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“Think of it like driving a car, but with a little more resistance. And of course, the size of the boat means we can’t do hairpin turns,” he said, his warm breath ruffling her hair. He kept his hands on hers as he turned the wheel, slowly pulling the boat to the right, then the left. “Like that.”
“Seems easy enough,” Caitlin said, her voice soft. “Except there aren’t any roads to tell me where to go.”
“Navigating the seas is another story,” he said. He took his hands off of hers and rested them on her shoulders. “But we can go over that another day.”
Caitlin turned to look up at him, still wanting him to keep his steady hands on her shoulders. To her surprise, her lips were inches from his. Michael hesitated for a moment, but he closed the gap.
The kiss was soft and sweet, unhurried like their day had been. Caitlin’s entire body tingled from the point of contact down to her toes. She turned to face Michael and he pulled her into his arms.
“Are you all right?” Michael asked, breaking the kiss. The concern in his eyes threw Caitlin off until she realized she was trembling.
The raging swell of emotions inside her was working its way to the surface—the excitement of a first kiss, the warmth from a relaxing afternoon, the newness of it all. She wasn’t sure what all of the feelings were since they overlapped so much.
“I just have a lot of emotions going through me right now,” she said. “I’m not sure how to feel.”
Michael put another inch or two between them and lightly squeezed her shoulders.
“I don’t want to pressure you at all, but I want you to know that I care for you,” he said softly.
Caitlin nodded, her heart fluttering. “I care about you too and I want to get to know you. I’m just not sure how this is going to look.”
“That’s fine.” He smiled. “We’ll just go with the flow.”
* * *
Dane usually loved going to the The Ocean Breeze after work. It was a relatively new bar in town that served excellent cocktails, including mixed drinks made with local ingredients. But the thought of meeting his mother there after work filled him with dread. Johanna had insisted that she wanted to go out on the town, and this was the only place Dane could think of that she might possibly accept.
The owners had moved from the city, just like he had, and had brought the aesthetic with them. It was pricey enough for Johanna to feel like they were at a “proper” place too, and the crowd tended to be younger office workers rather than fishermen like the other bars in town.
“Ready?” Dane asked Alissa, tucking his hands into his pockets to resist his urge to fidget.
“Yup!” Alissa put her bag on her shoulder, a nervous smile on her face.
Dane grasped her hand in his, more to steady himself than for affection. The walk to The Ocean Breeze was short and they were early, but Johanna was earlier. She stood outside of the bar, frowning down at her phone.
“Mom, hi,” Dane said.
Johanna looked up and tucked her phone back into her purse. She glanced at Dane and Alissa’s joined hands, then back to Dane.
“Hello, dear.” Johanna finally looked at Alissa. “Hi, Alissa.”
“Hello!” Alissa’s nervous energy came off her in waves. Dane squeezed her hand to steady her.
“Let’s go inside.” Dane opened the door to the bar for them both and they went inside.
The Ocean Breeze backed up against the boardwalk, giving the space a nice view of the water and a steady breeze that matched its namesake. They picked a small table near the window.
“This is such a nice view,” Alissa said as they sat.
“It’s fine,” Johanna replied, picking up the menu. She wrinkled her nose slightly as she read it.
“The Ocean Breeze is great,” Dane said. “It’s not too sweet. Very refreshing.”
“It’s my favorite.” Alissa’s voice cracked slightly.
“I guess I’ll try it,” Johanna said. Dane raised an eyebrow at her, but she ignored him.
“I’ll go order them.” Alissa pushed back from the table, nearly sending her seat flying. “Three Ocean Breezes, coming right up.”
