Chapter 6
[Booster]
At some point, I’d fallen asleep. With Kali between my thighs and her back against me, plus the blanket over us, I was too comfortable. At some point, she shifted, twisting so her cheek rested over my heart and her arms draped over my chest. She fit in a way I wouldn’t have expected anyone to fit.
When I woke, though, my nose tickled with a hint of something feminine and floral, and the blanket was tucked around me like I was a child. The sun was rising, and Kali was gone.
I wasn’t upset by her absence as much as puzzled about what I’d done. Why I climbed onto this lounger behind her and pulled her against me? Why I continued to hold her, keeping her close to me while we gazed at the stars.
Okay, maybe her absence this morning bothered me a little bit, and I twist on the lounger to look down toward the guest house. A light is on, but something tells me to give her space.
Her scream yesterday still haunts me, although she appeared rather relieved afterward.
Like letting out that horrific holler released all her tension, her hatred, her sadness. She was brighter when we ate our lunch and even chatty as we drove through Glacier National Park, eventually reversing our drive in the daylight, where she had a better view of everything.
I learned she has three amazing children, two of whom are in college and one working her first job. I also learned that Kali is a graphic designer. She works mostly in marketing, but does book covers on the side. Kali Summerbee is a pseudonym.
“I’m not a McNaulty anymore,” she’d said.
She asked if I still worked, implying she’d known I once played baseball. I glossed over my coaching years and the decision to retire from the field.
“Now what?” she’d asked. The question was becoming my mantra.
For now, I am hanging out in Whitefish.
Or am I hiding?
Another question with a to-be-determined answer.
Hefting myself off the lounger, my back screams from sleeping on something with no support all night. A workout is in order, plus breakfast, and then . . . I suppose sitting on my balcony again until Kali makes an appearance.
It’s roughly noon before Kali steps out of the guest house and makes her way to the dock. Since I’ve been waiting for her to come outside, I’m eager to join her.
“Let’s SUP,” I say as soon as I reach the floating dock.
“What’s up?” she chuckles, her laugh light and breezy, as she hitches her chin toward me. It’s cute. She’s cute. And just thinking that thought causes a little blip in my pulse.
“No,” I laugh. “Let’s SUP.” I nod toward the inflatable boards under each of my arms. “Stand up paddleboard.”
“Oh.” Her face turns pinker than it already is in the sunshine. “I’ve never done that before.”
“Well, it looks like a good day to do something new.” I set one board on the dock and drop the other into the water.
Life jackets are tucked into the stretchy crisscrossed cords at the top of each board.
I take one step to the right, and plunge into the lake beside the first board, then lift the second one into the water.
“I’ll help you. You don’t even have to stand. You can go on your knees.” Personally, kneeling is hell for me.
“I don’t have shoes,” she notes, like the adventure sandals I’m wearing.
The rocks can be a bitch to walk on, being not only slippery but potentially sharp.
“That’s why I’ll help you get set up.” I pat a board. “I’ll hold it steady while you crawl on.”
She hesitates only a moment before she moves on her hands and knees toward the edge of the dock, and my dick goes hard despite the cool water.
I shouldn’t be reacting, but she looks sexy as fuck moving like a kitten to the edge of the dock before clambering onto the paddleboard.
Once there, she’s quick to get to her knees, and my fantasy of her in this position in front of me takes on new life.
Dammit, the horny routine needs to settle down.
I hop onto my own board, noticing it isn’t as easy as it once used to be, thanks to the issues with my back. Glancing at Kali, who works the paddle like a pro to separate herself from the dock, I give her a quick lesson on how to stand up.
“I’m not an expert swimmer and deep water scares me.”
“You can put your life jacket on if you want, but I promise we won’t go out far. We’ll stick closer to the shore.”
I position myself on the right side of her, between her board and the deeper water, hoping that brings her comfort. I won’t let anything happen to her.
We move in silence, letting the soft slice of the water be our soundtrack before Kali says, “I think I’ll try to stand.”
Spreading her knees, she does as I’d suggested, trying to center her balance and placing one foot and then the other closer to the edge of the board. Only the paddleboard teeters and Kali totters before she slips right off the side and into the water.
I fight laughter, especially when she pops through the surface and gasps. “Shit. It’s cold.”
Her voice is choppy, like she can’t catch her breath, and I panic that she might have hurt herself.
