“Hey,” Kai says softly, reaching out for my hand. “No matter what, you know you’re safe with me, right? And that I won’t let anything bad happen to you?”
I nod, but that’s not good enough for Kai. He slides his hand from mine, slowly dragging his fingertips up my arm before he tips my chin up to look him in the eye.
“Words, baby. I need your words.”
Baby. He called me baby. I try not to overanalyze it, but my heart does a flip in my chest anyway.
“I know you’ll keep me safe,” I answer honestly.
Kai grins, then drops his hand. “Good. Now, on to a pressing issue. Do you have any snacks?”
I blink, giving him anare you kidding melook. “Of course, I have snacks. Who do you think you’re talking to?”
He grins, and I smirk as I open my purse and grab the snacks that I shoved in there this morning.
We divide up the bag of chips and two packages of crackers. We take sips of the water, and I know that we’re both trying to ration it in case we’re stuck here for a while.
“Ready for dessert?” I ask, and Kai’s eyes darken as he stares at me.
I swallow hard and force a smile to my lips as I hold up the bag of peanut butter M&M’s. He blinks, the lust that I could have sworn I just saw in his eyes fading as he reaches for the bag of candy.
“My favorite,” he says, and I nod, my eyes straying out to the water.
Please come back soon, ferry. Before I do something that I can’t take back.
FOUR
Kai
This isn’t a date.
I’ve been telling myself that over and over again as I relax in the sand next to Oakley. It’s hard to remember when she’s looking at me with her iridescent blue eyes, smiling and laughing as we eat our makeshift dinner.
This isn’t a date, but if it were, it would be a damn good one. The waters are calm, and it’s just us and the stars shining overhead. Oakley is so easy to talk to, her light laughter and sweet voice the perfect soundtrack to the evening.
We picked up right where we left off before she went away to college, in every sense, including my burning desire for her. Sitting here, listening to Oakley as we sway closer and closer, is the happiest I’ve been in a long damn time, and I’ve only been in her presence for a few hours. What would it be like to have this woman all to myself forever?
The earlier panic about the missing ferry has passed for both of us. I know that if push came to shove, I could swim back to land and have the ferry come back for Oakley, but for right now, for tonight, I’m happy being stranded right where I am.
The cool night air coming from the water tangles in Oakley’s long, dark locks, blowing a few strands across her face. Silver moonlight kisses her cheeks, nose, and mouth, highlighting her perfectly pouty lips. I’m entranced by this woman, and find myself opening my mouth to tell her before I can stop.
“You’re stunning,” I tell her. “Absolutely beautiful.” She rolls her eyes, deflecting compliments like she always has, but I can see her smiling.
“In the moonlight you mean? Where you can barely see me,” she says, trying to play it off.
“I can see you just fine,” I assure her. “You’re imprinted forever in my mind.”Reel it in, I scream at myself. And yet, I keep going. “You’ve always been gorgeous.”
She looks away from me, and I wonder if I went too far, too fast. Of course I did, but I can’t seem to stop.
“How come you never dated in high school?” Oakley asks after a beat as she rolls onto her side to study me.
My eyes roam down her body, greedily drinking in her curves. I can’t help but notice her breasts are more filled out, her thighs are thicker, and her hips are wider than the last time I studied her like a creep, back at her high school graduation party. Fuck me, I love every dip and curve. Love that there’s more of her to hold. More of her to love.
Oakley pokes me in the chest, jarring me out of my lustful thoughts. I loop my fingers around her wrist, drawing her hand to my mouth. She stares at me, and I don’t break eye contact as I brush a kiss over her knuckles.
I want to tell her that I never noticed anyone in high school but her, and that she was completely off limits, but can I? What if she rejects me?
Maybe I should wait, but as soon as I think that, I know I can’t. Especially when those blue eyes of hers widen and she licks her bottom lip. My girl leans in, swaying closer to me, closer, so close I can smell her familiar orange blossom scent.