Chapter 27
Rori
The drive out to his boat takes roughly an hour.
With the July sunshine and summer temperatures, we have the AC blasting, and I wear the minimum necessary to be decently dressed.
Specifically, a red bikini that’s too small for me to wear willingly in public, but I know will drive Landon wild with its cheekiness.
Over it I put a short, white cover-up that’s loose, so I can stay as cool as possible.
Landon has his swim trunks on and a thin t-shirt. His curls are still a little wet from the shower, but no complaints here. He looks so sexy and relaxed. Grover and a cooler stacked with beverages and snacks are in the back.
“So when did you learn how to captain a boat?” I ask.
Landon laughs. “I don’t have actual captain-level skills. When I was growing up, we’d go to a lake to camp, and my dad taught me my way around boats there. During my first off-season here, I treated myself to this small motorboat and got real lessons for my license. You’ll see, the boat’s small.”
He looks over at me. “Perfect for you, me, and Grover though.”
“Well, I’m excited. I love being on the ocean,” I say, unable to hide my big smile.
We’re sending Landon off to training camp in style.
I can’t believe that in just one more week, he’ll be sequestered, and we’ll be apart again for a while.
There’ll be no easy way for me to see him, except for a couple of Sundays he can come home.
Other players’ families will apparently stop by for certain parts, but that isn’t possible in our circumstances.
I block all that frustration out, though, to focus on our boat adventure. When we pull up to the marina, I notice it’s a small and private operation. Only a couple of people are there, and they don’t seem to notice us.
“Follow me,” Landon says. He grabs Grover in one hand and our cooler in the other.
Landon walks up one of the docks and stops in front of a motorboat. It’s indeed small, but the blue frame is glistening and the interior is pristine.
“I can fit all four Battle siblings comfortably in here,” Landon explains as he steps in and gets everything situated. “So at least you have room to spread out.”
I sit down on one of the cushioned seats near the steering wheel, where Landon will be driving us.
“This is awesome,” I say to Landon, with sincerity. “I so needed this day.”
He breaks out into a big grin. “Me too, beautiful,” he replies before giving me a quick kiss on the lips.
I help a little, with his instructions, so he can get the boat off the dock. He motors us along the coast for a few minutes. I’m assuming he has a plan because he isn’t hesitating in his navigation.
The day is glorious, if a bit warm. And there’s nothing like being on the ocean, staring out into the open sea.
Taking in the sights, I lose track of time, and suddenly we’re slowing down.
I look around and see that we’re in a cove, with only trees and shrubs on the shore, no buildings.
Turning in the other direction, all I see is the expanse of the ocean.
Our own private sanctuary. So perfect.
Landon gets us anchored as we come to a full stop. The waves are lapping along the boat, and some birds are squawking nearby, but otherwise there’s only silence and peace.
“Landon, this is breathtaking.”
“I know, right? We discovered this spot fishing one day, and I’ve kept coming back ever since. Sometimes just with Grover and me when I need to think.” He comes to me and grabs my hand. “Come here. Carefully.”
He leads me to the bow of the boat, where there’s more open space. “I brought some beach chairs if you want to lie out, get some sun.”
“Oooh, definitely,” I agree. He grabs the chairs and towels and we get set up. He reaches into the cooler and grabs non-alcoholic seltzer for us both.
“Triple berry, that’s your favorite, right?” he asks. I nod and accept the can. Another thing he must have picked up from his stays at my house.
Then I realize that it’s time for my surprise for Landon. This teeny red bikini is about to be revealed. And reveal is the right word. The top is made up of two small triangles and string, the bottom just one small triangle and string. There’s about to be a lot of me on display.
Without warning, I whip off my white cover-up. “Hey Landon,” I say, as he’s turned back to the cooler to grab his own drink.
“Yes, babe,” he says, turning around.
“Is this bikini too much?” I ask with a flirty tone.
He has gone still. His eyes dart around, taking in the exposed cleavage up top and the small bottoms. I make it more torturous by twisting around a little so he can see the thong style of the back.
“Holy shit, woman,” Landon says when he finally speaks. “Fuck sunbathing. I’m going to do unspeakable things to you on this boat now. Right now.”
“I vote for that option too,” I say with a laugh.
