Phoenix Rising Issue #3 - S. R. Watson Page 0,23

picnic table lined with newspaper. So a woman who isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. Well, neither am I.

“You guys need a third set of hands? That’s quite a haul.”

To say they both looked surprised is an understatement. Even Lily’s eyebrows disappear into her hairline.

“Yeah, sure,” Melissa speaks up before Phoenix can decline my offer. “The more hands, the better.”

I take a seat next to her so that I’m sitting across from Phoenix. He swallows his discomfort, and I just smile. Lily sits next to him, unsure of how to proceed. I push a small bass in front of her while taking a bigger one from the cooler alongside me.

“Have you ever descaled a fish?” I ask her. She shakes her head. I figured as much from her hesitancy to even touch it. “It’s easy. I’ll show you.”

“Head on or off?” I ask Phoenix.

“Off.” He’s forced to answer. His inquisitive stare is a break from the coldness he’s given me lately. “Anderson is the only one who likes the whole fish, so we’ve already left a few for him.”

“Gotcha.”

I begin descaling the fish as Lily attempts to mimic what she sees. Even Phoenix looks impressed.

“You’re just full of hidden talents, woman. Where did you learn to do that?”

“Thomas …” The rest of the sentence dies on my lips as soon as I speak his name. Lily’s knife clatters to the table when she sees my face fall.

“Who’s Thomas?” Melissa picks this moment to fucking probe.

My hand tightens around the knife as I descale the bass with fervor. I can’t believe I gave voice to his name. He’s dead to me. Every memory with him in it—tarnished.

“Nobody,” Lily tries.

“Must be some ex-boyfriend who broke your heart, huh?” she pushes.

Phoenix looks at me with interest.

“For fuck’s sake, drop it. Can’t you see it’s not up for discussion?” I’ve never seen Lily this furious or heard her voice raised as much as she just did. The stares I’m getting from Phoenix and Melissa now are too much. I push away from the table.

“Excuse me,” I say as I walk to the water’s edge. The stares as I pass are inquisitive. I let the cool water run between my toes as I take deep breaths. I will not give his name power.

After about five minutes, Lily comes up behind me. She grabs my hand, pulling me in. “Come on. Let’s go for a swim.”

“Best idea yet.” I smirk sarcastically, but I let her pull me farther into the water.

We float, swim, and splash each other until I push the little fiasco at the table to the back of my mind. I appreciate her not bringing it up again or apologizing. I just want to forget it. She leaves me briefly but returns with two floating mats and two drinks. A beer for her and a decorative water bottle for me.

“What’s this?” I take a sip and smile.

“Figured Jack would be appreciated,” she surmises.

Again, she hit the nail on the head. “Thank you,” I mouth before taking a few sips.

“You’re welcome.”

We climb on our mats and float. I let the afternoon sun melt away the tension of knowing Phoenix is on land spending time with her. This sucking it up thing is going to be harder than I thought. I just have to keep chipping away. Well, as soon as I figure out how to do just that.

“I think it’s time for more sunscreen, babe.” I hear Asher say nearby. He’s waded out to us to make sure Lily doesn’t turn into a lobster. The thoughtfulness sends a little ping to my heart. She hops off the mat and grabs mine.

“Come on, Harlow. Your brother is right. We don’t want to burn. It’s been a while since we applied sunscreen.”

“Sure,” I say as I follow her and Asher. “I’m getting hungry anyway.”

Chapter Eight

Phoenix

A warm arm flings across my waist, pulling me from my slumber. A sliver of light pierces through the curtains as I crack one eye open. The realization that I forgot to set the alarm on my phone last night has me slinging back the covers and pushing Melissa’s arm off me.

“Where are you going?” she asks groggily.

“I’m late for my morning run,” I say as I pull a T-shirt over my head. “Go back to sleep. I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Do you want any company?”

We both know she does very little running. If she does, it’s for show. She has genetics on her side, and thus far, it’s been enough.

“Nah.