She nods, then sits in the dining booth beside the helm, eyes tracing over the sleek, modern features as subtly as she can. The tiniest part of me recalls how many girls in college used me for my money, but I remind myself that Alexis isn’t like that. She was going to cook me dinner tonight, and she refused to order anything expensive when she was kept at the resort. If I wanted her to eat anything expensive, it had to be ready before she arrived.
I maneuver the catamaran out of the marina, thankful that I was docked at the very end. I’m not bad at driving a boat, but there’s so much on my mind tonight that I could easily mess up and damage it with Alexis sitting beside me.
“Do I need to do anything?” she asks, glancing toward the array of lines that control the different sails.
I shake my head, keeping my eyes in front of me. “No, we’re just motoring out into the harbor for some privacy.”
She nods, bunching her hands in her lap, which I’m starting to recognize as something she does when she’s nervous. I want to comfort her, but I have to remain at the helm until we’re moored.
It isn’t long until we get past most of the other boats to a mooring ball, and I ask Alexis to hold the wheel while I connect us. Despite her widening eyes when I ask her to do it, she manages to keep us right against the moor, and I hook us on quickly. When I relieve her of the helm and turn off the double engines, her shoulders sag with relief.
In the sudden silence of the world, I can hear her breathing beside me, and waves slap at the twin hulls of the yacht.
“I thought we might cook dinner together,” I say. The text to Camilla was to ensure the boat’s kitchen was stocked. I don’t cook often, but I try to do so occasionally. I’m not creative in the kitchen, but I can follow a recipe.
Alexis smiles, wrapping her hand with mine. We go into the cabin of the boat, which floats above the water in the center between hulls. The actual bedrooms are down a few steps on either side, buried within the hulls themselves. The boat barely rocks in the water, a benefit of the calm night.
“This is amazing,” she breathes, tracing her fingertips over the custom marble countertops. After ogling for a minute, she starts to search through the kitchen cabinets, pulling out ingredients and cookware.
“Give me a task,” I say, taking a mixing bowl from her hands. “I promise I’m not totally useless.”
She smiles, handing me a couple of tomatoes to chop and a block of cheese to shred. “We’re making a pasta bake that my mom used to cook when I was a kid.”
We work in sync, winding around each other like stars caught in each others’ orbit. She wordlessly hands me things to do, and I do it as if I’m reading her mind. The cabin’s air runs cool over my skin, and I can’t help but catch myself staring at her every now and then. She’s a lot like how she is at work, cool and collected and totally in her element. She’d been the same way when we rescued the shark. She works well when she has something to focus on. In fact, she seems to enjoy the work.
When the pasta goes in the oven, she sets a timer for twenty minutes, and I take her out to the bow of the yacht. There’s a small sitting area recessed into the deck, and I collapse into the cushions, propping one leg up against the back of the sofa. Instead of sitting elsewhere, Alexis gets comfortable between my legs, leaning back against me. I wrap my arms around her, wondering how I got so lucky.
Chapter Sixteen
Alexis
I still sort of suspect that James bought the boat just for this date, but I’m not going to press him on the matter. After we eat, we sit out on the trampolines, which is what James calls the netting that goes over the front of the boat. I dangle my feet over the edge, watching the lights of the city twinkle in the distance. We’re not that far out, but it feels like a whole other world from here. There are a few other sailboats moored throughout the water, although none are close enough to even read the identification numbers on the sides.
“This is nice,” I say to break the silence. I glance over at James, who’s watching me about as intensely as I’ve been watching the city.
“It is,” he says.
Self-consciously, I tuck my hair behind my ear. Why is he staring at me like that, anyway? “What is it?” I ask.
He gives me a soft smile in return. “I’ve never met anyone like you,” he says. “It’s like I’ve discovered this entirely new species.” After a pause where his eyebrows scrunch together, he says, “I meant that as a compliment. Sorry, I’m not great with words.”
I let out a laugh that’s carried away by the wind, then turn back to the water. Even with all the lights off on the boat other than the safeties, the world around us is bright. The moon is full in the sky, turning the ocean around us glowing as the tiny ripples crest.
Something sleek and silvery moves through the water, and my heart leaps into my throat. Was that what I thought it was?
It doesn’t take long to be certain. After a moment, a young dolphin, probably only months old, leaps into the air, flailing with excitement. “Dolphins!” I cry, pointing them out to James as if they aren’t completely obvious.
He grins and moves over to join me on my trampoline, pulling me back into his lap like I’d been on the sofa earlier. His arms are strong and safe, and I sigh as I relax into him.
The pod has at least a dozen members, although only the one youngest one is leaping out of the water and playing. The rest seem to be on the hunt, which means there’s a school of fish swimming below us, the pod of dolphins ganging up on them to ensure a good meal.
I crane my neck to face James, and he’s got a look of childlike wonder as he stares out into the water. I’m glad I’m not the only one excited about this moment.
I put a hand on his cheek, and he turns his attention toward me, that grin still across his face. I can’t help but kiss him.
***
Eventually, the pod moves on, and exhaustion starts to set in. Despite how amazing this night is, my shift was long and exhausting, and I have to get up for another one tomorrow. James doesn’t need my help this time, unmooring the boat and driving back to shore without anything from me. I find a throw blanket inside and pull it around me, the night air growing chilly the longer we’re out on the water.