Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Belle barked as a shag swooped low to their left, landing on the water then diving in headfirst in search of a feed. Belle went to jump in after, but Taylor grabbed her silly pup by the lifejacket handle, the paddleboard wobbling at their antics.
“Yeah, no, you’re not going in the water right now. Sit. You don’t even like the water.”
Belle did what she was told, then slid onto her stomach, face smushed between her two paws, sulking. Taylor just shook her head and kept paddling them through the marina.
Sam’s idea had been a good one. It was much calmer in here with no swell to drift the board out to sea and no waves to knock her overboard. She took in all the moored boats she passed on one side, expensive stilt houses built right out over the water on the other.
Work had ramped up for the rest of the week, so she hadn’t had a chance to see Sam again, though she wasn’t far from her mind. They’d texted on and off, a little flirting here and there that had her itching to see Sam again. When they’d sailed the other morning, she felt like she’d been away on holiday and enjoyed riding the bliss for the rest of the week.
She was still a little wary about what she was getting herself into, especially after Liz, but all cohesive thoughts and rules seemed to fly out of the window when she was in Sam’s vicinity.
Speaking of, she was definitely on this little paddleboard adventure for herself and not at all thinking about accidentally spotting a particular blonde over by the marine shop.
She ended up turning down the last row of boats before the fuel berth, catching a couple of voices on the breeze.
“It’s backwards.”
“No, it’s not. I checked the manual.”
The two old men sat on Larry’s deck, arguing over some kind of contraption laid in pieces between them.
“Gentlemen!” she called out to them both.
“Taylor? What are you doing down there?” Larry shielded his eyes from the sun, squinting down at her on the water. “And who’s that handsome fella?”
“This is Belle,” Taylor gently corrected. “She’s my not-so-little-anymore staffy pup. She doesn’t like the water but loves being on the board, it turns out.”
“Good on her.”
Dave stood up alongside him. “Nice to see you again, Taylor. I hear you did a great job on Larry’s boat. Might get you to do mine next month.”
“I’d be happy to help, Dave. Larry’s got all my details if you need. Speaking of, everything going all right there?” She jerked her head towards the pile behind them.
Larry practically growled at it. “My grandson ordered some bird scarers to put around the boat, said to put them together because ‘they’re easy’, before he gets back this weekend.”
“Bullocks,” came from Dave as they nodded at each other in agreement.
“I’m sure you two will have it all figured out in time before he’s back,” Taylor reassured them as she readied her paddle to take off.
“Oh hey!” Larry called before she had a chance to turn around. “Did you hear my grandson got a hot date with Sam last weekend? I knew my plan would work.” Larry all but jumped up and down with glee, high-fiving Dave while he was at it.
Taylor gave a strained smile. “Nope, no I hadn’t. Not since we spoke.”
“With any luck, here’s hoping there’ll be a second.”
Taylor gave a lame thumbs-up and an even lamer smile.
“Righto, gentlemen, I better keep going and keep Belle here occupied before she tries to dive in the water again.”
“Oh, no worries Taylor,” Larry said as they waved her off, oblivious to the abrupt change of subject, thank god.
Her smile dropped as soon as she got the board turned around.
Did his grandson—Jackson? Mason? Jase!—think he and Sam were still dating? Dread worked its way up her body, unbidden. What if Sam was just trying things out with her? What if she left just like Liz? If she thought about it, she didn’t really even know Sam.
Stop .
This was not the time to spiral. She just had to ask Sam like a normal person. She’d said she wanted to be friends with him, and she had to trust that.
“Any chance I can park here for a minute?” Taylor slowed the board as she got closer to the fuel berth.
Sam was bent over looping one of the mooring lines back as a yacht motored away from the dock. “Oh hey! I didn’t even see you guys coming over. Hey Belle!”
Belle’s whole butt was wagging as she stood at the edge of the paddleboard, trying to work out if she could make it onto the berth. Taylor pulled them up along the side and hauled Belle up. She belted straight to Sam, almost knocking her over in a flurry of kisses. Giggles erupted from Sam as she attempted to give Belle a cuddle amongst the chaos.
Taylor tied up the board and casually made her way over.
“Well, this is a nice surprise.” Sam stood up, brushing herself off while Belle trotted off to investigate the rest of the pontoon, disappearing in a flash of yellow behind the boat shed. “That life jacket is even more adorable on her in real life.”
“I love that she can be out on the board with me now. She’s obsessed whenever she sees me getting ready to go out. It’s worse than picking up her lead to take her out for a walk,” replied Taylor.
“I wonder if she’d like boats then? Maybe I’ll have to take the both of you out next time.”
