Chapter 246: Going Jet Ski [Edited]

The morning sun was already bright over the Azure Archipelago, turning the water around the private marina into a sheet of turquoise and white foam. Several luxury watercraft rocked gently against the pontoons, their engines idling as the group prepared to head out toward the western atolls.

Katie stood on the pontoon, wearing a bright orange life vest that puffed out so far her chin rested directly on the collar. She had a pair of green swimming goggles strapped tightly over her eyes, making her look like a tiny, determined deep-sea turtle.

"The armada is assembled," Katie announced triumphantly, as though staring at a movie, pointing a plastic water gun toward the open bay. "Today, we claim the western atolls in the name of the vacation treaty."

"Remember the rules, Katie. No splashing within five feet of the dry towels," Marina said as she stepped down the ramp, an oversized white sun-shirt hanging over her swimwear. She tightened the straps of her life vest with practised ease before pointing toward Nectron’s craft. "And you’re sitting in the passenger seat, where there’s a roll cage to keep you safe."

"Nectron’s boat is the biggest," Katie agreed solemnly. "Therefore, it is the safest." Katie added, saluting with her water gun before marching toward the largest three-seater watercraft on the dock.

Nectron, sitting comfortably on the wide bench seat in dark swim trunks and polarised shades, chuckled as he reached down and lifted Katie aboard by the back strap of her vest like a small parcel. "Permission to board granted, admiral. Hold onto the side handles."

A high-pitched mechanical whine echoed from the end of the pier.

Julie was straddling a hot-pink watercraft, her helmet pushed back, balancing an oversized remote controller on her lap while a specialised waterproof 4K drone hovered three feet above her head, its four rotors kicking up fine clouds of sea spray.

"Testing audio, testing wide-angle lens, testing drones," Julie rattled off into her throat mic, completely ignoring the marina attendant’s frantic hand gestures regarding safe departure distances. "If the lighting stays this good, this footage is going to pay for half my equipment budget."

"Julie, focus, you can’t take that along; you’ll be distracted. And it’s way too heavy for you," Vixen warned from the seat of a silver jet ski next to her, pulling on her riding gloves.

"Relax. I can multitask," Julie dismissed with a wave of her hand.

"You’re looking at a screen while driving a jet ski," Vixen sighed.

"And I’m still alive, aren’t I?"

A few paces down the pontoon, Selena reached for the handlebars of a midnight-blue solo craft when a small, soaking-wet hand grabbed the hem of her shorts. Katie leaned out from Nectron’s sidecar, her neon goggles reflecting the sunlight.

"Selena, wait!"

Selena raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Katie pointed dramatically at the blue craft.

"That one is dangerous."

"Why?"

Katie hesitated for half a second. "Because... I said so."

"That’s not a reason," Selena said with a chuckle.

"It is today," Katie declared. "You have to ride with Big Brother," she said pouting cutely.

Nicholas, who was currently performing a clean pre-ignition check on the sleek black two-seater at the end of the line, looked up over the rim of his dark sunglasses.

"The blue craft has standard factory ballast, Katie," Nicholas said flatly. "It is entirely seaworthy."

"It is cursed," Katie corrected, her tone leaving zero room for debate. "Julie said so. Marina nodded. It is a unanimous council decision. Big Brother, take the passenger before she gets eaten by turtles."

Marina offered Selena an entirely unrepentant, innocent smile from across the dock, while Julie gave a frantic thumbs-up behind her camera console.

Selena looked at the little girl, then at Nicholas, letting out a long, slow sigh that was half-amusement and half-defeat. "Your family’s tactical misdirection needs serious structural work, Nicholas."

"They’re amateurs," Nicholas agreed, sliding forward on the black vinyl saddle to clear the rear seat. "Get on. We’re burning daylight."

Selena stepped aboard the black craft, the pontoon dipping slightly under their combined weight. She swung her leg over the rear saddle, settling in behind him.

Selena placed her hands lightly on the safety grab rails bolted to the sides of the seat. "Keep it at cruising speed, Nicholas. We’re supposed to be having fun."

"Understood," Nicholas said, his fingers wrapping around the throttle grip. "Cruising speed."

