by A Rosendale
Alma pointed to a small cottage in the dark. “This is us.” She led the way inside and flipped on the lights. “The Institute owns it and uses it often for visiting scientists,” she explained. “The best part of the whole trip has been this, though.” They walked straight through the house and out a sliding glass door to the back patio. There was no fence and water lapped at the shore less than a hundred feet away. In the moonlit night, Dirk could make out a small dock jutting into the sea with a handful of vessels bobbing beside it. He looked at Alma as she gazed at the calm water. It was obvious in that moment how much she loved the sea. Just being near the ocean seemed to fill her with such brilliant energy that she practically radiated.
“It’ll be a shame to leave tomorrow,” she muttered sorrowfully before noticing Dirk was moving two patio lounge chairs together.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, stepping back into the cottage.
A moment later, he returned with a large blanket. He motioned to the chairs. Alma sat down with an amused smile. Dirk joined her and pulled the blanket over them both to stave off the cold. After a few minutes of watching the moon’s reflection on the water, he scooted closer to her, hoping to share body heat. The bitter cold didn’t seem to faze Alma, but Dirk had been freezing all week. Every shiver was a stark reminder of the battering his sore body had endured.
“Are you alright, Dirk?”
The words broke a long, comfortable silence.
He was startled Alma would intuit his behavior. He’d been careful not to let on his physical discomfort and thought he’d conducted himself normally all night.
“You seem tired,” she added in concern. “And yet you’re out here with me in the freezing cold, well past midnight, watching a black mass of water do what it’s done for millions of years.”
“I am a bit tired,” he admitted. “But you hit it right on the head: I’m out here with you, so I don’t care if it’s freezing or that I’m tired.”
She blushed in the dark and scooted even closer so their legs were touching. Dirk extracted an arm from the blanket and draped it around her shoulders.
“I have a question for you, but it’s not science related.”
Alma sighed dramatically. “Well, if it’s not science related, I’m not sure I’ll be able to provide an adequate answer.”
Dirk laughed quietly. “When I got to the party, you kissed me very…enthusiastically.”
“Well, I was very glad to see you,” she replied timidly.
“I was glad to see you, too, but I sense there was more to it.”
“Okay, you caught me. I was showing you off a little bit to my female colleagues and also…”
Dirk couldn’t help the proud smile that crept to his lips. “Go on.”
“Also, Mark has been a little overzealous in his attempts to woo me this week. I wanted to make it clear to him, once and for all, that I wasn’t interested.”
“So you used me?” Dirk said, his voice light and humorous.
She shrugged hesitantly. “Yes. A little. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Nope! Not at all. In fact, I can be on call for any instance in which you may need to use me again.”
“How about right now?” Her voice dropped low and became a whisper.
Dirk grinned. “I think I can lend my services now.”
Alma turned and placed her hands on either side of his face. They were cold, but Dirk only felt warmth spread from her touch. She gazed into his bright blue eyes for an instant, then tenderly brushed her lips against his. He wove a hand through her long, soft hair and brought her closer. When she kissed him again, everything fell away. It was no longer cold, the moon didn’t hang above them as sole witness, the bruises on his chest didn’t ache. His heart skipped a beat as he tasted her for the first time and instead of being comfortably warm, he was suddenly flushed with burning heat.
Alma felt as if she were melting. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had held her like this, with an intense tenderness. She could feel his taut muscles and the strength that exuded from him, yet his hands were delicate, brushing through her hair like the caress of butterfly wings. His lips were deliciously soft. For all the passion filling the minute gap between them, he remained gentle, as if kissing her deeply and slowly would prolong the moment and embed the memory deep within. When a soft moan escaped Dirk’s lips, Alma felt it vibrate through her entire body.
