Page 26 of The Sailor

Chapter Five

As soon as the words left her lips, Marit wondered if she’d done the right thing. Tonight had been . . . eye opening. From the time Zach had met her on the dock, when he’d been so upset on her behalf about what Lucas Pearson had said and done, to taking her home, to walking her to his place, to cooking for her, to now . . . she’d never had another date like it.

Despite only knowing him for a week, Marit felt closer to Zach than she had to any other human, other than her late mom and dad. For years she’d felt lonely, alone, even when she’d been living with her brothers, surrounded by lobstermen at her jobs, or even on the occasional date.

Zach made her feel seen. And heard. And cherished. It was a heady feeling. One she wanted to continue.

The last thing she wanted was to sit in one of his huge recliners by herself. Her feet wouldn’t come close to hitting the ground. She’d be swamped in the thing. She and Zach could share a recliner and still have room to spare.

But she was probably pushing things faster than he might want. Yes, he’d invited her over, but this was only their second date . . . if the first meal they’d had at Lobster Cove could even be considered a date.

“Sorry, I—”

“Yes,” Zach said, interrupting her. He sat so quickly, Marit could only blink in surprise. Then he held out a hand to her, silently.

The second his fingers closed around hers, Marit knew she’d made the right decision. His touch felt like coming home. Gingerly, she lowered so she was sitting on his lap, and Zach didn’t hesitate to physically move her around so she was sitting kind of sideways, so her head could rest comfortably against his chest.

“This okay?” he asked softly.

“Perfect,” she breathed.

Amazingly, she felt completely at ease in his lap. He was very comfortable, and his warmth soaked into her bones. He’d opened a few windows earlier, and the ocean breeze wafted into the room, keeping things slightly cool and bringing in the fresh air at the same time. She could hear the sounds of downtown Rockville in the distance, but soon that would die down as most businesses closed by eight in the small town.

“Anything in particular you want to watch?” he asked.

“You seen Stranger Things?” Marit asked.

“No. Haven’t seen anything,” he said with a chuckle. The sound reverberated against her back, and it felt intimate and cozy.

“It’s pretty good. My favorite season is the first one. It’s kind of about aliens and sci-fi and has a bunch of kids as the heroes and heroines. I have to warn you though, it can be confusing at first, until a couple episodes in when they start revealing some of what’s actually going on.”

“Sounds awesome,” Zach told her, as he aimed the remote at his TV and clicked it on. Before long, the eerie sounds of the opening notes of the soundtrack filled the room.

Marit sighed in contentment. Her belly was full, she was relaxed, and she was spending time with a man she trusted implicitly and liked a hell of a lot. Life was good.

The last thing she remembered was seeing the character Eleven on the screen in the first episode.

When she woke up, she was still in Zach’s lap. Her head was lying on his shoulder, and he was holding her even closer. One arm was around her back, his hand resting on her hip, and the other hand was lying heavily on her thigh. His thumb gently caressing her, moving back and forth. The light from the TV flickered in the darkness of the room, and his gaze was fixed on the screen.

“What time is it?” she asked quietly.

“No clue,” Zach responded. “Shhhh, we’re nearing the end of the third episode.”

“Holy crap, I’ve been asleep for almost three hours?” Marit asked, completely shocked.

“You worked hard today. You were tired. I got you. Now . . . hush, I don’t want to miss anything. This show is the bomb.”

Marit couldn’t help but grin as she did as he asked and hushed.

When the episode was over, Zach pushed the pause button and asked, “Will’s not really dead . . . right?”

Marit laughed. “Told you it was good.”

“It’s more than good. It sucks you in. And you’re right, I was totally lost at first, but it’s all coming together nicely. The writers are amazing.”

“I’m sorry I fell asleep.”

“Don’t be. I’m not. I’m honored that you felt safe and comfortable enough to do so.”