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Lexie
Sheloweredontoher knees in front of the bed in her tiny cabin just as the boat began to slow. Her hands rifled through the drawer under the bed, by-passing the strings on her bikinis and the satin of her cover-ups until she landed on a piece of smooth cotton. She pulled out the dress buried at the bottom of the drawer and shook it out as she stood. The powder blue cotton contrasted nicely against her hot pink bikini. She wasn’t sure what the plan was for the rest of the day, so in an effort to be prepared for whatever, she tossed the dress over her head, letting it fall delicately at her sides. She smoothed the front and tied her auburn hair into a loose knot off to the side of her shoulder. For a final touch, she slid chapstick across her lips and plopped the straw hat back onto her head.
As she stepped up into the saloon, chatter filled the small space. She caught pieces of the conversation Adam and Eagle were having about shrimp and then Avanna and Kennedy said something about hand-made pottery. Doing her best to ignore the chaos, she stretched onto the tips of her toes to peek out the window. They had docked in line with several other boats, and the turquoise views of the water had been replaced with brick buildings and groups of people wandering the streets.
Lexie dropped back onto her heels and glanced around the room before feeling a gentle touch against her shoulder. Surprised, she turned to catch Nav’s eyes staring back at her. He nodded toward the sliding door as he took several steps backward out of the room. She glanced back at the rest of their friends who were still arguing about the plans for the day. The chorus of voices was silenced by the slap of the water against the boat and the birds chirping in the distance as she stepped out onto the deck with Nav.
“It was too chaotic in there...” Nav said, turning toward her.
“And this is why we should have had a plan from the start...” she stated impatiently.
He shook his head. “Yeah, yeah. I might have to agree with you there.”
She almost spoke up to suggest a private adventure, suddenly not in the mood to sit around and watch a bunch of love birds smooch all over each other. Just as she opened her mouth, the glass door swung open and everyone slowly filtered out.
Adam clapped his hands together and loudly shouted across the group. “Everyone remember to meet at Deck with a View for our reservations at 7!”
Avanna looped her arm into Lexie’s and leaned in close, her wavy hair tickling against Lexie’s bare neck. “Do you want to come with Payson and me? We are going to stop at some of the local art shops.”
Lexie turned to look at Avanna and then at Payson, who was patiently standing on the dock with his hands in his pockets. She considered it for a moment. She could be their third wheel. They were the least-publicly affectionate out of the group, but the thought of visiting art shops bored her.
“I’m good, thank you for the invite though!” Lexie said. Avanna squeezed her in a hug before rushing off to join Payson on the dock.
“C’mon, I’ve got an idea,” Nav said as his rough hand gripped the bare skin of her arm. Her eyes dropped to the space where a fire was radiating between them and Nav quickly dropped his grip. The immediate electric shock of his hand on hers sent her mind into another whirlwind, suddenly unable to say no. She nodded as Nav turned toward the rest of their friends.
“We’ll meet up with you guys for dinner,” he said.
The group waved them off and shouted goodbyes. Lexie thought she heard some cat-calling, but found her mind too fogged over, still reeling from the touch of Nav’s skin against hers. Nav took off quickly and she trailed behind, running scenarios through her mind. It had been six months since Oliver’s death and while the grief and longing for his touch remained, she knew it was okay to move on. She knew it was okay to feel something for someone else but wasn’t sure Nav was that person she wanted to feel it with. She pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind, reminding herself he only touched her hand and it wasn’t that serious.
Nav and Lexie walked through the locked gate and stared ahead. Shops lined the small community. Lexie reached out to Nav, grazing his thin shirt before he started walking off.
“What’s the plan here?” she asked.
“Do you trust me?” he asked.
She huffed out a small laugh. At one point, yes, she trusted Nav with everything in her life. She put full faith in him, but it had been years since they spoke. Could she still trust him?
