The Scale (Martha's Way) (27 page)

“Oh, we have to do it.” The excitement in Lily’s voice was
contagious.

He glanced at Minka. “Are you up for that?”

She pulled her attention from the road to him and shrugged. “I
guess.”

Her voice didn’t sound convincing. In fact, it was filled
with doubt.

“The water is not deep,” he said. “The worst that can happen
is to flop on your belly. The others and I used to jump all the time. We still
do.” He reached for her hand and brought it to his thigh. “We can jump
together.”

* * * *

Minka didn’t answer. Instead, she focused her attention back
on the road. Internally, she mulled over his words.
We can jump together.
Did she dare think they stood a chance to get
past next week?

And if they did, for how long?

The end of summer, fall or maybe the
winter?

He had invited her back to the island at least twice. What
then? Yes, with her sister marrying his best friend they were infinitely bound
but not as lovers. The last few days, she had breathed everything about him.
She wanted more.

The inability to see what the future might bring was
disheartening. Furthermore, she doubted Jason understood the implication his
words carried.

“You guys are in the news again,” Lily said from the back
seat.

She tapped Minka’s shoulder to hand her the mobile device.
True enough, on the screen was a picture of her and Jason engaged in the kiss
at Vapors.

“Looks like Massachusetts’ most eligible bachelor is no
longer available,” one of the correspondents noted.

“Not his usual type,” another said.

A pretty brunette chuckled. “I’m sure she’s just a fling. I
mean, look at him. The man is rich, tattooed, and too handsome for his own
good.”

Without a word, Minka pressed the pause arrow and handed the
phone back to her friend.

Not his usual type.

Would she have to hear those words for the rest of her life
if more were to come out of her and Jason?

“Sounds like she's jealous,” Lily said, but Minka knew
better.

“What show is that?” Jason asked. His eyes were still hidden
behind the shades, but Minka detected a hint of anger in his voice.

She glanced at him. His eyes seemed to be fixed on the road
ahead. She shrugged, trying to not let the words from the interview affect her.
“I guess one of those TMZ wannabes.”

He shrugged. “There will be more, but not for long. Don’t
let those words get to you or affect us.”

He took hold of her hand once more and brought it to his
lips.

“What about you? I’m sure the topic of your mother will come
up again, especially after Agnes.”

He shrugged. He didn’t seem bothered by the possible
intrusion but he was used to it. He had endured it during his mother’s death.
But for Minka, the media curiosity was new territory, something she had not
thought of yesterday.

“Once you go back home, it’ll all be forgotten.”

His words caused a sharp emotional pain. They were a
reminder his expectation was nothing more than a short-lived romance. As
lovers, they might pass a season or two, but it was clear she was nothing more
than an interim in Jason’s life. Yet to have the acknowledgement spoken pricked
her conscience. With her attention still on the road, she nodded.

A silence fell over them. Jason steered the Jeep down State
Road to enter Main Street in Edgartown.

“See the house on your left?” He pointed to a large house
resting on a well-maintained acre of land. “I believe Lady Gaga is trying to
purchase it. Growing up, the others and I spent a lot of time lounging there.”

“I’m sure doing things that made your parents proud,” Lily
said with a chuckle.

Jason threw his head back in laughter. “We had fun growing
up here.”

Their conversation stayed light until they reached downtown.
The streets were livelier and busier, but no one appeared to be in a rush.
People were strolling on the streets eating ice cream, laughing without a care
in the world. A family on bikes rode in front of Jason’s Jeep as he parked the
car. They all waved at them in greeting. She couldn’t believe the
transformation from when she first arrived a few days ago.

“How busy does it get here during the summer?” she asked.

“By the peak of the season, we often reach a population of
one hundred thousand, but it goes down to barely thirty thousand by October and
by winter the streets are pretty empty.” He shrugged. “As I mentioned before,
it’s pretty quiet here.”

“I can’t believe how much busier it is from when I arrived.”

He chuckled and nodded. “It feels like forever, doesn’t it?”

