Chapter 3
Nina
Today had started out oddly and only got stranger.
Despite starting a project I'd been looking forward to, I'd been restless all day. Going out for a bicycle ride hadn't helped. Cleaning and organizing my home office didn't settle me. Sending out a dozen emails to various people didn't do anything.
When Janice begged me to go with her to this party, something made me agree despite not liking anything about the situation.
I couldn't swim so I never went near bodies of water for fun, or got on boats. It didn't matter that this one was tied to a dock, water was water.
Not only was the party on the water, but it was also being held by Zak, who I couldn't stand. I’d met him a few times when I'd been visiting Janice.
Carrie was her roommate, and Zak was constantly sleeping over.
For someone who was supposedly a successful entrepreneur, he seemed to be between apartments a lot.
Every time I interacted with him, I was struck by how smarmy he seemed. I could only hope Carrie came to her senses and dumped him.
Now I was on another boat with a man who made me feel more relaxed than I'd ever felt with anyone except Janice.
However, the strangeness wasn't over because Delmar left dry and dressed in board shorts and returned soaking wet and completely naked.
It was hard, but I kept my eyes on his face.
“What happened?” I asked after he didn't answer my first question.
“I have good news, bad news, and, uh, news-news,” he said, dropping his gaze back down to me.
“I guess we should start with the good news,” I said, fighting not to smile at his boyishly abashed expression.
“Janice is fine, and she left the party,” he said.
“You’re right, that's good news,” I said. “What's the bad news?”
“Zak broke up with Carrie, and Janice is taking her home to cry it out,” he said.
“That is also good news,” I said. “I know Carrie's hurting, but Zak wasn't a good boyfriend.”
Delmar nodded. “I’m not surprised. I don’t know him well, but I don’t like him.”
“So what's the news-news?” I asked.
His expression shuttered. “I think Zak's yacht is sinking.”
Those words were so unexpected that it took me a moment to process them. Then I had to fight a smile.
“Really?” I asked. “Did someone leave a plug open or something?”
He shrugged, his boyish grin coming back. “It sounded like a mechanical failure. He probably missed some routine maintenance or something.”
I looked in the direction of the yacht. I couldn't see it out the small panel of windows from where I was standing, but that's when I realized there were a lot of people walking by on the dock and talking loudly about Zak's sinking yacht.
I didn't want any of them to see me. Moving behind Delmar, I put my hands on his back and pushed him into the cabin. As soon as we were both hidden inside, I shut the door. Turning around, I found Delmar standing right there.
Still naked and gorgeous as fuck.
Keep your damn eyes up! I told myself.
“How are you so pretty?” he whispered.
His words shocked me. “I'm average. You're the pretty one.”
Shaking his head, he gave me that adorable half smile. “I promise, out of the two of us, you're way more beautiful.”
He was smooth, probably from flirting and using those dimples to get plenty of women into bed. Part of me wanted to turn around and leave because I wasn’t going to be another conquest.
Except, another louder part insisted on staying. How long would he talk before making it obvious all he wanted was sex?
“Aren’t you cold?” I asked. I thought he’d say something sexy to get me to look down at his muscled physique. To my shock, he blushed and moved further into the cabin in a clumsy rush.
“Shit, sorry!” he said, and lifted the bench seat to reveal storage. Pulling out a pair of blue board shorts, he struggled to pull them on, hampered by the fact that he was still wet. When he was done, he turned back, and his smile was gone.
“That was really rude of me,” he said. “I live alone, and I spend a lot of time out at sea by myself. I sometimes forget that walking around naked isn’t everyone's default. Sorry about that. Should I put a shirt on? I have pants somewhere. I might have to dig around though.”
I wasn’t prepared for him to be so sincere, and it made me want to make him comfortable. “You’re fine, no need to hunt down pants. Can I have another water?”
My request helped him relax, and he was quick to smile and grab me another water. I sipped at this one.
“I could brew up some coffee or tea,” he said, nodding his head at the single burner.
I liked that he wasn’t pushing me to drink. Every once in a while, I’d have a little wine or beer, but I had to be careful because my body didn’t always handle alcohol well.
“It's a little late for coffee, but tea sounds good,” I said.
He looked absolutely ecstatic at my response.
He rushed to open a cabinet under the single burner and pulled out a pot.
As he filled it with water and then fiddled with the burner, I noticed that the kitchen lacked a microwave, and everything else except the one burner, small sink, miniature fridge, and small countertop.
For the first time since shoving Delmar into the cabin and following to hide, I took a good look around.
The place was tidy and tiny. There was a row of bench seats running along one side.
A small table was bolted to the floor in front of a section of the seats.
Above them were cabinets, and further to the front of the boat was a section separated by a curtain.
Curious, I walked over and peeked behind the curtain to find a bed taking up what must've been most of the bow of the ship.
In an effort to stay out of Delmar's way, I sat down at the table. “You said you grew up on a boat. Do your parents still live on one?”
He nodded, turning around to lean against the counter in almost the exact same pose I'd been in. “They're moored in Alaska right now. At the end of summer, they'll sail down to Seattle.”
“Are they retired?”
