"You good?" Misha called over his shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm good." Jensen tightened his grip on the rail. Misha started the engine, and the sole vibrated under Jen's feet. Misha steered them out of the harbor with little difficulty. Jensen glanced over his shoulder at the hotel where Jared and the rest of the crew were checking in. Misha'd had a friend bring his speedboat down to Florida so he could treat everybody to a ride before filming got underway. Jensen had volunteered to accompany him back to Palm Beach, where Misha had a friend willing to take the boat back to Misha's storage barn.
"Muse okay with you?" Misha asked, turning halfway around. He'd opted to stand while driving rather than sit.
"Sure," Jensen replied.
Misha hooked his phone up to a small stereo. "I have a playlist," he said, loud enough to be heard over the engine.
"Cool," Jensen said.
A peppy song blasted out of those tiny speakers. Jensen didn't recognize it, but Misha's face brightened. He pushed the throttle further forward.
They drove on in companionable silence. Misha looked left, then right, and steered the boat towards the open ocean.
"Mish… what're you doing?"
Misha turned around and shot Jensen a sharklike grin. "This baby hasn't been pushed to her limit yet. Far's I've heard, she can go a solid 60. Wanna see?"
"Yeah, sure, okay." Jensen let go of the rail for a second to zip up his windbreaker. "Sounds awesome. Let's do it."
"Don't say I didn't warn you!"
"You didn't."
"Okay, Jen." Misha grinned again. "Here's your warning, smartass: hold on tight!" He shoved the lever forward, and the speedboat shot into the breaking waves.
"Holy-!" Jensen gripped the railing tightly as the boat slammed down.
"Bend your knees!" Misha called back to him, laughing a bit. Jensen obeyed, leaning so he could see the displays. Pushing 40 miles per hour.
Adrenaline pulsed in Jensen's veins. He laughed and held on tighter. He heard Misha laugh as well, and the song switched out. Jensen recognized this one: "Uprising."
Just as the boat's speedometer hit 57 miles per hour, something banged at the front of the boat. Misha swore and yanked back on the throttle. Jen almost lost his balance but managed to right himself. "What was that?!"
"No clue." Misha took the key from the ignition and climbed up to the front of the boat. He crawled to the bow on his knees and got down on his stomach, leaning over the front edge and reaching downwards. "Ah… shit."
"What is it?" Jensen called.
"Anchor," Misha called back, sounding a bit short of breath. "This might take a while. Sorry, Jen."
"Hey, no sweat." Jensen unclenched his hands and sat down on the salt-misted seat behind him. His palms were red and stinging, but he was grinning and his heart was pounding. Misha made an unhappy grumbling noise from the bow of the boat, and Jensen moved to turn down the music so he wouldn't get distracted.
"Got it." Misha climbed back and dropped to the sole near the entrance to the cabin. "The anchor came loose."
"Is everything okay?" Jensen asked.
"Well, it didn't punch a hole in the side of the boat," Misha said cheerfully. "Just left a few dents and a nice scratch."
"Should we… go to shore?"
"Hell no!" Misha turned the key and started the motor. "We're pushing this baby to the limit, and nothing is gonna stop us." He turned the volume on his phone further to the right. "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be," Jensen teased him, grabbing back on to the rail.
The anchor came free two more times during their joyride. The third time, unfortunately, the anchor smashed a hole in the boat.
"How bad is it?" Jensen kept his distance, so as not to stress Misha out.
"Not too bad." Misha opened the door to the cabin and slipped inside. "Shit." His voice echoed in the small space.
Jensen moved to the door and crouched down. "What h-"
"We're taking water," Misha said tersely. He tore past Jensen, almost knocking him overboard, and lifted a cushion to reveal a storage space underneath. "Turn on the bilge pumps, Jen."
"Where are they?"
"The switches are labeled." Misha pulled a sheet of what looked like some sort of foam from under the cushion and ran past Jensen, back into the cabin.
Jensen went over to the controls and quickly spotted the switches, which were, indeed, labeled "Bilge Pumps." He flicked the switches up.
"Good. Okay." Misha emerged from the cabin, jeans soaked almost to his knees. "Now we should head back."
"Only after there's a hole in your boat?" Jensen asked.
"Yep." Misha unbuttoned his pants and had them off in a flash. He looked up and saw Jensen's weird look. "What? My pants are wet!" He wiggled his eyebrows and smirked. "What's the face for, Jen? See something you like?"
"Oh, c'mon, Mish," Jensen huffed.
"You're welcome to take yours off too, so I'm not the odd one out," Misha supplied.
"Hate to break it to you, Misha, but you're always the odd one out."
"Damn straight!" Misha went back to the controls and restarted the engine. "I'm gonna have to drive in reverse, so hold on, okay?"
Jensen didn't reply, taking hold of the railing as Misha started the boat once again.
The ride to Palm Beach was slow and very wet. By the time Misha's boat pulled into the desired harbor, the two of them were soaking wet from waves breaking over the stern.
"You might as well put your pants back on," Jensen said, pushing his sopping hair off his forehead. "At least they're half dry… can't say the same for mine."
Misha was only paying partial attention to him, mostly focused on his friend onshore. "Can you haul us out?" he called.
The mysterious figure nodded, and Misha gave them a thumbs-up.
"Grab that line, will you?" Jensen realized Misha was talking to him. He seized the rope and hopped onto the dock, tying the line to the nearest cleat.
"Nice," Misha said, taking the other and holding onto it. "You'll have to untie it soon, though."
Jensen wasn't sure what he meant until he saw the giant machine. "Woah."
"I know, it's huge, isn't it?"
"Understatement of the year," said Jensen.
The machine looked like a giant tractor, with two long bars that raised and lowered. Jensen untied the line and hopped off the boat, standing next to Misha. He watched the machine slide the two bars under the boat, then, slowly but surely, lift it out of the water.
"Sweet," Jensen commented.
"I know, right?" Misha's blue eyes were shining as he turned to Jen. "You like boats?"
"Now I do," Jensen said.
"Well, I'll make sure to take you out again!"
Jensen only realized the double meaning behind the words when Misha was halfway to the escort car. "Mish, wait! What did you-"
"Hurry up, Jen!" Misha called. "We've got some scenes to shoot, but not before a shower!"
Jensen let it go, as he usually did.
"Wait up!"
