Chapter 11
eleven
ORION
It’s the crack of dawn on Monday morning and all I want to think about is how when Carina leans forward to reposition a cooler in my SUV’s trunk, the gap in her tank top gives me a perfect view of the swell of her breasts. I don’t even care that Haley and Alex are standing in my driveway and can probably see me staring.
I’ve been on edge all weekend and the fact it’s taking us forever to even get our gear in my SUV doesn’t help any of it. I wanted to spend this day with her, and her alone. Not with all her friends that she’ll be performing for.
“No, it would be more efficient if you put that there.” Carina points to one of the totes we’re taking to Egmont Key. She’s dug in her heels on something about optimal legroom for the people in the back seat and I hope to all hell she’s frustrated at the situation like I am, and not that she’s truly concerned with how much Alex can spread out on a five-minute drive. She’s pushing me to my wit’s end. So instead of her tits, I’m thinking about how if later today she fell off my boat, in what circumstances would I not jump in to rescue her.
“It’s packed fine, Carina.” Of course, in this imaginary scenario we’d be anchored, so it’s not like I’d leave her behind. And she’s a strong swimmer. There’s no reason why she couldn’t swim her ass over to the stern and hoist herself up.
Now I’m envisioning water dripping over her breasts as I reach for her hand to help her onto the swim platform.
Frustrated horny is the worst.
Haley decides to help. “Orion, couldn’t you?—”
I put my hand up to stop her. She’s also a capable swimmer and could easily rescue Carina if needed. I wouldn’t need to be involved at all.
Alex sips his coffee next to Haley. I’m surprised he’s not complaining again about having to be up this early. He’s a bartender, he asserted. He doesn’t exist before ten a.m. And he wouldn’t jump in to save Carina if a shark was approaching.
For fuck’s sake, if a shark were nearby, I’d jump in to help her. I’m not a monster. But for the fight she’s giving me right now, she can flail for a few moments in a controlled environment.
“Look, it’s my SUV,” I say.
“We should take my hybrid,” she counters, one hand on her hip as she points to her house.
Of course, if there was any indication she was injured, I’d be there in a heartbeat.
“Christian just texted,” Haley says. “They’ve already parked.”
That’s another thing I don’t understand. Christian and Bristol can meet us at the marina fine. Why are Haley and Alex here? It’s something about efficiency and parking. But the group text planning this moved faster than I was prepared to follow.
“It’s less than a mile,” I tell Carina. “The gas savings don’t matter.”
“Every little bit helps.”
I don’t disagree with her on the gas issue, which is the annoying thing. I rarely disagree with her. “Whatever. If you have a problem with how I’ve done this, then you can walk to the marina. You don’t have to ride with me.”
I mean, if there were rocks nearby, or other boats or Jet Skis, or anything that could harm her, I’m there, in the water and reaching her to make sure she’s okay. But if it’s us and the open ocean and the current isn’t strong, yes. Right now, I’d let her figure it out herself.
“Fine. I’ll walk, then.” She turns around and walks in the direction of the marina.
I run my hand through my hair. This should make things easier for me. The car doesn’t need to be packed as tight with fewer people. But I don’t feel relief.
Because I know how fast conditions change. Even if the water is still and she has a life jacket on, as frustrated as I am with Carina, there is no scenario where if she falls in the water, I’m not jumping in after her before she has time to surface.
I almost call her back to tell her I’ll do whatever she wants. She can pack the car her way. But she’ll be fine. I’ll see her in a few minutes.
“You two ready?” I ask Alex and Haley. I keep my snark internal. I don’t need either of them thinking I’ll jump down their throats because I argued with Carina. What they witnessed won’t change their opinion of me. They know I didn’t start it.
They nod and get in the car.
“What’s with you and Carina?” Alex asks.
I don’t trust him to not have ulterior motives right now. He might have said he was backing off whatever matchmaking he had attempted, but I don’t believe him. “Proximity breeds familiarity.”
“I don’t know about that,” Haley says. “I roomed with her in college. We never argued.”
“Yeah?” I look at her through the rearview mirror. “Did she do your dishes for you?”
“Well, I did a lot of the cooking, so she cleaned up. It was only fair.” She looks down, embarrassed I pegged her so easily.
“Sure. I’m saying she’ll do whatever it takes to keep everyone around her happy and I won’t let her do that with me.”
