I let go of the railing, hanging in the air for what seemed like an eternity, and plunged into the icy water. The ocean shocked every bone in my body. It felt like all my limbs were on fire and I could barely breathe.
I felt chills up and down my spine and I wasn’t sure if I was still alive. I silently counted to ten and opened my eyes.
“Are you okay?” Matt smiled.
“Yes,” I realized I was still holding his hand and let go. “I’m okay.”
That was amazing…
“Wakes you the hell up doesn’t it?”
“Definitely!”
“The ladder is coming!” Joan looked down at us from the lower deck and threw a roped ladder.
“You first,” Matt pushed me closer to the ship. “Be careful.”
I took my time climbing up the rope while Matt held it steady at the bottom. When I made it aboard, Joan handed me a warm blanket and a cup of tea.
“That wasn’t too bad was it?” Matt took a blanket from Joan.
“It was awesome,” my teeth began chattering. “I’ve got to do that again one day.”
“Tomorrow?”
I smiled and sipped my tea.
We rode back to the dockyard in silence. The sun was beginning to rise and I could see how calm the water was. I stole glances of Matt every few minutes, and I could feel his eyes doing the same.
“Do you and your sister have plans this evening?” he helped me down the steps.
“We’re going parasailing around five. She has to do more reading after we get back so I’m going to relax on the beach.”
“She’s in college?”
“She technically graduated college, but they won’t give her the degree until she finishes her research study.”
“Tell her I said good luck.”
“I will.”
“Do you want to join me at a bonfire tonight?”
Chapter 14
Matt
I walked around talking to a few locals, asking them where the best place to start a bonfire would be, but they weren’t much help. They just wanted my autograph and Joan had to profusely deny their picture requests.
We’d released a statement to the press about me traveling to L.A. to have throat surgery. We even flew my security team to L.A. with a baseball-cap-wearing body double to make it as real as possible. We couldn’t afford for a few fans to tweet pictures of me in St. Barts—only words, because as Joan once said, “Words can be misconstrued and questioned, pictures can’t.”
I was looking forward to spending more time with Melody. It was definitely more than a crush on my end, but I wasn’t sure if she felt the same way.
“Joan, let’s get the daily updates out of the way. Could you google me?”
I’d given up on googling myself years ago—almost everything that popped up was a lie I helped to construct.
“Certainly. According to TMZ, you have officially checked in for throat surgery in L.A. You are expected to check out in two days.”
“Great. Anything else?”
“Selena finished her cover shoot for Modern Bride and did an interview with Cosmo. Would you like to hear the quotes?”
“Seriously?”
“The graduation service for Sterling Dance Academy has been pushed up by one day.”
“Who the hell approved that?”
“The school board. The mayor apparently asked to use the building for an address to the city. Would you like me to prepare a statement for your absence?”
“No, we’ll have to leave tomorrow.”
I didn’t want to disappoint the graduates. I had never missed a ceremony and I didn’t want to make this one the first.
I needed to know if I had a chance with Melody though, if she would consider going out with me when we were both in New York. I needed to pull out all the stops to make sure she said yes.
“Nothing else is really new,” Joan put away her phone. “Just basic candid stories. You were caught with cream cheese on your chin in Central Park, you got a parking ticket outside of Starbucks, and you signed an autograph for an elderly woman at Trump SoHo.”
“Life changing news I swear. Thanks.”
It took Joan and I three hours to find a decent location for a bonfire. It was miles away from my yacht and perfectly secluded from the hotels and vacation homes.
While she scurried off to grab a couple things, I began digging a hole in the sand.
I couldn’t believe I was building a fire to impress someone. I didn’t normally have to put in any work to seem impressive. Women just flocked to me and naturally assumed that I was. Melody seemed somewhat unfazed—except for when she was on my yacht. She was blushing the entire time.
Maybe that was just her nervous reaction to the polar bearing...
As my hole got deeper, I became more nervous, more pessimistic. I wasn’t sure what to talk about tonight, or why the hell I’d suggested a damn bonfire when I hadn’t brought the supplies. I was even a little apprehensive about her past. I wasn’t sure if she was completely over her ex-fiancé, and if she was, I doubted she’d forgotten about being left for someone else.