My heart was in my throat. I raced up a set of stairs and reached the open deck on the bow of the boat. She was right. Some kid, one foot on the seat of a patio chair, one foot up on the railing, both hands in the air, was yelling to the crowd that had gathered. One sudden move of the boat and he'd go over without even trying.

"How much will you pay me to jump?" he was shouting.

And the idiots in the crowd were actually yelling out amounts.

BamBam caught my eye from up there on the chair. "Suzy! Now we have big money," he told the others. "How much will you pay me?"

"Nothing. Will you just get down? Go eat food. There's lots of food." It wasn't a very tall yacht so I didn't think he'd get hurt jumping off. But he might get lost out there in the dark water.

"I will get down if you give me a hundred dollars."

"No."

He lunged toward the railing.

"Okay! Yes! Deal. I'll give you a hundred dollars."

A triumphant smile took over his face and he jumped off the chair. He came over to me with his hand out.

My heart was still in my throat from the panic. "I don't just carry cash around."

"Maybe you should start," he said. "Buy your friends." He held out his hands out wide, gesturing to the boat around him. "Oh, wait, you already did."

My heart beat hard and I found myself wanting to push him overboard for free.

"I'll collect my hundred dollars on Monday." With that, he walked away and the rest of the crowd dispersed.

"Don't listen to him," Jennie said. She had followed me up the deck. "He's an idiot. He always has been."

"Yeah," I said.

"You're cool and everyone likes you."

"Because of the money?"

"No, that's just what gave you notoriety, made people sit up and pay attention. But now they're looking and they like what they see."

"Thanks, Jennie."

"I mean it." She squeezed my arm. "Now, can we tell the band to take a break. They're awful."

I laughed. "Yes, I'll go talk to him. Do we have any backup music options?"

"I have a pretty awesome playlist," she said.

I held out my hand and she she placed her phone in it. Then we headed downstairs.

Jae and his band were still going strong. It sounded like the same song as when I left but maybe that's because every song he played sounded the same.

"There's a small room over behind the bar area that has a sound system inside. Do you want to hook this up?" I asked Jennie, holding up her phone.

"Absolutely."

I couldn't get Jae's attention. He was singing with his eyes closed, the microphone against his lips. I jumped up onstage and tapped him. He didn't stop playing, which was impressive. He just looked at me.

"You ready for a break?" I asked.

And just like that, the room went silent. He stared at me. I thought he was going to be angry or offended or something. But he leaned into the mic and said, "We're taking five. Thanks for listening." The band was down and in the crowd before I could even blink. I stood onstage alone now and someone below me yelled up. "Awesome party, Suzy."

"To Suzy!" someone else yelled. Then everyone cheered and raised her drinks.

I smiled. I couldn't help it. This feeling was much different than the last party I had thrown. And I wasn't going to lie; it was a nice feeling.

Seconds later, the other music, Jennie's playlist, came through the overhead speakers. I listened for a moment to the first song and the group in front of me cheered even louder.

Over the heads of the cheering crowd, still in the back corner, I met Jisoo's eyes and cringed. I'd forgotten she was there, babysitting my stuff. I jumped off the stage and wove my way through the crowd to get to her.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I got called away. Are you okay?"

"It's just loud," Jisoo said. "And I don't know anyone. Where did you disappear to?"

I pointed vaguely over my shoulder. "Upstairs to take care of a guy threatening to jump."

"Someone jumped?"

"No, I think he was bluffing but I bribed him out of it." I used both hands to usher her up. "Come on, I want to show you something."

She slid her way out from behind the table. I gabbed my shoes and keys and led her through the crowd and up the stairs. A different set of stairs led us to an enclosed hallway flanked by locked doors, which I assumed were the captain's living quarters. We continued down the hall to the end. I knocked on the closed door.

"Yes?" a voice called.

"It's Suzy . . . the person who rented the boat for the night. Can I come in?"

A lock was unbolted and the door opened. Jessi stood in there, a big row of windows behind her providing the perfect view of the ocean. On our side of the windows were the ship's controls. Lights and switches and knobs and wheels all blinking or lit up.

"Hello, Suzy," Jessi said. "Come in. Check out my ocean."

"This is amazing," Jisoo said. "And quiet."

"Do you live on the yacht?" I asked Jessi.

"I do. It's the best home in the world."

"How long have you lived here?"

"And why?" Jisoo added to my question.

"Do you need to ask why after seeing this?" Jessi moved her arm across the view in front of us. "I've lived on it for about five years. Before that I owned a sailboat. That was a different experience altogether but it made me love ocean. Places like this have an amazing way of helping you discover who you are."

I smiled, staring out at the endless dark sea. It did seem like the blank canvas of discovery.

Jessi looked at her watch. "It's time to start heading back to the shore, though. Are you ready?"

I nodded. "This has been great. Thanks for taking us out."

"I would say you're welcome, but you're paying me to do it. I wouldn't have otherwise."

I laughed. "True."

Jisoo and I walked back out to the hall.

"I think you're the most popular girl in school now," Jisoo said.

I wasn't sure that was a compliment, coming from Jisoo. "Does this make me sinister?"

She wiggled her eyebrows. "We'll see."

I squeezed her hand and she squeeze back.