Steady (37 page)

“Where is here, exactly?” she asked, not seeing anything but docks, boats, and a shop of some kind. He smiled at her question. “We need to take the boat out to get to my place. It’s kind of out by itself.”

“What does that mean, out by itself?” she asked, looking at him. “Okay, Will, I mean it, there better be no survivor stuff and no chopping me up into little pieces.”

“Follow me,” he said, walking toward the small building, which turned out to be a combination of small tourist shop, DVD rental place, and bait shop all rolled into one.

“Hey, dude, it’s been a while,” a big, burly guy said to Will. He was clad in a muscle shirt and shorts that reached below his knees, and had a full red curly beard to match his full head of curly red hair.

“I know. Work’s been demanding,” Will responded.

“How long you here for?” he asked, walking toward the back of the store and disappearing inside an office, Will at his heels.

“A week,” Will answered. A minute later they returned, Will with a key in hand.

“Katrina, meet Bo, the best fisherman in these parts. Next to me, that is.”

“Hi, Bo,” she said. Bo returned the greeting. Will picked up their things and walked out, Katrina a step behind.

“Bye, Katrina, nice to meet you,” Bo called after them.

“You, too,” she replied.

She followed Will as they walked out to the dock and stopped near a boat.

“This is us,” he said. It was a fairly big boat with what looked like a small cabin in it.

“We are spending a week on a boat?” she asked, growing a little alarmed.

“No, this is a fishing boat only, but it will take us to our final destination.”

“Okay, Will, that’s it. Before I step on that boat, I need to know where we’re going. You said a condo. I assumed it was still in this state, but you’re starting to worry me.”

“Don’t be. I do have a condo not far from here, down the coast a bit. It is easier to access by boat, but we can get there by land. This is much shorter, plus I needed to pick up the boat. Okay?”

“Okay,” she said, pacified for the moment. They loaded their gear onto the boat. She helped him, following his instructions as he got them ready to leave, and soon they pulled away from the dock.

Katrina saw his condo as they came around a bend in the water. It sat alone, next to the shore. It was larger than she had expected.

“I purchased the land from G, the same guy who gave the New Year’s Eve party,” he said, following her eyes. “His family owns the large chunk next to me. He used to own this portion, but he wanted a place not so near his folks, so he sold it to me. He and I used to come down during breaks at school to fish, kayak, or just hang out. I fell in love with the beauty and the solitude of this place. Over time, I started to have it built, using natural and eco-friendly products, of course,” he said.

“Of course.”

She looked it over, impressed. A large square box in shape, the front part of it appeared to be made of glass, and that portion extended outward from the land onto the water. It was a neat, clean, simple brown structure, blending with the land and water around it. She’d come to think that Will required all his things to mesh with their surroundings; she refused to over analyze whether that posed any complications for her.

“Aren’t you worried that a strong wind will shatter all that glass?” she asked.

“It’s not glass, but a strong substitute that can withstand winds up to 90 mph,” he said. The deck had a dock, which they drove up to and secured the boat.

She helped him empty the boat. Once they were done, she walked over to meet him at the side door, which he’d opened. The condo was nice on the inside, simple in design with not much in the way of furnishing. She knew he favored natural materials and limited pieces of furniture.

“It’s really nice,” she said, dumping her bag and looking around. They stood in a large room, the one she had seen from the outside, which was surrounded on three sides by windows. A wall stood at her back, with a door in the middle breaking it into two sides. The final wall, behind her, held beautiful cabinets, a small couch, a table, and chairs. She turned to look behind her.

“Where do we sleep?” she asked.

“I’ve got one small bedroom, bath, and kitchen behind you, through that door,” he said, pointing behind her. “I usually sleep in here. I’ve got a Murphy bed, the one that folds down from the wall, behind one of those cabinets,” he said, opening the door to show her a bed.

“I like to sleep admiring the view,” he said.

“I could like, it, too,” she said.

“Thanks,” he said, smiling at her and walking over to pull her into his arms. She went willingly, as always, happy and terrified.

***

She woke up one morning toward the middle of the week to the comforting sound of rain softly hitting the windows. She lay there, moving her arms above her head, stretching and looking around the room. She loved Will’s bed, loved his condo, loved every square inch of his body. She loved him, a first for her.

Will’s spot next to her was empty. She turned on her side to look out the large windows. The day was gray from the rain, which was good because she just wanted to lie here with him and do nothing. She’d had a great time so far, and Will was determined to teach her to fish. God, he was so much more active than she’d ever been, he had so much energy. She didn’t know if she could keep up with his appetites.

She turned as she heard a noise behind her. Speak of the devil; it was Will walking toward her with a towel in his hand, drying his hair and face. She looked up in question.

“I just checked on the boat to make sure it was secure. It was. Looks like we are in for rain for at least this morning. It’s a small storm, supposed to move off by the afternoon,” he said, pulling the T-shirt over his head. He unbuttoned, unzipped, and lost his shorts. He had nothing on underneath. He slid back into bed, reaching for her and feeling a T-shirt she’d put on during the night. She’d gotten cold.

“What are we doing with this on?” he asked, smiling, his hand moving down to find the bottom to pull it up and over her head.

He kissed her then, his hands gliding over her body, roaming over her breasts, running down her stomach and back behind her to settle underneath her, his hands cupping her butt as he settled at the junction of her thighs, moving up and back over that part of her that caused her breathing to catch. He loved the way her soft skin felt against his. He loved the contrast of their bodies; his hard, hers soft, his skin color striking against the richness and darkness of hers.

