Damaged

by Gina Watson

  Chapter 7

  Bailey let him pull the tools from her hands and swap them for the cooler of wings. Flat tire forgotten, she followed him to his truck. From the driver’s side, he boosted her into the contraption, copping a feel of her ass in the process. “Hey, watch it.”

  “You loved it.”

  She couldn’t hold in the laughter that ensued. Everything he said was true. She marveled at how easy it was to be around him. Even when she’d been irritated at him. He didn’t apologize or try to get in her good graces. Instead, he was a doer. She supposed he also wanted to do her, but she’d be a fool to not get as much of him as she could before … she could never finish that thought.

  “So tell me about this boat.”

  “First”—he handed her his phone, note app already opened—“type this list into my phone.”

  “Eggs, milk, oil, hushpuppy mix, potatoes, bacon, orange juice, beer. Better get some more charcoal. Add anything else you want or need.”

  “Sounds interesting. No steak?”

  “We’re going fishing.”

  She hadn’t moved over from the middle of the truck and the seatbelt buzzer was not happy with her.

  “You’d better buckle up.” He pulled a belt out of the seat beneath her so she was content to stay next to him. Besides, watching him drive was hot. He commanded the road like a Nascar warrior, bypassing slower cars with ease. Once on the interstate he sped, topping out at eighty-eight. She felt the power of his exertion between her legs.

  “So fishing. Can’t say I’ve ever done it.”

  “Won’t be able to say that anymore.”

  “We fish from a boat? Not a pier?”

  “I have a sport fishing boat for deep sea fishing. Much better.”

  “Sounds like a lot of physical effort.”

  He leaned over to her ear and whispered, “You can lounge about the cabin naked if you’d rather do that. I’ve got Blu-ray, cable, internet. I’ll take care to see that you’re well fed.” A playful chuckle filled the cabin of his truck.

  Wow. Just wow! Who was this beautiful man that came out of nowhere and just really knew what she needed?

  “Are you wearing garters again?” His brow quirked hopefully.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  “Pull up your skirt, let me see.”

  She crossed one leg over the other and lifted her skirt ever so slightly so that he could just view the garter straps.

  He hissed and his tongue darted out to wet his lips.

  “I fucking love that you wear garters.”

  “You never had a girl with garters before?” She batted her lashes at him.

  “Never.”

  She wore the garters so much because she liked them and she thought it a good idea to do the things she liked as much as possible.

  They listened to music and he talked about football and hunting. She told him about New York. Bailey yawned. The drive was getting long. The sooner they got to where they were going, the sooner she could get naked with him. “How far away is this place?”

  “About two hours.”

  “Two hours!”

  He frowned. “What?”

  “It just seems like a long drive for one night of fun and frolic.”

  “I thought we’d drive back on Friday.” He winked.

  “Oh.” Well that meant she’d miss her Thursday dialysis. She’d have to take it on Friday and move Saturday’s dialysis to Monday.

  “I just needed a break and thought maybe you could use one too.”

  A break with him seemed a lovely idea. “So why’d your sister call off the wedding?”

  “She caught her fiancé in bed with another woman.”

  “Classic.” Bailey lightly stroked her neck with her fingernails. “At least she broke it off. A lot of girls wouldn’t call off a wedding so close to the date.”

  “That was my reaction.”

  “She taking it pretty hard?”

  “Actually, no. She auctioned off everything down to the tulle, including the twenty-five-thousand-dollar ring, on die Travis Miller die dot com. All proceeds went to the children’s hospital.”

  “Ouch. Great for the hospital though.”

  “It’s been tedious. All of her bridesmaids are at the house so I had to get away.” He grimaced.

  “Oh? What, did you have sex with one of them?”

  He briefly took his eyes from the road to look at her. “Not recently, but yeah I sort of slept with five of the seven so I wasn’t faring so well.”

  “No, I guess you weren’t. Kind of what many refer to as a manwhore, aren’t you?”

