Page 16 of Stay Awhile
“I should stop running my mouth, huh?” she asked.
I looked over in her direction, then lifted my brow. “Is that a trick question?” I asked.
I kept a straight face for as long as I could before smiling down at her. Her shoulders relaxed as she returned my smile with a swing of her purse against my chest.
“You’re a silent comedian now?”
I shrugged my shoulders, returning my attention to watching everyone on the bus.
“Anything is possible, Blue,” I said, then winked.
Her cheeks reddened before turning to look out of the window. We had just pulled up to the docks to board the boat. I knew she wanted to ask me what Blue meant, but I could tell she held the question in as we all filed off the bus.
Once I stepped outside, I glanced around and didn’t notice anything out of place. Skye stepped off the bus after me and lost her footing on the last step. I quickly stepped forward, catching her before she could hit the ground. Her arms wrapped around my neck as I lifted her from the ground.
“It looks like I’m gone have to carry you to make sure you make it on this boat safely, Blue.”
She laid her now warm face into the crook of my neck. I knew she was embarrassed, which was why I made it look like it was just me picking her up and that she didn’t actually trip. The other women on the boat smiled, and the men shook their heads.
I stepped onto the boat with her still in my arms, then placed her on her feet. I stood with her for a moment to make sure she was steady before we walked over to two empty seats near the back of the boat. The captain of the boat let everyone know the policies of riding on the boat and notified us of where life vests or supplies if an emergency arose.
Once he was certain everyone understood, he pulled the boat away from the dock. I looked around the open waters becausethis was the perfect place to get killed. There truly weren’t any exits other than the water.
“Thank you for doing that. Lately, my feet haven’t wanted to cooperate with me,” she finally spoke up.
“It’s no problem. If I’m here, I got you,” I told her, meaning every word I spoke.
She nodded. “What does Blue mean? I’ve heard you call me that twice. Is it because my name is Skye?”
I chuckled as I decided whether I wanted to disclose the real reason I called her Blue. I released a breath, then looked in her direction, deciding, why not? I could give her part of why I called her that.
“Nah, that’s cliché. Blue means calm to me, and since we met, you’ve yet to really lose your cool outside of our initial meeting. Even then, it wasn’t too bad, especially when you had good reason to be cursing me out,” I told her.
I took another cursory glance around the boat and on it before looking back at her. The moment my eyes locked onto hers, my heart stopped for just a moment. This woman was really something special.
“I like that. I thought I was going to have to toss you into my lame men pile.”
I lifted a brow and smirked. “Pile? How many trash men have you run into?” I asked.
She looked down at her watch. “How long do you have?”
I laughed, then brushed my hand over my waves. This woman had gotten me to smile and laugh more than I ever had in my entire life. Not that I didn’t want to do those things, it was just that nothing in my life had ever been funny or happy. It was refreshing to be around someone whose life seemed to be filled with joy and choices.
“All the time you need.”
“I won’t bore you with nonsense, but know this… the dating pool is not all that. You see I’m out with a man who spilled my own drink on me.”
I held back my grin as I looked down at her briefly, then looked back out at the seas. “Is that so?” I asked.
“Damn right. I’m starting to think my picker is slightly bent, but you aren’t too bad, even with the crazy first meeting. Honestly, it kind of reminds me of a meetup in a romance novel or a movie. You know when the female character is so tired of her current life or always busy, then suddenly the man of her dreams lands in her lap.”
I peered over at her with a smirk. She radiated life—a rare quality I’d learned to spot. But that same vibrant energy meant I needed to be careful with her.
“Wait—” she started, but stopped when I raised an eyebrow. She held back whatever she was about to say, waiting for me to speak.
“You’re always trying to control every moment, aren’t you?” I asked.
She crossed her arms and jutted out her bottom lip slightly. “What makes you think that?”
