Throttling back to an idle, he waited for the boat engine to
die down, then moved his arms around her and flipped the switch to drop the anchor.
Moving back to let her shift out from in front of him, he said, “So, turkey club, huh?”
Nodding, she headed toward the ladder and said, “Yep. Lettuce, tomato, bacon, spicy mustard, no mayo.”
They both headed down to the main deck, into the cabin’s galley area. Grabbing the food out of the minifridge, along with a couple cans of soda, they headed back up to the sun deck.
Eating in companionable silence, they went through the sandwiches and pasta salad. Chris leaned back and said, “I could use a nap. That was great. Thank you.”
Smiling, she said, “You’re welcome. I’m so full now though. Are we going to head right back in or can I lay out on the bow for a while and get some sun?”
“It’s pretty bright out. You need sunscreen?” Chris asked.
“No. I have some. Thanks. So we’re gonna hang out here for a bit?”
“Yeah. I don’t have anything else planned for the day. Do you?”
Shaking her head, she said, “No. I was kind of hoping to get a little sun.”
They both grabbed some of the mess from lunch and moved downstairs with it. Taking the wrappers and containers back down stairs, they stuck them in the now empty cooler.
Chloe moved over to her backpack and took out her sunscreen. Peeling off her top and jean shorts, she stuck them on top of the bag. She began rubbing sunscreen on her arms and front.
Chris was infinitely glad that she was turned away from him because he was having a difficult time looking away. Her hair had come loose from the clip, so she had abandoned it on the couch. Her dark hair fell in soft, messy waves against the lightly tanned skin of her back. Her red bikini bottom rode low on her hips.
As she leaned over to rub the lotion on her legs, he moved around her to snag his own bag. He could not continue to watch this or he was going to embarrass himself. He stripped off his shirt, then dug around the bag, grabbing sunglasses, a book, his towel, and his sunscreen. Moving out of the cabin, he uncapped it and began spraying himself, trying not to think about how fucking hot Chloe had looked rubbing lotion all over herself.
Capping the sunscreen, he moved to put his sunglasses on and went to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. Looking up, he saw Chloe had turned around. Holy shit. Hanging out in the sun was a terrible idea. He was going to have the worst case of blue balls ever known to man.
Clipping her hair up again, she asked, “Can you sunscreen my back?”
Reaching for his sunscreen, he said, “Sure.”
“What SPF is that?”
“Thirty. Why?”
“I have SPF sixty with moisturizer. Use this instead,” she said, passing him the tube and presenting him with her back.
Jesus Christ. She had to be kidding. Certain he was going to die, he took the tube from her and squirted the lotion into his hands. Gently, he proceeded to cover her entire back and hips with it. When she had asked him to get underneath the strap that tied in the back, he had to close his eyes and take a deep breath.
She had to be torturing him on purpose. That was the only explanation.
Once he had finished, she turned around. Taking the sunscreen from him, she said, “Thanks!”
After she put it back in her bag, she grabbed her sunglasses and towel, then headed out of the cabin.
He watched her slip off her flip-flops and climb up on the edge of boat. Following suit, he continued to watch her shimmy her way around the side until she was on the bow.
Stepping over the railing, she laid her towel out, making sure to leave enough room for Chris, then lay down on her stomach. Deciding he had little choice, he laid his towel next to hers and lay down on his back.
As soon as he had settled, he looked over at her, and saw her untying the back of her top. Without much thought, he said, “Uh, Chloe.”
Laughing, she said, “Easy there, tiger. I’m not going all French Riviera on you. I just don’t want any tan lines on my back. Your virtue is safe.”
He narrowed his eyes beneath his sunglasses and said, “Smart-ass. Don’t think I won’t toss you over the side. Water should be in the high sixties, I think.”