by J. Nathan
Briggs held up his hands in surrender. “Dude, I’m not saying anything.”
“And you’re to hang back. Promise me you’ll stay with the car. I’m obviously armed and I’ve already secured the location.”
“Yes. For the tenth time, I’ve got it,” Briggs said.
I nodded, pulling in a deep breath before walking to the door. “Get to the car. We’ll be down in five minutes.”
“Yes, sir,” Briggs said.
I flipped him the bird and walked out of the room, more nervous for this date than I’d expected to be. It’s not like Kresley and I hadn’t spent time alone together. It was more about everyone else butting into our business.
This definitely wasn’t easy for me. I was going from her bodyguard to someone who needed security while with her. It was going to be a slippery slope to maneuver. And, if I wanted to be with her, I’d have to endure the jests as well as my own anxiety about it.
I stopped in front of her door, checked my jeans and collared navy shirt, then knocked. When I heard her feet shuffle inside, I said, “It’s me.”
She opened the door and my eyes widened.
Holy shit.
She glanced down at her green dress. “Am I overdressed?”
I thought the red dress she wore on her date with the tool was hot. But this short strapless sun dress was in a league of its own. “God, no. You look gorgeous.”
She smiled.
I stepped forward and cupped her cheeks, dropping a kiss to her forehead. “I know better than to smudge a girl’s lip gloss.”
“Oh, yeah? How do you know that?”
I pulled back, my nerves buzzing to life. “Oh…I…”
She placed her small hand on my chest, patting it gently. “I’m joking. I’m sure you’ve had plenty of girlfriends.”
I wouldn’t call any of them girlfriends. Time-fillers maybe. But not girlfriends.
“What?” she asked, clearly reading the look on my face.
I shook off her question. “Let’s head out. The car’s out front.”
Since it was not even nine yet, the floor was eerily quiet as we stepped into the empty hallway.
“Have fuuuuun,” Elodie and Alice sang from their open door down the hallway.
I spoke too soon.
Kresley laughed and I ignored them.
“Go get him, girl!” Alice called likely waking the whole damn floor.
Kresley snorted as we walked in the opposite direction of her nosey friends toward the stairwell.
“I knew you’d cave, bodyguard!” Elodie called.
I placed one hand on the small of Kresley’s back to guide her into the stairwell and held my free hand over my head, flipping them off.
Alice and Elodie cracked up.
“Tell me you didn’t flip them off,” Kresley said.
When I didn’t answer, she rolled her eyes knowing I definitely had.
We took the stairs to the first floor. “You’ve gotta admit they remind you of Velma and Daphne,” I said.
She turned and looked at me. “I knew I wasn’t the only one.”
We laughed as we stepped outside.
The car was parked by the sidewalk, and Briggs waited by the back door like a chauffeur.
“Son of a bitch,” I mumbled.
“What?” Kresley asked.
“Good morning, Miss Hastings,” Briggs said as he opened the back door. He glanced to me. “Sir.”
“Would you knock it off?” I shoved him toward the front seat and helped Kresley into the backseat, following her in and closing the door. It felt weird to sit in the back with her, but I willed my nerves to settle the hell down and enjoy the day.
“Would you care for any particular music?” Briggs asked from the driver’s seat as he looked at us through the rearview mirror.
Kresley placed her hand on my thigh, clearly trying to ease my nerves. “Anything’s fine,” she answered.
He nodded then pulled away from the sidewalk and drove us through town.
My knee bounced anxiously as silence filled the car. I couldn’t risk speaking to Kresley for fear of Briggs using whatever I said against me later. Kresley squeezed my thigh, presumably trying to relax me and assure me this was a good idea when everything inside me was telling me it wasn’t.
Briggs hit his blinker and took the ramp onto the highway just as the radio switched on.
I breathed a small sigh of relief knowing we’d get at our destination soon. And, we’d be alone.
Kresley leaned into me and whispered, “Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“If I guess, will you tell me?”
“No.”
She pouted, which ordinarily would’ve come off childish, but on her it was funny since I knew she always wanted to know everything.
“I’ll give you a hint,” I offered.
Her face lit up and her blue eyes rounded, so childlike and happy. After all she’d been through, it meant a lot to see her happy—and know I had something to do with it. I just hoped my surprise was worthy of her excitement.
“It’s revolves around two things you love.”
Her lips twisted as she considered what I now realized came out like a riddle. “Two things I love. Hmmmm.”
I smiled, pleased with myself that I could actually give her this…even just temporarily.
She linked our fingers and didn’t try to fill the silence with small talk. I loved that about her. She could read me. She knew I was uncomfortable and wasn’t pushing me to come out of my shell in front of Briggs. Though, if I clammed up on our date, it would be a different story.
Briggs took the exit a short while later bringing us closer to our destination.
Kresley gazed out her window, clearly noticing the ocean in the distance. She peeked at me and lifted her brows in question.
I shrugged, all the answer she was getting.
We drove a little further before we pulled into a marina parking lot.
