Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Their legs swung over the side of the boat, the last glimmer of gold melting into the horizon, sparking the clouds above with a deep crimson hue.
“Red sky at night, sailors delight,” Sam murmured at the light show.
Taylor turned to face her, watching the bright colour light up Sam’s face. It made the light band of freckles stand out over her nose as she traced them with her eyes. Wisps of her hair gently floated on the breeze, glowing gold as they caught the rays. Taylor would have to sit on her hands at this rate to stop herself from reaching out and tucking them away.
“Well I’d hope so, with us staying out here and all,” Taylor said, a little nervous about the weather.
“We’ll be fine. I’ve left extra chain out on the anchor for the change in tides overnight, and remember, I’ve pretty much grown up on boats,” Sam replied, slipping her hand over Taylor’s. “Trust me.”
“I trust you.”
Taylor smiled at Sam, before looking back at the sunset. Whether Sam realised she’d left her hand on Taylor’s or not, she didn’t dare move an inch. She was more than happy to play this little game again, whatever it meant.
Taylor’s heart picked up the pace at the thought. They still hadn’t talked about anything related to what was happening between them— if there was even something happening. Maybe she was just making this up and it was all in her own head?
She felt her own face flame at the thought of reading the signals completely wrong. The sun had now almost slipped beyond the horizon. She hoped to god the last of the fading red would hide her colouring cheeks.
Movement to her left pulled her out of her thoughts. “Dolphins!” she said excitedly, moving her hand from under Sam’s to point at them. Damn reflexes.
“Oh wow, a whole pod. Good spotting,” Sam replied as three more surfaced in unison.
“Is there anything more magical?” Taylor watched them go past, almost in a trance.
“Not much.” Sam’s hand landed back on hers again.
Okay, not a mistake.
This time, she dared a glance back at her. This time, she wasn’t surrounded by her friends, or Sam’s. It was just them (and some dolphins) in the middle of nowhere.
Her heart pounded as Sam turned to her, gaze on her lips before slowly dragging up to meet her eyes. Fuck Taylor Time.
“Hi,” Taylor whispered, a small smirk on her lips.
“Hi.” Sam smiled back, dipping her chin before looking back and leaning forward ever so slightly.
Taylor followed suit, unable to pull her eyes away from Sam’s mouth. Being the considerate person she was, she still wanted to be absolutely sure…
“Do you want to?—”
Sam’s lips were on her in an instant. She’d barely been able to respond before Sam sat back, eyes comically wide as her hand flung to her lips.
She blinked, then scrambled up and away from Taylor. “Sorry, I’ve got to… uh… I’ve got to… I’ll be back.” Sam rushed off, scooting along the side of the boat and disappearing into the cabin. The sun slunk away at the same time, leaving Taylor staring into the darkness and wondering what the hell had just happened.
“Sam?” Taylor knocked softly on the cabin doorway. “Hey. Um, do you wanna talk about it?”
There was a shuffle as Sam walked over to the opening, nibbling at her nail and looking incredibly nervous.
“That is not how I imagined my first kiss with you.”
Her eyes rounded for the second time that night.
“That is also NOT what I was meant to say.” She pinched the bridge of her nose.
Taylor tried to smother her grin, tilting her head as she watched Sam at war with herself. “No?”
Sam huffed, making Taylor smile even wider.
Taylor inched forward. “May I come in?”
Sam moved aside, and Taylor stepped down into the cabin, back into Sam’s space.
“What did you imagine?”
Because Taylor was imagining all sorts of things. And she had a good imagination.
Sam’s face blushed under the dim lights as she looked away.
Taylor took a step closer. She had in mind the kind of kiss Sam really wanted. Her own nerves started to fade away, replaced by a heat that was only just firing up.
Sam looked back then, her gaze dropping to Taylor’s lips.
She had her answer.
Taylor closed the gap, her hand sliding to the back of Sam’s neck, their lips colliding. Hands fisted at her shirt. The kiss—anything but innocent like their first—made Taylor almost want to growl.
Sam deepened it first as Taylor pushed them back, Sam hitting the kitchen bench with a thud and the sweetest of giggles. Taylor could listen to that sound for days. She smiled into the kiss, threading her hand into Sam’s hair.
Sam’s lips parted as Taylor slipped in her tongue, Sam responding with a groan as she scraped at Taylor’s back. This wasn’t at all how Taylor envisioned her night going. And she was not complaining. Sam was turning into so much more than she’d first thought.
