The sun was directly overhead, and I was grateful for the hat I’d thought to bring. I pulled it down to better shade my eyes from the sun. Lex put his sunglasses on to cut the glare. They looked good on him. They gave him a certain movie-star look.

Lex had been seated in front of me in the dragon boat. We were all crammed together, holding our paddles. They didn't feel quite right. It was like they were a bit too short or too narrow. I was more familiar with canoeing. I’d done the dragon boat thing before, but it had been a while.

Our boat was very responsive, shooting forward through the water much faster than I expected. It wasn’t the most stable thing; it was built for speed. The person in the back had given us a few pointers on how to hold our paddles with our hands covering the top, and then we charged ahead.

I didn’t feel particularly competent. I was splashing a lot more than I thought was necessary. Lex seemed like more of a natural, but I couldn’t be sure. Maybe I was okay. Maybe we were both within the realm of decent amateurs. Nobody said anything to the contrary anyway. And how badly could two people out of twenty-two really screw things up?

We had a few minutes to practice as a team on the water before it was our turn to race. These weren’t the fancy historical boats that they had us racing. These were the streamlined modern racers that the rowing club used. The tiny dragon heads were painted in red and gold on aluminum at the front.

The first few heats were the experts, and it showed. They clearly knew what they were doing and took their jobs very seriously. While the pros showed us how it was done, we waited our turn, floating near the docks with our paddles resting on the sides of the boat.

When it was our turn to go, and the starting pistol sounded, it was all out for the few minutes it took for us to cover the course. It seemed like forever, though. My heart was pounding as I dug my paddle into the water, trying to keep the ridiculously fast pace the drummer was setting for us.

And then, suddenly, it was over. My breath came in audible gasps as I tried to recover. I wasn’t in the best shape, apparently.

“That was awesome,” Lex said as we were getting out of the boat. “I forgot how much I love being out on the water.”

Sweat glistened on his face. His hair was a bit matted at the temple. He took off his sunglasses and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

I was still trying to catch my breath. I was sure my face was red from the exertion.

“Congratulations!” Nadine said, running up to greet us with Anjali in tow.

I put my lifejacket on a nearby rack. “For what?”

“You came in third,” Nadine explained.

“Really?” I hadn’t even noticed. “Well, if we came in third, it was just for our heat. I’m pretty sure we are nowhere at all in the standings once you take everyone else into account.”

“Still. You guys did great,” my sister said.

Anjali nodded, twisting the end of her long braid around her finger.

“There are food booths set up just over there. Are you hungry?” I asked, looking at Lex.

He shrugged. “I can always eat.”

I expected Nadine and Anjali to tag along, but my sister decided she wanted to watch more of the races. “I’ll grab something in a bit. Maybe when Anjali is up for a snack.”

“Don’t count on it,” Anjali said. “You’ve no idea how much of a food coma I’m in. I may never need to eat again.”

Nadine shrugged. “I’ll wait anyway. You boys are on your own.”

That was perfect for my plans. Lex and I walked toward the food tents. I squinted at him, half-blinded by the bright sunlight despite my cap.

“You mentioned something about being on the water?”

“Yeah. My uncle has a cabin in Wisconsin. We used to go all the time when I was a kid. He had a rowboat that he let me use. I could take it out on my own. I really liked the solitude.”

“So the exact opposite of a dragon boat.” There was nothing like solitude in a noisy boat with twenty-two people.

Lex laughed. “Yeah. Nothing at all like a dragon boat. Other than the water. And the fact that it involves paddles.”

I found a stall that was serving cold noodles and egg rolls. Lex opted for sausage and fried rice. We found a spot to sit in the shade under a tree.

“I want to make sure I understand what’s going on here,” Lex said. “Does this count as our first date?”

“Yes. So long as we spend some quality time away from my sister. It kind of ruins the effect if the two of you are making eyes at each other on our date.”

“I was not—”

“Whatever. To answer your question, yes. This is our first date.”