  “Hey, those women came on to me.”

  “Bullshit. Unless you were tied down, I don’t buy it.”

  “How then?”

  “You stand idly by with your indifferent scowl, your sexy smirk, very unassuming with your hands in your pockets. A woman is intrigued—will you engage, will you not? It’s all very National Geographic animal kingdom. I know that’s what you do—I observed it firsthand that night at the club. It’s your move.”

  Boisterous laughter erupted from his side of the truck and filled the cabin. Once he quieted he said, “You don’t play games, do you?”

  “I don’t have time for games.” She realized what she’d said, but it was too late to retract the words.

  “You punching a clock?”

  “I just prefer honest clarity.”

  “Ah.” He nodded. “What brought you to Louisiana?”

  “My sister did her Ph.D. at Louisiana State. When the company I worked for closed its doors I came to live with her.”

  “And you said it was hard to find a job here.”

  “As a web designer I can work anywhere, but my experience is in developing sites and software for small businesses. Or not so small—I did design some banking software for Americana. They liked it so much they’ve adopted it as their entire operating platform, but I do prefer the intimacy of working with actual people. It just seems weird designing a website for someone I’ve never met.” She sighed. “I’m not so good on the phone either, I want face-to-face business.”

  “I totally get it. I was more than impressed with your door-to-door introduction of our website to our existing customers.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah, I still can’t believe you went out and physically met our clients. It’s just not what I think about when I think tech person.”

  “The most important thing in the world when transitioning to online sales is the existing customer base. Best way to reach yours was in person. Anyway, my degree is in business. I did however get my first job in computer programming, just as the bottom fell out of that field. Guess I’ve merged the two.”

  He smiled at her and his bright eyes shone. “People just naturally like you. I think it would be such a waste for you to be in a cubicle somewhere.”

  “Wow, that’s laying it on pretty thick.”

  “I’m being serious. I had like four phone calls from customers who had met you and wanted to let me know we had done a great thing in hiring you.”

  “Nuh uh.”

  “Yes.”

  She giggled. “Like who?”

  “Mr. Bridges for one. He has always said if he had to order his food online, he’d quit David Seafood in spite of the fact that his family has purchased from us for three generations.”

  “Boyd Bridges, Bridges Seafood Restaurant.”

  “That’s right. Mr. Bridges said you sat down with your new fangled computer and showed him how much time and effort he could save by ordering online.”

  “He’s really nice. Force fed me fried crabs while we worked.”

  “Aren’t those the best?”

  “The best.”

  He pulled into a small local grocery chain store. “This is our last chance to purchase anything.”

  After he helped her out of the truck he grabbed a shopping cart and then handed her the phone. “You navigate.”

  Inside she went to the lef
t. “Let me see … milk and eggs, those two things should be together.” She looked around for guidance from him since she didn’t really do grocery shopping and he seemed to know this place.

  A distant whistle stole her attention. Across the store, he stood in the produce section, waving her over. He held potatoes in a bag and raked through bushels of green onions until he was satisfied with his selection.

  “That wasn’t on the list.”

  “I’m feeling creative. Where were you going?”

  “Milk and eggs. I figured they’d be together.”

  “They are, but you have to start with the produce, silly girl.” He dropped the bags in the basket and looked at her expectantly.

  “Oh, uh … orange juice.” She searched for oranges, assuming they’d be together.

  He stood quietly, giving his head a slight shake. “Have you never been inside a grocery store then?”

  “Of course I have, just not a lot.” She shrugged.

  He pointed to a sign that read baking aisle. “Hushpuppy mix and oil is up next.”

  “I should probably handle the cart and you navigate.”

  “No way, you’d probably crash the buggy. You don’t put a rookie on buggy detail, it can get brutal in here.”

  She did a quick glance around. “There’s no one in here.”

  “So be it, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He pushed the cart to her and she handed him his phone. She enjoyed his playful side as they meandered down several aisles and she followed behind him as he tossed things into the cart.