It wasn’t until a gust picked up and whipped Alma’s hair around her face that they paused. Her hands didn’t leave his face when she leaned back to look at his lips and then into his eyes. The usually light hue had darkened to the shade of the blue whale’s skin. He was breathing hard and his heartbeat thundered in his ears. With a gentle caress, he brushed her hair away from her face, then ran a feather-soft fingertip along her jaw. While his eyes had darkened with intensity, hers had brightened to match the silver of the moon on the nearby sea and practically glowed in the night.
Chapter 7
The sound of Alma waking, the soft escape of air from her lips, brought a wave of unfamiliar emotions over Dirk. He was lying under the covers next to her, inhaling the scent of her as his body curved around hers. The arm draped over her was kept warm by the sleeve of the sweater he wore.
Alma rolled over and smiled sleepily. She kissed Dirk on the lips in way of a morning greeting. He couldn’t resist pulling her closer and kissing her again, his tongue begging for the taste of her. Her eyes closed in pleasure and he relished the feeling on her hand on his chest. It marveled him that her touch didn’t aggravate the wounds beneath.
“Morning,” she muttered quietly when they finally pulled apart.
“And a good one, too,” he replied, his voice just above a whisper. “How’d you sleep?”
“Better than I have all week. You?”
“Better than I have all month! And it’s blessedly warm cuddled up next to you.”
She hummed gently and smiled.
They extracted their fully clothed bodies from the down comforter. Alma ran a brush through her hair and it gleamed in the late morning light. Dirk settled for combing a hand through his own short hair. While she packed her few belongings, he went to the kitchen.
“There’s smoked salmon in the fridge and an avocado on the counter,” she called. “I was thinking bagels piled with delicious toppings.”
“Perfect.” He found the bagels and cream cheese and had breakfast nearly finished by the time Alma joined him. She extracted the fish and sliced avocado so he could add it to the pastries.
They ate in the tiny dining room that looked out at the shore.
“Do you want to go out on the water before we leave?” Alma asked. She was staring out the window longingly.
Dirk smiled. “Sure.”
She brightened instantly. “I can show you one of the seal colonies! Maybe the pilot whales will be around.”
Her childlike excitement was an endearing quality Dirk found himself falling in love with. The thought startled him, but no matter how he examined the notion, he felt certain of its truth.
Alma dug through a closet and tossed a thick red waterproof coat to him. She donned one herself and led him to the dock eagerly. The boats tethered to the dock were small outboards, but there Dirk’s knowledge ended.
“These are Boston Whalers,” Alma explained as he stepped down into the vessel. She unwrapped the mooring line from a dock cleat and nimbly jumped onboard. “They’re old, but reliable. This one is a fifteen foot Montauks.”
“Boston Whaler,” Dirk said, latching onto a familiar title. “I saw someone cut a Boston Whaler in half once and it still floated.”
“Yeah. They’re a pretty incredible craft.”
The engine rumbled to life and she edged it away from shore at a slow pace. They aimed for the inlet that was bridged by a road. Once they’d cleared the Institute and were in open water, Alma gunned the motor and they skimmed over the waves. Dirk held onto a metal bar to the right of the steering wheel and stared
at the dark blue water and the shoreline of the island they were skipping past. When they hit a large breaker, he quickly grasped the bar with both hands.
Alma noted his reaction and backed off the throttle a bit. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. I just haven’t been on the water in a while. I’ll get my sea legs eventually.”
“I should have asked this earlier: can you swim? Do you want a lifejacket?”
He laughed away her concern. “Yes, I can swim. No, I don’t need a lifejacket. I’ll be fine. Thank you, though.”
Alma smiled, thinking of her colleagues teasing her about associating with a ‘land lubber’. ‘A land lubber that’s a damn good kisser,’ she added to herself.
By the time the sounds of howling seals reached across the water, their faces were bright pink with cold. The Montauk rounded a rocky outcropping and Alma killed the engine so the vessel was lolling in the gentle waves. Fifty or so seals lounged on the beach ahead, sunning themselves in the dim winter sunlight. A few shiny black heads bobbed in the water nearby.
Alma extracted a pair of binoculars from a compartment under the steering wheel and gazed through them for a moment before passing them to Dirk. He stared with interest at the large, blubbery creatures.
