Chapter 05.2

The motorboat started. I had never skied before and had no idea if that even mattered, but staying upright was harder than I expected. I glanced sideways to see how Jenny was doing—and that was the moment I lost my balance and wiped out.

“Dude,” Brian greeted me as I climbed out of the water, “if you hadn’t been staring at her, we might’ve had a shot.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” I said. “I was just curious.”

“No,” Paul laughed, “you wanted to win. She was focused on the task.”

“Nice job, fairies,” the guy said as he helped Jenny out of her vest. He clearly started chatting with her, but Jenny just smiled, oblivious as always. Seeing this was starting to make me mad.

“So, boys,” Mayoko called out, cutting off both the conversation and my thoughts, “now or after lunch?”

“Now,” Brian said with a sigh, clearly noticing my frustration. “At least this way, lunch will stay down.”

We climbed to the top of the tower and jumped one by one. Everyone managed just fine—except Brian, who clearly struggled. The girls cheered from below. After the jump, we grabbed some food and returned to our spot. Jenny and Susy were the last to return, and practically every guy stared at my gorgeous ex-girl’s bikini-clad body. I was about to lose my mind, so I just kept my head down and focused on my sandwich. Brian glanced at me, but didn’t say a word.

“Hello, Dr. Simmons,” two cute, young girls approached us mid-bite. My friends tried not to burst out laughing.

“Hi,” I said, swallowing my mouthful.

“Thanks for vaccinating our cat this week!” one of them squealed.

“No problem,” I replied.

“We thought we’d invite you to lunch as a thank-you,” the other added.

Paul muttered something, and those who understood Japanese cracked up.

“I’m already eating, but thank you,” I said, glancing around for help. I usually bailed in situations like this.

“Dr. Simmons is pretty booked up,” Brian jumped in, knowing exactly what I needed. ”But I’m sure he’d accept something to eat if you brought it now.”

“His favorite is the vegetarian salad,” Jenny added with a smile. The girls nodded.

“We’ll be right back!” one of them chirped, and they walked off.

“Paul, what did you say?” I asked, curious.

“That the vaccine was a real lifesaver,” he laughed, and we all joined in.

“Jenny,” I turned to my ex, ”that wasn’t funny.” I did love her wit.

“We thought it was,” she grinned.

For a few moments, everyone ate in silence. I noticed some of my friends exchanging glances, quietly signaling each other with their eyes—pointing at Jenny.

“Jane, are you really not coming on the group trip?” Jessica finally broke the silence.

“All of you keep asking me almost every day, but I still don’t think it’s a good idea,” Jenny said, casting me a quick glance.

“You could be my roommate,” Susy offered.

“And we don’t have to spend every second with the guys,” Mayoko added.

“I promise,” Brian said. “If Jay can’t behave, we’ll split off.”

“I’m still not sure this is a good idea,” she muttered.

“There won’t be any problems,” I promised. “You should come—it won’t cause any tension between us.”

Jenny was thinking, and everyone waited in silence. Brian smiled at me—we’d won.

“Alright, I’ll go,” Jenny sighed, then smiled. “Just stop bugging me about it.”

“Great—in that case, we’ll stop calling you,” Paul laughed.

The two girls returned with a box of salad.

“Thanks,” I said. ”I’m actually full now, so please, take it as a thank-you for your kindness.” I winked out of habit.

“Thank you!” they squealed and walked off with the salad.

“Nice save, Jay,” Jenny laughed.

“Try again next time,” I teased.

Later that afternoon, we said our goodbyes and everyone headed home.