Her eyes jumped from me to the marina lined with boats. “Are we going on a boat?”
“Maybe.”
She smiled.
Most college girls would’ve been blown away by the notion of a boat ride for a first date. But I knew for Kresley it was no big deal because her father owned a yacht. But her eyes still lit up like this was an amazing surprise. I loved that she never acted like a billionaire’s daughter. I also loved that this wasn’t the surprise.
Briggs cut the engine.
“Wait here for second,” I said to Kresley.
She nodded, knowing we had protocols, especially now.
I stepped out and spoke to Briggs who’d joined me outside with the bag I’d packed over his shoulder. “Bring the bag to the boat and double check that Roger’s the captain. Then sweep the boat for bugs and explosives.”
“You sure you don’t want me on there with you?” he asked.
“I’ve got it covered.”
“If you’re not back by sundown, I’m coming with backup,” he assured me.
“It’ll be fine,” I assured him.
He nodded then took off for the boat.
I walked over to Kresley’s door and opened it, holding my hand out for her. “Sorry about that.”
She grasped my hand and let me pull her out. The sun was not quite overhead, given it wasn’t even ten, but there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. “Should I have brought my bathing suit?”
“Maybe next time,” I said, walking her toward the boats.
“There’s gonna be a next time?” she asked, totally fishing for assurances.
“I guess we’ll have to see how this date goes.”
She playfully bumped me with her hip, sending me off balance.
I laughed, following Briggs who checked the area around us, while I did the same. We made our way down Pier C until we stood at the end.
Kresley’s eyes moved over the sixty-foot yacht in front of us. “Are we going on this one?”
I nodded, watching for her
reaction.
“It’s beautiful.”
“I worked security on it last summer. The owner got into a lot of trouble and owed me a favor…or ten.”
She laughed.
“He lent me his boat and his captain.”
“Tristan, that you?” Roger called out from the captain’s chair on the top level. He wore a white captain’s hat that had seen better days. But it fit the whole drunken captain persona he had going on.
“How’s it going, Captain?” I called up.
“Well, the dick isn’t sailing today and you are, so I’d say it’s a step in the right direction.”
I laughed. “Yeah, well that dick gave me the boat for the day. So, I’m going to have to refrain from insulting him.”
Roger swatted his hand at the air. “Who’s this beauty you’ve got with you?”
“This is Kresley.”
Roger stood, removed his hat, and bowed to her, totally overdoing it. But drunken sea captain’s loved beautiful women. And Kresley was definitely a beautiful woman. “Pleased to make your acquaintance,” he said.
Kresley curtsied, totally playing along. “The pleasure is all mine, Captain.”
“I like her,” Roger said with a bounce to his brows as he returned his hat to his head. “Alrighty. Stop lollygagging and get aboard so we can set sail.”
I helped Kresley aboard and jumped on after. We moved to the back to a white leather sofa seat which seemed like the best place to take in the beautiful Saturday morning.
“Two things I love?” she asked, her brows raised in question as the boat purred to life.
“The ocean,” I explained.
“That’s only one,” she said, still trying to figure out my cryptic clue.
I draped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her into my side. “You’ll find out soon.”
She slipped off her shoes and tucked her legs up under her, relaxing into me. “Thank you, Tristan.”
I didn’t say anything, hoping if she liked this so much, she’d love the real surprise.
Kresley
He’d taken me on a boat. I hated that he felt like he needed to do something extravagant for our first date. I would’ve been happy getting takeout and watching a movie—as long as he was with me. I thought he understood that. But he’d gone to great lengths to make this day happen, so I’d never let on that I didn’t need all this.
“Where’d you grow up?” I asked as the captain pulled out into open waters.
“Not too far from you in Monterey.”
“Where was your military school?”
“Alturas.”
“Did they have sports and stuff like other schools?” I asked, curious about what it was like.
He nodded.
“I bet you played football.”
He smirked. “Running back.”
“I would’ve loved to see you play. I loved high school football games.”
“Don’t tell me you were a cheerleader.”
I shook my head. “Just a fan. What do you think it would’ve been like if we met back then?” I asked.
“I would’ve thought you were hot.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Then I would’ve tried to get your best friend’s number just to piss you off.”
“You’re such a jerk.”
He shrugged.
“So, why piss me off?” I asked. “Why not just ask for my number?”
“Come on, Kres. We both know you would’ve turned me down.”
He was right. Any guy forward enough to ask for my number from the get-go didn’t seem serious. They seemed like players who asked for every girl’s number. “I like that you know me.”
He smiled and when he smiled like that—like he could really see me, I wanted to melt into a big puddle of useless goo.
“I like when you let down your guard,” I said.
“Yeah, well, that could get us both into a lot of trouble,” he explained.
“Is that why we’re out here? Less chance of trouble if you let down your guard?”
“I told you why we’re out here. You love the ocean. Not to mention, you’re safe.”
I pulled back and assessed his face, trying to figure out what I was missing. “Am I still waiting for the second thing?”
