He swipes his hand through his hair, shaking the water out of it. “Some. I travel a lot for my job.”
I’m about to ask him again what he does for a living when the sound of motors fill the air. He swims over to me, grabs my arm and pulls me closer to the boat. The noise is so loud, I don’t even question him. I let him pull me. Within seconds, five teenagers go by, driving way too fast on jet skis. They are much closer to the boat than they are supposed to be, I’m sure. If Neil hadn’t pulled me in, we no doubt would have been hit.
“Are you okay?” he asks me, brushing the hair off my face while his other hand is around my waist.
Nodding my head, I turn and watch the teenagers drive off and then back to him. “Thanks for saving me. That was close.”
His forehead is creased in a frown. “Yeah, too close. C’mon, let’s get back on the boat.”
He helps me up and then follows me. I start to go for my bag, but he hands me a towel and I dry myself off before wrapping it around me. The boat is rocking and he wraps his hands around my forearms to help me to my seat. His hold burns into my skin and I shoot my eyes up to his. He looks almost angry the way his jaw is tight. He takes a steadying breath and mutters, “Well, I think we’ve had about enough. What do you think?”
I want to tell him no, but I just nod my head at him. He takes care of the anchor, starts the boat back up, and turns it back around toward the marina. “I’m sorry. I bet you never thought you would almost get yourself killed going on this date today.”
I just laugh, even though I am still a little shaken up. “It wasn’t your fault.”
He hands me his phone. “Can I get your number? I would like to take you out again.”
I look between him and his phone before taking it from his hand. I don’t answer him, but I do put my number in. I’m still trying to figure all this out. I don’t know a lot about him, but the fancy boat, clothes and just the way he carries himself tells me that we don’t have a lot in common. I start getting dressed and I have to acknowledge the fact that I don’t want this date to end. When I turn back around, he’s got his life jacket off and his shirt back on.
As he pulls into the marina, my phone dings. I dig it out of my bag and find I have a text from my mom. She probably wants to gloat about how good she did picking out my date. But I do have to give it to her. She did good.
Neil
I can see it the minute she looks at her phone. The women I’m used to being around would laugh it off and forgive me for anything. But not Naomi. She’s no dumb bimbo. She isn’t going to laugh this off and I realize that I’m a little worried about how this is going to pan out.
She drops her hand and looks up at me with distrust in her eyes. I look away, focusing on docking the boat. I can’t stand to see that look in her eyes. “Who the hell are you because you’re certainly not the blind date I was set up on. Is Neil even your name? What the hell is this? Should I call the police or something on your lying ass?”
As soon as we’re docked, she’s grabbing her stuff and trying to get off the boat. I tie it off and chase after her. Damn, what a temper. And so direct. I try not to get caught up in the sway of her hips and finally catch up with her. As soon as I touch her shoulder, she stops and jerks away from me. “Don’t touch me.”
I hold my hands up in surrender. “Okay, I may not be the guy your mom set you up with to go on a date, but I am the guy who just gave you a nice afternoon out on my boat, right? I didn’t try anything untoward, did I? I mean, you and I had a great time, right?”
She just shakes her head. “Not the point. You lied the entire time. Are you some kind of con artist or something?”
Nope, she’s not easy to redirect either.
“My name is Neil Fox. I was supposed to meet some friends here but they’re assholes and you… well you are beautiful, fun, and interesting. I didn’t see your blind date around and thought, why not go on a blind date? You know?”