CHAPTER6
kai
Mariella took me to two more dive sites in the afternoon. I could have stayed down there all afternoon, but if I wanted to be able to dive the following day, I needed to keep an eye on my dive computer so I didn’t overdo it. We’d polished off the snacks she’d brought along with the protein bars I’d tossed in my bag. With a long ride back to the campground ahead of us, I wondered if she’d be receptive to my offer of treating her to dinner before we headed back.
We’d passed several small communities along the shore on our way out this morning. One of them had to have a place with great seafood. I took my time disassembling my gear while Mariella stowed the items she’d pulled out while she waited for me.
“Hey, if you’re not in a hurry to get back, I’d love to buy you dinner on the way.”
She stopped in the middle of the deck. “Oh, you don’t have to do that.”
“I want to. It’s the least I could do since you spent the whole day carting me around.” Plus, I wanted to talk about that kiss we’d shared. It felt like an albatross hanging over us, and I needed to clear the air.
She cocked her head like she was trying to get a read on me. “Are you sure?”
“A hundred percent. There’s got to be somewhere around here you can recommend.” I shrugged my shirt on and gazed toward the shore.
“What are you craving?” she asked.
The question was innocent enough, but immediately my thoughts detoured from the catch of the day to imagining her arms wrapped around me, and the sweet taste of her mouth as I explored her with my tongue. Fuck. I dragged a hand down my cheek, buying myself a few moments before I had to respond.
“You pick. I could go for just about anything right now.” Including you, I could have added. Though we’d been nothing but professional toward each other since this morning, I hadn’t imagined the way her body had responded to mine.
“There’s a place we can dock by Halfmoon Bay and a cute little restaurant with a great view if you like Italian food.”
“No seafood?” Seemed hard to believe a place right on the water wouldn’t take advantage of the fishing opportunities right outside their door.
“It’s been a while since I’ve eaten there. I’m sure they have fish on the menu. We could always venture down to Gibsons, but that’s going the opposite direction.” She opened her mouth like she wanted to say something else.
“What?” I’d always been able to read people. Some of my brothers hated it, but I’d found it to be a valuable skill, especially when it came to keeping myself out of trouble as a teen.
“Do you like oysters?”
I nodded, liking the direction this conversation was headed.
“How about clams?” she asked.
“Show me the way,” I teased.
“Alright, but don’t blame me if you’re too tired to dive tomorrow because I keep you out past your curfew.”
I laughed, happy that she seemed to be loosening up a bit. “I haven’t had a curfew since I was seventeen.”
Her lips split into a wide grin. “Gibsons it is.”
She turned the boat, and we headed south.
An hour later, we sat on the deck overlooking the water with a plate of oysters between us. I’d already finished a pint of a local IPA, and Mariella wasn’t far behind me. She’d relaxed a little, and I couldn’t get enough of the way her face lit up when she laughed. I added a dash of Tabasco to the oyster in my hand, then sucked it out of the shell and swallowed it whole.
“So, are you from Texas?” Mariella asked as she prepped an oyster for herself.
I liked to think I’d shed most of my Texas twang, so the question caught me off guard. “What makes you think that?”
She focused on the shell in her fingers. “I noticed your tattoo when you were getting ready to dive.”
Nodding, I picked up my second beer. “That’s from a bet I lost with one of my brothers.”
“How many brothers do you have?”