32. Chapter 32
Being in love is weightless. A lightness that floats effortlessly on the air.
“I love you.” I whispered it like a sinful confession.
Summoner’s fingers widened against the side of my face. His touch kept me tethered to him. A security I craved. The nighttime breeze blew through the bedroom window, brushing goosebumps onto my skin.
“And I love you.” His words were heavier than mine.
Maybe the certainty came from experience. A long life lived. It was painfully childish, but I couldn’t stop saying it. Gleefully, the words left me, and Summoner met them at every opportunity. He didn’t seem afraid of his love for me. I was damn lucky.
Loving him was different. Loving him was a solidness I didn’t know existed. I didn’t know I was capable of such depths. Other than sadness, of course.
I floated on my pool floatie, admiring his figure in the early morning light.
Every time I looked at him, my feelings whirled around me.
My breath caught. My brain got overwhelmed.
There were more questions now. More what-ifs than before.
The new uncertainty that made me shake when no one was around.
I wanted to simply exist in these amazing moments, but my brain was unable to let me do that.
***
“Can I get a hint?” I pleaded.
He smirked. “No.”
I huffed and slumped against the window. We were in the back of the SUV headed somewhere. The only clue they gave me was to pack my shorts and my swimsuit. We had been driving for over an hour, and I was antsy.
My eyes widened as the ocean came into view. I peeked at Summoner, who bit back a grin. We parked at the harbor, and I jumped out of the backseat. Moore pulled our bags out of the trunk, and Summoner clad himself in the security of his glasses and cap.
I assumed Moore had accounted for the dock being nearly deserted.
Most things he and Summoner did took the time of day into account.
Summoner grabbed my hand and led me across the wooden dock.
As we walked, I eyed the boats getting larger and larger until we stopped at the biggest boat in the whole harbor.
My mouth dropped open. The name Amethyst was airbrushed onto the side like an overpriced shirt from a fair stall.
For a woman who had never been on a boat, I jumped into the deep end, popping my cherry with a damn yacht.
“Is this yours?” I asked quietly.
“God no. Rental.”
“Still obscene.”
He shrugged. The interior was filled with glossy wood paneling and high-end appliances. Everything looked sleek and new. Amethyst apparently had 4 bedrooms, a full kitchen, and a sitting room. Obscene indeed.
“Hello!” a deep voice boomed from the upper deck.
A bearded man with one hell of a tan rushed down from the cockpit to greet us.
“I’m George, your captain. Me and my boys Luke and Will are your crew. Let us know if you need anything. Otherwise, we’ll be out of your hair.”
We all shook hands. Instead of returning my hand to my side, I grabbed Summoner’s and gave it a squeeze.
His head was stooped; the close quarters already had him on edge.
Luke and Will were mostly unseen, busy moving our bags to our rooms. The three of us sat on the outside upper deck.
Being a boat newbie, I pulled my chair close to the railing.
Amethyst’s engine puttered as we moved out of the harbor.
Properly out in the Mediterranean Sea, the wind picked up.
My stomach turned, and my heart pounded wildly in my chest. I gripped the railing for dear life as we floated.
Summoner looked comfortable beside me. A man at home on the sea.
Moore relaxed, legs crossed like a man on vacation.
I wanted to vomit. I couldn’t tell if it was nerves or seasickness.
I was just lucky like that. The scent of salt filled my nose the further out we went.
Eventually, the shore was nothing more than a blot in my vision.
“You okay?” Summoner’s voice broke through a rising sense of doom in my chest.
“…Not really.” I muttered. “We’re just out here in the water…”
He nodded slowly. “Yes, that is generally the case with boats.”
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“I will never let anything happen to you, Poppy. Love you.” He pressed a gentle peck to my cheek.
A wobbly smile spread across my face. He spoke of love with such conviction.
I had to be swayed. Anchored in the middle of the deepest blue, Summoner wasted no time getting on his little speedo and diving in.
He swam laps around the yacht. His body hitting the ocean was the only sound for miles. Remarkable.
I sat on the swim platform at the rear of Amethyst, getting a soggy ass.
I was mainly gawking at my sexy boyfriend, but I did take time to take a yacht selfie to send to Shay.
I couldn’t resist the brag. She already got in a novel of commentary about being right when I admitted to her I told him I was in love.
