Spring Break Secret by Holly Rayner
Tom
The next morning, Tom woke up much earlier than the rest of his crew, who had all decided to sleep in. They planned to go on a pub crawl that night, checking out some more of La Vega’s nightlife, but Tom wasn’t sure he was interested. He’d already been out drinking with his friends most nights on this trip, and he couldn’t get Louisa out of his head. Although he’d planned for this spring break trip to be a week of partying with his boys, he now felt like he’d rather spend his time exploring La Vega with the enchanting redhead.
Unable to decide what to do with the rest of his day, Tom flopped down on the sofa in the beach house’s living room. It was a great place Nick had found, overlooking the shore, with plenty of room for the four college kids to spread out and relax.
Tom grabbed a magazine from the coffee table, flipping through it absentmindedly. It was a local publication, filled with advertisements for La Vega events and festivals. As he glanced through its glossy pages, though, something caught his eye. According to this article, for just this week, dinner cruises on a green-certified boat were available to La Vega residents.
He read on, learning that it was a promotion for a chef who was focused on sustainably caught seafood. He was visiting a number of seaside towns in America and Mexico, serving fine food prepared in eco-friendly ways to raise money and educate people about marine ecosystems.
Tom grabbed his phone and called the number listed in the article, keeping his voice low to avoid waking his buddies. It turned out that there were two seats available on that night’s cruise, so he immediately put his name and Louisa’s down.
Nick was none too pleased to hear that Tom wouldn’t be joining them for the pub crawl that night, and complained about missing out on Tom’s excellent wingman abilities. But Tom knew he’d made the right choice when he called Louisa and heard the excited squeals in her voice. Knowing that his friends wouldn’t be using it, Tom took their sporty rental car to go pick her up.
He had only ever seen Louisa in her beach clothes, what she wore to canvass for volunteers or to help out on a beach cleanup, and he thought she was plenty cute already. But when Louisa answered the door dressed up for a nice dinner cruise, Tom thought his heart was going to fly out of his chest.
She wore a deep green dress that perfectly accentuated her red hair, plus a sparkly hairpin holding back her gorgeous curls. Her necklace was the same silver one she always wore, but now Tom finally saw what it was—a little pendant in the shape of a squid, delicate and otherworldly.
“Cool car,” Louisa said, smiling as she sat down in the passenger seat while Tom held the door open for her.
“Thanks.” Tom got in the driver’s seat and pulled out onto the streets of La Vega. The sun was beginning to go down, and he hoped they would be treated to a beautiful sunset from the boat. “It’s not mine, though. Nick’s dad rented it for us for the trip.”
Louisa ran her hand over the creamy leather of the car’s seat. “Most people in La Vega don’t drive such nice cars,” she said. “The salty air ruins cars quickly, so if you live close to the ocean, you don’t want to worry about that.”
“Makes sense.”
It was easy enough to find the boat docks, and soon they were being welcomed aboard for their eco-friendly dinner cruise. Louisa and Tom sat at a small table on the deck, near a handful of other couples and a few families.
“This is so awesome,” Louisa whispered, looking around the boat.
It was a strange-looking vessel, made of reclaimed and recycled materials, with a round flat deck surrounding a small enclosed area where the captain was driving the boat and the chef was preparing food on a miniature cooktop. A narrow staircase spiraled around the edge of the room, making its roof into an observation deck where people could look out over the ocean from a higher vantage point.
“Good evening,” the chef said, stepping onto the deck. He wore a chef’s hat with a captain’s hat stuck on top of it, and most of the guests laughed at his strange appearance. “My name is Tig, and inside, steering us for tonight, is my partner, Molly. Welcome aboard our humble ship, the Clouded Jellyfish.” He took off his weird double-hat and made a deep bow, spreading his arms out.