Alma motioned to the south end of the colony. “That white speckled one over there is one of the seals we cut a net off the other day. She looks like she’s doing well.”
He could see a faint red line on the seal’s skin just above its tail fins.
“These are gray seals. You can find harbor seals in the North Atlantic as well.”
“What kind of seals do you have in Washington?”
“Harbor seals. We don’t have any gray seals.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Gray seals are larger and give birth in the winter months. You can see they also like to lie quite close together on shore. Harbor seals give birth in the summer and aren’t quite so cuddly.”
Dirk nodded in understanding. He watched a large seal bounce down the sand to the surf. Once it entered the water, all awkwardness ceased and it slid through the waves effortlessly.
Alma allowed him a few more minutes of observation before starting the engine and turning them back to sea.
“Where to now?” he asked, gripping the bar in one hand and the binoculars in the other.
“I thought we’d just head out a little ways and see what we can.”
They were just past Nantucket when she sighted the very thing she’d been hoping for.
“Are those killer whales?” Dirk asked, raising the binoculars to examine the puffs of water shooting into the sky.
“No. Pilot whales. Very similar to orcas, though.” She slowed down as they neared the pod, then stopped and let the waves roll the boat under their feet. A whale surfaced thirty feet away and exhaled, mist floating away on the breeze.
“Do they eat seals like orcas?” He was mesmerized by the proximity of the beautiful, dark skinned creatures.
“Not these guys. They’re smaller and prefer squid and fish.”
“Do you have pilot whales in Puget Sound?”
The whales slid through the water majestically, their wet skin glistening as they surfaced.
“No. I’ve read an odd report here and there of reported sightings, but I’ve never seen one.”
“They’re incredible,” Dirk muttered, binoculars still pressed to his eyes.
Alma smiled, glad he shared her opinion. She moved to the railing and leaned against it to watch her favorite animal.
The pod eventually moved further out to sea and Alma steered them back to shore. Dirk held on silently, his coral eyes brilliant against the dark blue of the sea.
“That was amazing,” he finally said as Alma shut off the engine and tied off the boat. “Thank you.”
She stowed the binoculars and stepped onto the dock. “You’re welcome.” She pecked his stubbly cheek and took his hand to walk back to the cottage. She hadn’t noticed the calluses on his skin last night. They gave his skin a rough texture that wasn’t unpleasing. They matched the calluses on her own hands from hauling nets and mooring lines.
“So, back to Boston?” Dirk asked as they entered the cottage.
Alma nodded sadly. “Yep. And back to work on Monday.”
“That gives us a day and a half,” he said optimistically. “Let’s go back to Boston and meet up for dinner. Since I became aware of your affinity for craft beer, I’ve been doing some research, mostly because I, too, have an underlying love of quality brews. There happens to be a whole slew of breweries in the city.”
The prospect of spending more time with him brightened Alma’s spirits and she eagerly agreed. She gave Dirk a ride back to his Jeep and thanked Stacy once more for a rapturous spring break. Promising to keep in touch and visit again soon, she headed to the airport.
* * *
The brewery was packed to the hilt and Dirk had to elbow his way to the only two empty seats at the bar. He didn’t have long to wait before Alma entered and he waved her over. She was dressed modestly in a purple flannel shirt and jeans, her hair gleamed and fluttered in her wake.
She greeted him with a quick kiss, an action he was quickly growing used to, and wiggled onto the barstool.
“I was thinking we could get a couple flights and share,” he suggested.
“Sounds great!” She pulled a menu towards her and perused it briefly before the bartender appeared. Before Dirk could order, Alma had laid out the five beers she wanted to try. With an appraising grin, he added to her order.
“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised at your knowledge of beer. Washington is inundated with craft breweries.”
Alma shrugged. “Perhaps the culmination of misspent college years.”
He laughed. “Oh, those misspent college years… I know what you mean.”
