Page 31 of Kylo
“His pottery is great too.”
“Right? I’m so proud of him. His parents aren’t exactly supportive, but he has done so much so quickly. I know I’m on borrowed time with him. So I’m just trying to enjoy it while I can.”
“Well, even if he leaves, you will still be friends,” I said. Her gaze moved away at that, like she didn’t think that was the case.When, clearly, the guy cared about her if he was keeping an eye on her while she was with me.
She couldn’t even see that the people she did have around genuinely wanted to be there, and weren’t just obligated to be.
I got the feeling that Rue was really fucking lonely. Whether she recognized it or not. Maybe that was why her grandmother was clearly worried about her.
“Thanks for being so calm,” she said as we neared the dock. “I, uh, get panic attacks sometimes. Well, more than sometimes. I’m working on it, but things like this are big triggers.”
“It’s nothing. I had a neighbor —who is now my friend’s wife—who had a lot of anxiety. I get it.”
“Are you afraid of anything?” she asked, watching my profile.
“Meat in a can,” I said, getting another huff of laughter out of her.
“Meat in a can?”
“How the fuck can something that goes bad even in the fridge be okay in a can?” I asked.
“I have eaten a lot of tinned meat,” Rue said. “I’m still here.”
“Better not to risk it,” I said, getting another smile out of her. “Thanks for this, John,” I said when he jumped off to tie down, then helped Rue off the boat.
“Anytime,” he said as I hopped out.
“Can you imagine living this close to the beach?” Rue asked after taking off her life jacket, then heading toward the sand.
“I’m gonna see if she wants to order some food. If not, she might want a lift back to the bike.”
“I’ll be in the staff room after I clean all this up. Pick up any of the tablets and you will find a button for staff. You can reach me through there.”
“Thanks again, man.” I pulled off my life vest and handed it to him.
“She’s sweet,” he said, nodding over toward where Rue was dipping her feet into the aqua water.
“She is,” I agreed, clapping him on the back, then following Rue toward the water’s edge.
“Would you want a waterside property?”
“Honestly, it sounds like a hell of a lot of stress during storm season. Guys like Teddy have staff to handle battening down the hatches. But if I had to do it myself, I think I’d rather be a little inland and just visit.”
“That’s true. And I like having more of a yard,” she agreed, moving a little further into the water. “But this is nice. Oh,” she said, whipping around. “Should I not be going in? Do we need to get going? I don’t want to get the car all wet.”
“We have all the time we want.”
“In that case,” she said, throwing her arms out, then falling backward.
The splash soaked me.
“You’re gonna pay for that,” I said as she surfaced.
Then I was running into the water, remembering to toss my phone onto the sand before getting in.
With a squeal, she ducked under the surface and swam.
As I pursued her, catching her leg only to be kicked off, starting the chase over again, I could actually understand Caymen’s little primal kink.
