Page 11 of A Me and You Thing
“I know you will.” I breathe in and out heavily. “I know you will, Bree.”
Chapter Four
Quinn
I HEAR THE front door open and in strides Sawyer in jeans, a t-shirt bearing his whale watching logo, deck shoes, baseball cap, sunglasses, and a windbreaker. I love the outdoorsy look on him and, truth be told, he prefers casual over office attire. He sets a bag of groceries down on the hall table, then removes his cap and hangs it on a hook by the door. He pushes his sunglasses up on his head. His hair is windblown, adding to his allure. His hair is clean cut, combed back on his head stylishly. It works perfectly for his job at the aquarium. It saysI am a professional. The slight stubble on his chin screamsI am a rebelunderneath it all, and suits his sea captain persona.
“How are my favorite girls today?”
“I’m fine, thanks,” Bree says cheekily. She does this to him all the time. If he asks meHow’s my girl?when he walks in a room, Bree will say, “Oh, I’m fine, thank you.” Sawyer simply ignores her. If she’s the fisherman, he’s not taking the bait.
“Hey, Breezy. What’re you doin’ in this neck of the woods?”
“Avoiding life.”
I greet Sawyer and we embrace in a tight hug. He kisses me soundly and holds the kiss a little longer than I expect him to with an audience. He smells fresh and salty.
“You’re my fave,” he whispers in my ear. My insides flutter with pleasure.
“How was your day?” I ask Sawyer before he questions Bree about avoiding her life.
“Great. Lots of blows and tail slaps. Saw a breach today too. We even had a socializer who wanted to get a little too close to the boat.”
“Breach? Blows? Tail slaps?” Bree says. “Speak English.”
The scientist side of Sawyer immediately makes an appearance. “A breach is when a whale comes up out of the water. It can be one-half of the whale’s body or it can be a full-on leap and dive. We don’t really know why they do it. Some think it’s a way to remove barnacles or parasites, some think it’s a mating ritual or some type of way to communicate with other whales, and some think they’re just plain old having fun.”
I love when he talks all things aquatic. He can go on and on, and all I can think about is distracting him—pressing my lips to his in the middle of a sentence or running my hands through his hair. Works every time.
He continues. “A blow is when the whale surfaces to blow air out of his blowhole. A tail slap is when you see the whale’s tail surface and slap at the water. All of them are pretty amazing to witness. It just doesn’t get old.”
Bree shakes her head. “You have the coolest job in the world, but underneath it all, you’re such a science nerd.”
“Don’t I know it.” He smiles his huge smile, the one that steals my heart over and over.
She smirks at him. “If someone didn’t know what you were talking about and they overheard you saying blows and tail slaps, they’d think you were a total perv.”
That merits a hearty chuckle from Sawyer as he hits his forehead with his hand. “Geez, Breezy, get your mind out of the gutter.”
“Just sayin’.” Bree flashes him a feisty grin.
It’s typical Bree and Sawyer banter. I’m used to it. Sawyer has always called her Breezy since the day he met her. He says it fits her because her unique personality always feels like a breath of fresh air. So, so true.
She doesn’t seem to mind, at least she’s never complained about it. And if she didn’t like it, she’d say so. Loud and clear.
“Good to see your sassy face,” he adds as he picks up Jordyn and kisses her cheeks. Next, Sawyer picks up Josie as he says to Bree, “Playing hooky, huh?”
“Sure am. Don’t worry, I’ll get out of your hair soon.”
Sawyer glances at his watch. “Don’t rush off on my account. I have a little work to do for the aquarium this evening.” Then he studies me thoughtfully. “No more trips to guilt-town?”
Our eyes lock, and we share a loaded look. “None. I’m good.”
“Guilt trip over what?” Bree asks.
I sigh. “The Nicaragua trip.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that.” Bree smooths her hair. “It’s the opportunity of a lifetime. You leave next week, right?”