They finally took a breath, staring at each other, breathing heavy.
“So, that happened.” Taylor grinned, Sam’s hands still clutching at her hips. “Do we need to talk about this?” Taylor gestured between them.
Sam sighed and let her hands drop. “We probably should.”
She started toying with a button on Taylor’s shirt instead, avoiding her eyes. “I’m sorry for freaking out on you earlier. I think… I scared myself.” She frowned, her nose scrunching, looking absolutely adorable.
“No, that’s not right.” A pause. “I didn’t think I’d know how to kiss a girl. Which is so embarrassing,” she mumbled.
Taylor nudged Sam’s face up to look at her. “Hey,” she said softly. “I know this is super new for you. So we can go as fast or slow as you like, but I’m thinking PG might be what you need right now.”
Sam nodded.
Taylor made sure Sam was still looking into her eyes. “Also, for the record? That was amazing.”
It was Sam’s turn to break into a wide grin. “You’re telling me. That was SO much better than kissing guys. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” She smacked Taylor playfully on the arm.
“Ow, hey! Preaching to the choir here. I literally kissed one boy in high school and knew that wasn’t for me.”
“Lucky you.” Sam smirked.
“Lucky me indeed, especially right now.”
Sam glanced outside. “As much as I really”—she looked back at Taylor’s mouth—“ really want a repeat of just now, we should probably get everything packed away and close up the door before this whole cabin is filled with bugs.”
Taylor screwed up her nose and started moving back up on deck. “Ew, yes please. I hate bugs.”
“What, the travelling van girl and supreme tradie lady hates bugs?” Sam joked, flicking on the outside lights as they made their way to the front of the boat.
“Exactly! They’re everywhere I am. In the van, up a mast, they always find me.” Taylor pretended to shudder as a moth flew at her face out of nowhere. She yelped, flapping her arms and overbalancing. She grabbed onto a rail just in time as Sam grabbed onto her other arm to steady her, the boat lurching with the movement.
“See!?” Taylor exclaimed as Sam howled with laughter.
“Oh, I saw. The big, mean moth almost threw you overboard.” She was doubled over now. Taylor could see how stupid it looked from Sam’s perspective and set herself off, both of them ending up on their butts in uncontrollable laughter. Taylor looked at Sam, tears streaming down her face, and started up again.
“Oh… my… god… this… is… so… stupid !” Taylor cried between breaths.
“I know, I can’t breathe,” Sam wheezed, lying back and clutching at her stomach. “It hurts.”
As they settled down, Taylor moved to lie beside Sam on the blanket, catching her breath.
“Man, that was intense.” Taylor let out a slow breath and gazed at the sky above, knees up, an arm draped over her middle.
“Mental note—Tay hates insects of any kind and needs fierce protection from them.”
Taylor pouted. “Moths are the worst, though. They’re so… fluttery. And why do they always fly at your face?”
“That, I don’t have an answer for, but I’ll make sure to keep an eye out tonight for you.”
“Appreciate it,” Taylor sighed. “This has been a really nice night.”
“It really has.”
She felt Sam’s hand slide into hers, more confidently this time, feeling like home. Sam smiled at her with a small squeeze of her hand before looking back up at the stars.
“Thank you, for tonight and for what you said earlier in the cabin. I’m definitely, uh, figuring things out as far as this goes.” She flicked her hand between them. “And just following my gut. All I know is I really wanted—no, needed —to kiss you.”
“I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t had similar thoughts, but I really couldn’t gauge what you were thinking. So, I’m glad you made the first move, especially since I didn’t exactly know if you’d be into someone like me.”
“You and me both. I didn’t know I would be either until you came along. I can’t even really explain it yet, but…” She shrugged. “Here we are.”
“Take all the time you need, and I’m here to talk if you uh, you know, have questions.”
“Thanks, Tay. Let’s be honest, I probably will.”
Taylor rolled onto her side and took another breath. “Well, if we’re on an honest roll right now… remember how I mentioned about my break up? You’re the first person I’ve kissed since then, which is kind of a big deal for me.”
“Oh wow. Well firstly, I’m honoured. And secondly, while I don’t know what happened between you two, it’s her loss.”
“I don’t want to bring the mood down tonight, so I won’t talk about it more right now, but thanks. That means a lot.”
They lay in companionable silence for a few more minutes, holding hands and staring up at the stars, Sam making sure she pointed out the brightest one.