“It’s not obvious?” he asked.
I shook my head.
He took that as his opportunity, capturing my lips and kissing me slow and purposeful. I never imagined kissing Tristan would have the ability to conjure up so many emotions inside of me. But it did. And I couldn’t imagine ever getting sick of doing it.
He pulled back with a smile. “I really like you.”
I smiled, incapable of not in that moment. I met him halfway, kissing him and taking the lead, showing him how much his words meant to me. Since we met, he shared very few personal thoughts, so anything he shared just helped me to understand who the real Tristan Stone was.
“Anyone need a drink?” Captain shouted down to us.
We pulled apart, both grinning like fools.
“You want anything?” Tristan asked me.
I shook my head.
“We’re all good,” he shouted up to him.
“I could see that,” Captain called down.
I settled back into Tristan’s side, taking in the ocean on all sides of us. The blue water always took my breath away regardless of the number of times I sailed. Having Tristan by my side made it extra special this time. The smell of the ocean mixed with the heat of the sun beating down, the mist from the water shooting up, and Tristan’s strong arm around me made it all feel like home. “Are we dropping anchor out here?” I asked.
Tristan smirked. “You’ll see.”
And I did see a short time later. A small island appeared in the distance. It didn’t look like it housed a resort, but a small beach bordered one side while the rest of the small isle was filled with lush green vegetation. My mouth formed an O. He didn’t? My head whipped around to see Tristan’s smiling face.
“It’s ours for the day,” he explained.
“You rented an island?”
“I told you my parents were wealthy. I have more money than I know what to do with in the bank. They would want me to use it for a good reason.”
“Tristan.” I didn’t want to make him feel bad for giving me something I wanted, but it was way too much.
“Kresley,” he mimicked.
I stared out at the island as we neared it. “This is…”
“Just say you love it and let’s be done with this conversation.”
“I love it. It’s beyond thoughtful.” I looked back to him. “But after today, I don’t want you spending money on me. I’m very low maintenance.”
He smirked. “I seem to recall that same word getting us to where we are right now.”
I tipped my head to the side. “So, you wouldn’t take it back?”
“It made you hate me, didn’t it?”
“You wanted me to hate you?” I asked
“I needed you to hate me. This is a lot more complicated. Hate is concrete. This…” He motioned between us with his hand. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“Do you regret it?”
“I regret a lot of things, but falling for you is not one of them.”
I lifted my hand to his cheek, cupping it gently. “You’ve fallen for me?”
He stared into my eyes. “Hard.”
Ripples rolled through my belly as the boat hit a few choppy waves, jerking us forward and back. I didn’t mind. Tristan just tightened his arm around me. Being alone out there on the ocean with Tristan was all I needed. And all I wanted. It was my fairy tale come to life.
As we came upon the dock jutting out of the island, Captain slowed the boat and pulled us to a stop next to it.
Tristan stood, taking my hand and pulling me up and into his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and stared down into my eyes. “Just you, me, and the birds out here. Even Captain Roger has strict orders to stay o
n the boat.”
My brows shot up. “Oh yeah?”
He nodded before releasing me and reaching under the seat we’d been sitting on. He grabbed the bag tucked underneath and slung it over his shoulder. “So, tell me.” He linked our hands again. “What do you plan to do on your private island?”
“I’m sure I could think of a few things.”
He pulled me toward the steps and we disembarked onto the dock.
“No one lives here?” I asked.
He shook his head. “It’s for sale, but they’ve been renting it out in the meantime. Without a place to stay, most people just use it for day trips or camping.”
“Camping sounds nice.”
“I did not take you for a camping kind of girl.”
“Okay, so maybe I don’t want to be in the middle of the woods with all those bugs,” I admitted. “But camping out under the stars on a beach would be a dream come true.”
“We could do that some time.”
“But not tonight?” I asked.
He shook his head regrettably. “We only have until sundown before Briggs threatened to send the cavalry looking for us.”
I said nothing, hating that I was this fragile flower that everyone needed to protect. Would anyone ever view me as strong? Would I ever be allowed to stand on my own two feet?
He reached over and took my chin with his fingers. “But Briggs knew how much I wanted to do this for you, so he agreed to help.”
“Marco would kick your ass if he knew.”
“He’s not here, is he?”
I laughed as we followed a path through some trees to the beach. As soon as we reached it, I slipped off my shoes and walked barefoot, letting the warm sand seep between my toes.
Tristan grabbed a blanket from his bag and spread it out on the sand. Before he could do anything else, I reached behind my back and pulled the zipper down on my dress. The light material fell to my feet and I stood there in a black strapless bra and matching panties.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed down, clearly not expecting my boldness.
“Your turn.”
He smirked, clearly not about to be outdone. He grabbed his shirt behind his neck and pulled it off. His shoulder holster cut around the muscles beneath his white tank top like a second skin. He removed it, guns and all, and lay it in the bag he’d brought. Then pulled off the shirt.