In more ways than he knew. “Yes, it does.”

“Come on. I think the others are leaving Vapor and the yacht
is here.” He pointed to a luxury sailboat docked along the pier with the name
Montgomery floating just above the water. “The boat belongs to my father. We
can start boarding now.”

Before she could respond, he was already out of the Jeep
with her bag on one shoulder and Lily’s in one hand. She often forgot how quickly
he moved for a large man.

“I’ll be right back. If the others come, tell them to load
up.” With that, he sauntered away.

She watched him as he walked away, surveying and admiring
the contour of his back along with the tightness of his rear end in the jeans. The
captain came to greet Jason at the entrance. The two men shook hands before
Jason disappeared inside the boat.

“Have you told him you’ve fallen in love with him yet?”

Turning toward her friend, Minka shook her head. “I could
never.”

But Lily smiled and winked at her friend. “Of course you
can. What do you have to lose?”

“Well, first of all, we only exist until next week.”

“I thought you said he invited you back to the island and, from
what I remember, he was specific in saying you would be staying with him.”

“And then what?”

Lily shrugged. “Live it up. Enjoy yourself, one day at a
time. At least you’ll have fond memories. He seems to be into you though.”

“And then left heartbroken.”

Her friend reached over and gave her shoulder an
affectionate tug. “It’s better to love than to have never loved at all, my
friend.”

Minka knew that was a famous quote, one of Lily’s many
quotes to live by. “Is that how you are getting over Nate?” She stopped there
and chose not to point out to her friend she was obviously still hanging onto
her memories of her ex-fiancé. The engagement ring that once sat elegantly on
her finger was now resting on her chest held by a thin silver necklace.

“To be truthful, I’ve been questioning my love for him. I
don’t know how much I did love him and how much of it was due to familiarity. I
mean I loved him as a person, but the sexual love I don’t think was ever
there.”

Minka understood. Until this week, she wouldn’t have grasped
the meaning of Lily’s words, but now she knew what it felt to be crazy about
someone, the insatiable hunger incapable of being appeased by another.

“How are you dealing with Blake?”

“I haven’t. I’ve been mostly with Jason.”

“Are you sure you’re not using Jason as a cover?”

Minka shook her head. That much she was sure of. “It might
have started that way, but it’s not like that anymore.”

“How do you know for sure?”

“I don’t. I’m hoping to get some answers this weekend.”

Lily sat back with a satisfied smile. “Good.
Because I like Jason.”

Minka smiled at her friend, glad she was finally here with
her. She turned her head to the road where Jason’s friends were strolling down
the street toward the Jeep. Adam had the two brunettes from the night in Oak
Bluffs on each arm. “Here they come.”

Lily followed her direction and gasped. “Who are those two
guys with Blake?”

“Adam and Forrest.”

“My goodness, they are fucking gorgeous.”

Minka nodded in agreement. “Adam is a flirt and apparently
well-known in the race car world. Forrest is the town’s overall good guy.
There’s this unspoken thing between him and Claire.” She shrugged. “I don’t
know the whole story. But there’s history there.”

“Forrest reminds me of Jason. They look like brothers.”

Minka chuckled over the observation because she also thought
the same thing. “They’re very close. Their parents were very close as well. I
think they’re still close to his father.”

“And Claire?
Where is she, by the
way?”

“She’s back in LA till next week. She will return for the wedding.”
Minka paused, thinking about Claire’s closeness with Jason. “It appears she
grew up in the same house with Jason. But he said nothing ever happened between
them. He refers to her as the pain-in-the-butt sister he tried to get rid of,
but always tagged along.”

“Isn’t it weird she and your sister somehow became close
friends without knowing all of this?”

A smile formed on Minka’s lips. “It’s pretty ironic. I guess
in every way, she and Blake were meant to meet and fall in love.”

“And you’re okay with that now, right?”

The group finally noticed the Jeep and waved at her. She
waved back at them. “I think so. My issues, I think, are more within me. I need
to understand why I carried such a feeling for Blake for so long. Why I was so
against my sister when really she never did anything to me, and I guess deal
with my parents as well.”

