Page 38 of Sail Away with Me

“I asked Dune if he wanted to get into some trouble. Normally, this would be the kind of thing I’d go raise a ruckus about. I still might, but right now I want to find a way to protect the animals. Not sure how though.”

“Are you thinking of shifting your major?”

He nodded.

“Maybe law school is the way go. I never thought of myself as an environmentalist because I’ve always respected the earth. But this . . .” He shook his head.

Galvin didn’t know what to say. She didn’t like the idea of dolphins and whales dying, especially if their deaths were due to the wind towers going in, but she didn’t know what she could do to help. Law school was a three-year program and by the time she finished, who knew what the next fight would be.

After he stared at the papers a bit more, he sighed and cleared his throat. “All right, enough melodrama. I promised you dessert and I don’t like to break my promises.” He winked, which caused her insides to flip, flop.

“How about we order pizza instead?” Again, the words tumbled out before she could stop them. She’d just invited himinto her place without even thinking about what line this may cross. Galvin glanced up at her door and then smiled, hoping to give Sail the okay to say yes.

He nodded, gathered his papers with his free hand, and then stood. Sail gave her hand a slight tug and helped her stand.

“Just dinner and then I’ll bail,” he told her.

Had he done that to save her from telling him to leave or did he have other plans?

“And maybe a movie?”

“I like movies,” he said, with a smile.

Inside her apartment, Galvin turned the light on in her kitchen. She told Sail where to find the bathroom and then frowned.

“What’s wrong? Do you want me to go?” he asked as he pointed to the door he closed behind him.

“No, I forgot you’d been here before.”

Sail chuckled. “I’ll pretend I haven’t.” He touched the small of her back and winked.

Again, with the winking.

“You don’t have to.”

“I want to.” His voice was soft. Sultry?

No, she had no idea what sultry even sounded like.

“I need to shower,” she said quietly. “I smell like grease and feel like grime.”

“You smell like a cheeseburger, and I love cheeseburgers.”

She stared. Long and hard. Blinking.

Sail laughed and touched that sweet spot under her chin. “Go shower. I’ll order pizza. What do you like?”

“Anything,” she told him. “I’m not picky.”

As soon as she was in the bathroom, she recognized her mistake. Knowing her luck, he’d order something with anchovies. But then again, maybe he was of the mindset where fish are friends, not food.

Galvin showered as quickly as possible but made to sure lather her body in her best smelling soap. She washed her hair twice, shaved—even though nothing would happen between them—and then washed again. The last thing she wanted was to continue to smell like a cheeseburger, out of fear this would turn Sail on.

She smiled at the thought of him telling his friends in Miami:

“Tell me about your friend.”

“She smelled like a cheeseburger. I loved it.”

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