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At a loss for words, it was her turn to clear her throat. She handed me the box. I think she was afraid to speak just yet,and with her chin raised, without words, she asked if I’d put the necklace on. As gently as possible, I undid the clasp, wrapped my arms around her neck to reach the back and clasped the necklace around her. She looked down at it as it hung right above her cleavage. The necklace sparkled against her golden skin. She traced it with her hand, then looked into my eyes and kissed me more passionately than I’d ever been kissed. She unleashed the fire within us and told me she loved me, too.
Suddenly, she shot upright and looked around.
“What the hell was that?” There was a blast in the distance. She looked back up and saw fireworks going off. “How beautiful! Look Parks, someone is letting off fireworks.” Before finishing, she turned to me and searched my face and eyes. I looked back with a smile. “I love you, baby.”
“Wow, how did we get so lucky? I can’t believe we get to watch fireworks.” I couldn’t help but continue to smile when her head tilted, and a brow shot up, and she finally started to figure it out.
I laughed at her funny expression. “Okay, I confess. That’s all me; I took care of that bit of extra fun while packing for the boat ride hoping we’d be on the boat until dark.”
She was so impressed and swept off her feet. She grabbed me around the neck and held me tight, wanting to feel as close as she could to me. I loosened her grip, pretending I couldn’t breathe, and we started laughing as the bubbly had surely gone to our heads.
After we polished off two bottles of champagne, I guided her to the master, where she told me that Captain Sarah and Franklin had agreed to keep the vessel out overnight.
We swayed on uncertain footing and undressed. I laid her down and then lay beside her, taking her in my arms and pulling the covers over us. She rested her head on my chest and fell into an exhausted sleep. Noticing her breath was even and soft, I relaxed as I drifted off to sleep. The smile stayed as I thought I’d finally found my true mate for life.
I woke up, startled at first by where I was, then remembered I was on the boat. I looked at Liv before quietly getting out of bed and padding to the bathroom. Tiptoeing back to the bed and softly crawling back into her arms, I fell fast asleep once again.
Olivia
We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.Anaïs Nin
The sun had been up for hours when we finally woke. I looked at the clock and was shocked to see it was almost eleven. Looking over at Parker, I saw him smiling at me. “Good morning, sleeping beauty.”
My face grew warm. “Good morning, handsome.” I leaned over and kissed him. “How long have you been awake?” I asked as I covered a yawn, rolling onto my back. I noticed he had his swimming trunks on, and he’d showered.
“A few hours,” he said as he reached over to rub my abs, then whispered, “Breakfast is ready.”
I looked at him with surprise and excitement. I hadn’t realized until he mentioned it, but I was starving all of a sudden.
“You made breakfast? Where’s Franklin and Sarah?” I looked over at him. He took my hand and dragged me out of bed.
“They’re going to join us for breakfast. We had coffee and chatted, and I invited them to eat with us.”
I thought that was wonderfully kind of him; I had enjoyed the company of Sarah and Franklin for years. I got up, took a quick shower, threw my hair in a ponytail, and padded out to the deck where the table was set for breakfast.
“Good morning. Did you sleep well?” Sarah asked, her round face bright and cheerful. She was a brown-haired, weathered-skinned, shorter lady. Anyone could clearly see her love for the water, and her skin showed she had seen a lot of sun in her days.
“I did sleep well. How about you?” I asked as I bent over where she sat at the table, to give her a quick hug. Next, I walked over to Franklin and did the same, asking him how his morning had been. He smiled at me and said talking to my man had been nice.
Taking a seat next to Parker, I smiled. “I’m glad you all got to know each other. This looks amazing, Parker. What is it?” I looked at the plate piled high with something resembling French toast on steroids.
“It’s my famous cheesy French toast; I’m sure you know that’s bacon and sausage,” he teased, pointing to the breakfast meat. Playfully, I gave him a little kick under the table; he smiled at that and served me a piece of French toast as Sarah brought me a cup of freshly brewed coffee. I took a sip of coffee, which was exactly what I needed. The robust flavor was music to my soul as I savored another sip before putting syrup on the toast, curious about what it might taste like but unsure about it. The only French toast I’d ever had was from IHOP, and I thought it was too sweet with the syrup.
From the first bite, I thought I would melt. The combination of sweet and salty touched my lips and made my mouth water in excitement. “Oh my God, Parker! This is incredible; I would have said no, American cheese in or on French toast wouldn’t work. But it does!”
The others agreed as they sat and devoured all the French toast he’d made.
Knowing it was time to head back after we cleaned up, Sarah and Franklin started preparing for departure. Parker and I went to the upper deck with our coffee to enjoy the mid-morning sun. We sat silently for a while, enjoying each other’s company and the breeze as the vessel headed home. I was sad to see it endbut excited we’d be cooking together that afternoon to prepare for our first dinner party.
“I was thinking we could run to get the lobster when we get back; that way, we’ll have a few hours to rest before hopping into cooking the lobster stock,” Parker said. I agreed that was a good idea.
Simba came over and rested his head on my lap about that time. I petted him for a while, and then he went over and jumped on Parker’s lap. I laughed that a dog his size thought he was a lap dog.
The sun was hot, beating down on my skin. Unseasonably hot, and I knew we’d have a few storms roll through in the afternoon. I was thankful to be going in, even though the boat was more than capable of handling an afternoon summer storm. I didn’t like the idea of riding out a storm on the water in any size vessel.
We said our thanks and goodbyes to the Captain and Franklin; arms full, we climbed the little incline to the house.
“I’m going to run Simba home, put on my running shoes, and take him for a run.” He put his arms around me and gently held me for a few minutes, then kissed me. “I won’t be long, then we can run to get the lobster.”