  “I’ll admit I’m at a bit of a loss, I’ve never had a girl at sea. Is there anything you require? Chocolate, Diet Coke, um … other lady things?”

  “Maybe you haven’t had a woman at sea, but you have been around actual women.”

  “Yeah, what’s your point?”

  “My point is this is a lot of stuff for a couple of nights on a boat.” She pointed to the stuff in the cart. “Stuff you pulled off the shelf, not me. I don’t require anything.”

  “What did you plan on eating if we hadn’t stopped?”

  “Pizza Hut. A large pizza will get me through two days.”

  In front of the frozen food he stopped and crossed his arms. “So you’re on a fishing boat at sea and you’ve brought a large pizza. It’s going to get you through a few meals.”

  “That’s right.”

  “What would you drink during that time?”

  “Water is best for me.”

  “We didn’t get any water. I got beer and orange juice.”

  “You don’t have water on the boat?”

  “Not potable water.”

  “Why would you have non potable water? What’s the point of that? If you have water, don’t you want to drink it?”

  “It’s to wash dishes, clean fish, use the restroom, take a shower.”

  Her brow rose. “A shower? Really?”

  “You must think I’m a heathen. Of course a shower. I wouldn’t take you out for two days and not have a shower and toilet for you.”

  “Fancy. To be fair, the boat on the Mississippi didn’t seem to have all of those creature comforts.”

  “No, I guess it didn’t. But she actually does.” They slowly ambled to the front as they continued to spar.

  “She?”

  “The Annie Lennox is a girl.”

  “Annie Lennox?”

  “Dad loves Annie so he thought it’d be a fun ode to her.” He regarded her with a frown. “You don’t know who I’m talking about, do you?”

  She wished she could pretend that she did know, but he’d see right through it. “No.” She huffed out.

  “I guarantee you’ve heard her music before. No More I Love You’s and Why.”—he cocked his head at her, hopeful—“On second thought, you’ve probably never been in a position to hear her music.”

  “Why, because I don’t know how to grocery shop?”

  He smiled, an incredible white smile, and the tiny panties she had on melted instantly. “No. Because you’re very young.” He lifted a case of water into the cart.

  At the checkout line she grabbed a paperback and began reading the back cover. She’d only intended to read the cover while they waited in line, but when she maneuvered to place the book back on the rack he reached for it and added it to their order.

  “You enjoy regency romance novels?” Bailey asked with a quirked brow.

  “You got me, I’m a sucker for a good regency.”

  Exiting the store she looked at his monster of a truck and now realized he’d need such a large vehicle for towing. She watched the muscles work under his shirt as he loaded the groceries and she pondered that she hadn’t actually ever spent so much time around a real man. A man who wasn’t afraid to get dirty, a man who knew about trucks and boats. The roads narrowed as they traveled closer their destination.

  At the dock, he parked the truck and she stood by as he hoisted the case of water onto his shoulder and then the bag of charcoal on top of that.

  “Let me get the groceries.”

  “I got it.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I can carry something. I’m not an invalid.”

  “Get the hot wings. We can heat them. You’ll also want to bring your purse and laptop.”

  They ambled across the dock. Only two boats floated in the water. One appeared quite new and large; the other seemed to have seen better days and yet he headed to the old boat with peeling paint and busted windows. The deck was covered in some kind of slick oil that smelled strongly of old tar. A large dark spot hinted that the boat had even caught fire for a moment.

  “It’s quite a fixer upper, isn’t it?” Bailey said.

  He stopped and turned to face her. “Aye, she is, but she’s all mine.” He stood staring at her.

  “Well let’s do it, I guess.” Wide eyed she looked at the boat and then to him.

  Loud laughter akin to what she’d heard at the store came roaring back. “Follow me.” He continued down the dock to the pretty new-looking boat.

  “I’m most delighted,” She said smiling.

