Penny had enrolled in a two-year marine technology program at Oar’s Rest Tech so she could be a boat mechanic. She’d managed to get herself an apprenticeship over the summer for some on-the-job training. Since we were kids, she’d loved boats, whether they were on the open water or docked at the marina. For her eighteenth birthday, her parents had given her a houseboat of her own, but she’d only started living there after graduation.

“Great!” she said, her dark eyes lighting up. “Next week Rolly’s going to teach me how to scuba underwater to pressure wash the underside of a boat.”

“To get the algae off?”

“Yeah.” Her shrug held a hint of nonchalance. “He’s making me earn my stripes by teaching me how to scrape a boat on land first.”

I winced in sympathy. The scum line on the hull, not to mention the other stains from rust and deposits, was notoriously difficult to remove. “That’ll take forever.”

“He says I’ve got to use some elbow grease to learn respect for the vessel.” She rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling. “Put in the time and do it right.”

For a moment, things were normal again. But her words plucked at me—had I already earned my stripes with Penny, or did I still have a way to go? We’d been friends for years. Surely we were at the point where I could tell her about that moment of madness on the beach. That I didn’t want to be with Chad, but that if she was okay with it—and only if she was okay with it—I’d love to win first with him this year in the sandcastle competition.

My stomach twisted. If I told her Chad and I had kissed, everything I wanted this summer to be would go up in flames.

“I’m having a party on my boat this weekend,” said Penny. “It’ll be fun to get a little crazy before the tourists get here.” Looking embarrassed, she ducked her head and clutched her plastic cup. “And I’m going to be pretty busy at the art center this summer. I, um, took Chad’s suggestion about enrolling in a couple of classes. So it’d be cool to spend some time now while we still have it?” She looked like she wanted to say more.

I sucked in my lip. “Yeah, definitely. I’ll try.”

It shouldn’t have been so weird, and a big part of that was my fault. But without the third person in our trio, my relationship with Penny felt like it didn’t fit. Or maybe it was me who didn’t fit.

Penny seemed to take my answer for what it was. She shifted on her feet, nodding. “Did you and Chad get all signed up for the sandcastle competition?”