Page 37 of Meet You in the Waves
“Come up here,” I called, waiting until he came to join me where I stood at the helm. “You want to pilot?”
“Really?” he asked.
“Sure,” I said, gesturing for him to take over the wheel. He didn’t hesitate, moving into position with a smile on his face that was sure cutting something deep inside me.
“You ever steered a boat before?” I asked.
“No, never,” he answered. “Tell me if I’m doing it wrong.”
“You’re doing great,” I encouraged. “It’s just like driving a car. You just have to adjust for the wind, waves and current.”
“Oh, so simple when you put it like that,” he laughed.
“You’ll get the hang of it pretty quick.”
“How far out are we going?”
“There’s an offshore reef a little further out,” I explained. “The fish are usually good there but even if they’re not biting it’s great for a bit of snorkelling.”
“Am I steering us in the right direction?” he asked.
“Yep,” I replied. “Maybe just a little to the left,” I added, reaching out to guide his hands on the wheel. I might have left my hands on his a little longer than necessary but there was no harm done. I never claimed to be a saint.
Ajay stood back but kept right beside me when we neared the reef and I slowed the boat down before bringing her to a stop and dropping the anchor. It was absolute perfection out here this morning. The water was as flat as a dime and so clear I could make out the reef from the surface of the water.
“Wow,” Ajay murmured as he looked down at the water.
“Perfect, huh?” I agreed. His eyes hit mine, the light of the sun reflecting in the deep brown hue and I wasn’t entirely sure which perfection I was referring to any more.
Rob interrupted us as he handed out rods to Ajay and me. Rob took fishing a lot more seriously than I did and I knew better than to delay him even a minute. We’d never been able to convince Mateo to try his hand at fishing, something he deemed apeasant vocation. But he would never say no to a day out on the water and he was already stripping down to his leopard print speedos to soak up the sun’s rays on the deck.
“You know what you’re doing?” I asked Ajay as Rob pulled out the box of bait.
“Ah, not really,” he replied.
“Really? A Tassie boy like you?”
“Not all of us have access to our friend’s fancy boats, you know,” Ajay chided but there was something else a little guarded behind his words that had me biting my tongue. I knew he had grown up with not a whole lot and probably didn’t need me reminding him of it.
“Well here, let me help you out then,” I offered instead, showing him how to bait a line. We cast our lines out into the water and then took a seat to wait it out. The sun was warm and I quickly shed my top, instantly rewarded by a pair of curious brown eyes who couldn’t seem to avoid looking my way.
Ajay waited a few minutes before he lost his top too and then it was my turn for a little sneaky peek down his gorgeous body. Rob threw me the tube of sunscreen and I offered it to Ajayfirst, watching as he lathered it all over himself. Of course, I had to offer to coat his back for him and he hesitated for only half a second before letting me. He trembled when my fingers first touched his shoulders but he seemed to relax while I made a slightly longer task of coating every square inch of his skin than entirely necessary. He shied away when I touched the sides of his stomach and I couldn’t help my grin.
“Ticklish, huh?”
“Maybe,” Ajay grumped. I filed that information away for future use as I reluctantly let him go and concentrated on lathering my own sunscreen. Surprise hit me when Ajay offered to do my back and the boat fell a little silent while he made quicker work of coating my skin than I had done for him.
I turned to find both Rob and Mateo watching us and I quirked a brow at them. Mateo quickly looked away but Rob rolled his eyes at me and made a rather obscene gesture involving his hand and mouth that I really hoped Ajay didn’t see, the laugh on his face more telling.
I passed around some drinks from the esky, choosing the sparkling water like Ajay as we waited out for the fish to bite. It wasn’t long before there was a little tug on Ajay’s line and we both jumped to our feet, Ajay looking slightly panicked.
“What do I do?” he asked, flapping his hands.
“Just reel her in,” I gestured, showing him how to wind the line. Ajay took over but whatever had bitten was putting up quite a fight and I ended up with both my arms around him as we reeled her in together. Rob was cheering as soon as the fish breached the surface and we hauled it into the boat.
“That’s one big red,” Rob enthused, reaching out to grab the flailing fish.
“What kind of fish is that?” Ajay asked, an excited grin on his face.