He steps towards me, grabbing my ass with one hand and one mound of barely covered boob with the other and then bringing our lips together. His tongue invades my mouth as his hands start delivering on his promise of ‘unspeakable things.’
About ninety minutes later, having worn each other out for the moment, we jump into the water.
With a little persuading, Grover joins us.
The quick swim is refreshing, and after climbing back into the boat, I’m truly ready for some sunbathing.
Landon doesn’t object, just makes sure we both reapply sunscreen.
We finally settle into our beach chairs as originally planned, slipping on sunglasses.
We lie in an easy silence for about fifteen minutes, broken up only by the waves and a yawn from Grover.
Suddenly, I feel a touch on my hand and it’s Landon reaching over, dragging his fingertips over my palm lightly.
“Hey, are you trying to take a nap?” he asks in a soft tone that matches the lull of the water.
I give a small shake of my head. “No, just relaxing. And loving how chill this is.”
He smiles at my response. “For real. Nothing like it.”
He shifts over so he’s facing me on his side, and he takes off his sunglasses. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about. A good thing, not a bad thing. I think.”
I match his movement so I’m facing him. “Okay, what is it?”
“So, as you know, our schedules are going to be harder to match up in the coming months. Which has gotten me thinking about us, the future, how that’ll even work,” Landon says.
So far, this isn’t sounding great. But I stay quiet so I can see where he’s going.
“I know that we said we’d keep this going when our schedules match up, but that’s going to be difficult if we don’t plan ahead.
The thought of not seeing you for longer than we already have dealt with this summer drives me crazy, Rori.
” Landon pauses while continuing to run his fingertips over my hand.
“I know, honestly I’ve been thinking the same thing,” I confess. “It’s going to be so hard to keep up these long times apart, but that’s only because everything’s working with us. If we need to be more purposeful in planning, I’m fine with that, Landon.”
He nods and looks a bit more relaxed but clearly has more on his mind. After a moment of staring where he’s running his fingers over my hand, he starts again. “About the ‘no labels’ thing, Rori…”
The expression in his eyes intensifies, and he continues. “I don’t think I want that.”
My mind starts whirling. I thought Landon didn’t do commitment? How did I not know already that he felt this way, with everything else we talk about?
“What do you mean?” I ask. “You aren’t into relationships, I thought? Girlfriends?”
His hand stills. “Rori, do you really not think that something bigger is happening between us? That we aren’t already in a relationship?”
Not breaking eye contact, I stay quiet, but my insides tingle at his words, emotions starting to swirl.
“I feel things towards you that I never thought I’d feel towards a woman after what happened with my parents. What they did to each other, to us kids, fucked up my head so bad. So yeah, I’ve avoided situations where I might be exposed emotionally. Not let anything get too deep.”
His fingers squeeze my hand. “But this is starting to get deep. For me, anyway.”
“Oh, Landon,” I say, the only words I can manage to get out. This is a lot, and not what I was expecting today.
“We can delay this conversation until later, since I’m headed off to training camp and everything.
I just want to be honest where I’m at. Our friendship, the trust I have for you—it’s nothing I have ever experienced.
I don’t feel the same about the ‘no labels’ thing.
I’m ready to embrace a label when you are,” he says, eyes bright with sincerity.
I feel an overwhelming pressure on my chest, and I’m trying not to cry. I can’t believe he feels this way about me. Something about his words has cracked open my own awareness.
“Landon, you’re the first person I want to talk to in the morning and the last person I want to speak with at night, wherever we are. I feel so lucky we found each other,” I confess.
His face breaks into a grin. “Same, beautiful.”
“We’re talking boyfriend—girlfriend stuff, right? That’s what you mean?”
“Yes.” He nods, eyes locked on me.
“I need a little more time, if that’s okay. Like for my brain to catch up,” I continue. “But I don’t want you to think that’s because of you or us. It’s me being new at this, and knowing the next few weeks are going to be hard to be together. But after your training camp and the U.S. Open…”
My voice trails off, but the suggestion is obvious. We sit and smile at each other, his hand still squeezing mine.
After a beat, Landon reaches over and takes my sunglasses off. He then places his hand on my cheek.
“Who knew that New Year’s would lead to this. Best year ever,” he says, keeping his hand on my cheek. I turn a little to kiss his wrist and then repeat his words.
“Best year ever.”