We’re deep enough that she shouldn’t have touched the bottom of the lake, but she really looks like she’s struggling.
Especially when she tries to pull herself up on the board again and it flips toward her, knocking her back beneath the surface.
The boards have ankle leashes, so it won’t float away from the paddler. I stabilize my paddle and easily dive off my paddleboard toward Kali. When I reach her, she’s above the surface again, gasping for air from the shock of the cold water.
“I’ll hold your board.” Slinging my arm to the opposite edge of the board to steady it as best I can, Kali stretches her arms as far as she can reach, and I place my hand on her ass to give her a boost.
The force almost overshoots her, and she sprawls out like a spent turtle. Slowly, she shifts to her knees while the board wobbles.
“Well.” She huffs. “That was embarrassing.”
“Don’t be embarrassed. You can sit if you want. Better on the knees. Treat it more like a kayak.”
I watch as Kali struggles, not looking like she’s enjoying this experience as much as I’d hoped.
“I’ve lost the paddle.”
Crap. Looking around us, I spy it drifting away. I detach my ankle leash, hand the strap to Kali to hold, and swim to retrieve the paddle.
Once I return, her head hangs. “Guess I’m not very good at this.”
“Don’t say that shit, baby.” I swallow as I watch her comb her fingers through her wet hair. “It’s your first time. You’ll get it.”
I’m typically not into the self-deprecating talk, especially as half the time it’s a fishing expedition for compliments, but Kali really looks worn down. And it really bothers me.
“Just stay seated. No shame in that.” I hand her the paddle as she stretches her legs forward to stabilize herself.
Returning to my own board, I hop on, re-secure the ankle cuff, and stand, going at Kali’s pace along the shore.
She doesn’t speak. Doesn’t say a word while glancing at the array of homes lining the beach; from small, boxy cabins that look like boathouses from the 1960s to the modern, glass monstrosities, standing three stories tall.
After a while, I suggest we turn around and make our way back to the house.
“Sorry to hold you back,” she mutters.
“You haven’t held me back at all. Paddleboarding is a casual experience. Just you on the water.”
I’m not looking to make this a sport or even a formal workout.
And enough of this shit.
I set my paddle through the cords and dive into the water. Tugging the board behind me by my ankle, I swim toward Kali.
“Hang on,” I warn her as I lug myself up onto her board and she lets out a squeal.
“What are you doing?”
“We’re sharing the ride.”
I straddle her board and take the paddle from her. With my board still tethered to my ankle, dragging behind us, it will slow us down, but I want more time out here with her, and I want to be closer.
Like we were last night.
When I stand upright, Kali lets out another squeak until I stabilize. Then I slice through the water, careful as I lift the paddle and switch to the other side, so I don’t hit her.
Kali keeps her eyes forward as she clutches her knees.
She’s crisscrossed her legs, and from my position, I have a clear view over her head and down her body, where her breasts are pressed together.
The hint of cleavage makes my mouth water.
She’s wearing a one-piece today that looks similar to the bikini from the other day.
“Where’s the other suit?” My voice is gruff, almost demanding. I’m definitely disappointed she isn’t still wearing it.
“No one wants to see me in that.” Her bitter and sarcastic tone rubs me wrong.
“Don’t say shit like that about yourself, Kali.”
“Well, it’s true. I don’t know what I was thinking. I don’t have the confidence for that suit.”
“You have the curves for it,” I blurt before I can stop myself.
She huffs. “That’s sweet but not true.”
“Okay. That’s it.” The board wobbles as I lower behind her, straddling it and her like I did last night on the lounger. Her legs shoot outward to steady herself, and I press my front against her back. She shivers as my skin is still cool from my swim.
With my chest against her, I drop my lips near her ear.
“Let me tell you something. Since the moment I caught you staring at me . . . okay, maybe the moment I found you in the guest house kitchen, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.
Thinking things I’m afraid to admit, because they might scare you.
But let me explain that those things involve a sudden desire you’ve sparked in me, and I haven’t had sex in a year. ”
“Really?” She turns her head, glancing at me over her shoulder. Our faces are so close I could kiss her, but not yet.
“Really,” I confirm. “I understand having moments of not being comfortable in your own skin. Maybe thinking you’re not attractive, so let me reassure you . . . I find you very attractive. I’m attracted to you.”