“I think you might be getting seasick. Sometimes that can happen when you first take over the wheel.”
“Yeah,” I agree. It’s better to let her think I’m woozy from steering the boat. She’d probably throw me overboard if she knew it was from standing so close and touching her sweet body.
“Open my bag.” She gestures with a nod. “I have something for that.”
“I’m okay. Besides, I don’t want to get sleepy. I want to be wide awake for this.”
She eyes me for a moment longer. “Go on out back, and get some air. I’ll be slowing us down soon.”
I’d like to stay and watch her, but I step out from the cabin and find Rider and Jules looking over the side of the boat as waves splash up and Jules laughs in delight.
“Find anything interesting down there?”
Jules turns and gives me a knowing look, and points to the cabin. “I could ask the same about you.”
“I was learning to steer this vessel,” I say and she just grins. I get it. She’d like to see us hook up. Hell, I would too. But Charlie doesn’t really like me, and she doesn’t strike me as the kind of girl to engage in a summer fling—especially with a guy who has a reputation and will be hitting the road soon. She too will be moving to the big city of Toronto.
The boat slows, and Charlie shouts to us from the cabin. “Over there, guys.”
We all turn and look out the other side and Jules squeals when she sees a great big whale off in the distance. It jumps from the water and lands with a huge splash. I glance at the cabin and find Charlie watching us, a huge smile on her face. We all grab our phones and start taking pictures, as Charlie slowly inches the boat closer, no doubt being careful to give the big mammals a wide berth. Once she gets us close, a couple of hundred meters away, she kills the engine, and steps out of the cabin.
“Beautiful, aren’t they?”
“Yeah,” I say and take in her big smile as the wind blows her hat off her head. I try to snatch it, before it gets carried away, but I’m too late.
“I should have known better,” she says.
“Sorry, I thought I had it.”
“My own fault. I know better than to wear a ball cap, that the wind can take. You’d think lessons learned.”
“Not the first hat you’ve lost, I take it.”
“I think I’m a slow learner,” she says with a laugh.
“Good thing I brought this for you then.” I unzip my bag and pull out a gray knitted hat and her eyes go wide.
“You brought this for me.”
“Yeah,” I say feeling oddly foolish. Was that a strange thing to do?
“This is so nice.” She runs her hand over the wool and tugs it on and my heart squeezes a little tighter in my chest. “I love it, Wes.”
“Looks great on you.”
She tucks her hair into it, and laughs. “Did you make this?” I nod, and the happiness in her voice curls around me, arousing me… A pink blush spreads across her cheeks as she stares at the whale playing, and I have no doubt that she’s in her element out here and honestly with the wind blowing tendrils of hair around her face, she’s never looked more adorable.
The boat rocks and we all bump around. I smack into Charlie, and she puts her hand on my arm to keep me from falling. “Told you. No sea legs.” She makes a tsking sound, and I tug on her long curls playfully and she whacks my chest. I close my hand over hers and keep it on my body, wanting her to touch me. She blinks up at me, and I don’t miss the tightening of her lips, the way my heart beats just a little faster when she’s close. I bet she can feel it beneath her fingers.
“You’re kind of a smart ass,” I say. A smart ass I want to take to my bed in the worst fucking way. I keep that to myself, though. For now. Maybe later, when we’re on land, and she can’t throw me overboard, I’ll let her know what being around her does to me, and give her a kiss she’ll never forget. One thing is for certain, I know better than to get in deep with a girl who wants bigger and better, because when it comes right down to it, I’m a simple farm boy at heart, who just happens to be good at hockey. I’ve learned girls aren’t interested in that guy, and I’m not going to make that mistake again.
Then again, maybe like Charlie, I’m a slow learner…
6
Charlie
Igrab my phone from my back pocket and take a few pictures. “This never gets old,” I say, hoping my voice doesn’t come out sounding breathless and aroused, because yeah, that’s what touching Wes does to me. Who am I kidding? Just standing next to him on my boat, makes my knees weak and here I was teasinghimabout having no sea legs when I’m about to go down for the count.