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“Ahem, where do you think you’re going?” I ask, feeling a little nervous that he thinks we are at a level where we shower together.
He chuckles. “I’m going to rinse my feet off, kiss my girl, and then go get ready for our date.”
I huff out a breath as he corners me and cups a hand behind my neck pulling me closer. “That all sounds nice.”
He bites his lower lip and then dips his head to kiss along my jaw then under my earlobe. He has the ability to instantly set my skin alight and I almost don’t know what to do with myself. My hands grab onto his hips as he drags his lips lightly across my cheek to my mouth. His kiss is soft at first and then when I open up to him, he goes deep and I give it right back, sinking in to it.
After a minute, he backs off and puts his forehead to mine, his hand still at the back of my neck. Our breathing is heavy and my heart is racing.
“You make me get carried away,” he says. “See you in an hour.” He releases me and walks to the door of the shower.
“Wait,” I say stopping him. “Where are we going?”
“Dinner and then a little bay cruise. So bring a sweater.”
I smile because it sounds like fun and I need some of that.
Water sprays from my mouth as Owen makes me laugh. “Hey, I want the news, not the weather,” he says, wiping the water from his arm.
“Then stop imitating Tom then, I’m never going to be able to look him in the eye as it is.”
“Mollie,” he says in the dude-bro tone that our boss uses. “I have that swimsuit in a size smaller if you need one.”
“Ew, he’s so gross,” I say and he is, harmless but still a giant walking red flag. “To be fair though, he also said that to you.”
“He asked me if I was hitting that,” he says, gesturing to me.
“He didn’t.” I actually believe he did, but I’m surprised that Owen is telling me. I take another sip of water and then spear a shrimp from my plate. We are eating at Buckalew’s, a favorite tried and true restaurant in Beach Haven. I’m happy he chose it, it’s not too fancy, but it’s still a nice place. Very low pressure.
“Of course he did, I told him it wasn’t like that.”
“Oh, so you’re not going to hit it?” I ask and it’s his turn to spray water on me.
I pretend to wipe water from my face and then shake my hands out at him. This is probably the best date I’ve had in a long time and I feel happy.
“I don’t give it up on the first date,” he says in fake outrage.
“Tom would,” I say shrugging as I stab my fork into another shrimp.
When I look up, Owen is staring at me, his eyes a dark and stormy blue. “You have a twisted sense of humor, Hatchet, and I like it.”
We talk amiably for the rest of dinner and like everything with him, it’s easy and fun. He holds my hand as we leave the restaurant and doesn’t let go until we get to the bay cruise and he has to pay. When we walk up the dock, he takes my hand again and I squeeze it. I’m glad I grabbed a sweater because it’s windy tonight and it will be even colder out on the water.
I follow him onto the boat and he leads me up some stairs to the top deck. There are tables and chairs in various spots on the deck, but he leads me past them to a bench at the bow of the boat.
“This is the best seat,” he says as we sit down and he pulls me all the way into his side, “with the best girl.”
I lean my head on his shoulder as I wind my arm around his, our hands together on his lap. “Thank you, Owen.”
“You’re welcome,” he says, bringing our hands up to his lips to kiss mine.
The cruise is nice but like I said, so windy. We try to tough it out up on deck but give up and walk down to the inside area to get a break from it. Inside, there are a few people sitting, drinking, having a snack but it’s not too crowded. Owen and I get some drinks and sit for a bit, enjoying the lights of the island, and the soothing rock of the boat.
“I’m having a really good time tonight,” I say leaning to kiss his cheek. At the last minute he turns and I kiss him on the corner of his mouth.
“So am I, I’m glad we got paired together.”
“Well, we live next door to each other so we would have met eventually. I’m just happy I get to see you in those tiny swim trunks every day.”
