Page 23 of Kiss Me, Darling

I wasable to navigate us home where Chris stood on the dock looking somewhat pissed and a lot worried.

“What the hell were you thinking?” He took the bowline I tossed him and tied off the boat.

“Sorry. We just wanted to escape for a while. I didn’t plan on getting lost.”

“You have no idea what you’re doing!”

I handed him the cooler and then stood to the side, allowing Lucy to climb out first. Since the tide was low the boat sat a good foot or two lower than when we left. Plus I got to accidentally on purpose enjoy the view of her ass.

What? I’m a dude. We like rear ends. Sue me.

“I got us home, didn’t I?”

Chris glared at me. “You can’t just take a boat out. You need a license. Unless you’re actually older than I thought you were.”

“Huh?”

He waved his hand at me. “Never mind. Bottom line, you can’t take the boat unless you get a license. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“I’m more than happy to teach you a few things and show you some easy routes.”

“I said I got it.” Sheesh. Make one giant mistake…

“Did you at least have fun?” He looked between us.

Lucy grinned. “We stopped at a sandbar. Scott said you go there.”

My little brother grinned. “We love it there. Did you find anything? It’s always a treasure hunt. I think that’s why it’s so much fun. Last time out Linc found a conch the size of his head. It’s the biggest I’ve seen yet, but Liv says that used to be normal. Before all the tourists.”

“No conch,” she shook her head. “Scott showed me sand dollars and we saw a starfish. And then this giant creature swam past us. It was terrifying!”

Chris turned to me, concerned. “What was it?”

I shrugged. “I dunno. It was like a stingray, but gigantic. Like ten feet wide and spotted.”

“No shit!” His face lit up. “A spotted eagle ray! I’ve only seen one since I moved here. He must have been moving from one island to another. They like the shallows. How very cool.” He smiled at Lucy. “You must be good luck.”

“I didn’t feel like good luck. I was so scared I couldn’t feel my legs!”

My instinct was to go to her and take her hand. Give her some comfort. Instead I stood awkwardly on the dock staring at her bare feet.

“They’re gentle giants. He was probably just enjoying the tide and the sunshine, just like you two. By the way, there’s an aloe plant in the kitchen. I think you two are going to need it.”

“Why?”

“You look a little crispy.”

Lucy lowered her sunglasses, revealing two white circles around her eyes. “How bad is it?”

I winced. Fuck. We really were out there too long. “We’ll fit right in on our next visit to the Red Tourist Bar and Grill.”

“Remember!” Chris called after us, “use the aloe!”

The first thing I did was find the aloe plant and cut us each a part of the succulent. Then we showered—separately—and applied aloe. But when we met in the kitchen for dinner Lucy was holding a fresh clipping and wearing a dress that didn’t appear to be zipped closed.

“I hate to ask you this, but can you put some on my back?” She turned, revealing a streak of red along her spine where the sunscreen must have sweat away in the heat.

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