Re: [Boating: Hugh and Atticus]
"Not at the time," Hugh answered without having to think about it much. "It's who I was then. I'd call her up if I wanted to do something, and a lot of times she'd say yes, and it was nice, familiar, easy," he nodded. "We'd text sometimes for long hours into the night, but I didn't have to stop focusing on work, or worry about bringing someone from a club home." He realized that probably made him a bit of a dick, especially since at this point he suspected that it hadn't been what she'd wanted, exactly. He shook his head. "She just texted me again, and things had shifted, and I could feel it, but we kept seeing each other for sex, and eventually it shifted again, and we were friends again, and I realized I didn't want to live without that." And yet here he was.
He pulled in a breath and laughed lightly, shaking his head. "I presume an amateur actor and that it was an attempt to dig at me about where I was professionally, which was absolutely not true, even if it might have still been a fear at the time. Fake - I like things to be a certain way, and I'm probably too conscious of my appearance and what people think of me, and while I'd like to think I'm better than I used to be I still struggle to be open with things that I'm afraid will make people think poorly of me. Pretentious," he shook his head. "Probably, honestly. I definitely don't try to be, but I suspect it's still a real possibility."
Hugh looked at the lake, back to the sail, and then back to his companion. This made the boat make sense, and he wasn't bothered by it at all, because a boat and learning to sail one really was within his interests, but suddenly why the boat - specifically - was very clear. "This lake is weird," he said, an almost imperceptible shiver running up his spine. "Really this whole town is, but the lake has so many rumors I feel like. Does anyone live on the island? I mean, besides you?"