He kissed her, loving the way she became pliable and liquid when he touched her. He spread her legs with his and pushed into her, one arm secured around her waist to hold her in place, the other at her shoulder to lift his body, giving him an angle in which to drive determined, strong, and sure thrusts into her. He watched her respond to him, her eyes closing, small moans coming from her, her hips beginning to push back in the way he’d come to expect and love. She came a moment later.

He stopped and held her, arms moving to wrap themselves under her back and over to grip her shoulder, holding her in place as he continued to kiss her. He started to move within her, quietly and ever so slowly, taking in her sighs of pleasure, giving her a second to recover.

“Ready?” he asked. When she nodded he turned over onto his back, bringing her to sit on him. His hands moved to her hips and he began thrusting into her again, undeterred by anything but his desire to satisfy her. Soon she came again, stronger than before.

“One more time,” he whispered, smiling as her eyes closed in pleasure. He started again, his hands now next to her face. He lifted his upper body away from hers he began thrusting again, not stopping until, this time, he came with her. He fell forward to hold her, too wiped out to move.

He looked down at her lying there, her hair in wild abandon against the pillow. Without a doubt he knew he loved her, wanted her with him permanently. He’d yet to say the words, but it would only be a matter of time.

***

Will watched Katrina clean up after dinner. They’d eaten trout she caught earlier that day. Recalling their time together this week brought a smile to his face. She was too hysterical for words sometimes. The first time they’d gone fishing earlier this week, she had refused to touch anything that moved, so no live bait. The second day she agreed to fish if he would bait her line for her, but she wouldn’t look while he did that to the “poor bait”. On the third day she tried to bait the hook herself, and on the last two days she’d actually caught some fish. He didn’t know who was more surprised, her or the fish.

The best part of teaching her had been training her how to cast. He, of course, had to stand close behind her as it was required to teach her the correct arm movement. He loved how she lined up in front of him, his back to hers. Somewhere she’d become a necessity for him to enjoy his time outside of work. He thought her funny, courageous, and steady.

She had proven to be quite a handful in bed, and he totally loved that. They were scheduled to leave tomorrow and head back home. They had done other things besides fish. They had taken the boat back to the dock and rented some jets skis. He rented two of them, and almost fell over when she walked to him in the smallest bikini he’d seen in a long, long time. She put her vest over it, but not before she’d teased him, laughing hysterically at the reaction on his face. She gave silent thanks to Lola for her very sound clothing advice.

He sat on the couch now, his attention moving between her and the view of the water out back. It was late evening and the sun was starting its descent. He turned as she walked over to sit next to him on the couch. He opened his legs, pulling her to sit in between them, and pulled her back to rest against his chest. His arms surrounded her at the waist.

“So I can add catching fish and cooking it to the list of things you do exceedingly well.” He was quiet for a second. The he said, “Have I told you that I had a great time this week with you?”

“No, you haven’t, but so have I,” she said. “Who knew I would come to enjoy going out on the boat and fishing?”

They were silent for a moment, lost in their thoughts as they watched a blood red sun making its descent.

“Where do you want this to lead?” he asked, broaching a subject he’d been thinking about for a while now.

“What do you mean by ‘this’?”

“Us,” he said.

“I like us. Is that what you mean?”

“Sort of. I was just wondering if you’re happy with us. Would you want more?”

“I like the way we are now. I like being around you a lot.”

“Like, huh?” he asked. “What if it’s more than that for me?”

She didn’t say anything for a moment. Finally she asked, “Is it?”

“Yeah, it is,” he said. She turned to him.

“I love you,” he said. Her eyes moved away from his, turning to stare out the window to the water, lost in thought.

“What does that mean, you love me?” Not waiting for his response, she continued. “If it means we can stay as we are, I’m okay with that. Is that what ‘I love you’ means?”

“Yes, it means that, but it also means more for me.”

“More as in a long-term commitment?”

“Yes, marriage is a long-term commitment,” he said.

She moved her head slightly up and down, eyes tuned out again, as if confirming something within herself as she continued to look out over the water.

“I don’t know, Will,” she said. “I can’t say yes. This fear of being hurt, this need to protect myself from harm, is so deeply ingrained in me,” she said, turning to face him, tears glimmering in her eyes. “I can’t say yes, at least not now. And are you even sure it’s me you want, anyway? I mean, I’m not who you’re used to. I’m different enough to be interesting, but are you really sure? I worry about that with you. I am a simple girl, Will, boring, even. You’ve said it yourself.”

“I know who you are, Katrina.”

“I don’t think I’m up for another loss in my life. Growing up without folks, I’d just about given up hope of anyone wanting me. You don’t know what that’s like. And if we worked through that baggage,” she said, trying to form a smile, “what if something were to happen to you. I love you, too, and—”

“I know what I am asking of you,” he said. He pulled her to him. “Hey, it’s okay, I’m not asking you to decide anything today. I’m perfectly happy with where we are, and I’m not going anywhere. I understand you, Katrina, better than you think, but at some point in life you have to take a chance on things. On us. Nothing in life is certain. It could all lead to heartache, but it could be perfect for us, the best thing for us.”

His hands captured her face, making her look at him, wiping the wetness from her cheeks with his thumbs.

“You’re surviving me so far, right?” he said softly, looking at her, giving her a smile. She nodded. “Give me a while longer then, it can work.” He pulled her into him for a kiss. She went eagerly, wanting to let him know that she cared for him, loved him, too.

***

March

The third weekend in March found Katrina at the gardens. Most of the major work had been done. The boulders had been delivered to the garden and were in place over in Will’s dry garden. Katrina walked through and cataloged all that had been done so far, comparing it to the design that now lived in her head.