She closed her eyes and curled up onto the bed. She wrapped herself tightly in the covers, then tucked them underneath the mattress of the bed. It quelled the thrashing of her body somewhat, but she was still tossed about. Every once in a while, a spill of water would drip down the stairs and she would panic. Was the boat capsizing? Were they going underwater? Did she need to try and find her life jacket?
After hours of battling the raging storm and wondering if they were going to make it out alive, the yacht finally started to calm down. The titanic roar of the thunder around them began to subside and the lightning that lit up the sky around them began to fade. The rocking of the boat settled, and Kallie’s stomach stopped lurching at every drop. The electricity was still out and parts of the floor down below were soaked, but they were alive.
Kallie lay there as the boat’s rocking slowed until nothing was left but the gentle lapping of the ocean water around them. She scurried from bed and ran to the fridge, ripping it open without a second thought. She grabbed two Sprites and cracked one open, chugging it down to rid her mouth of the nasty taste of bile.
Then she took the other one up to Ash.
She opened the door and climbed the stairs to find the deck bathed in sunlight. It was the most amazing sight to her. The dark clouds were nothing but a thing of the distant past, marching onward behind them as they traveled into the shining sun. The deck was soaked and the sea was still its angry gray, but the ocean was calm.
Silent.
Like it hadn’t just pitched a tantrum like a four-year-old.
Her head was on a swivel, trying to locate Ash. And she saw him still at the wheel. There were bags underneath his eyes and his legs were shaking silently. His hands were white-knuckling the wheel to keep it still, and his lower lip was swollen from him biting down onto it. Kallie cracked the soda open and walked over to him, her flip-flops slipping on the puddles of water. He reached out for her and caught her around her waist, drawing her body close to his as she held the soda to his lips.
“Drink,” Kallie said.
And Ash didn’t hesitate to listen.
He tipped the soda up to his lips, his hand curling around hers. His arm around her waist was comforting, and the closer he pulled her the broader she smiled. He chugged and he chugged, until Sprite was dribbling from the side of his mouth. Then he crumpled up the can and tossed it off to the side.
“Thank you for keeping us safe,” she said.
She wrapped her arms around Ash’s body, feeling how his muscles twitched with their ache. Her hands massaged his abs and up to his chest. Ran along his back and between his shoulder blades. He finally released his grip on the steering wheel and fiddled with a few buttons, then leaned back into her touch.
“Thank you for everything you did,” she said with a whisper.
“Thank you for the soda,” Ash said.
“If I can figure out how to boil water without electricity, I’ll make you some coffee too.”
He chuckled at her joke, but she could hear in his voice how tired he was. His clothes were soaked and they were drenching hers as well. And the shiver had set back into his skin. Kallie slid her hands underneath his shirt and pulled it over his head, then tossed the sopping wet material down to the floor. Goose bumps ricocheted over every inch of his skin, and Kallie watched as they came alive. She pressed her lips into the meat of his back, trying to warm him as he stood at the wheel.
“I think you should get some rest,” she said.
“Only if you come with me.”
“Trust me. I wasn’t going to leave you down there by yourself.”
“I’m sorry I kept coming back up here. But someone had to—”
“Ssshhh,” she said as she kissed his back. “That wasn’t a dig at you, Ash. Promise.”
He molded himself into her lips, her hands falling to his hips. She guided him toward the stairs, then helped his tired form down them. She led him into the bedroom and closed the door, then helped him strip from his wet clothes. Peeling off his shorts and boxers before ridding him of the wet flip-flops burning blisters into his skin.
“Come on. Let’s get you warmed up,” Kallie said.
The two of them slid into bed and this time, Kallie pulled Ash into her body. His head pressed against her shoulder and she ran her fingers through his wet hair. She tucked herself as close to him as she could, then grabbed every blanket at her disposal. She clamped his leg between her thighs and shivered with the cold pouring off him. Kiss after kiss was placed against his forehead. She willed him from deep within her soul to warm up. Kallie worried that if he started coughing or sneezing, she’d have no way to take care of him. No way to get him back to shore.
No way to get them home safely.
The calming rocking of the boat lulled them to sleep with Ash’s body wrapped around hers. She dreamed of their island tryst and the first time she’d laid eyes on his cute smattering of freckles along his nose. Her mind ripped her through the first time Ash had ever protected her. At the club with that man. She could still feel how tight his grasp was on her and she could plainly see the want to protect her written all over Ash’s face. She dreamed of his kindness. Of his naked body pressed against hers. She dreamed of his lips and his laughter and how she was so close to admitting to him how much she cared.
How much she didn’t want any of this to end.
Kallie wasn’t sure how long they’d slept, but a deafening sound shook her from her sleep. Her heart sped up and her body locked up, and Ash sensed that something was wrong. Then, the sound happened again. But it wasn’t like the thunder she expected. It wasn’t the crashing of the water against the side of the yacht. It wasn’t even the sound of pots and pans toppling from cabinets in the kitchen.
She wasn’t sure what it was. But the sound kept happening.