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There.
I remembered my conversation with Dana.
She could come with me.
To French Polynesia. Tahiti. Australia. South Africa. Back home again. She could sail around the world with me, the way I didn't let myself imagine before.
Now, I could imagine it. I could see her lying on the hammock at the front of my catamaran, dressed in a tiny bikini, her skin tanned, her hair bleached in the sun…
"Come with me. Sail around the world with me."
She glanced up, her brow furrowed. "Are you serious?"
"Never been more serious," I said, my conviction that this was the right decision growing stronger with every passing moment. "Come with me. Sail as far as you want. Stop when you want. You can take a leave of absence from your PhD. I'm sure if you really want, you could go anywhere and do your PhD at any school."
"I don't know what to say," she said, her voice soft.
"Say yes," I replied. "I know it's sudden, but I've been thinking of it for a while now. I know our start was," I said and smiled, "unconventional, but now I don't want to lose you. I want to see the world with you. John is great, but you're special."
"It's a huge decision."
"I know, but if you have to change graduate schools, if you have to move away, why not take some time, see the world, and make a decision that isn’t rushed? You're young. One year won't make a difference in the bigger picture."
She looked in my eyes. "You're serious about this? You really want me to come with you? I've never sailed before. We've only known each other for such a short time …"
"Some things are meant to be. I feel like I know you better than most people I've known for years."
She smiled. "It never felt like an act for me."
I shook my head. "Me neither. At least, I wished it wasn't."
I kissed her again, deeply, pulling her tightly against me. "Come sail with me and be my love."
She smiled, recognizing my riff on a poem by the sixteenth-century poet Christopher Marlowe.
"You know Marlowe. Color me impressed."
"I'm impressed you recognized it. Don't be too impressed with me. It's the only poem I know so you better appreciate it." I grinned and kissed her again. "I had to memorize it when I took an English Lit class in High School. We thought it was a joke back then, but I understand it completely now." I stroked her cheek. "Come with me."
"I'll think about it," she said and played with my collar. "I have to make arrangements…"
"We have time. You'll stay with me at the beach house until the cat is done and we have all the details ironed out. Then, we'll sail off into the sunset."
"It sounds like a dream." She met my eyes. "Are you sure?"
"I'm completely sure. You know what? My sister suggested it to me when I was feeling down because it didn’t seem like we were going to be together. She knew even then we were right for each other."
"She really wanted us to be together. You know she and I had breakfast together that morning after I left.”
"You did? She didn't say anything. Sneaky…" I smiled, thinking about Dana contacting Alexa, trying to encourage her to continue to see me. "So, you'll come with me? Leave all your cares behind and sail the world with me?"
"As what? What will I be to you? You said yourself that you're not the type to be exclusive to anyone."
"I know what I said. I want you to be my real girlfriend." I stroked her hair, her cheek. "The performance is over. Now, it's real."
She sighed and kissed me. When she pulled back, our eyes met.
"I will."
