Page 61 of Adrift

“He dared to touch what’s yours?” I emphasize his words.

Darian sucks on his cheeks, glaring at the road. I can tell he’s holding in both an eye roll and a smile. “Just shut up and text the asshole back.” When I smile down at my phone, he adds, “Are you going to meet him?”

“Yes. I have to. I care about him.”

He huffs. “Can I come with you?”

“Darian.”

“Fine. Whatever. But if he fucking tries that shit again with you–”

I throw up my arms. “Darian, I wouldn’t have let him kiss me that day, whether you’d showed up or not, because I didn’t want to kiss him. And do you know why?”

He doesn’t respond, so I supply the answer anyway, my voice louder so the dummy can hear me clearly. “Because the only one I’ve wanted since the minute he rescued me from an out of control kayak is you, you big oaf!”

Darian’s eyes soften, but he continues to drive while mumbling under his breath, and I ignore him. Instead, I text Liam back, telling him I’ll meet him tomorrow at the park with Arman. I took Arman on our regular walks last week too, though I purposely avoided going to the park.

When we pull into the Truckee Sports parking lot, Darian turns to me, dragging my hand to his mouth. He lays a kiss on the back of my fingers. “I’m sorry.”

I squint at him, pretending to still be mad. “You’ve racked up quite a few sorries over the past few weeks.”

“And I’ll probably rack up more because I say and do dumb things when I can’t think clearly, and I can’t think clearly when I’m around you.”

The corners of my mouth lift into a smile. This man . . .. He is so ridiculously charming, even when he’s frustrating, and I know I won’t ever be able to stay angry with him.

His eyes smolder. “But I’ll pay for my mistakes in kind with orgasms.”

Even though a blush climbs up my neck, I lean over the console and place a kiss on his downturned lips. “I’m counting on it.”

* * *

I spend the entire morning taking photographs along the river and the Truckee Sports property. By the time lunch comes around, I’ve scrolled through and picked out at least fifty good pictures I can use for the newsletter series I have in mind and to update the website. I even took a few short videos on my phone to get the school’s TikTok account started.

I’m giddy as I walk into the building, scrolling through the pictures on my camera. I lift my head when the cool air conditioning treks over my warm skin, and I notice Felix talking to a small group–similar to the way he did when I came here with Melody and Bella. He lifts his arm to wave at me.

I’m about to knock on Darian’s office door when the receptionist from the front desk stops me. “Hi! Do you need something? Darian is busy right now.”

I peek through the glass panel inside, and while Darian is facing his computer, I don’t think he’s in a meeting. “Oh, okay. Well, I’ll come back later.”

“He’s in meetings all day, I’m afraid.”

That’s interesting because Darian told me yesterday that coming here today would be fine. I assumed he meant he didn’t have any meetings.

I get closer to the woman–Olivia, based on her name tag. She seemed rather nice the day I was here for my lesson, but I’m not getting the same welcoming vibe from her today.

“Okay, well, I’ll grab something to eat,” I say, fixing the strap of my SLR on my shoulder and pulling out my phone.

She gives me a tight smile and goes back to whatever she was doing on the computer.

Walking toward the kitchenette, I decide to just text Darian, instead.

Me: Hi. You busy?

A reply comes back immediately.

Darian: Never for you.

Me: Oh, okay. I’m done with taking pictures, and I wanted to show you the site mockups . . . if you have time.

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