Page 27 of Haze's Jewel

Haze is waiting for me, wearing a pair of black swimming shorts that come almost to his knees. I can’t help that my eyes roam over his muscular shoulders and down his ripped torso. That man has a six-pack to die for. I can’t keep the smile off my face for anything.

He matches my energy by giving me the once over. “Damn, you look like a goddess in that bikini,” he says as he hands me a frozen daiquiri. “Welcome to my little escape. This is the place I come to get away from it all.”

I look around, realizing the boat is kind of posh. I wouldn’t say it’s luxurious by any stretch of the imagination but it’s way nicer than I would expect from a hard-working guy who drops ink for a living.

It’s as if Haze can read my mind. His amused voice explains, “My brother and I used to share a condo. When he and Trix got together he bought out my share. I was gonna look for an apartment, but then realized the shop was laying empty. So, I spent the money on the cabin cruiser instead—one of my customers at the shop was talking about upgrading and selling his old boat, so I got it for a steal and spent my weekends repairing it. This is the maiden voyage—at least with me as captain.”

He gestures me over to a seating area and we relax as he continues his story. “Vapor thought I was crazy, but he changed his mind when he saw it, he and Trix will make use of it too.”

“How long have you had the tattoo shop for?” I ask before taking a sip of the daiquiri.”

“When we were prospecting for the Savage Legion, we learned to drop ink from one of our club officers. We discovered he had a lot of irons in the fire when it came to investments, and he approached us a couple of years back to see if we wanted to buy the shop from him, because dealing with assorted businesses was getting in the way of family life. No money exchanged hands up front. We’re paying him twenty-five percent of our gross profits over a period of eighteen years. We’re almost two years into the payoff at this point and it hasn’t proven to be a stretch for us.”

Taking another sip of my drink, I ask, “Do you mind if I ask why it’s eighteen years in particular? Most people like nice round numbers, so I would have expected it to be a lower percentage over twenty years.”

He grins at me. “Damn, you’re smart. I was thinking along the same lines until he told us that he’s using the money to fund his children’s college fund. His oldest was a newborn when we made the arrangement, meaning he’ll need the money in eighteen years.”

I perk up, impressed by the sheer ingenuity of the arrangement. “That was a brilliant idea.”

Haze chuckles. “Yeah, Tank is all kinds of keen when it comes to making money. He keeps trying to advise me and Vapor, telling us we need to start investing. I’m too young for all that shit, maybe if I ever have a family then I’ll consider it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I squander my cash, the boat is my only splurge.” He pauses and takes a mouthful of his drink before fixing me with a grin, “I did take his advice on one thing though, he thinks the second most important thing is a getaway, a place of refuge if you ever need to escape.”

“Your brother must love it here,” I murmur, because who wouldn’t love it and twins often enjoyed the same thing didn’t they?

“Vapor’s not a big fan of open water. He helped me fix the boat up and Trix is keen to sail but I guess that’s gonna—” his voice cuts off. “Anyway, my brother’s hideaway is a place near town with a view of the whole city.”

He takes a gulp of his drink and adds, “Don’t ask me about it. Like I said it’s top secret and if there is one thing my brother and I are good at, it’s keeping each other’s confidences.”

“I won’t ask. Everyone has the right to privacy after all.”

He stares out onto the ocean for a few seconds as if he’s deep in thought.

We sit in silence for a while, the sound of the waves lapping against the hull is so relaxing. Who wouldn’t want to live on a boat? I turn to him and say, “You already have a really nice apartment at the shop. Having the boat gives you another living option if you ever wanted or needed it. I don’t know what’s so great about buying and maintaining a whole house. You’d have to turn around and fill it with furniture and housewares. For you it would mean you’d be maintaining three residences, if you include the boat. It honestly sounds exhausting to me.”

His expression turns warm. “You and I think a lot alike, Anna. I can’t think of one good reason to buy another condo or heaven forbid, a house. It seems like I already have a lot to keep up with the boat and shop.”

“Yes. I agree. Plus, you’re a guy who only earns if you’re working. How much sense does it make to take time away from work to maintain a house you don’t actually need?”

“Not much. I have to admit that if I had kids that might factor heavily into buying a house so they would be in a good school district.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong but you don’t particularly seem like the settling down type.”

My comment must catch him off guard because his expression totally shuts down. “Yeah, of course, you’re right about that.”

Coming to his feet, he asks, “Are you ready to get into the water?”

Draining the last of my drink, I stand up. “That sounds amazing. What’s the plan?”

“I thought we’d go snorkeling for a bit, before we break out the jet skis and scare off all the fish.”

“I’m all in,” I tell him.

Within moments he’s pulled out the equipment, we’ve geared up, and are in the water. I love everything about this situation. Haze is the perhaps the nicest man I’ve ever met and he’s straight up eye candy with all his muscles on full display. I’m kind of glad that we’re not at a resort, because every woman on the beach would be staring at him. There is a little twinge of jealousy in my gut that takes me by surprise. I ignore it and get on with enjoying my day.

Chapter 12

Haze

I dock the boat at a local restaurant that caters to day trippers and permanent residents who want to sit down and eat an elegant meal. It’s expensive, but this is a celebration, so I’m prepared to go all out for Anna. I hate that she’s gotten the impression that I’m not the settling down type. Although she’s not necessarily wrong about that, it’s not a part of my personality that’s etched in stone. If I met the right woman, I’d want the chance to have something real.

---