I Remember You

Chapter 10

Lily sat on the boat, watching the beautiful scenery of Georgia's barrier islands as it passed. It was her first trip to the island, but she had heard all about it from Cassie and Mason over the years, and she was excited to see if it was as beautiful as they claimed.

She had been thinking long and hard about her self-revelation a few days previous, and the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. She had been asked to become who she was as a teenager, klutzy, awkward, and shy, and it had been easy for her to reassume her teenage personality in the process. Granted, her character was not supposed to be shy, but Lily always had been and still was although it was easier not to be when she was able to do a better job with her appearance.

The ferry taking them to the island was full of people and equipment, it included herself, Jo, Tom, Cindy, and Finn. The camera and lighting crew would be traveling to and from the set every day as they were needed. Some of the filming was to take place on the small little island, but most of it would be on private property on the mainland.

Lily let her eyes bounce off everyone, including the captain of the ferry whose name was Otto. She had arrived at the dock early, so they had struck up a conversation about the wildlife on the island, and it had made Lily even more excited to visit.

Otto looked over at her and gave her a friendly wink. Lily smiled back before looking away and directly into Finn's eyes. His face was passive, and he did nothing to acknowledge that he had witnessed the wink, causing Lily to wondered if he had.  Jo was pushed up against him talking about something in a low voice, but Finn wasn't commenting one way or the other, as his eyes watched Lily. It was an intense stare, and it was making her uncomfortable, so she turned to look at Tom, who was talking to Cindy while looking at Jo.

It struck Lily as funny that everyone was talking to one person but thinking or looking at someone else, so to hide her amusement, she stood and walked to the opposite end of the boat in the back of the small wheelhouse. The view was of the back of the boat and scenery they had already passed, but it was still beautiful.

She stood by herself for a few minutes before someone joined her, and when she looked up, it was to find Finn standing next to her, looking out at the water. So much for her moment of peace.

"Do you care to share what you find so amusing?" he asked, looking down at her.

She smiled again thinking about it.

"Oh, just little girl thoughts," she hedged.

"You took that personal, didn't you?" he asked.

"Tell me it wasn't personal, tell me that the entire scene wasn't real only acting, and I'll let it go." She looked up at him, challenging him. She didn't think he was a man to back away from a challenge.

"I can't deny it. I think you're impossibly young and naïve, way out of your comfort zone, and I think you will get stomped on by the likes of me, Jo and Tom, acting is not the career for you." He looked away from her as he said the words.

"Is it because I can't act or because I'm a klutz and make a mess of everything, is that why you don't like me?" she asked. If they were going to have a come to Jesus meeting and lay it all out, she might as well not hold back.

"What makes you think I don't like you?" he asked, still not looking at her.

"We've worked together for two weeks now, and you only tolerate me at best," she pointed out to him.

He smiled, an honest to goodness smile as if he was amused, and it made him look years younger. Lily swore she saw a dimple flash in his whiskered cheek. "To be fair I only tolerate everyone at best, why should you be any different."