27. Marnie #2
“Instead,” he continues, his eyes crinkling when his mouth tips up, “she sat down and helped me finish my designs and promised to take me hunting that weekend so I could start my own collection. We spent months making trips to the beach solely in pursuit of sea glass until I filled an entire jar. It was one of the many things we did together that was just ours.”
Something in my chest expands at the story and that he felt comfortable enough to share that glimpse into his past with me. “That sounds really special.”
His features are lighter now, like he’d been previously weighed down by keeping them to himself. “I don’t find the time to do it all that often now, but I’m really happy that I get to share it with you.”
“Thank you,” I say earnestly, “for trusting me with it.”
He stops and turns to me. I can sense he is tiptoeing around the question.
“It’s okay, you can ask,” I encourage. It’s only fair to offer something in return.
“Did your family ever do anything like that?”
My shoulders sag. “No,” I mumble. “They were always too busy working. The only things my parents collected were books, and those were off-limits to me as a kid. I was left to my own devices a lot and had to find ways to entertain myself.” A twinge of sadness pangs my chest. “But I’m happy to have these new memories now, with you,” I say, leaning my head against his chest.
Caleb wraps his arm around my shoulder and leaves a kiss along my hairline.
We reach the fenceline of the Beach Club, indicating the end of the public beach and turn back. I deposit my sea glass into my bag and join Caleb to resume our search for more at the base of the jetty, where the lower rocks form a miniature cove.
Within seconds, I spot a dozen different pieces of sea glass. I don’t know why we didn’t start here—this spot is a gold mine.
I sneak a glance over at Caleb, whose luck is just as good as mine.
From this vantage point, I have a perfect view of his side profile.
The sharpness of his jaw, intense with focus.
His long, broad fingers glistening each time he reaches into the water to collect a new piece, bringing back fond memories of his hands after the club.
Every flex of his muscles when he stands upright again.
I imagine running my hands along his back, feeling the muscles ripple and tremble under my touch. The thought resurges more memories and sends an ache of need down to my core.
He catches me staring and I avert my gaze, fighting a blush, and something snags my attention to the right of my foot. My hand reaches down to swipe at the sand, revealing more of the mystery below.
Surely my eyes are playing tricks on me. An optical illusion. My brain is just making things up. This is not actually what I think it is.
Another swipe in the other direction pushes more of the sediment away, revealing a bright, smooth piece of red sea glass about the size of a nickel.
Darting my hand through the water before another wave comes and sweeps it away, I pluck it from the sand, rinse it off in the water, and hold it up to my face to examine it.
“What did you find?” Caleb calls over to me.
My movements are so jerky that I almost drop my other pieces as I race over to him.
“No way.” He picks the piece up from my palm. “Marnie, this is incredible. I haven’t found a red one since I was a teenager.”
“It was meant to be.” I flip my hair to the side dramatically. “Maybe it likes me since I’m also a redhead.”
“Funny,” he says with a chuckle. “I guess I have something in common with a piece of sea glass.”
A wicked smirk forms on my lips, and I reach up to hook a finger around the gold chain dangling from his neck, giving it a tug to pull him down into a passionate kiss, nearly losing all my sea glass in the process.
I release the chain, but he keeps his forehead against mine, breathless.
“As far as dates go, this is already my favorite.”
Caleb convinces me to climb the jetty, and we bring the cooler with us, spreading the blanket out on one of the dry, flat rocks at the top.
It’s peaceful up here, with nothing but clear skies and the smell of the salt water. Not a single thing to disturb us . . . until a loud chime echoes from the pocket of the cooler. A text from Caleb’s phone.
He puts his sandwich down to read the message on his screen, his mood instantly souring.
“What is it?” I try not to pry, but whatever is on his phone is clearly upsetting him, and I don’t want that to affect the rest of our date.
“It’s my father,” he answers.
I think back to my conversation with Linny yesterday, wondering if this has anything to do with what she said about their relationship.
Caleb keeps his head down, not meeting my eyes. “He keeps asking me about our dinner plans this week, but I haven’t been responding.”
“How come?”
“Because it’s for the anniversary of my mom’s passing.”
His statement weighs heavily between us, and I’m at a complete loss for words.
“We’ve done this dance for nine years now, always getting together on that date, and I don’t know how much longer I can stomach it.”
My hand finds his back, rubbing slow, firm circles. “Is there anything I can do?”
He perks up slightly. “Actually, yes.”
“Anything. You name it.”
“You could be there with me. At the dinner.”
I was expecting him to ask me for some comforting words, or to continue with my back rubs. Maybe even throw in a shoulder massage while I was at it. But not this. “I wouldn’t want to intrude on something so personal.”
“You wouldn’t be intruding. It would honestly be a relief if you were there.”
“Then I’ll be there,” I assure him.
After we finish eating, we pack everything back into the cooler. Caleb climbs down first, then reaches down to help lower me the rest of the way.
He grabs the blanket and towels from the sand, and we walk down the beach slowly, hand in hand, drawing out this moment as long as we can.
