The Summer Girlfriend (Heart Beach, #1)(53)

Jeremiah suddenly hopped to his feet. “Let’s do it.”

“Wait, really?” Noelle glanced at Amara, who’d opened her book again. “Now? All of us?”

“We’ll stay, but you should go,” Amara said. “Everybody should try parasailing at least once.”

Noelle looked up at Jeremiah. He stood, arms akimbo, waiting patiently for her to join him on her feet.

“What about our stuff? I don’t want Amara and Robin to have to worry about carrying it back.”

“Percy and my mom will be here later,” Amara said. “We’ll bring your stuff back for you. Don’t worry about it.”

“Thank you, sister.” Jeremiah saluted Amara, and she snorted and shook her head, returning her attention to her book.

Jeremiah pulled Noelle up. She grabbed her cover-up and flip-flops, and she and Jeremiah walked across the hot sand, maneuvering through the other beachgoers.

As Jeremiah drove them through town to the other end of the beach, Noelle once again admired their charming surroundings. They drove by an ice cream shop and a surfboard store. A restaurant called the Cluck House boasted that it had the best chicken tenders in New Jersey. Soon, they pulled up in front of Hang High Parasailing. As they walked inside, an older man with dark brown skin and graying hair glanced up and adjusted his wire-framed glasses.

“Jeremiah Smith!” The man beamed. “I didn’t expect to see you here today.”

Jeremiah smiled. “Hey, Mr. Drake. How are you?”

“Great, great. I love the busy season.”

“This is my girlfriend, Noelle. It’s her first time parasailing,” Jeremiah said. To Noelle, he explained, “Mr. Drake is the owner of Hang High Parasailing.”

“Jeremiah came here all the time when he was younger,” Mr. Drake said. “He begged his grandfather nearly every day to take him parasailing.”

Noelle smiled and sent a cautious glance to Jeremiah, gauging his reaction to the mention of his grandfather. His smile didn’t slip. Actually, his smiled looked a little genuine.

“Well, we have something special for our first-timers.” Mr. Drake dug around behind the desk and produced a bright orange sticker that said I Went Parasailing at Hang High! “Around here, people parasail for the first time as kids, so they usually love the stickers.”

Noelle smiled and placed the sticker on the back of her hand. “Thank you. I love it.”

After Jeremiah paid, Mr. Drake instructed them to head out back toward the beach.

“Grady and Ben will get you situated,” Mr. Drake said. “Jeremiah, will I see you next weekend at the gala?”

“For sure.”

Jeremiah had told Noelle about his family’s yearly fundraiser gala that they hosted in Heart Beach. It was a fancy affair, which meant she’d need a fancy dress. Jeremiah said he’d take her to shop for one, and she was grateful that he’d be available to offer a second opinion because Tati and André would be vacationing in the Dominican Republic this upcoming week, and Tati wouldn’t have time to help Noelle pick out a dress.

On the beach, Grady and Ben were waiting with Jet Skis. They greeted Jeremiah with warm familiarity. When he told them that it was Noelle’s first time parasailing, Ben explained that he and Grady would use the Jet Skis to take her and Jeremiah out to a boat waiting farther in the ocean. She and Jeremiah put on their life vests.

Noelle had never ridden a Jet Ski before, and she was eager to see what the hype was about. In her haste to climb on, her foot slipped on the platform and she fell sideways into the water, swallowing a bunch of it in the process. The next thing she knew, she was being lifted upright. She blinked, eyes stinging as Jeremiah’s face came into focus. He was holding her tightly. But unlike when he’d saved her from the wave earlier, neither of them were laughing.

“Fuck, you okay?” he asked, staring at her intensely.

She coughed and tried to breathe. Jeremiah patted her back and she coughed again. “I’m okay,” she sputtered out. “Thank you.”

He guided her back onto the Jet Ski, frowning as he rubbed her back.

“Are you sure?” he said. “We don’t have to do this today.”

“I’m sure.” The truth was that she felt like she might puke at any second and her eyes still stung from the salt water; however, Amara had said that everyone should go parasailing at least once, and Noelle didn’t know when she’d get the chance again. She didn’t want to miss out.

Jeremiah looked at her, and seeming to notice the determination in her eyes, he slowly lowered his hands from her waist. “Okay, just please be careful.”

Once Ben was satisfied that Noelle was secured in place behind him on the Jet Ski, they zoomed toward the awaiting boat. Noelle wasn’t someone who tended to get seasick, but nausea brewed in her gut thanks to the salt water she’d swallowed.

When they reached the small boat, two more people helped Noelle and Jeremiah climb off the Jet Skis. Then they were hooked up into the parasailing contraption.

“How are you feeling?” Jeremiah asked.

“Great.” Noelle forced a smile and gave him a thumbs-up. She was supposed to be his fun, fake girlfriend. Not the girl who got seasick at the beach.

Despite her confident answer, Jeremiah reached down and threaded his fingers through hers. Holding his hand helped steady her erratic heartbeat. She tightened her grip as the boat started moving slowly at first, but soon picked up speed. Then she and Jeremiah were released into the air, and they rose higher and higher as the boat drove faster.