Shooting her a smug, satisfied smile, he continued to navigate them to open water. He slowed when they passed the outer harbor wall. It was covered in sunbathing sea lions. They were adorable, but being downwind was pretty awful. There was a combination of rotting fish and sea lion poop. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she wrinkled her nose and took a few pictures of them, and the harbor as they exited.
By the time they made it to open water, he was feeling totally relaxed. He looked over at Chloe who had moved back into a relaxed sprawl on the bench seat next to him. He said, his voice raised so she could hear him, “This was a great idea.”
Nodding, Chloe answered, “Totally. So where are we headed?”
Shrugging he said, “I dunno. North? South? Which way?”
“North,” she decided.
Angling the wheel slightly, he asked, “You wanna drive?”
When he looked back, her eyes widened and she asked, “Really? You won’t even ride in my car. You’re gonna let me drive your boat?”
“Forget I asked. Point taken,” he said, smirking.
Her face scrunched up with annoyance and she stood up. She said, “Nope. You’re stuck now.”
He slowed the boat down significantly then stepped back to let her stand in front of him at the wheel.
When she put her hands on the wheel, he stepped back into place behind her. She seemed startled for a minute so he said, “I saw what you did to your first car. We’re in open water, but I’m not taking any chances.”
Wincing, she said, “Point taken. Oh hey! Hang on to the wheel a minute more and smile.”
Holding her arms out she angled the camera toward them and leaned her head back on his chest, smiling.
She took a couple of pictures and then he dryly asked, “You’re done now?”
Smiling she said, “For now. Thank you.”
Putting the camera strap back on her wrist, she put her hands on the wheel. Chris continued to stand behind her, his hands on the wheel next to hers. She leaned back against him again, to say something. He hadn’t even heard what it was.
He couldn’t concentrate on anything beyond the feel of her body pressed against his. He wanted nothing more than to turn off the boat, drop anchor and drag her into the cabin. Feeling himself get aroused, he thought about baseball scores, Jabba the Hutt, anything to take his mind off the fact her body was currently snuggled up against his.
He realized she was calling his name, so he answered, “Sorry. I was drifting. What did you say?”
Turning her neck a little more she repeated her question.
“How far do you want to go?”
His hands tightened on the wheel.
Clarifying, she asked, “How far north? We can’t drive forever.”
Moving one of his hands off the wheel, he glanced at his watch. It was already 10:30.
“Let’s drive another twenty minutes or so, then drop anchor for lunch. I skipped breakfast.”
“I don’t normally eat breakfast. I’ll take extra sleep any day.”
“Want me to take over?” he asked, desperate to separate himself from her.
Smiling, she said, “Nope. I like driving.”
She snuggled back against him again and he let his body relax. He knew he wasn’t really supposed to be enjoying it, but this was kind of nice.
For the next twenty minutes, they continued to stand there, with him pressed up against her behind the wheel, her leaning back against his chest. Neither of them spoke. They just enjoyed the warm breeze and the sun.
Leaning toward her ear, he said, “I’m gonna slow the boat down and drop anchor now.”