“The organizer’s afraid of a little surprised disorganization in her life?”
“You have no idea the panic attacks you could throw me into,” she said with a giggle.
“Well, there are some hidden islands I know about. Places that haven’t been touched by tourists yet. There’s this one island that has its own tide pool, and you can literally bodysurf the waves back into the soft sand. It actually cushions your fall. It’s great.”
“That sounds like so much fun,” she said with a smile.
“And there’s another island that has great hiking. We can take the natural trail up this winding little mountain thing and look down at a waterfall that flows into a saltwater lake in the middle of the place. It’s deep too. We can jump down into it and explore behind the waterfall.”
“Jump? How high is it?” she asked.
“We can do it from multiple spots. We can go all the way to the top, which is about a thirty-foot drop. We can hit it halfway at fifteen. Or, we can stick to the sidelines and jump maybe six feet from the side and into the water.”
“We’ll see when we get there.”
“Then there’s this other island. It’s my favorite. It’s smaller than the rest, but it has that same waterfall, right? And behind the waterfall is this hidden cove and I don’t know how, but it has this hot spring.”
“No it doesn’t,” she said.
“Swear to everything on my name, it does. It’s not bubbling or anything, but it’s warm. Soothing. Relaxing. We could sink down into it. Maybe go skinny-dipping.”
“Uh-huh. Skinny-dipping. That’s all you’ve got on your mind,” she said coyly.
“Do you hate the idea?”
She side-glanced Ash and he could see the devilish look in her eyes. Her smile grew broad and her shimmering teeth caught the rippling sunset against her wide smile. Her eyes shut with happiness as it bloomed on her cheeks and Ash couldn't take his eyes off her. The sun sank below the ocean, settling a darkness around them that blanketed her body in the most beautiful hue of blue he’d ever seen.
And that’s when Ash realized something.
He didn’t want their vacation to end.
He wanted to spend a week out on the ocean with her. Two weeks. Maybe even three. He wanted to set up camp on one of the islands and dock his boat against the sand. He wanted to lie with her naked in the sand and allow the waves to crash around their bodies. He wanted to hold her hands and jump into the waterfall until they had to retreat back to the yacht for food. He could fish and create a bonfire. They could eat straight from the ocean. The coconuts from the blossoming trees. Maybe he could convince her to stay with him for the rest of the week as they explored the dozens of deserted islands this area of the world had to offer.
Or maybe ... just maybe ... she would stay.
The thought was startling to him. He’d never wanted something like that with any of his other hookups. But he wanted it with Kallie. He wanted her to stay. He wanted her to choose him over a life he knew didn’t make her happy back in the States. She could move her career anywhere. Find clients who needed her help anywhere. And at the very least, he could go back with her. A month at her place, a month at his, a month abroad. They could make it a pattern. Live any type of lifestyle they wanted for the rest of their lives.
He wanted that kind of life.
And he wanted it with Kallie.
“The sunset,” she said.
“I see your salad’s gone as well.”
“It was good. Take it as a compliment.”
“Trust me. I do.”
“Is it bad that I want to stay on the deck. Just bob away in the endless expanse of the night?”
“I’ll do you one better. I’ll stay out here and bob with you,” he said.
“Would you? Stay with me?”
Ash looked deeply into her darkened green eyes and it was on the tip of his tongue. Everything and nothing. How he felt and what he was scared of. He wanted to stay with her. Badly. So much so that he considered telling her that. Considered telling her how he was beginning to feel about her. He admitted it. Ash was falling for Kallie. And he didn’t mind it at all. He was scared. Nervous as to what she would think about it. But also excited at the idea that she might want him back. That she might just wrap her arms around him and keep him around.
He liked that idea.