“You went to college in Boston, right? What adventures did you take during your misspent years?”
While he had indeed attended MIT as an undergrad, it seemed like a lifetime ago. He’d lived elsewhere in the mean time and only recently returned to Beantown. “Hmm. I seem to recall scattered memories of hole-in-the-wall whiskey dens. But as so much time was spent in whiskey dens, I don’t remember much else!” he joked.
Alma laughed. “You can’t have spent that much time drinking to graduate from MIT.”
“Oh, you know, undergrad isn’t too hard,” he replied modestly.
“I’ve heard differently about MIT coursework.”
Shrugging, he changed the subject. “Remind me to thank Mark sometime for the magical night his misguided advances provided.”
The smile that crossed her lips was reminiscent. “I’ll have to thank him too.” Her warm hand crossed to his knee as their beer samples arrived.
Dirk lifted one dainty glass and clinked it against hers. “To your work,” he toasted.
The words startled Alma and she took her first sip of beer absentmindedly.
“I’m sorry,” Dirk said quickly. “Did I say something wrong?”
“No,” she hurried to assure him. “Thank you.”
Perturbed by her reaction, he asked a question that had been on his mind since she’d asked him the same thing two weeks ago. “Why don’t you have a ring on your finger by now, Dr. Decker?” he asked bluntly, touching her left ring finger gently.
She shrugged and took another sip of beer. “I…I suppose I’ve never stumbled on the right guy. I travel a lot and I guess I’ve always thought of the sea and her habitants as my husband.”
Dirk raised a brow suspiciously. “A guy like Mark would understand your interests. Even Dr. Miles.”
She scoffed. “In the end, it turns out that guys like that, colleagues, just want a union of thoughts and ideas, a powerhouse of academia.”
“Surely men of other professions have knocked at your door. A doctor or a lawyer.”
“Sure. But…” She recalled his answer to her similar question and smiled widely. “Can you imagine
that?”
Dirk laughed. “I suppose not,” he echoed her former words and placed a hand on her thigh.
They took another sip of the first beer, then traded glasses.
Into their third or fourth beer, Dirk excused himself to use the restroom. When he returned to the dining room, he sighted a younger man standing next to Alma. He couldn’t have crossed the crowded room any faster if he wanted to, but found himself watching her interact with the man with interest.
The man sidled close to her, leaning on the bar and flashing his best smile. Then he laid a hand on hers. She shook her head, but when the hand wasn’t removed, she grasped it tightly with her other hand and wrenched it away, twisting the man’s arm painfully. She shoved him away with disgust.
That’s when Dirk arrived on the scene. “Everything all right?” he asked innocently.
The man cradled his wrist, glared at the pretty woman before him, and backed away.
“Everything is fine,” Alma answered icily, staring the intruder down.
Dirk grinned as if in blissful ignorance and leaned in to kiss her possessively. The man took his final cue and stalked away. Dirk resumed his seat.
“You alright?”
“Fine,” she answered curtly.
“I get the feeling that’s not the first jerk you’ve ever turned away.”
She laughed mirthlessly. “Nope.” Then she turned to face him. “Thank you for your timely arrival.”
“You’re welcome, but I don’t think you needed my intervention. I found your defense very…effective and…provocative.” He replaced his hand on her inner thigh.
“Well, I feel as if you may have used that kiss, perhaps the same way I used you last night with Mark.” Her smile regained some humor and the tension of the encounter faded.
He shrugged nonchalantly. “I hope you don’t mind.”
The laugh that escaped her lips relieved him. She had shaken off the awkward confrontation with professional disregard. Alma had received his possessive kiss gratefully and didn’t mind in the least. The warm hand on her leg was most welcome as well.
The evening wore on as if nothing untoward had happened. When they finished the flights, Dirk paid the bill, against Alma’s wishes, and they stepped outside into another bitterly cold night. Dirk waved down a taxi and directed the driver to Alma’s apartment building. He stepped onto the curb with her and placed both hands on her waist.