Chapter 11 #2
“I thought you said you only dance if you’re required to.”
“But you looked so pretty when you asked, I didn’t have the heart to deny you.”
“Aw.” Barry pushed against her hip to signal her to spin under their joined hands. When she came back, Mac cupped the back of his head and swayed back and forth as she sang with the song.
As the last chords faded, Barry dipped her over his arm, similar to how he had when he’d kissed her after she’d come off the boat.
“You’re a good dancer,” she praised before lifting her head and kissing him sweetly. It started small then grew like the rising tide in the evening. Mac released Barry’s hand to cup the back of his neck with both hands as she tilted her head to the side to take more control of the kiss.
Her lips parted, and Barry’s tongue dove inside. Mac met him stroke for stroke until the smell of something burning reached her nostrils.
Oh no, dinner. Mac pulled back and looked over at the stove to see a lot of smoke coming from the fish.
She pushed from Barry’s arms to grab her spatula and lift the fish from the pan. It wasn’t burned. but it was more cooked than she’d planned. Whew, that had been close. Barry was definitely good at distracting her.
“Is it salvageable?” Barry asked, glancing at it over her shoulder.
“It looks like it. Might be a little overdone but not by much. It could have been worse.” She glanced over at the rice as she moved the pan off of the burner. “This is ready for the peas.”
Barry moved before she did and grabbed the bag, making sure to measure it out before adding it.
“It just needs a few minutes to cook and dinner will be ready. I’ll set the table.” Mac opened the top drawer of the cabinet next to the fridge and grabbed utensils. She already had place settings on the table.
Since some of her students came over to go over research at night, she made sure they were fed, so the table was always set for four, even if she didn’t use all of the place settings.
“What would you like to drink? I have some beer, or I have water.” Mac didn’t drink soda or like sugary drinks.
“Beer is fine,” Barry called over his shoulder, keeping his focus on the rice and peas.
Mac grabbed two beers out of the fridge, popped the tops, and set them on the table before rejoining him to check on the rice and peas. “Looks good.” She grabbed two plates from the upper cabinet to her right and served up their plates.
“Smells really good.” Barry brought the plate to his nose and took a deep inhale.
“It is. I can’t have rice or peas any other way now.” She led the way to the table and sat down. Barry took the seat across from her.
Mac moved her rice around with her fork to cool it down and watched Barry as he took a bite, wondering what his reaction would be. He didn’t say anything before he took another bite.
“Good?” she asked, curious to know what he thought.
“It is.”
“And to think, you made it.”
“Under your supervision,” he pointed out. Mac beamed under his praise and started eating.
“Do you have any plans for tomorrow?” Mac asked after a few bites.
“I hadn’t really thought about it. Maybe I’ll check out that fall you mentioned. Are you working? Maybe we can do something together.”
“I am working, unfortunately.” She wasn’t, but she really wanted to check out the southeastern side of the island.
“Do you work every day?”
“Not every but close. To work with certain sharks, we only have a few months of the year we can study them before they migrate. The reef sharks and tigers are here year-round, so I can gather intel on them all the time.”
“And I take it you’re here year-round.”
“I am; I rarely leave the island.”
“Don’t you have family that misses you?”
Mac took a sip of her beer to delay having to answer that question.
It was a rather long and personal conversation she didn’t want to get into.
The only member of her family she was somewhat close to was her sister, but even that was the occasional letter and phone call.
She hadn’t seen her sister in over five years.
“I call them from time to time, but I don’t visit them much. ”
“May I ask why?”
Mac squirmed in her chair, feeling uncomfortable with the turn of conversation. “I’d rather not get into it.”
Barry looked away as if in shame. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. I only meant to make conversation.”
Mac felt bad for getting defensive. He hadn’t meant any harm by his question.
“It’s fine.” And awkward silence fell between them that Mac wasn’t sure how to ease.
She’d vowed to herself not to get to know him, and she didn’t want to bore him with talk of sharks.
They were her passion, not his. “Is there anything in particular you’re hoping to see on the island during your vacation?
” She knew pretty much all the hot spots and even places only the locals knew about it.
“No, this is the first time I’ve had my own time, so there isn’t anything I feel I have to see.”
That was strange. Most people went to a location on vacation for a reason.
Whether they wanted to see something or do something.
Barry didn’t seem to want to do any of that.
He was nothing like the normal tourists that came to the island.
So why was he here? Then again, it wasn’t any of her business.
“Well, it’s a great place to just do nothing.
Sit on a beach and watch the waves for hours. ”
“The food here isn’t half bad either.”
Mac chuckled. “It is one of the better vacation spots to eat to your heart’s content and not worry about gaining ten pounds when you get home.”
“Speak for yourself. I’m tempted to get Elsie’s conch salad again tomorrow and the rest of my days here.”
“Then you’ll just have to find ways to burn off the extra calories.” Not that he needed help in that department. The man was pure muscle. Mac stroked her finger and thumb along the neck of the beer bottle before gripping in and taking a drink. She set it down and slowly licked her lips.
Barry cleared his throat. “Any suggestions?”
She took a bite of her fish then rice and peas, making sure to lick her lips after every bite as she looked off, thoughtful. “There’s swimming. It’s a great cardio too. Gets the heart pumping.” She took another drink of her beer, wiping her bottom lip with her thumb and sucking the liquid off.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m just enjoying my meal,” she responded, striving to appear innocent though inside she was jumping up and down with joy.
She was getting to him. Mac could tell by the way he kept shifting in his seat as if he couldn’t get comfortable.
He cleared his throat more than once, and he had to keep looking away from her.
“Are you done yet?” Barry asked; he looked like he was getting to the end of his rope, and honestly, she was too. She was ready to move this to somewhere more private.
“I’m actually thinking about dessert.”
Barry’s eyes heated as he looked her over from the top of her head down to her chest before the table blocked the view of the rest of her. “As am I.”
Mac’s sex clenched in anticipation. “I’m afraid I don’t have anything for dessert though.”
Barry sat back in his chair, wiping his mouth with his napkin and setting it back down on the table next to his empty plate. “Oh, I’m sure if I opened your cupboards, I could find something sweet and salty.”
Oh, this man knew how to dirty talk. It didn’t take a genius to read through his innuendo. Just as he’d read through hers.
“I don’t know. I think you’ll have to do a thorough search because I’m sure I don’t.” Mac pushed back in her chair from the table and opened her legs. “If you can find something sweet though, you’re welcome to it.”
“Is that a fact?” His right eyebrow rose and arched in question.
“It is.”
“Well then, let me do some investigating.” Barry pushed his chair back and rose to his full height.
Mac’s gaze lowered to the evident bulge in his shorts. She licked her lips in anticipation of sampling her own dessert.