Page 46 of Sail Away with Me

Galvin absorbed everything he said and couldn’t help but smile. Still, she had her reservations.

“Don’t all guys like friends with benefits?”

He met her gaze and shook his head. “That’s never been my thing, and I don’t want it to beourthing. I have feelings for you and this morning just intensified those feelings.”

Galvin pulled her legs up under her and angled her body toward Sail. “I shouldn’t like you, but I do. When I moved here, I told myself I would keep my head down, make money, and start law school. And then you walked in. Long before I knew you were Jack’s son; I thought you were trouble for me.”

Sail linked his hand with hers. “Any trouble will be good trouble.” He winked.

She shook her head. “I can’t afford any trouble, Sail. Law school is my dream. It has been for as long as I can remember. I need this job and it’s a real fear that something will happen between us, and I’ll lose it.”

He brought her hand to his lips and held them there for a moment before setting their hands in his lap. “Do you want me to leave?”

Galvin shook her head. “I want you to stay.”

“I can do that.”

“And be more than a friend.”

Sail grinned. “Now, I know that’s something I can definitely do.”

sail

. . .

Sail rolled over and quieted his alarm as fast as he could. He scrubbed his hand over his face and swore under his breath. It was early. Far too early to be up. Especially when he had Galvin’s naked body nestled against his.

Last night, they chatted about their relationship and he all but asked her to take him out of the friend zone. There was a brief moment when he thought she was going to tell him no. She hadn’t and he promptly kissed her while carrying her to bed. As much as he wanted to be with her, he resisted the urge to ask her. Sail figured she’d tell him when they were ready to take the final step.

Instead, they had intense rounds of foreplay, ate takeout in bed, turned on a movie on, and then he spent the night kissing and caressing every inch of her body.

Galvin mumbled in her sleep. “Ssh,” he said quietly. “Go back to sleep.” Sail kissed her forehead and slowly pulled his arm out from under her. Instantly regretting the early wake-up call. He had his eyes on the prize though. The fifty-thousand-dollar purse screamed his name. Winning was a longshot, but Sail had all the confidence in the world he could pull it off.

He just had to practice and that meant leaving the comfortable bed of his new girlfriend and braving the early morning cold, likely with wind.

Wind would be his friend.

“Where are you going?” Galvin asked sleepily.

“I’m meeting the guys for practice.” The guys being his brothers.

It was easy to convince Dune, who would’ve entered the competition if there hadn’t been an age limit. Tidal said he’d help, on occasion. While Crew flat out said, “Hell no.” Sail understood. Crew was still in high school and had his own practices to attend to.

After Sail dressed, he knelt on the bed and kissed Galvin goodbye. “I’ll see you later?”

She mumbled something unintelligible, but he thought it was cute. So cute he almost said fuck it and crawled back into bed. Doing so wouldn’t win him any money, nor would it prove to his dad that he can change his bad habits. That he has changed his bad habits.

Sail tiptoed through the studio, stopping at the counter to write his number on the notepad Galvin had on the refrigerator.

Call me later. Sail

It was far too early in their relationship, even as a friend, to leave her the ridiculous hearts he thought about drawing. As he reread his short statement, he contemplated adding Love, Sail, but then figured Galvin would freak out.

Honestly, the L word made him freak a little on the inside too.

As he left, ensuring he locked the door behind him, Sail couldn’t help but imagine the moment he would tell Galvin how he felt. From the moment he stepped into the diner, afraid toconfront his father and only to find her there, Sail knew that Galvin was different from anyone he’d ever met, and certainly ever dated.

Staying over at Galvin’s allowed Sail an extra half hour of sleep because she lived so close to the marina. When Sail arrived, he found Dune and Tidal working on the dinghy he would use for the competitions. Tidal clipped the two poles for the mast into place and then flipped Sail off as he came toward them.

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