Page 73 of We Were Something
She bites her tongue and gives me a look that says she knows I’m right and doesn’t feel bad about it.
We float there for a few minutes longer before I feel Paige’s fingers slip into mine under the water, and when I glance over, I find her watching me.
“Do you think we would have liked each other if we’d been in school at the same time?” she asks.
I turn my gaze back to the sky, the pinks and oranges from earlier well and truly gone, replaced with the dark purples and navy blues that paint the top of the world after the sun has fully set.
“I think I would have been enamored with you,” I tell her honestly. “But I never would have said a word, and I doubt you would have noticed me.”
Paige squeezes my hand. “That’ssonot true. I would have totally noticed you. But I probably would have assumed you thought I was a hot mess and nothing but trouble.”
“Would I have been wrong to assume that?”
She laughs again. “No. Iwasa hot mess and nothing but trouble. Istillam.”
I squeeze her hand and tug her close, treading water as she wraps her legs around my waist.
“I think I like your kind of trouble,” I tell her, gripping the ladder on the stern of the boat with one hand and dipping down to grab her ass with the other.
“You do?” she asks, her voice breathy.
I nod. “When I was younger, I wouldn’t have been ready for it. I would have probably made a fool of myself and you probably would have been dating the guys I hated. But I’m ready for it now.”
“You think?”
I nod again. “I know.”
We stare at each other in the last bit of light, and then I lean forward and press my lips against hers, loving the way she opens for me instantly. The way her tongue seems almost desperate to twist and tangle with mine, the warmth of our mouths together making me suddenly aware of just how cold the water is.
After a long, beautiful kiss, I pull back and rest my forehead against hers.
“It’s getting pretty cold. You ready to warm up and have some dinner?”
She grins then shivers, as if my words have reminded her that we’re floating at night in the cold of the Pacific Ocean.
“Definitely.”
The two of us climb up the short ladder and out of the water, toweling off before dropping down below deck to the warmth of the interior.
Plenty of work went into the exterior ofSeas the Daywhen I first got her. Sanding down a few spots, resealing it with a gelcoat, painting the entire thing, and replacing the main sail and some of the winches.
But the primary changes that made this boat into my pride and joy is what went into overhauling the inside.
When I first got her, this boat had an all-wood interior, the tech was supremely outdated, and the space itself wasn’t utilized to its maximum potential. I spent months researching new trends in boat interiors, something that has beenveryinfluenced by tiny houses and RV living as those sectors have grown in popularity.
What I ended up with is a beautiful space that is safe, bright, functional, and comfortable, all tucked into a 19-meter sailing yacht.
There’s a full kitchen with sailboat-rated appliances, a bathroom with a full-sized walk-in shower, a captain’s quarters with a queen-sized bed, and a living area that doubles as a second bedroom if I’m sailing with a friend.
Paige grabs her small bag and heads toward the back, wrapped in her towel.
“I’m gonna clean off and warm up in the shower.”
I nod. “Have at it.”
She gives me a little smirk then disappears in the bathroom. A few minutes later, I hear the water turn on, and I distract myself by moving through the kitchen, tugging out the supplies I had the club stock on the boat earlier today.
By the time Paige steps out of the bathroom fifteen minutes later dressed in a pair of long black leggings and a loose pink knit sweater, her hair still damp and hanging loosely around her heart-shaped face, I’ve got seared ahi and a simple heirloom tomato salad on the table.
