4. Chapter Four
Chapter Four
Asher
As she smoothly dips her oars into the water, the kayak stays steady and flies toward the beach. The muscles in her arms flex and shift with each movement. It’s impossible not to appreciate her strength and innate athletic talent as I paddle my kayak at a slower pace behind her, randomly calling out instructions for any corrections she should make.
Just like paddleboarding, she picked up this new skill with the grace of a natural. What would she have become without the accident?
Don’t go there. Those are your words. Just because you’re wallowing in your parent’s basement doesn’t mean she’s not lived up to her potential. Injury or no injury. She’s leading her life and trying new things. Maybe it’s easy for her. Maybe everything is easier for everyone.
“Dip lower into the water. Straighten out by smoothing out your strokes.” She follows my directions to a T without looking back.
She’s a stunning girl. A perfect body that’s meant for exploring. Except she’s too damned young for me. And I’m going nowhere with my life.
I intended to retire from the Navy, not get an honorable medical discharge. When your entire focus is on one thing, you end up in an entirely different place…. I growl under my breath. Quit being a pussy. No self-pity. I’ll figure something out.
As she grows smaller in the distance, I study the land. Brilliant sunshine blazes down on me, sending a trickle of sweat between my shoulder blades but in the distance, dark clouds will roll with that incoming rain. I love the beach and the resort my parents built. But running a resort was their dream and now my brother’s.
What do I want? My goal for the future isn’t to work for my brother teaching water activities. I rock back into the seat, letting the paddles glide along the surface. Do I go back to school and get a degree? I rotate my shoulders and neck. I hated school when I was a kid. I can’t imagine going back to metal chairs and desks that are too small.
My specialty in the Navy was mapping and surveillance. Where in the hell will I use those skills in a civilian job? It’s not like the hardware store needs to know where the closest warzone is in another country.
Piper’s kayak slides to a stop at the beach. She twists her head around, looking for me. When she finally sees me, she frowns. “Shit,” I groan. This one is feisty, and somehow, during my morose wallowing, she’d managed to get 30 yards in front of me.
She climbs out of the kayak and clamors to her feet, not caring that she’s shin-deep in water and her leggings are now soaked to her skin. “What if I’d capsized? How were you going to save me?” She crosses her arms over her chest, which wasn’t easy with the puffy orange vest strapped across her body.
I pump my arms harder, and moments later, I’m gliding into the sand. “You have on a life vest, and it only took me four strokes to catch up.” I nearly coughed over the word. Strokes? Heat rises along my neck and over my cheeks, as her eyes flit over me. Dropping from my eyes to my lips, down to my chest, and back up in one blink.
“You should have been closer if I needed you.” She glances away from me as if she’s plagued by the same thoughts I’m experiencing. Or maybe it’s just the tension of the building clouds to the west.
She licks her lips, and my pulse jumps at the base of my neck. Is she interested in me? My skin tightens. Do I want her to be? That’s a stupid question. She’s gorgeous. Strong. Fierce. I’d be lucky to have her, but for what purpose? Have sex and move on?
Her eyes meet mine, and I swallow over the dryness in my throat. Once won’t be enough, so it won’t happen.
What’s wrong with me? I’ve not been the least bit interested in sex since the bombing. Between my injury, self-loathing, wallowing, and nightmares, I’ve not had time, and now, my libido is going to wake up over a girl that lives who knows where and thinks I’m an asshole. Sounds right, old man. I bite back a chuckle that would’ve come out sounding like a lunatic’s laugh if I’d let it have sound.
The breeze blows a strand of her hair into her face, causing her to bat at it to keep it in place. Forget about her. It’s just your body waking and searching for an outlet. I hop from the boat and drag the bottom higher onto the beach. Soon, the wind will pick up, and I’m not about to chase this thing into the ocean.
“I apologize for not being closer.”
Her eyes dart to my lips again, and the hairs on my arms stand. Where is this connection coming from? The yearning to wrap my arms around her and kiss her lips is growing with each lapping of the water. I want to taste her. To dig my hands into her hair and take her right here on the beach. I fist my hands at my sides and will the raging blood in my veins to cool.
She inhales and sighs, “I’m sorry. Everything was going well, and then I saw the clouds and freaked out.” She gives me a sheepish smile. “I think I went a little overboard in yelling at you. I apologize.”
Like a moth drawn to the flame, my hand is on her upper arm before I realize I’m standing in front of her. Her skin is warm to the touch even though the wind has continued to pick up while we’ve been out on the water.
“There’s no need to apologize.” I rub my thumb over her silken flesh as if my body has a mind of its own. “I shouldn’t have gotten lost in thought. This was your first lesson. But you are a natural at everything, so I kind of forgot.”
“Thank you.” Pink tinges her cheeks, causing my heart to skip a beat. “You know how to compliment a girl.’
When was the last time I gave a girl a compliment? Lord, I don’t even remember. “What did you want to do when you grew up?”
“What?” Her brows furrow as my question catches her off-guard. Hell, I’m not even sure what I’m getting at. I drop my arm to my side and shift backward to put some much-needed space between us before I do something reckless.
“Before you were injured, what did you want to do?”
She crosses her arms over her chest and shivers as the sand swirls in a circle behind her. “I was only fourteen, so I was young and naive.” She chuckles and rolls her eyes. “I wanted to be a female basketball player. But even if I hadn’t gotten hurt, I wouldn’t have made it. I’m 5’3.” Her eyes dance with humor. “I wouldn’t come to most of their waists.”
I rake my hand through my hair. “Are you going to college?”
“Yes, I’m going to an online college. I want to become a sports psychologist like my sister-in-law or a trainer like one of my brother’s friends’ wives. I love sports, and even though I’ll never be a professional, I understand hardship, dedication, and determination.” Her chin goes up. Here comes that steely resolve again. She’s beautiful. Her resilience takes my breath away.
Thunder rumbles in the distance as the sun dips behind a cloud. The weather is about to change for the worse, and instead of securing the kayaks, I can’t stop staring at her. Breathing the same air, she breathes. Wishing I could–
“What about you? What’s your story?”
And the iron walls I’ve erected to keep people out slam down in front of me. “Typical. I was enlisted in the Navy and got out. Now, I’m figuring out civilian life.”
Lightning cracks, but it holds nothing to the fire flashing in her eyes. “Seriously? That’s it?”
“What?” But I know what she means. She spilled her guts, and I gave her nothing.
“Never mind.” She slips on her sandals, grabs her phone, and marches toward the resort. Her sandals dig into the beach, leaving shoeprints in her wake. They’ll be gone as soon as the rain hits. And she’ll be gone in under a week. It’s best to let her go now before I do something stupid. Something she’ll regret. Something I can’t recover from.