Page 14 of Gideon
Try as I might, thoughts of Naomi and this entire ordeal just would not go away. I should have sat her down that first night and talked to her. I should have knocked on the bedroom door after she had locked it and pushed the issue. And today, too, I should have pushed harder to keep things civil so that we could have the conversation. I should have… I should have. There were a million should haves that plagued me. But at the end of the day, I could not go back and change what had happened.
I untied the ties I had just finished, just wanting to work the rope for a while. This time, I began a simple gauntlet tie on my forearm, needing more rope against my skin right now. I wasn’t a rope bottom often, preferring to do the tying versus being tied up. I had bottomed a fair amount of times for other riggers at Abditory. It was a good way to learn, in my opinion. It helped me understand what a bottom felt in the moment. Plus, it wasn’t often you found a male rope bottom, but it was important in teaching to know how to tie for both males and females.
I had to admit, being suspended was out of this world and totally fucked with my headspace in a new way. I was glad to have had the experience. It helped to know that in times like these, feeling the rope against my skin helped to calm me down further. Still, I would rather be in the dungeon right now, tying up one of my bottoms than here on my boat, trying to figure out what to do about my bratty, sassy new wife.
“Gideon?” I heard her voice call, the sound of her footsteps on the ladder echoing throughout the cabin.
Fuck!
Quickly, I untied the rope from my hands, stuffing everything back into the hatch it came from, before answering her.
“Naomi?” I hollered back. “Hang on, I’ll be right up!” I glanced around the cabin, making sure everything was in its place before I climbed back on deck. She stood there, her arms wrapped around herself as the cool breeze whipped at her long hair.
We both stood there for a moment, awkwardly.
“Hi,” I greeted, somewhat dumbly, unsure of what to say.
“Hi,” she replied with a soft smile.
“Couldn’t sleep?” I asked. Christ, could I be any more lame? I stood there with my hands shoved in my pockets, watching as she glanced around the boat deck. I didn’t miss the bit of wonder that lit up her green eyes.
“Not really. So… this is your boat,” she commented, seeming to be just as much at a loss for words as I was.
“Yup. This is my boat. Well, one of them at least. I’ve got the smaller boat there at the dock,” I pointed out, chuckling at the absurdity of the moment.
“She’s beautiful,” she said with a smile. I couldn’t help the way my chest puffed up with pride at her approval. This boat was my pride and joy. While the smaller sailboat did its job, allowing me time on the water, this girl was my everything. The fact that she approved moved me more than I wanted to admit.
“Thank you. This is… my happy place,” I admitted, looking out onto the water. The moonlight lit up the water’s surface, glimmering over the lapping waves like glittering silver.
“Take me on a ride?” she asked softly.
“Well, I can’t take this girl out on the water, obviously, but we can take the smaller one,” I offered, gesturing to the second boat in the water.
“Fair enough. I could go for a sail,” she said with a shrug.
Hell yes!This I could do.
I gave her a genuine smile, feeling excitement for the first time since our wedding. “Let’s go for a romantic moonlight sail.” She rolled her eyes at me. Shaking my head at her, we climbed down the ladder and off of the Ataraxia, walking out onto the lake dock. I helped her board the smaller sailboat, pointing out a few features of the smaller ship as we made our way to the center of the deck. There was enough breeze tonight to do a small lap around for a bit, at the very least.
“You should put this on,” I suggested, tossing a life vest over towards where she sat on the bench across from me.
“A life jacket?” she scoffed.
“Yes, a life jacket. Safety is important,” I stated seriously.
“I think I’ll be fine,” she sassed, tossing the jacket back to me.
“I take safety seriously, both here on my boat and in other areas.” I tossed the jacket back at her, narrowing my eyes at her to let her know just how serious I was.
“I said I would be fine,” she pushed back, tossing the jacket to the deck this time.
“I will not fight you about this,” I bit out tersely.
“Good, then you accept I don’t need one,” she replied flippantly.
“Oh my God, do you have to fight me on every little thing?” I rolled my eyes in utter annoyance.
“I don’t know. Do you have to be a jerk about every little thing?” she sassed.
