He laughs, shaking his head. “Okay, you heard the captain say all of this but I’m sure you were thinking about my naked body or buying new makeup for your hair, so I’m going to remind you: This boat fishes halibut, rockfish, and bass. The halibut can get pretty big, but don’t worry”—he gives me a winning smile—“I’ll help you pull them in.”

“I’ll have you know I am a regular at kickboxing class,” I tell him, acting offended. “And I surf.”

“Right, but you won’t be pulling these fish up with your legs.” He grabs my skinny arm and shakes it like a chicken wing before taking my rod from its stand and casting the line deep into the water. The fish bait on the end lands with a heavy plunk and Finn grins as he hands the rod over to me. “Put it in the stand. Your arms will get tired if you’re fighting the water while we move.”

I do as he says and watch him cast his line out. He looks so happy, and I’m torn between wanting every viewer in America to see this expression on this face on their giant HD televisions and wanting his private joy to stay that way.

“Do you think you would hate having a camera on you while you do this?” I ask.

He shrugs. “It’s not that so much as the idea that the show wouldn’t really be about fishing.”

“But what if it was?” I ask. “What if that’s your condition?”

He pulls his cap off his head and scratches his scalp with his little finger. “Yeah. I don’t know.”

I think neither of us wants to think about it after that, because we fall quiet, watching the water and the birds and, probably more than anything, each other.

ALMOST AS IF the fish sense that Finn will more quickly put them out of their misery than I will, he catches three before I’ve even had a bite: two rockfish and a huge halibut. If I said it bothered me that he’s crushing it and I’m sucking, I’d be lying. Nothing is better than watching Finn reel a forty-pound fish up onto the deck.

That’s not entirely true. Sex with Finn on this very deck might be better... but only slightly. The sun is warm out on the open water and he’s taken off his fleece; the sight of his tanned forearms as he pulls and reels the line in... it... it might cause me to spontaneously orgasm.