Summoner pulled himself out of the water. He grinned, chest heaving as water drops rolled down his skin.
“How was it?” I asked.
“Brisk,” he chuckled. “But also, amazing. Would be even better if you joined me.”
The sixty-five-year-old turned to me with an earnest pout on his lips. I rolled my eyes, but he persisted by tossing a pair of puppy dog eyes on top. Like a fool, I ran downstairs to change.
“You know I’m scared out of my fucking mind, right?”
“Yes.” Summoner had returned to the water, resting his folded arms on the deck’s edge.
I sat beside him and submerged my legs into the ocean. A chill zapped up from my toes to my braids.
“Brisk, my ass! That shit’s freezing!”
He laughed and perched himself between my legs. Summoner reached around, grabbing my waist and pulled me into the water. All the air left my lungs as my body temperature combated the freezing salt water. Panicked, I flailed, splashing water about.
“I’ve got you, Poppy. I’ve got you. It’s okay,” Summoner said calmly. “Everything’s okay. I’ll never let you go.”
I hooked my legs around his waist and secured my arms around his shoulders. Eventually, my heartbeat returned to the 100 range, and I opened my eyes.
Wow…
Everything was crystal clear. Blues in hues my eyes had never seen before. And here I was in the middle of it all. A lucky speck in the creator’s soup.
“How do you feel now?” he asked.
I smiled against the curve of his neck. Bastard knew what he was doing.
“…Still kinda scared, but I feel good,” I breathed. “You?”
“I feel great.”
“So, I have to say I get it now. You’re great at convincing. But can you tell me what you like so much about the water?”
“This isn’t an interview, is it?” He raised an eyebrow.
I flicked water at him. He laughed, and the sunlight bouncing off the water glowed around him.
“I guess I’ve always thought of water as the simplest of religious experiences. Pure. A bit like sex, but purer.”
I giggled. “You perv.”
“Team dirty old man right here.” He squeezed my ass.
“I assume that would fit nicely with the gold digger narrative, right?”
He groaned. “Their narrative. You’ve never asked me for anything. All of this is me. Not you.”
“I can ask for things?” I asked quietly as the grasp of real-life problems nipped at my ankles.
“Of course you can.”
I looked over at Amethyst, making sure the boat was still accessible. For as much as I trusted Summoner, I still worried about being lost to sea. But then again, that was one way to escape my problems.
Stop being a baby and just tell him already!
Our age gap left growing seeds of doubt in the back of mind.
Rooted and sprouting leaves, I hated when I paid it any attention at all.
But ignoring it didn’t change anything. Our difference in age made for a fundamental difference in perspective.
And that was without factoring in our relative mental illnesses.
Also, a part of me feared Summoner saw me as a child, despite all evidence saying otherwise.
I sighed and stared at the water, “…I do need to tell you something.”
“Okay.”
“… I…I quit my job.”
“I figured a job paying you forty thousand a year wasn’t letting you take a month off. I’m glad you quit. It was making you miserable.”
My eyes widened as I pulled back to look at his face. “You’re not disappointed?”
“No. I’m not your father. Not my place. Boyfriend is here to support.”
I gave him a kiss, a peck that devolved into tongue play. As we pulled our mouths apart, he pressed his forehead against mine and sighed.
“Since we’re confessing, I do have something to tell you.”
“Go on.”
“Honestly, I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out yet. When I stayed at your place and cleaned your kitchen, I found some mail…” He sighed, bracing himself for my wrath. “I saw your student loan statement. I took it with me and paid it off.”
I stared at him.
“I know it’s not my place, but I wanted to help.
Just to do some little thing to make you feel better.
I was going to tell you, but the fuckers gave me the run about paying someone else’s account.
It took longer than I expected to settle it all.
You’d think they’d just want money, but I digress… I’m sorry.”
We lived in two different worlds if Summoner considered $60,000 in student loan debt to be a little thing.
I shook my head. “What are you fucking sorry for?!?!”
“You’re not mad?”
“NO!” I laughed. “I think I love you more now! How is that shit possible?!”
His arms tightened around me. “I’d give you everything Poppy, and you don’t even know it.”
“I have everything. I have you.”
Maybe things would work out after all.