“This boat is a labor of love,” Tig continued. “Molly and I built it ourselves, using carbon-neutral methods and recycled parts. Below deck are our living quarters and the larger kitchen where most of the food is prepared. The Clouded Jellyfish and everything we do on board is certified eco-friendly, and we’re excited to share our super green way of living with you all.”
Despite the chef and captain’s excellent patter, Tom’s attention was divided. He couldn’t help but keep stealing glances at Louisa, who seemed enthralled by the show.
“Tonight, we’ll be having lightly steamed rock cod caught fresh off the boat this morning. The species is actually invasive, so we use special nets that allow us to release any native species and only pull up the fish who aren’t supposed to be here.”
“That’s fantastic,” Louisa whispered, leaning close to Tom. “We’ve been having major issues with invasive cod for a few years now.”
As Molly and Tig came around with plates of white fish on beds of fragrantly spiced rice, Molly took over from her partner and began her own explanation. “All of the oils we use in our below-deck kitchen are specifically chosen, not only for their flavor, but also for sustainability reasons. We recycle them all as fuel for the boat.”
Tom had no idea that cooking oils could be used as fuel, but Louisa was enthusiastically nodding along. The fish was delicious, as was the second course of lightly fried seaweed. Through it all, Louisa seemed enraptured by the boat and its quirky little crew. Tom knew he was having a much better time here on this unusual dinner cruise with Louisa than he ever would have if he’d decided to go with his friends on a La Vega pub crawl.
“We hope you enjoyed your meals,” Tig said, reaching over to clear their plates after they had finished. “We’ll be bringing dessert out shortly, but we’d like to invite you to explore the Clouded Jellyfish in the meantime. Molly will lead a below-deck tour for anyone interested in how we’ve engineered our environmentally friendly home and engine.”
Tom thought perhaps Louisa would want to go see that, but instead, when she stood up from the table, she grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the little observation platform in the center of the boat.
Willingly, Tom followed, letting Louisa lead him up the miniature staircase until they were standing on the raised area, looking out over the ocean. Here, the chatter and noise of the people on deck was drowned out by the gentle rushing of the waves surrounding them. The moon was nearly full, and its reflection glittered over the dark expanse of the ocean, accompanied only by the brightly twinkling stars.
“This is really amazing,” Louisa said.
Up on the observation platform, the night air and ocean spray were chilly, and Tom felt her sidling up close to him for warmth. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, smiling as she leaned into him, nuzzling against his chest.
“I hoped you would like it,” Tom whispered, his lips brushing her ear. “It’s not easy to find something in town that a local like you hasn’t already done.”
“You know,” Louisa said, her tone a bit teasing, “Ellen thinks you’re pretty great.”
“Oh really?” Tom was thrilled to hear that he had impressed Louisa’s friend and mentor.
“Yep. She liked how you helped look out for that nest of baby turtles, and volunteering at a beach cleanup is a very quick way to earn her admiration.”
“And what about you?” Tom asked, feeling heady and confident. “Do you agree with her?”
“Hmm,” Louisa said. “Let me think. You care about animals, you’re smart, you’re funny, and you’re pretty cute. Yeah, I’d have to say I like you a lot.”
Tom was grateful that Louisa couldn’t see the tips of his ears turning red, which always happened when he was feeling some kind of strong emotion. Nick always liked pointing it out when Tom lost at tennis or was nervous about an upcoming test.
“Lucky me,” he murmured.
“What about you?” Louisa asked. “What are your thoughts about me?”
“I’m not sure I can put them into words,” Tom said. He wondered if Louisa could feel his heart pounding in his chest. “Can I show you?”
“Yes,” Louisa breathed, turning her face up toward Tom’s.
He took her face gently in his hands and kissed her, slow and deep, letting his body say what his words could not. Louisa kissed him back, twisting all the way around so she could reach up and run her hands through his hair and cling to his jacket.
As the ocean air swirled around them, Tom’s world reduced to the sensation of Louisa’s lips on his, the shimmer of moonlight in her red hair, the soft sounds of her breath.