“I thought they were back in New Jersey.”

“They are, but they’re coming back next week for the
wedding.”

“My friend, you have a lot on your plate. I’m glad I’m here
for you, even for just this weekend.”

“Me too.”

At that moment, Jason reappeared. His friends spotted him
right away and waved to him. Smiling, Jason walked over to give each one a
friendly hug before they started to walk toward the Jeep.

The introduction was quick and easy. Keely gave Lily a
friendly hug since they’d met a few times. Everyone else was very warm and
welcomed her with open arms. As expected, Adam and Forrest
appraised
her friend who stood tall and lanky in frayed denim shorts, unlaced boots and a
plaid unbuttoned shirt over a white tee.

“Another gorgeous woman from New Jersey,” Adam said with a
smile. “Forrest, we may have to move there.”

With his arm draped over Keely’s shoulder, Blake chuckled
and looked at Jason. “Jay, you didn’t even get a mention.”

“I don’t want to hang with those losers chasing women
anyway.” He reached for Minka and gently pulled her to him.

“Well, I have to get going,” Forrest informed the group.
“Have fun and behave.”

“Let me say goodbye to these ladies.” Adam said, motioning his
head to the two women still waiting for him.

After placing a promising kiss on each woman’s cheek, Adam
walked back to the group. They all shook their heads at him, but Jason was the
only one who spoke. “You are disgusting.”

“Bite me.”

Jason turned his attention to Lily and grinned. “He’s a pig.
Don’t let his charms convince you otherwise.”

Flipping his friend the bird, Adam raised one eyebrow at
Lily who was watching him closely. He came to stand inches from her. Minka
watched as her friend squared her shoulders and returned his stare. Smiling,
Adam lifted one finger to touch the thin silver necklace around her neck.

“You have your engagement ring on a necklace.”

Lily reached and brushed his finger away. Her lips formed
into a tight line. “Don’t touch my ring.”

“Why aren’t you wearing it?”

Minka desperately wanted to say something to relieve her
friend of the interrogation, but like everyone else, she stood staring, waiting
for Lily’s rebuttal.

“It’s none of your fucking business, now is it?” Her friend
must have realized how angry she sounded because she quickly turned to everyone
with a smile. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to curse.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jason dismissed her apology. “Come
on, let’s go. The boat is ready.”

Minka glanced at Lily to ensure she was okay. Her friend
smiled reassuringly at her, but Minka knew better. The interaction with Adam
had left her shaken. As confident as Lily was and as okay as she appeared to be
with her failed engagement, Minka knew there was more to the story. Even she
had been surprised to see the ring hanging from her friend’s neck. Perhaps
during the weekend she would get the full version.

“Ready, darling,” Jason whispered in her ear.

She pulled her attention from Lily and smiled at Jason.
“Yes.”

“Come on, let’s go have some fun.”

That she could do. As Minka walked with Jason onto the boat,
she was aware of Blake’s every step. Only this time, her heart didn’t ache for
him.

I am letting you go,
Blake Alexander.

Chapter Nineteen

“The scale of this
failure is staggering.”

Adam Quinton

As the boat motored out of the marina, excitement filled the
air. Keely and Blake were grinning at each other like newlyweds. Lily stood
next to Adam, talking and even laughing. The earlier tension between her friend
and Adam had dwindled. Minka glanced over at Jason steering the wheel of the
powerful boat with the captain standing by his side. He looked comfortable and
at ease. Although his hair was pulled into a short ponytail, strands of it had
managed to come free and blew like soft waves on the ocean.

She stood alone on the deck, but Minka didn’t feel isolated
from the group. Instead, she felt liberated, free, and blissful. She crossed
her arms across her chest and closed her eyes, enjoying the cool breeze. The
week staying at his place had been wonderful, but she enjoyed herself the most
when he gave her a glimpse of his everyday life, such as working at Vapor,
Martha’s Way, and sailing with him across Norton Point Beach to the isolated
island where he grew up.