We looked so much alike, Juniper and I, except she was extraordinary in every way I was average. We both had long dark hair, but hers had beautiful, natural waves that she could curl into celebrity status, where mine was flat and straight no matter what I did to it. She had flawless, pale skin, where mine was peppered with freckles and sun spots. Her body was every man’s dream, curvy and soft and sexy, where mine resembled a stick of celery. She stood tall and proud and smiled like she had the world in her hands, while I cowered and hid in her shadows whenever I had the chance.
But we both had our father’s eyes, cerulean blue, and seeing those irises I knew so well on the screen filled my heart with warmth.
“It’s beautiful,” I said. “I’m on the boat Joel’s going to work on for the summer.”
Juniper frowned. “In the shower?” Suddenly, her face went pale. “Ew, Aspen, if you just called me after you guys had shower sex, I’m going to throw up.”
I laughed, setting the phone against the mirror as I took my hair out of the towel on top of my head. “No, he’s across the hall getting ready, too.” I swallowed. “The owner of the boat asked me to join them for the crew dinner.”
“Ohhh,” Juniper said, sipping her tea. “You fancy. What’s it like?”
I told her as best I could, trying to remember everything on each deck and all the terms Joel had used. She seemed the most interested in the fact that it was Theo Whitman’s boat, which apparently was big news. When I was finished, she made me promise to fill her in on how the dinner went — and to try to convince Mr. Whitman that she should be his future bride.
“I’m serious,” she said, the background blurring behind her as she made her way upstairs to her bedroom. “That man is fine, with a capital F. I may only be nineteen now but give me a few years and I’ll be Trophy Wife material.”
I barked out a laugh. “How do you even know who he is?”
She scoffed. “How do you not know? Don’t you read Business Insider or Forbes?”
“Wait,” I said, pausing where I was taming my hair. “There’s no way you read either of those.”
“I do so,” she defended. “Well, at least, when they do a write-up of the world’s youngest billionaires, I do.”
I rolled my eyes.
“What are you going to wear?” she asked.
I sighed, looking over at the only pair of jeans I had and my yellow tank top, which was the nicest of the two I’d brought with me. “Nothing you’d be proud of. I wish you were here to do my hair and makeup.”
“Looks like there’s plenty of stuff behind you for you to do it yourself.”
“It’s not mine,” I said. “I’m in the stewardesses’ bathroom.”
“Steal a little mascara, they won’t know.”
I laughed. “I’ll be fine. It’s just dinner and then I’ll say my goodbyes to Joel and be on my way to the hostel I’m staying in for the next few nights.”
Juniper frowned at that. “Be careful, okay? Send me a message as soon as you get settled so I know you’re alive.”
“I will.”
“And don’t tie your hair up. Just let it air dry, you always get such beautiful, natural waves that way.”
I smiled. “Love you, Juni.”
“Love you more.”
We ended the call and I noted that when I messaged her later, I’d ask how summer training was going. My sister was the hottest new volleyball player at the University of Colorado. She’d been a star player ever since I could remember, actually, but she was at the university-level now, and one step closer to her ultimate dream of playing professionally.
I had no doubt that she’d do it.
The mirror wasn’t as foggy as I looked over my reflection one last time, tucking my hair behind one ear and letting it fall over the other. The still-wet ends of it fell just below my bra line, and I liked that it hid my face a little bit. The yellow tank top showed off the tan I’d picked up during our Barcelona adventures, and I was thankful I at least had the good sense to bring one pair of jeans to pair it with. The order was to be barefoot while on the boat unless you were wearing the approved boat shoes given to the crew — something about keeping the teak nice — so at least I didn’t have to show up in my dirty old sneakers.
With one final breath, I shook off the exhaustion as best I could, knowing I would need every ounce of energy I had left to get through this dinner.
Just a while longer, and I’ll be alone.
I was counting down the minutes.
Dinner was many things — most of all loud.
One of the benefits of dating Joel, an extrovert who could have a riveting conversation with a brick wall, was that when we attended big group events like this, he took over. He was always the animated one, telling stories, making jokes, while I could sit beside him and smile and laugh at the appropriate times and chime in now and then until the whole ordeal was over. I much preferred hanging out in groups of four or less. After that, it all became too… much.
It was the same tonight, Joel holding the table captive with his charm, but I learned quickly that he wasn’t the only center of attention at this table. It seemed nearly every member of the crew had an outgoing personality, save for Wayland and the engineers, who were all at the far end of the table having a quiet conversation amongst themselves. But the head chef, Claude, and his partner in crime, Adeline, were loud and vivacious. Their
