Sailor Proof (Shore Leave 1)

“Hey! I think Derrick’s on deck!” Bouncing on her heels, she shoved the little gold binoculars at me. She was right. As the boat drew closer, I could see him standing with other chiefs, proud and tall. My own posture straightened, muscles tensing with worry for the sailors on the slick deck as the sub was moved into position at the pier.

The wait was down to minutes, but each minute felt like hours, dragging on and on, each step closer to disembarking happening in slow motion. My internal soundtrack was full of dramatic pauses and rising emotion, a musical countdown, and my toes tapped along impatiently. I held my sign and balloons high, but there were so many other signs and people that the chances of him spotting us were slim.

An utterly adorable young couple got first-kiss honors, the woman’s dress with little chili peppers on it making Sabrina snap pictures and rave about the duo’s adorableness. But for all their cuteness, they weren’t Derrick and me. The universe needed to hurry up and get to my kiss, damn it.

However, I tried to find some patience for the new dad who sobbed his way through meeting a tiny blue bundle. Then finally more crew disembarked. Not Derrick, not yet.

“He’s coming,” Sabrina assured me, tugging my sleeve.

“I know, I know. Sometime this decade.” Sighing, I looked down at my shoes. Sabrina had dressed me again, and my boots were more club than hiking. Too new. Too stiff.

“No, I mean he’s coming right now. Right—”

“Here,” I breathed out as I looked up and all that waiting came to an end. And now he was here, and hilariously, I felt woefully unprepared for his presence.

He was here, looking resplendent in his white uniform, sun glinting off his medals and ribbons. He even smelled familiar, the aftershave I hadn’t caught whiff of in weeks. The few times I’d sensed it on a stranger, I’d been wistful and filled with longing. But now it was really Derrick right here in front of me, this very second, and I didn’t know what to do or say first.

He licked his lips, looking uncharacteristically uncertain. He wasn’t smiling, and my nerves reached epic levels. My inner soundtrack hit a warning note. What if he’d changed his mind? What if he no longer meant—

“Hey.”

“Hey,” I said back. A+ communicator, Arthur. Good job.

“You came.” The wonder in his tone hit me right in the heart. Maybe he too was simply too overwhelmed to smile.

“I did.” I managed a smile or at least I hoped I did. My face muscles weren’t exactly responding to my brain.

“I want to kiss you. Can I kiss you? Please?” That he thought to add the please was adorable, and finally my mouth muscles resumed working and I grinned broadly.

“You better.”

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Derrick

He came. Arthur really came. And he was grinning at me and waiting for me to kiss him.

I didn’t realize how scared I’d been that he wouldn’t be there until I saw his sign, and relief so intense flooded me that my knees legit shook. Not the best thing when standing on deck of a moving sub, but somehow I stayed upright and made it through the last bit of waiting.

Now my shaky legs had carried me here, to him, and as I pulled him to me, I swore one of those mental soundtracks he was always joking about swelled like an orchestra was among our audience. But beyond that, I didn’t register much of our surroundings as I claimed his mouth. I wanted to go slow, remember each second of the contact, but my body kept sprinting ahead of my brain.

In some ways it felt like our first kiss all over again, new and special, and in others it felt like we’d never paused, like I’d been gone an hour not weeks and weeks, a comfortable familiarity there that hadn’t been there that very first kiss.

He tasted like a memory, like mint and tea and a hint of sweet coffee too. His lips were every bit as soft as I remembered, and his strong arms clutching me lived up to my memories as well. He was solid and real and there and we kissed and kissed.

Behind us, I heard some whoops and the sound of cameras flashing. But still I kissed him.

“Welcome home,” he murmured against my mouth.

“You’re my home.” I sucked in a big lungful of air, even oxygen tasting better now. Or maybe that was still more relief, more tension bleeding away so I could breathe easier.

“Can you go viral twice?” Sabrina mused next to Arthur, holding up her shiny phone. “Who says we find out?”

“I’m too happy to care.” Arthur laughed.

“Me too.”

“Bet that ex of yours will have kittens if he sees,” Sabrina crowed as she clicked something on her phone with a long orange nail.