“You won’t let her make you happy?” Alex repeats.
“I don’t need anything from her, and she doesn’t know how to respond,” I say.
“What does that even mean?” Haley says.
“Huh,” Alex says. “Is this your seduction method? Because I’m not sure it’s a good one.”
I can answer this honestly. “No, I’m not trying to sleep with her. That sounds like it would be fun for no one.” Well, that last bit wasn’t honest.
“Hey!” Haley says.
“What do you have to say to that?” Alex asks her.
“I don’t know. But I don’t like people picking on my friend.”
“She can take everything I dish out. And if it upsets her, then she can talk to me or ignore me. No one is forcing her to go sailing today. Trust me, I don’t want her actually mad.”
They both look at each other and I wonder if they think I’m full of shit, but I know Carina. She’s strong and she wouldn’t be where she is if she couldn’t take some shit. The only difference with me is she’s finally giving it back. I saw the way her friends treat her. They care about her. But she’s been acquiescing for far too long.
We pull into the parking lot at the marina and find Christian and Bristol waiting for us.
“Where’s Carina?” Bristol asks.
“She decided to walk,” I reply. I hope that’s the end of it. If she wants to hide who she is from her friends, that’s her business. I won’t be the reason for her exposure.
And selfishly, I want this part of her to myself.
We load up the boat. I check the radar, again, and decide which sail to use. Bristol appoints herself my first mate even though it’s unnecessary. This boat is rigged for a solo sailor. I don’t need any help. But I won’t turn down someone calling distances for me. Bristol mentions that when she’s not bartending, she leads tours on kayaks or paddleboards and will occasionally go out on chartered vessels. She knows her way around enough to be helpful, especially getting out of the marina.
Haley heads to the galley to organize the food. She packed a picnic lunch and plenty of booze. Christian and Alex follow her, knowing their roles in helping her out.
She has an easy camaraderie with both men. They’re in relationships with other people, and I don’t pick up any underlying sexual tension between any of them. It was something I noticed the other night at Paradise. It’s the same with Carina. The only person I noticed checking her out that night was Beckett.
And Carina looked beautiful. I’ve been thinking about her in that dress all weekend.
I’m taking off the mainsail cover when I see her walking down the dock. I hope she’s burned off whatever frustrations she felt. She gets closer, and from the smirk on her face she’s been thinking up some snarky comeback the entire twenty-minute walk over.
The sun has fully risen at this point, and I see a sheen of sweat across her chest. She’s wearing a pair of shorts with a white flowy tank top sheer enough for me to see her baby blue bikini top underneath. Until now, I haven’t seen her in anything other than her own line of clothes.
I wonder what she’d look like in a cocktail dress, at sunset, at a candlelit table for two.
I stand at the stern as if I will offer her a hand across the gap between the boat and the dock, but that’s not all I intend.
She stands in front of me. “Permission to come aboard?” she asks, one eyebrow raised as if daring me to start again. I love the challenge I see in her and how much our relationship has changed since we were last in this position. It’s only been a little over a week, and along with the house and the water, Carina has been my constant in Wendell Beach. Not just her physical presence, but the way she’s always in my mind. I can’t believe it’s only been ten days since we first met.
“Not yet. We need to call a truce.”
“Why?” Her eyes narrow behind her sunglasses.
“No fighting on the boat. It’s a safety thing. I need to know in an emergency you’ll listen to me no matter what.”
“Your boat. Your rules?” she says.
“Something like that.”
“I don’t like this.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to.”
“If you’re an ass to me, I will take it out on you once we are back on land.”
“Sure, no problem. Throw me in the ocean,” I say. She’d jump in to save me. I know it.
“Gulf,” she corrects.
“Whatever. Do you agree?”
It’s clear she doesn’t want to, but Alex walks up from below deck and she sees him watching us. Her glare at me turns into a smile that I know is fake. “Won’t even be an issue. I’m perfectly pleasant all the time.”
“Sure, princess.” She doesn’t react to my nickname. I’d like to think it’s because she’s holding back. I’ll say it again on land and wait for her to explode.
“You going to help me board?”
“Nope, you’re capable. It’s not like you’ll fall in the ocean.”
I turn and continue my work, knowing Carina will be able to get on the boat no problem. But she waits a minute to take the step.