“Semi-retired,” he said. “They're both deep-sea divers, but they only take a few contracts a year these days. Mom says she'd go crazy if she didn’t take a job occasionally.”
Both his parents were deep sea divers? That job sounded dangerous and probably male dominated. His attitude toward me made more sense. If he had a mom tough enough to do that job, he had to be used to strong women.
“Do they visit you down here?” I asked.
“Occasionally,” he said, checking the pot of water. Steam came out when he lifted the lid. “Or I'll sail up to visit them. Do your parents live locally?”
He pulled out mugs and tea bags before pouring the hot water. While he made tea, I talked. By the time he was sitting next to me with both of us holding mugs, he knew all about my family.
He didn't seem bored with my replies and asked me more questions about my childhood, hobbies, and work. Time passed quickly as we talked. He didn't only ask me questions, but he paid attention to the answer instead of waiting for his turn to speak.
I'd never felt so listened to before.
We drank tea, talked, and drank more tea.
I ended up turning down a third mug. I liked tea, but three cups would be too much for me.
But I did accept a small bag of delightfully salty potato chips.
By the time I finally checked the time, there were empty chip bags, dirty mugs, and an empty candy tin littering the small table.
The time on my phone almost made me gasp. It was nearly one in the morning!
“I should probably go home,” I said, but didn't move to stand up. I wasn't ready for the evening to end, even though I was tired.
Delmar looked devastated. “No, don't go yet.”
I unsuccessfully attempted to stifle a yawn. “I'm not used to being up this late. The last client I had was based in New York, and I've been getting up at four a.m. to attend their morning meetings.”
“Four in the morning?” Delmar gasped. “That's an ungodly hour to wake up. It's not so bad if you're staying awake though.”
That made me chuckle. “Are you suggesting that I simply don't sleep? Because that's not an option.”
“Sleep here,” he said. Before I could even process his invitation, he continued, talking so fast it was hard to keep up.
“You could have the bed all to yourself.
I could sleep out here on the bench. No, you might not feel comfortable with only the curtain separating us.
It's a nice night, I could sleep out on the deck.
I do it on warm nights sometimes so I can watch the stars before falling asleep.
The cabin door locks, so you'd be safe. I could make pancakes in the morning.”
It wasn't super cold, but he'd be freezing by morning, especially if the fog rolled in.
“It’s not a warm night,” I said.
He shrugged and pointed to a large sweatshirt hanging on a hook. “I'll have that and a blanket. That's all I need.”
He didn't say it to elicit sympathy; he was being honest. He truly believed he'd be fine and was willing to sleep exposed to the elements to make me comfortable.
For once in my life, I didn't weigh the pros and cons. I checked in with my gut, and she said I could trust Delmar.
“You can join me in the bed,” I said. Before he could get too excited, I held up a hand. “No sex tonight.”
He shook his head. “Of course not. No sex until you're ready. That would be rude.”
The way he said it was adorable, as if sexual assault was unimaginable. I really hoped this wasn't an act.
He bustled around, turning off lights and turning one on over the bed. Board shorts still on, he pulled back the sheets and crawled into the bed and sat up against the headboard that was actually the front of the ship.
Grinning, he patted the mattress. “Hop in!”
I hesitated for a moment, debating how many clothes I wanted to take off. I decided a bra and shoes would be enough. My leggings were soft, and my blouse was comfortable. I unclasped and pulled the bra off under my shirt and then toed out of my shoes.
He watched me with a happy expression, patiently waiting for me.
“I want the right side,” I said with a grin. He was quick to move over, and I climbed in after him.
He laid down as I did, both of us on our backs. He turned off the light, and we lay in the dark. The boat rocked gently, and I could hear the sounds of the water outside. I couldn't believe I was sleeping on a boat!
I sat up. “I’m an idiot. I should go.”
“What? Why?” Delmar asked, sounding mildly panicked.
“I can’t swim. If anything happened to this boat I’d drown!”
Delmar made a soothing sound and urged me to lay back down. “I’m obsessive about maintaining this boat. It’s my home. We’re also docked. If anything happened, I’d simply pick you up and rush us to solid land.”
“That’s true,” I said, flopping back down on the bed. Not that I needed him to carry me anywhere, because Delmar’s boat was right near the rocky area that separated land from the marina. One jump and I’d be on those rocks.
“I’d never let anything bad happen to you,” Delmar whispered. His voice was full of conviction and confidence. “I swear.”
That helped, but I still didn't feel right.
“I have a request.”
“Anything,” he agreed.
“I want to snuggle, but I don't want you grinding your dick against my ass,” I whispered. I hated it when guys woke me up doing that, especially when I asked them not to.
“I promise to keep all my appendages in check,” he said. I could tell by his tone of voice that he was smiling. It was an odd way to phrase his response, but it made me smile.
Reaching over his body, I found Delmar's hand and rolled over, taking him with me. He curled his body around mine. God, he felt good; warm and solid.
“Goodnight,” I whispered, my eyes falling shut. I don't think I could've opened them even if I wanted to.
“Goodnight,” he whispered back. He murmured something else, but I was already asleep.