Page 509 of Manhattan Bossholes

Sailing. Just the two of us. Out on the ocean.

I wasn’t a huge boat person. I wasn't even a small boat person. It’s not like a foster kid in the city has any opportunity for water sports.

I slammed on my brakes when I saw the gleaming navy and white thing.

“I’m not so sure about this,” I said as James took my hand and led me along the dock.

“We’ll be fine, I’m an excellent captain. Don’t worry.”

I pulled back on his arm. “No, James, you don’t understand. This is embarrassing to admit, but…I don’t know how to swim. No one ever taught me.”

His hand moved to gently clasp my cheek as his eyes searched my face. “I had no idea. Should we skip this? Are you too scared?”

Was I? I mean, usually nothing scared me, but the vastness of the ocean was another story.

“I’m just a little freaked out, you know?”

“Of course.” He drew me closer and gave me a gentle kiss. “What if we try something simple? We can take a quick spin close to the shoreline and check in to see how you’re feeling. If you hate it, we’ll come right back to the dock. If you’re having fun, we’ll keep pushing on. Sound like a plan?”

I nodded, still feeling uneasy. But I wanted to at least try.

It was a perfect cloudless day, and I didn’t want to be the reason why James didn’t get to enjoy it out on the water. He switched into boss-mode as he talked me through my responsibilities as first mate, which allowed me to focus on something other than my worries about sharks and whales and piranhas lurking in the depths.

“You okay?” he called to me as we moved farther from the shoreline. “We can turn back, it’s not a problem.”

There was something about the way James handled the boat that put me at ease. He was so self-assured, so capable, that my fears faded despite the endless blue around us.

I actually felt safe.

“No, I’m kind of having fun,” I yelled back to him. “Let’s keep going.”

Once we were out on the open water, I discovered that I very much was a boat person.

At least when James was the one navigating.

“Okay, I’ll admit it,” I said to him, holding my hand over my eyes and squinting at him in the warm sunshine, my hair whipping around my face. “This is exactly what I needed. You were right.”

He reached out to gently cup my cheek, and my heart thumped hard in my chest. Why did this moment feel so different? So…important?

“I knew you’d love it. But we need to get you some swimming lessons if we’re going to be spending a lot of time out here. I want you to feel one hundred percent comfortable on and in the water.”

I didn’t want to read into it, but it sure sounded like he was planning ahead for us. For a fake relationship, all signs were starting to point to this becoming the real deal.

The afternoon passed in a blur of cool breezes and laughter. Boat James was a different person from Boss James. Freer, more relaxed, but just as confident. I’d worried I’d be nervous once we couldn’t see land, but being with him made me feel invincible. Working together to harness the wind was damn close to an aphrodisiac. We were an incredible team.

And deep down, I held onto the hope that we were slowly becoming more.

Because I was falling for the man. Hard.

“Shouldn’t we get back?” I asked, pointing at the setting sun.

“That depends on what you want to do,” he said, sliding next to me on the cushioned bench. “We could head back to shore and go to dinner, or we could stay out here beneath the stars, feed each other fancy cheeses, drink wine, and then fuck in the moonlight. Your choice.”

I reached out to run my hand along his thigh. His tanned legs speckled with fine, white-blonde hair had been a distraction all day. “Sounds like the decision is already made. I’ve never had sex on a boat.” I paused. “I’m assuming you have.”

“Hmm…” James cocked his head as he considered the question. “Believe it or not, I haven’t. And I think that needs to change immediately.”

I felt the bulge in his pants the second he pulled me onto his lap. I’d worn a flippy black skirt to work and had slid off my panties once we got on the boat without letting James know, so when I brought his hand down to explore between my legs he let out a raspy breath of delight.