Taylor’s heart swelled at the thought. Belle had not been happy with her spending the night away on the boat with Sam. It was the first time she’d left her, and even though Jess did a great job and gave her lots of cuddles, she wasn’t sure either of them got much sleep—Belle was up and down looking for her all night. Thankfully, Jess had an afternoon shift so she could sleep in, and Taylor had an admin day at home, in which Belle had clung to her side all day, not impressed with being apart for so long.
“That would be amazing. I think she’d love it.” Taylor grinned.
Sam walked up to her then. She looked around first, then gave her a quick kiss before rocking back on her heels, smiling sheepishly. “I forgot to say hi, properly .”
“Careful, Larry and Dave might see you,” she teased, looking over Sam’s shoulder. She wasn’t surprised Sam wanted to be cautious with who saw them. It reminded her that she needed to find out Sam’s stance on PDA sooner rather than later. Then she remembered her earlier conversation with Larry and sobered.
“Hey, you okay?” Sam searched her face, picking up on her change in demeanour.
Taylor scratched the back of her head. “I just spoke to Larry actually, bumped into him and Dave on the way over here.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. Larry was just filling me in on the great date you had with his grandson.” Her head tilted in question.
“Oh.” Oh, indeed.
Taylor’s eyes narrowed. “Why does he think there’s a second date?” The question came out with more bite than she’d intended. She tried to calm the storm brewing inside, her negative thoughts grappling to take control. Sam didn’t flinch exactly, but she saw her retreat within herself. Why couldn’t she have asked the question without the judgement? She tried relaxing her jaw, waiting.
Sam was quiet for a moment. It grated on Taylor more than it should have. She wanted answers, god damn it! Finally, Sam spoke, a pained expression on her face.
“It’s not my story to tell. But…” She sighed. “But trust me when I say, we are only friends . I’ll speak to him though, because I don’t want this affecting… us?” She posed it as a question.
“I’m not sure what we are right now,” Taylor mumbled, feeling fragile all over again. She looked away, back out to the boats.
Sam is not Liz , she reminded herself.
“Argh,” Sam huffed. “Why does this have to be so complicated? I don’t—I don’t have all the answers right now.” She grabbed Taylor’s hand, bringing her focus back. “But… I want to try and figure out what this means for us. For me. Even without those answers.”
Taylor blew out a breath. Sam was trying. She could see that. She let her walls back down, just a little.
“I’d like that.” A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
Sam squeezed her hand and let go, then checked her watch. “Listen, I have about ten minutes before I finish up for the day. If you and Belle could wait that long, I could come join you guys?” she asked, hesitant. Hopeful.
“We can do that.” She whistled for Belle, who came racing around the corner. “See you shortly.” Taylor gave Sam a small wave as she walked back up to the shop.
True to her word, Taylor was paddling around the front of the pontoon when she spotted Sam jogging down the ramp around fifteen minutes later. Sam’s hair was still up in its signature ponytail, the sun making it glint brighter than usual. Taylor’s eyes tracked down to the filled out green bikini that made Taylor realise she’d never seen Sam in tight-fitting clothes. Whose idea was it again to hang out in bathers?
Don’t stare. Don’t stare. Don’t?—
Taylor yelped as the board wobbled out of nowhere. Belle had inelegantly dive-bombed straight into the water, drenching Taylor completely at the same time. “Oh my god that’s cold,” she sputtered as she wiped the water out of her eyes. “Belle!”
Apparently when it came to Sam, her dog was now an expert swimmer who had no issues being in the water.
“ Sorry! ” she called out to Sam. “Can you help her up?”
Taylor started frantically paddling over as Sam hauled Belle up onto the pontoon, legs flailing everywhere. Belle shook herself off, making Sam squeal as the water hit her before she could shield herself in time. Then Belle was licking her all over again, like they hadn’t just seen each other a few minutes ago.
Taylor smiled at the display as she pulled up to the edge. “Right, you two, coming?” She patted the board and scooted to the back, her legs dangling over the sides.
“Are you sure we can all fit?” Sam asked nervously, as she brushed off the water from Belle.
“There’s plenty of space, and they’re super stable too. Way better than kayaks, in my opinion.”
“All right, if you say so!”
Taylor stabilised the board alongside the pontoon and held up her other hand for Sam to take. Sam gently stepped onto the board, lowering onto her knees with only a slight wobble.
“Right, Belle, you’re up next,” Taylor said. Belle jumped back on like a pro and moved straight to her spot at the top of the board. “Good girl. Sam, if you want to sit in the middle and cross your legs to start, I’ll paddle us out.” Taylor moved up onto her knees and pushed them off gently.
“Woah, it’s smoother than you’d think, even with all of us on here.”
“I told you. I was thinking of taking us to the end of the rocks, and maybe a quick duck out of the marina entrance if you have the time?”
“Fine by me. Lead on Macduff!”