I don’t want this date to end, and it seems he doesn’t either.
“Want to come over? Maybe watch a movie?”
“Yeah, I’d like that. But to be clear, I am only coming over to see Berry. I’ve missed her.”
He scoffs in mock offense. “You and everyone else on this island.”
This man loves his dog so much, it’s endearing.
Berry is waiting on the porch for us when we get to Caleb’s house. Her tail wags furiously when he exits the truck.
He makes his way over to open my door once again, and our fingers remain interlaced as we approach the porch, only breaking apart when Berry leaps up and tackles Caleb.
“I know, girl, I’m sorry. We lost track of time.” He looks up at me between Berry’s kisses. “I’m going to feed her dinner. It should only take a few minutes. Want to pick out a movie while you wait?”
“Do you mind if I shower first? I want to wash off this sunscreen.”
“Yeah, not a problem. There’s an outdoor shower around back. I’ll bring you a fresh towel.”
I follow the walking path to the back fence and open the gate. As promised, there is a small outdoor shower attached to the backside of the house.
The faucet squeaks when I turn the dial and I adjust the stream to a lighter setting.
I run my fingers through my braid, letting the strands fall free, and tilt my head back to fully submerge my hair beneath the spray of the faucet, closing my eyes and savoring the way the warm water washes away the thin layer of sunscreen coating my skin.
A small, quick gust of air hits my shoulders from directly above. I look up and see that Caleb has slung a dark blue towel over the top along with a matching washcloth.
Just as I reach for the washcloth, the latch pops up and the door swings open. Caleb—still in his swimming trunks but now shirtless—steps in and closes the door behind him.
He moves under the showerhead, and I admire the way the water trickles down his body, his tan skin glistening in the afternoon sun.
“Careful, the water is hot. Aren’t men sensitive to hot water? Wouldn’t want you to burn yourself.”
He closes in on me, his mouth just barely hovering over mine now. “I’ll survive.”
Our lips press together, and for a split second, I become lightheaded. The heat of his kiss is rivaling that of the water, and I lose all awareness. The only thing tethering me to reality is Caleb.
The water cascades over us as our mouths continue to move against each other.
“Forget the water. I think it’s you who’ll be the death of me,” he whispers against my mouth before pulling me back in and spinning me around, his lips finding my neck to plant another kiss.
His fingers find the inside of my bikini waistband, tracing back and forth across my skin, teasing me.
“Mmm,” I hum when his mouth meets my shoulder.
Caleb’s fingers dip lower, circling just over my clit torturously slow.
I reach my hand behind his head and tangle my fingers in his hair, gripping slightly. He groans, the sound vibrating into my skin.
Just as I’m about to untie my bikini top and let him have me, he withdraws his fingers and steps back. “I’ll leave you to finish your shower,” he says lowly with a smirk, closing the door behind him.
I’m breathing heavily, trying to recover from the whiplash.
Damn him.
No way is he going to leave me all wound up and frustrated like this. He’s going to finish what he started.
My fingers run through my hair once more to rinse it out, then I towel dry it as best I can and exit the shower.
I march into the house through the sliding glass door in pursuit of Caleb but pause when I find him in the kitchen. He’s washing his sea glass off in the sink with Berry chewing a bone at his feet. He sets them out to dry on a towel and notices me lingering in the doorway.
“Enjoy the rest of your shower?” he asks, quirking a brow.
I cross my arms and lean against the doorframe. “I’ve got a few complaints I’d like to report.”
Caleb scoots his feet out from underneath Berry and steps toward me. “I’m happy to share your dissatisfaction with the manager.”
My head tips to the side, holding eye contact. “Can’t say that I was all that satisfied with my shower accommodations.”
He stops in front of me and reaches up to tuck a damp, curled strand behind my ear, leaning in so closely that he’s invading my senses again.
“The outdoor shower wasn’t exactly conducive to what I had in mind.
The next time we are together, I’m going to take my time with you, and I’m going to need more space than what the shower has to offer. I was just giving you a sneak peek.”
The words land low in my belly, sparking another wave of desire and anticipation. “Promise?”
He closes the remaining inches and kisses the tip of my nose. “Promise.”
I watch him step around me to pull my collection of sea glass out of my bag and I follow him over to the sink, where he turns on the faucet and lets the cool stream of water trickle over each piece.
One by one he lays them across the towel next to his, keeping our stashes separate.
“What are you going to do with your sea glass?”
“I thought about making a small curtain or windchime out of it. I saw one at a shop in Aquinnah and really liked it.”
“Parker can help you with that. Everything you’d need he can get from his family’s shop, except maybe the twine. You certainly have enough pieces for it.”
I look down at my haul.
“I’m not sure what to do with this one.” I twist the red piece in my fingers. It would stick out if I used it for the windchime, but it’s too pretty not to use.
He looks down at the piece in my hand, deep in thought. Then a spark meets his eye. “I have an idea.”