  “You should have seen the look on your face.”

  “I would have stayed on that boat.”

  “I don’t doubt it.” He set the groceries down on the rickety wood. “Let me back the boat up toward the dock a little more and I’ll pull you in.”

  Before she could answer he’d leapt onto the boat. There was a good four-foot gap between the dock and the boat, but he’d not even hesitated. A series of beeps and lights preceded the sound of the engine purring to life. The motor ran a lot quieter than she’d anticipated. In fact, she could hardly hear it.

  He returned to the back of the boat and completed what seemed to be a sort of pole vault over the boat and onto the dock—like a monkey in a man’s body. He had the case of water and the charcoal on his shoulders and she watched him balance precariously with one foot on the dock and one on the boat as he lowered the items into the boat. He turned toward her, “Groceries.” She passed him the bags. “Purse and computer.” They had an assembly line going. “Wings—excuse me—hot wings.” She giggled and passed him the Duff cooler. “And one sexy woman.” His hands around her waist lifted her swiftly and with ease, turning her one hundred eighty degrees. She’d become more than a little dizzy and when he set her down she teeter-tottered, loathing herself in that moment. Here was an acrobat of a man and she couldn’t even stand idly by and watch without almost passing out.

  “Easy there.” He guided her to a bench. “Are you okay? Should I not have spun you around?”

  Oh, God. “No, no, please. I’m fine. Everything’s fine.”

  “Everything is not fine. I think you sort of fainted.”

  Had she fainted? “No, I didn’t. I just haven’t had much to eat or drink today so I’m a little light headed. I’m fine. Really.” Lies. His intense eyes bore into hers as she watched his thick lips thin.

  “I’m not sure where the nearest medical facility is located on Grand Isle
.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and focused intently on his typing. “The closest emergency care facility is in Brook Meadow, which is twenty-two miles north of Grand Isle. This probably wasn’t the best idea for you.

  Her hand on his arm drew his attention from the task. “Please Parker, I want to enjoy this. I’m totally fine and super excited to experience deep sea fishing.”

  “All right. But promise me you’ll let me know if you need anything so that I can turn the boat around.”

  “I will.”

  Below deck was amazing. A large leather seating area curved around a polished cherry wood table. Recessed cabin lighting lit every inch of the space. The kitchen area comprised cabinets, an electric two-burner cooktop, a good-sized refrigerator, a television, and a sink.

  “The boat smells and looks new.”

  “I got it at the end of last season so it’s not even a year old yet.”

  They put the food away and then he showed her the bathroom, which was most impressive with it’s toilet, sink, shower, and large mirror. There was even some granite countertop with seashell soaps. She picked one up thinking it strange that a man like Parker would have decorated his boat with pastel-pink molded soaps.

  “The decorations came with the boat.”

  “Ah.” She placed the shell back into the dish.

  He pulled her into the bedroom. “This is where the magic is going to happen.” A queen bed took up most of the space, but there was another flat screen and to her utter astonishment, a stacked washer and dryer. “This place is astonishing. You could live here. Just take off one day and never come back.”

  “I’ve thought about it.” He pulled on a cabinet door and rolled out a drawer full of shirts, shorts, and jeans. “You can help yourself to my clothes.” His eyes scanned her from head to toe. “Although, a T-shirt is probably the only thing that won’t fall off.”

  “A T-shirt would be great.” He tossed her a gray, threadbare shirt. All of the clothes seemed old, but that made sense to her. He’d probably cleared out his old stuff and saved it for the boat.

  “I’m going to get us heading south. Come out to the deck whenever you’re ready.”

  She slid out of her heels and sat back on the plush bed. The boat swayed heavily with the increased idle of the boat and then her sense of gravity waned. She was knocked gently back to the bed where she rested her weight on her elbows. She smiled, thinking herself quite a lucky girl to be stuck at sea with Parker David, a sexy smooth-talking alpha male with a panty-melting smile.