Every moment spent on the water was a sweet relief from the hassles of everyday, but this time, it didn't feel like I was escaping real life. Instead, it felt like real life was following us like lake police, and the meandering sailboat certainly couldn't outpace them.

As the weather continued its transition from summer to winter, the temperature dropped, and it wasn't nearly as comfortable out on the boat as it had been. The breeze had a chill to it, and I tugged my jacket closed around my body to keep in a little bit of warmth.

"You know, you could always zip up your jacket," Mason said.

I shook my head. "But that would pretty much ruin my outfit."

He rolled his eyes but didn't say anything else. The water underneath us was all the sound we needed to feel the silence between us.

I knew he had something he wanted to tell me—otherwise, he wouldn't have invited me onto the boat again—but I also knew that it was something I didn't want to hear, whether he was right or wrong. I shook my head to myself. There wasn't anyone on the planet that was happy I was just trying to live my best life.

"You're too smart for giving up on life to make little trinkets or whatever you do. You know that, Marigold. Right?" Mason finally asked.

Ugh. I knew it was coming.

"I'm not giving up. It's what I've wanted for a long time, and I don't think I'm cut out for the nine-to-five world. I know what I'm doing," I said quietly. Of course, I didn't know what I was doing one bit, but he didn't need to know that.

"Almost everyone ends up in the nine-to-five world," he said.

"You're not."

"Well, no, but that's different."

How the hell could it have been any different from my situation? He went from place to place playing his music, and I stuck to one place and shipped my crafts all over the country. We were both providing goods and services that people were willing to pay for, and I still had a completely different job as my backup plan. And what was his backup plan? His dad, I assumed.

But if this conversation was going to head in the direction I thought it would, I had to get out of it fast before I could hurt his feelings or my own.

"I don't know, I just don't think judging what people do for a living is the way to go. What people need is support, not criticism, when they're feeling stuck in life. I don't know if that makes any sense, but that's just how I feel," I said.

He didn't say anything for a brief moment. It must have made a little sense at least. "I mean, I guess, but no one is ever going to get any better or improve their lives if everyone thought like that."

Well, I thought like that, and I was working two jobs to pursue my dream.

A sickening feeling bubbled in my stomach. The effort I put in was never enough. And maybe Mason was right—it wouldn't ever be enough to be a better investment in myself than my new office job that fell into my lap.

I let out a soft sigh to myself. Why weren't the gifts that were given to me what I really wanted? Why did I always have to make the best of them with what I had? No one ever died and left the responsibility of their yarn collection to me.

"You know the right thing to do, don't you? You have to stick with what's going to make you successful," Mason said after another brief lull in conversation.

"And why does it matter to anyone, let alone you?" I asked.

"Well, you're kind of my boss right now," he said.

That was probably true. I didn't have a list of people who reported to me, but I was definitely in charge while George was out of town.

"And I'd miss it if there was someone else in that office," he continued.

The gross feeling in my belly eased up a little bit as butterflies fluttered around in there. "I thought you hated my Barbie girlboss Dreamoffice."

"I do. I think it's stupid. But," he said, "I also think you're doing a good job given the situation you were thrown into suddenly."

I let a small smile sneak into my face. "Thanks. I don't think anyone has ever actually said that to me. All I ever hear is constant bitching about everything."

"I know you like the boat life, too. And sticking with this job is going to be a good way to get it," he said.

He certainly wasn't wrong. Even if I was freezing my ass off on the boat, there was something about being able to sail away from problems on the most beautiful boat on the lake. It was a life that called me. Besides, I could always crochet on the water.

"Well, I'm certainly not going to get anything like this boat from my parents," I said with a slight chuckle. "They never liked the fact that I didn't want something better for myself. Well, sorry, but I know what will make me happy, and I—" Where was I going with this? This wasn't about them.

But fortunately for me, it didn't seem like Mason was really listening as he kept his eyes where he was going. He didn't ask me to keep going with that thought, and he didn't ask any further questions. But that was the boat life. It was supposed to be carefree and without any bullshit.

I scooted a little closer to him. I wasn't doing a very good job at being carefree, but it was hard to imagine that anyone in my situation would. But all those thoughts were just reminders of how alone I was in the pursuit of my dream. And being alone with gross feelings was not the boat vibe we were looking for.

"Mason," I said. "Do you think that sticking around in this new job would make me a quitter?" I asked.

He turned to me and shook his head. "Why would it?"

"It's just that I don't have nearly as much time to work on my business as I used to, and it's starting to take a little bit of a toll on me. I just don't want to be the person who quit on her dream."

"There's a difference between quitting on something and changing course wherever the wind takes you. I would know about that," he said, and given that we were on a sailboat after pure chance brought him to Marblehead from the Pacific Northwest, I had no choice but to believe him.

Hell, I'd be making a whole bunch of people happy if I just kept going with whatever the hell I was supposed to be doing for the Lakeside Daisy. My family would be happy I was making something of myself, I would finally fit in with my roommates and their real adult jobs, and I certainly didn't mind keeping a hot guy in my circle. The dating pool was rather small in a town like mine, and I had been there and done that with about half the ones that I thought were attractive.

I nodded to him, but mostly to myself. He sure seemed to have life figured out more than I did, so who was I to say anything different? "That makes sense. I don't think you know how much I appreciate having someone who keeps everything so real. You know how we Scorpios are."

He gave me a small forced smile. "I don't know how you Scorpios are, actually."

This time, he didn't look away from me and back out to the water where we were going. He kept his eyes on mine, and I liked it.

"You know, I don't think I ever asked you what your sign is," I said.

"It doesn't matter. The stars don't have anything to do with someone's personality or your compatibility or whatever you think it does. Every girl who's ever asked me that ended up being crazy, anyway," he said.

"What can I say? I'm completely like other girls."

"That's cool, but I've never met another Marigold before."

I smiled and thought for a moment. I had baited him perfectly the last time we were on this boat, and now it was the time to reel him in. "You're definitely a Taurus though, aren't you?"

He laughed. "How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess," I said, and before the moment could drift away from us, he closed the distance between us. I met him the rest of the way, and the moment our lips met, it was like we both knew that this had been a long time coming, especially after he didn't have any DMs I could slide into. But I wasn't cold anymore, and the stress from the week was melting away in the heat of the moment. 

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Hello, and thank you so much for reading! I hope you're doing well, and I really appreciate your support.

So for today's question, do you like to take naps during the day?

I'm not the type to nap unless I am actively dying. I just don't think it makes me feel any better because I always wake up tired from a nap. If I don't get enough sleep one night, then I'm just stuck like that for the day.