I picked up a forkful of noodles. They hadn’t supplied chopsticks, but that was fine.

“Great,” Lex said. “Other than paddling the dragon boat and eating street food, what does this date entail?”

“Getting to know you better,” I said.

“What more is there to know? You’re going to grill me about…” Lex prompted.

“Yes.”

He laughed. “Fire away.”

“I suppose I should ask if you’re seeing anyone. That should have been my first question, although I assume you would have mentioned it earlier.”

It hadn’t even occurred to me that Lex might already have a girlfriend.

“No. I’ve not really dated anyone seriously. We’ve moved around a lot.”

That was a potential drawback. Not the fact that he wasn’t currently dating, but the fact that he hadn’t had any serious relationships.

“But you have dated?”

“Yes,” he said.

“Why did you break up with your last girlfriend?”

Lex shrugged. “She broke up with me when she found out I was moving. She decided that it wasn’t worth trying to do long distance. And I don’t blame her. I tried long-distance once. It wasn’t for me.”

“Just how many girlfriends have you had?” I asked.

Lex finished off the last bite of his fried rice. “Three. But the first one hardly counts. We were in middle school, and we only went out long enough to go to the homecoming dance.”

“You had homecoming dances in middle school?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah. My middle school was attached to a high school. Homecoming was mostly a high school thing, but we got our own dance. They called it a dance, but no one really danced. The boys all stood around on one side of the gym, and the girls stood around on the other side of the gym, and every now and again, someone would get up the courage to talk to the person that they had asked to the dance.”

I laughed. “That sounds terrible.”

“It wasn’t exactly terrible, but it wasn’t quite the big social event that it’s made out to be.”

“Did you go to prom?”

I didn’t really care. I was just curious.

“No, I was between girlfriends at the time.”

“I see. How long has it been since your last girlfriend? The one who broke up with you when you moved away. Was that this most recent move?” I asked.

Lex nodded. “We broke up about a few weeks ago.”

“Had you been going out long?” I asked. He didn’t seem that broken up about it.

“It was really just a summer thing. And it was never that serious. What about you?” Lex asked. “If we’re on a date, shouldn’t I be getting to know you better too?”

He had a fair point, although, for my purposes, it didn’t really matter how well he knew me. “Sure, I guess. What do you want to know?”

“Have you always lived here?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

Lex nodded. “Your mom works at the university. What about your dad?”

“He lives in Toronto with his new family.” I tried not to grimace but failed miserably.

Lex ducked his head. “Sorry. Change of subject.”

“No. It’s fine. He left a long time ago.” But I changed the subject anyway. “Did you want to know my zodiac and all that? Are you into that stuff?”

“Not really. It’s just for fun.”

“I’m a Capricorn. Not that I know what that’s supposed to mean,” I said.

“Capricorn. Well…” Lex pulled out his phone. “It looks like you are meant to be hardworking, ambitious, responsible, and stubborn. And you’re certainly exhibiting those traits with respect to your sister,” he said, grinning.

“And what about you? You mentioned it yesterday, but honestly, I already forgot. I’m not really into horoscopes.”

“I’m a Cancer. I’m emotional, sensitive, and a caregiver—just the kind of guy you’d want dating your sister. And in the spirit of the dragon boat races, let’s check on your Chinese zodiac as well. What year were you born?”

“2005.”

“Right,” he said, squinting at his phone. “You’re a rooster. And apparently, we’re terribly incompatible.”

I laughed. “Good thing we’re not actually dating, then. Why, what year are you?”

“2006. Dog.”

“Hmm. Probably loyal, then. Isn’t that the trait of dogs?” I asked.

“And honest.” Lex said, looking up at me with his wide, brown eyes, which had little flecks of green in them.

Just then, my sister texted me to let me know that she and Anjali had tired of watching the races and were headed back to Anjali’s.

“Well. Looks like my sister took off already.”

“Does that mean our date is over as well?” Lex asked.

“What, did you want a good-night kiss?” I replied, smirking.