Adrift on the Boat

Beside me, Marcus’s face flushed red with anger, but I quickly held him back.

Once the launch ceremony was over, a feast was to be held right on the deck of the boat, complete with plenty of drinks. A few passersby gathered around to watch the excitement.

“It looks like another couple is getting hitched! That is one magnificent wedding vessel!”

Someone in the crowd yelled, “Congratulations!”

Standing at the bow of the boat, Logan held Sarah’s hand.

“Sal, I have one more birthday wish.” His voice was loud, instantly drawing everyone’s attention. “I want you… to be my girlfriend for the next seven days!”

The crowd instantly erupted into wild cheers.

“Do it! Say yes! Say yes!”

Sarah laughed. She squeezed his hand back and said with zero hesitation, “Fine, but remember, it’ll just be for seven days.”

From the start, she never cast a single glance in my direction. Logan subtly shot a look at me, the smirk on his face growing even wider. Some of our mutual friends who knew the real story kept glancing over at me. Their eyes held a mix of sympathy, amusement, and pity.

As her ex-boyfriend, it felt like I shouldn’t be standing there any longer. However, just as I lifted my foot to leave, Sarah called out to me.

“Aussie, are you heading back?”

“Yeah. It’s not a good look for your ex-boyfriend to be hanging around right now.”

She frowned. “Don’t talk nonsense. It’s just a harmless little birthday wish to make Logan happy. Go ahead and get a ride home first. I have to drive Logan home later. I’ll bring you those lobster rolls you wanted tonight. Be good.”

With that, she reached into my bag, snatched my house keys, and immediately jumped back into the wild celebration. I stared at her silhouette, and despite myself, my eyes finally began to sting.

When I got home, I received a video message from Logan. In the video, Logan’s face was flushed red. Amidst the playful shoves of the crowd, he pulled Sarah into a tight embrace.

Someone shouted jokingly, “Sarah, if you ask me, you might as well marry Logan instead!”

“Austin doesn’t even come close to our boy Logan!”

Logan laughed and cursed back, “You’ve had way too much to drink.”

Sarah just stood there with a smile playing on her lips, offering absolutely no denial.

Right after the video, a text message came through from Logan.

[Hey, Austin, why did you leave so early? Sending you this video so you can feel like you’re part of the fun!]

Strangely enough, seeing this no longer stirred anything in me. I just stared blankly at the wooden boat in the video.

Sarah used to whisper in my ear all the time, telling me how a wedding vessel was a once-in-a-lifetime milestone for couples in our lakeside town, and that no detail could be compromised. The deck had to be crafted from premium teakwood, the railings on both sides had to be wrapped in my favorite purple irises, and I was supposed to design the cabin curtains myself…

I did feel a twinge of regret. After all, I had looked forward to this for so long. However, my regret wasn’t for the girl; it was for the boat.

It was late into the night when Sarah finally walked through the door empty-handed. When her eyes met mine, she froze for a moment. Then, she walked over and wrapped her arms around me just like she always did. Immediately, a suffocating wave of strong men’s cologne hit my nose.

The last time I had put cologne on myself was five years ago. Back then, she had frowned and told me it was disgusting for a grown man to wear cologne. Only today did I realize that her disgust depended entirely on who was wearing it.

She looked up at me, her tone as gentle as ever. “The party ran a bit late. Why aren’t you asleep yet? Were you waiting up for me?”

I didn’t answer her question directly. I only asked, “Where are my lobster rolls?”

Avoiding my gaze, she picked up a glass from the counter and took a sip of water.

“When I was driving Logan home, he said he wanted to try them, so I gave them to him. Besides, didn’t you say you wanted to lose weight for our wedding photos anyway? You can just eat them another day, right?”

This was the third time this had happened. I had told her half a month ago that I wanted them, so she promised to buy them, and she did three separate times.

The first time, she was intercepted halfway by Logan, who dragged her along to look at apartments with him. The second time, Logan was being excluded by his coworkers, so Sarah went to comfort him over pasta. And then there was tonight.

I let out a soft sigh, suppressing the bitter ache in my chest. “Sarah, let’s break up.”