I’m not sure how much time passes while he takes me across the lake, or maybe around it, I’ve lost all sense of direction. The boat slows and he turns to face me with a big grin on his face. “Beer me.”

I grab two from the cooler and hand him one. He pulls out koozies from a storage area and then life vests.

“Grab one of those and let’s test the water. Probably freezing, but you have to get a little lake water on you your first time out.”

It is cold as we first get in, but we sit on the life jackets and relax with our beer.

“And you said lake time didn’t start until noon. I might be drunk by then.”

He chuckles. “You can’t drink all day if you don’t start in the morning.”

“So, this is how you spend your summers? Boozing on the lake?”

“Pretty much.” He takes a drink. “Actually, there’s a lot more to do here. There’s a lot of good restaurants and bars along the water. There’s a decent golf course a few miles from the house, running trails, and my buddy Jonah lives right next to The Cove. It’s a bar and restaurant where they have concerts on Friday nights. We can hear the bands perfectly from his deck. He’s got a pool at his place too.”

“Who needs a pool?” I dip my head back and let my hair fall into the water. I want to forget everything that led to my being here, but I have a nagging worry that Tanner might need me to be here for him despite dodging any attempt I’ve made at bringing it up. “Are you okay? Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

It takes him a second to realize I’m talking about the breakup with Amelia. “Yeah, I’m fine. It was for the best.”

I don’t know if that’s true, but he seems like he’s doing all right, so I give him a pass for now.

We swim a little, mostly just float, until both our beers are empty.

“Now what?” I ask as we climb back onto the boat.

“First weekend on the lake… party cove.”

Whatever I expected, party cove is so much more. Rows of boats are lined up and tied together. Boats of all sizes and so many I lose track. Music pumps from a DJ stand at the end of one line.

Tanner pulls up to a huge boat with an upper deck blasting music that competes with that of the DJ. A guy with red hair and black swim trunks comes down to help us tie up.

“Shaw!” he says after the boat’s secure. “It’s good to see you.”