out a groan. “The Little Mermaid? Again?”

“Shut up Col,” the girl snarled. She ripped the book out of his fingers and returned to her previous position.

“Come up front Ames,” he nudged her knee playfully. When she didn’t respond he sighed. “Why do you even bother coming then?”

“Because you ask me to.” She turned the page in her book slowly. “And because it’s a chance to get out of the house.” Finally her hazel eyes lifted from the words and looked at the boy. His shoulders were slack as he leaned forward on his knees and his hair was sticking up in several places. “You know I’m not a party girl Col.”

“I know, I know. I’m just hoping one of these days you’ll actually get into the water with the rest of us.”

“You mean the rest of them while you have your way with Amber?” Her eyes lit up when she saw his neck turn red. “I know of your adventures down there, she only blabs about it every day of her life.”

“When you’re good,” he motioned to himself, “you’re good.”

“Oh brother,” she huffed.

“Just try to enjoy yourself Amelia.”

“I do enjoy myself Col. I wouldn’t bother jumping into the boat if I didn’t.” She smiled at him. “Now go release your testosterone on that poor girl before it engulfs us all.”

“It’s not that bad,” he denied. He dug his fingers into the bun on the top of her head and moved them around causing her to squeal.

“Stop it!” She slapped at his hand until he finally let go with a laugh. “Jerk.”

“You love me!”


Amelia Brighton positively hated coming out on the boat. Constantly fighting the urge to throw up everything she had eaten for breakfast she did her best to keep still. Whether it was reading on the stern, laying down in the sun, or popping in her earphones to drown whatever hip-hop was blasting from the speakers, she found a way to grind through it.

Col was her best friend, has been since she could remember, and even though she loved the ocean about as much as she loved the dirt under her nails, she put up with the noise and the scene for him. He had always been there for her in her awkward phases throughout their high school careers. Standing up for her, fighting for her, she felt as if she owed it to him to at least attempt to be social.

Glancing out at the ocean she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth nervously. She didn’t have the heart to admit she could hardly swim, let alone float, in the middle of the giant body of water. The only time she ever let her feet get wet was on the beach where she could stand against the tide.

A shaky breath left her lungs and she once again buried herself in the story of Atlantica. Mermaids and mermen swimming around on the ocean floor dreaming about the surface world. As silly as it was, she loved it. Imagining the beauty of the creatures as they moved with the water effortlessly kept her mind swirling with different pictures constantly.

“Hey Amelia.” Her head shot up at the foreign voice, the panic rising in her chest softening when she recognized the person.

“Hi Hunter.” Shutting the book she tucked it between her and the wall of the boat, her legs swinging so they could rest over the side of the bench.

“What were you reading?” He gestured toward the hidden book and she waved it off carelessly.

“Just some nonsense.” She looked up at him. “What brings you back to the stern?”

“Col may or may not have asked me to come get you after a while if you didn’t venture toward the front. Wants you to enjoy the day.” Amelia liked Hunter. He was a fairly good student, played soccer, didn’t mess around with too many girls, and was pretty easy on the eyes. Tan skin, blonde hair, green eyes, defined abdomen, he was a picture perfect surfer boy.

“I am just fine where I am, enjoying my day,” she leaned back.

“Well I’m not.” Hunter shoved his hands into his pockets. “You see there’s this girl that I want to dance with but she’s been isolated on the back of the boat this whole time. I’ve waited and waited for her to make an appearance but it turns out, she’d rather get lost in the pages of a book than hang out with us up on the bow.”

“That’s not entirely true,” Amelia argued lightly. A grin fell on his face. “Alright, it’s mostly true. But I promise it’s not you guys in general. I’m not a big alcohol fan.”

“Nobody is asking you to have a drink or get sloshed. I just want to dance,” Hunter offered his hand, “with you.”

Contemplating her options, Amelia placed her hand in his and let the boy pull her to her feet. To her surprise, rather than letting her hand drop he laced their fingers together and lead them to the bow where the others were waiting. With Amber and Col below deck doing who knows what, that left Hunter, Amelia, and four other people scattered around. Two were off on the port side in their own conversation while the others were swaying their hips to the beat of the song.

Hunter put his hands on Amelia’s waist, the heat from his body easily melting into hers. Unsure of what to do with her own arms she finally brought them up to his shoulders. They moved around together for the next few songs, Hunter saying meaningless things to make her smirk, and for once she felt at ease.

“See, this wasn’t so bad,” Hunter teased as they stood near the starboard side of the boat. Amelia could feel the slight burn on her skin from the yellow star in the sky on her shoulders, her smile causing her eyes to glisten.

“For once you were right.” They both turned to face the water with their hands on the railing. Amelia looked straight down into the deep blue wondering what kind of monstrous fish would be lurking about. So caught up in her thoughts she didn’t pay attention to the approaching footsteps or lack of laughter.

“You look a little hot there Ames,” one of the other boys from the group said coyly. Instantly her body tensed up, eyes wide when his hands grabbed onto her shoulders. “Maybe you should cool off with a swim!”

“No!” She shoved against him and fell into Hunter.

“Come on Amelia, have a little fun.” Hunter’s grip on her suddenly tightened and she struggled against him.

“Let me go!” The other boy, Scott, went for her feet but she kicked out at him, connecting with the side of his face. “Col! Col!” The two girls on the other side of the boat were just smiling in their direction, cups on their lips as they watched the spectacle before them. “Please guys, don’t do this!”

Scott wrapped his fingers around her ankles and together, he and Hunter lifted her into the air. “On three.”

“Put me down!” Amelia thrashed in their hold but it was useless.

“One.”
“Two.”

“What the hell are you doing?” Col appeared at the top of the stairs just as Amelia was tossed over the railing. He watched as his best friend kicked at the water until she was fully submerged, her splash rippling against the side of the boat. Anger boiled inside of the boy. “What the fuck was that?!” He shoved Hunter and Scott with either arm.

“We were just trying to get her to loosen up,” Scott defended.

“Yeah bro,” Hunter agreed with a nod.

Col leaned over the metal bar hoping to see some sign of his friend coming to the surface. But after a few solid seconds of nothing but the lap of the waves, fear set into his system. “She’s can’t swim. Oh my God, she can’t fucking swim!”