What It Was Like by Peter Seth Page B

didn’t seem to be all that desirable. If that sounds borderline silly and frustrating and futile, all I can say is that most human relationships are that way, so far as I’ve seen. That’s why this sudden spark with Rachel seemed so promising, so surprisingly real.
    I pulled my Mets cap down over my brow, reclined carefully across the rowboat’s seat so that I could prop my feet up, and I drifted. As I settled in, the up-and-down movement of the water rocked me uneasily. I thought of Rachel’s dark hair swinging and bouncing as she square-danced, how she radiated joy and vitality. Marcus said that she teased a couple of guys every summer, but I didn’t pay too much attention to that. He was probably just jealous; no girl as fine as Rachel would ever show any interest in him, that’s for sure. No, I could tell from the way that she looked at me, with those x-ray blue-blue eyes of hers, that she definitely liked something in me. It wasn’t just my imagination. I definitely felt something from her. Definitely . . . something . . . definitely . . . something. So many scenarios to imagine . . . so many possibilities.
    â€œHi.”
    I guess I must have fallen asleep, but I don’t think I flinched too obviously when I heard her voice. I sat up quickly and saw Rachel in a rowboat with two of her campers at the oars, bobbing on the lake, right next to me. They were all wearing these huge orange life preservers and had big grins on their faces.
    â€œOh, hi,” I stammered out, trying to retain my cool.
    â€œLooks like you fell asleep,” Rachel said with a sly smile.
    â€œNo!” I lied, trying to salvage my dignity. “I was just lying there, thinking –”
    â€œThinking with your eyes closed?” she asked sharply.
    I regained my balance in the boat and shot back, “I do lots of things with my eyes closed.” Which made her snicker and made the little girls giggle.
    Rachel looked at me for a moment, x-raying me, and said, “I thought it was you out here.”
    â€œNo,” I said coolly. “I simply drew you to me.” And, for a change, she didn’t know if I was serious or not; she was the one who was stopped in place. The little girls giggled louder, whispering to each other, and rocked their boat a little.
    â€œStop it!” Rachel snapped at them. “Remember what Captain Hal said about moving around in a boat?” The girls stopped moving, obeying her instantly, gripping their oars.
    â€œWhat did Captain Hal say about moving around in a boat?” I asked her.
    â€œI have no idea,” she whispered to me. “But probably not to do it too much.”
    I liked the way she joked. I liked the way she looked, even in a life preserver over a Mooncliff T-shirt over a bathing suit. She had nice, smooth thighs.
    â€œWhat are you reading?” she asked me.
    â€œ Gatsby ,” I said simply, and waited.
    She said nothing at first, but the pleased look on her face said everything. Gatsby was the perfect bait and the perfect hook.
    â€œI’ve read it,” she said. “Twice.”
    â€œTry the short stories,” I said.
    â€œI have ,” she said.
    â€œCan we go now??” one of the little girls whined, but before the words were out of her mouth, Rachel turned on her and spat out, “Be quiet, brat!”
    Both little girls were instantly silent, with wide, scared eyes.
    â€œAfter the stunt you pulled,” continued Rachel, sounding very adult. “You shouldn’t be allowed out of the bunk at all!”
    She let them sit and listen to her words ring out on the open water. I was quite impressed by her command over the girls – I wished the Doggies listened to me so automatically – and by the quickness of her temper.
    Rachel turned to me and winked.
    I played along, saying, “Oh, come on, Rachel, be nice to these girls. They’ve been rowing so