Take Two by Whitney Gracia Williams

extended her hand to me.
    How does she know my name?
    “Nice to meet you too , Joan. ”
    “ Hey Joan,” Matt locked the door. “You can tell Craig to set sail now. Is breakfast set up?”
    She nodded her head and walk ed away. Matt took my hand again and led me down the spiral sta ir ca s e .
    The room below was more impressive than the one above. Freshly coated cherry cabinets, stainless steel appliances, and—he even owned his own bar, complete with seating for ten and a liquor collection that covered an entire wall.
    I took a seat by a porthole and pinched myself. I was sure I would wake up at any moment.
    “Welcome to my kitchen at sea,” he opened a cabinet. “ Do you eat bagels?”
    “Yes . ”
    “Good. Joan orders the best bagels in the world.”
    “You mean she cooks the best bagels in the world ?”
    “Oh, god no. That’s some thing Joan does n ’ t do. What about strawberries and orange slices?”
    “I like those too.”
    “And to drink? Cranberry juice ?” he placed a plate of warm b agels and fruit in front of me.
    “That’d be great.”
    All of a sudden, t he ship began to move . I closed my eyes and smiled . I suddenly remembered when Sean told me he had a yacht, when I jumped and down upon boarding it, when I spent the whole day pouting because he wouldn’t let it off the dock.
    “You should try the white truffle cream cheese,” Matt sat down across from me. “ It’s amazing.”
    I looked out the porthole but couldn’t make out much in the darkness. I couldn’t believe I was on a boat with Matt Sterling . I wondered why he was being so nice to me , why h e wanted to spend time with me.
    “You’ve been on a yacht before?” he interrupted my thoughts.
    “Yes. ”
    “But you’ve never been on a yacht that actually sailed ?”
    “My ex never let his yacht off the dock. He wasn’t into exploring the oce an . H e just wanted to own property on it .”
    Did I s ay that out loud?
    “Were you married to him ?”
    “Engaged … He left me for someone else .”
    “Hey,” he reached over and took on e of my strawberries . “You ’re on vacation, remember? Relax . Try not to tal k about anything personal .”
    “Are you mocking me?”
    “Are you amused?”
    I couldn’t help but smile . “I better not die out there. My sister knows you were the last person I was with.”
    “ Well , i f you don’t enjoy the polar bearing, we could try the skinny dip ping thing,” he teased. “ You did bring it up .”
    “ Please!” I laughed. “ How often do you use your yacht?”
    “At least once every month . I promised myself I would learn how to sail it one day but I haven’t had the time. I read stage plays on it most of the time .”
    “Stage plays? For what? ”
    “For Broadway.”
    “You were really good on Broadway.”
    Why did I say that?
    “How would you know?”
    “ The New York Appeal always gets tickets to the pre-opening Broadway shows . T hose ar e the only e vents I attend. You were in Les Miserable my sophomore year.”
    “Too bad I didn’t meet you back th en . I really miss Broadway.”
    I coul dn’t think of anything else to s ay. My brain was busy processin g his “too bad I didn’t meet you back then ” comment.
    “ Mr. Sterling ,” Joan entered the ro om. “Here are the life jackets. Craig is stopping the boat now.”
    “Thanks Joan,” Matt stoo d up and motioned for me to f ollow him. “Let’s head on out.”
    The wind was whooshing wildly on the top deck. W e fastened our life jackets—he double checked mine—and walked over to the side of the ship. He picked me up and gently placed me on the opposite side of the railing. He pulled himself over with ease and looked out over the water.
    “This water is perfect fo r polar bearing. It’s pretty calm don’t you think? That’s exactly what a first timer needs.”
    I nodded my head and clung to the railing. I couldn’t see the wat er, but I could hear the waves sloshing against the boat.
    “Are