He pressed the ignition, and the twin engines roared to life beneath them.

At the front of the convoy, Julie jammed her throttle lever wide open.

"TROPICAL TOUR ARC HERE I COME!" Julie screamed over the engine roar.

Her pink jet ski leaped out of the marina wake in a blinding rooster tail of white water, shooting straight toward the open bay. The drone shot upward to track her, sweeping in a low, dramatic arc above the waves.

For thirty seconds, it was a triumph of cinematography.

Then came the outer reef swell.

A four-foot coastal breaker rolled across the channel. Julie was too busy checking the drone footage on her tablet to notice the four-foot wave rising directly in front of her. She hit it at full speed, and the pink craft launched into the air, twisted sideways, and slammed back onto the water upside down with a colossal, thunderous SPLASH.

"MAYDAY, MAYDAY, CONTENT DOWN!" Julie’s shriek echoed through the comms before cutting out into a muffled, wet gurgle.

The pink craft floated belly-up in the foam while Julie bobbed in her neon vest, thrashing as the water dragged her toward the outer drop-off. Her expensive, waterproof remote controller was rapidly sinking into the water.

"Hold on," Nectron sighed and raised one hand. Gravity shifted around Julie’s life vest, lifting her cleanly out of the water along with the sinking controller. A second later, she landed on the rear bench beside him, dripping seawater all over the upholstery.

"My drone footage survived!" Julie gasped, coughing up salt water while clutching the dripping controller to her chest. "Nectron, you are officially getting five stars on the association review board!"

"Sit still and stop steering with your elbows," Nectron rumbled, turning his craft around with an easy grin.

Behind them, Nicholas didn’t slow down.

He saw the larger waves ahead and adjusted his course before they reached them. He slowed slightly, then angled the craft straight into the first breaker.

The hull caught air, launching five feet above the water before descending with violent acceleration toward the next trough.

"Nicholas!" Selena gasped as the deck dropped beneath them.

The side grab rails offered zero leverage against the sheer force.

On pure reflex, Selena abandoned all hesitation, throwing both arms around Nicholas’s waist and pulling herself flush against his back.

Her chest pressed tight against him, her fingers locking firmly around the solid muscle of his ribs.

The black craft slammed into the next wave, throwing spray over both of them. Nicholas leaned into the turn, and the jet ski cut across the water at an angle that sent Selena gripping his waist even tighter. For a few seconds, the only things she could hear were the engine, the wind, and her own laughter.

Nicholas moved with absolute, fluid efficiency.

Every shift of his shoulders, every subtle adjustment of the handlebars was timed to neutralise the ocean’s turbulence, turning what should have been a chaotic battering into an exhilarating, high-velocity glide across the water.

Selena held on for dear life, her chin tucked over his shoulder, her breath hot against the side of his neck as the wind whipped her dark hair wildly around them.

The initial shock of the speed quickly gave way to a strange, electric rush. Nicholas’s body beneath her hands was completely steady, an unyielding anchor cutting through the open sea with effortless mastery.

She looked past his shoulder at the islands rushing by, the bright water stretching endlessly around them. Her grip tightened around his waist, and she realised it wasn’t because she was afraid anymore. She simply didn’t want the ride to end.

"Having fun?" Nicholas called over the engine.

"Shut up and drive, brat," Selena breathed against his ear, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs, though the brilliant, breathless smile on her face was impossible to hide.

A hundred yards to their flank, Nectron’s craft was cruising at a stable pace.

Sitting on the rear bench, completely soaked from head to toe, Julie had already recovered her camera drone. The lens zoomed across the sparkling blue water, focusing squarely on the black jet ski carving through the waves.

On the screen, the image was crystal clear: Nicholas manoeuvring the craft with one hand on the throttle, his hair windblown and a rare, genuine smirk on his lips, while Selena clung tightly to his waist, her face tucked against his shoulder.

Julie’s fingers blurred across the console, hitting the shutter button twelve times in rapid succession.

CLICK. CLICK. CLICK.

Julie immediately opened her private folder and saved the photos under:

Operation: Island Romance — Wedding Album

"Perfection," she whispered with a triumphant grin. "Marina is going to love these."