“Isn’t this fun?” Rich shouted over the jet ski’s engine.
The eyes that had once looked beautiful to her, but now looked painfully stupid, stared from above a silly grin.
To get him to turn around and focus on steering the machine Alex nodded her lie. Then, when he turned around, she spoke.
“You can’t hear me, can you?”
He did not reply.
“Splendid. Saying out loud what I really feel ought to be the best thing about this trip. You see, bouncing up and down on water does not entertain me, and unlike you and your friends, I didn’t find the loud noises or pretty lights last night’s fireworks made stimulating. Oh, and diving from that cliff: did you really think the effects of gravity and the pain of cold water would impress me? I’m bored with you, and when we get back home, our relationship is history.”
“Did you say something?” he shouted.
“I said this is super fun!” she shouted back.
She lowered her voice to adjust for the slowed machine.
“Oh good, you’re starting more of those tight circles. That’ll get us higher and wetter. Maybe I’ll develop pneumonia.”
When the waves started to pick up, she pulled tighter to him. Even through the life jacket she could feel his muscular frame. It was such a shame she had to get rid of him.
“All right, maybe making fun of you and your stupid friends when you can’t hear isn’t the only fun thing about this trip. But it’s still not worth it.”
He cut into the waves he’d made and they bounced all over the place. They had just come down from a particularly large wave when she caught a glimpse of something. It looked like a big bird, possibly an eagle. It dove straight into the water, with a tremendous splash.
Rich turned the machine away from the diver, and Alex punched him hard in the ribs. He stopped the machine and cut the engine.
“What?”
She was busy looking around.
“Did you see that?”
“See what?”
“Something came from the sky and crashed into the water.”
“Cool,” he said, almost indifferently. “Must have been diving for fish.”
“No. It was moving too fast and it went under hard.”
“Some birds swim under.”
“But not like that. It hit too hard.”
“Maybe it died in the air.”
That didn’t seem likely. She was no zoologist, but it seemed a bird would land before it died. Then again, maybe it had died of something sudden, like an aneurism, or maybe someone had shot it from the shore and the they’d not heard the gun over the jet ski’s engine.
“Ready for more fun?”
Her hands had dropped to near his hips. He was so solid. She wanted to say something smart but thought of his girlish ability to withhold sex from a partner with the wrong attitude.
“I can’t wait another second!”
He started the engine and got them up to speed. They went halfway around the lake, and he pulled into another tight circle. She left her hands around his hips, gripping his shorts.
“Life’s so unfair. Why can’t guys be nerdy and look this good?”
He cut them into the biggest wave yet and she had to adjust her grip to avoid falling. They went over a few more ripples before she saw something even stranger than the bird. Once again, he turned them away. She punched him again. He slowed and cut the engine.
“What?” he said, a little perturbed.
“There’s someone in the water!”
She looked around but couldn’t see them now.
“There was someone floating below the surface. I saw their head and their orange lifejacket.”
“Show me where.”
She pointed to where she thought she’d seen it, though she wasn’t sure. He started the engine and they moved slowly in that direction. When they’d moved further than she thought it could have possibly been she nudged him and he shut the engine down.
“Do you see it?” he asked.
“Of course I do. It can only be seen if you’re smarter than a monkey.”
His face grew angry, then hurt.
She gave a good, phony giggle. “I’m just kidding. I know you’re smart, and I can’t see it either.”
His face lit up a little and she marveled at how easy it had been to salvage the situation.
“It was probably an illusion,” he said.
“Yeah. That’s it. You’re jacket is orange and the sun is bright on the waves. It was probably just a strange reflection of you.” She patted him on the side. “Good logic,” she said, though she had provided most of the explanation.
“Yeah,” he said, a little pleased with himself. He then started the jet ski and got them going.
Now she could talk without him hearing again.
“Was it an illusion, though? It didn’t look like a reflection.”
Rich stopped with the tight circles and moved around the lake, swerving the machine from side to side, doing quick turns, nearly dumping them in the lake. She was totally clueless as to where they were or what direction they were moving in when she saw something undeniable. It was right in front of the machine. She didn’t have time to react. Rich drove right at it and then turned about six feet before he would have made contact. She punched him again.
“What?” he said breathily after shutting down the machine.
She was so scared she could barely speak.
“You had to have seen him. He was poking up out of the water. His face was so pale.”
“I didn’t see anybody! Why are you doing this?”
“I’m not doing anything.”
“Yes you are. You think I’m stupid, and you’re right. Compared to you, I am stupid. Most people are.”
“Please. That’s not . . .”
She stopped. It wasn’t even worth arguing over. Besides, she was still afraid of what she’d seen. She looked behind her. It wasn’t there.
She turned back around and leaned her head into his back. She cried a little and said, “Can we please just go back in?”
He sighed and then said. “Sure, and I’ll take you home. I know you’re not having fun.” He sighed again. “I like you but I know it’s not going to work.”
She couldn’t argue with that. Still, she pulled as close to him as she could.
She heard a clicking sound and sat up.
He laughed lightly and said, “The stupid safety key fell off the button.”
She paid him little mind. She was too intent on looking at the man in front of the jet ski. The whites of his eyes showed but there was no other color. His skin was pale and thin so she could make out the shape of his skull. His lips were as white as his eyes and water dripped from his mouth.
Richard could not see him. He hooked the safety key back onto the machine. She was beyond terrified now. It had to be a hallucination. She buried her head into his back again and waited for him to start the machine. The engine didn’t roar to life, though, and the body in front of her body grew limp and started to tilt. She had to hold him on the jet ski.
“Rich!”
He didn’t respond, and his body was dead wait. She didn’t think she could hold on. He started to slide into the water.
“Rich! Don’t go! Wake up, and hang on!”
When she realized holding on was futile, she let him spill into the water. She scooted forward grabbed his life jacket and tried to flip him over. She couldn’t do it from the seat, though. She lowered herself into the water next to him and got her arms under him. Before she could help him, he turned over on his own.
He then looked at her with big eyes. His eyes shrank, though, into an expression she’d never seen from him. Suddenly, they were beautiful to her again, and not the least bit stupid. He pulled himself onto the machine.
He then held out a hand and she took it. He pulled her onto the back of the jet ski.
“Are you okay, Rich?”
“No.”
She hesitated.
“You’re not okay?”
“I’m fine, but I’m not Rich. My name is Arthur. I came out here with a girl years ago and road around on her family’s speedboat. I hated it, and then I hated it even more when it crashed. I couldn’t move far from here ever since, but I could get a feel for the people who came out.”
She was speechless.
“I’ve been waiting for someone like you, someone like me, who prefers to live in their head more than on speedboats and jet skis. I could tell you weren’t happy with Mr. South Beach here. I figured you were probably dating him for the sex.”
She was still speechless.
“Well, you’ll come around in a little while. You just have to get used to the idea, then it will be more fascinating than scary. Now, do you know how to drive this thing?”

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