“I did notice that,” Mac admitted without remorse. “How about we toss the picnic basket into one of the cars and explore? I’m not really hungry right now…”
“I think I’d like that a lot,” Cassidy agreed, very aware of the palm that automatically came out to twine with her fingers as they walked.
“I’m glad you didn’t chicken out on me…I was worried…” Mac lifted the basket while she grabbed the blanket. “I’m parked right over here…the green two door. Exactly what did you pack in here, Cassidy?”
“Lunch stuff, some fruit and chocolate muffins,” she lifted the lid before letting him put it into the back seat of his car, two large bottles of water in her hand. “Hopefully, it’ll be a lot lighter by the end of the day. I think I got a little carried away, but I figured it was for the whole day…well…”
“Did you think we wouldn’t jive?” He accepted the bottle she held out to him, snapping the lid and taking a long swallow. “Thanks.”
“I didn’t know, Mac…I’ve never met anyone I’ve talked to online before,” Cassidy walked next to him.
“Hmmm…well, I for one learned a lot over the last six months about one Cassidy Parker,” he took her palm and began leading her toward the pavilion and the path that wound to the beach.
“We have talked about a lot of stuff,” she admitted, eyes sweeping around them as they seemed to be stepping back in time, huge ferns and a canopy of trees above them with dappled sunlight dotting the ground as dirt and gravel crunched beneath their feet.
“Neither one of us asked date questions,” Mac said easily.
“Date questions?” Cassidy slipped free of his hand and went to the large concrete wall barrier that separated the edge of the park with the Sound. A six foot wide concrete path stretched along the waterway providing a smooth surface for walkers, runners, strollers, bikes and skates.
“Girls always ask me why I’m single. I think it’s designed to find out if I’m viable breeding material,” he chuckled when she burst out laughing.
“Because you aren’t with someone now, that means there’s something wrong with you? How crazy,” Cassidy shook her head. “Sometimes it’s just more complex than you want to deal with, I think. I understand that.”
“You can’t tell me you haven’t been chased, Cassidy.”
“Doesn’t mean I wanted to be caught,” she returned tartly, easily falling into the friendly banter that had been theirs over the past months. “I’ve dated. I went into college out of high school. Then into the Air Force. I wanted security knowledge and training, and they promised it to me.”
“Seriously?” Mac blinked and blinked again when she nodded. “Huh….”
“I took every single security class available to me…stayed the six years and left, a great deal smarter on the subject of security. If you think about it, it’s a lot like the game. You have to out think the opponent. And believe me, they always come up with new, crazy ways to separate people from their money or belongings, whether it’s a business or private.”
“So because of your goals, you never bothered with dating?” Mac took another long swallow, he stopped when she did, her water bottle held out to him. She dug into one of the pockets of her cargo shorts, pulling a covered elastic band from inside. He watched her hands work the long and short strands of her hair, from the sides and back into the ponytail that hung from high on the back of her head. It amazed him how much younger she looked with the hair drawn away from her features, only bangs brushing her forehead now.
“Thanks…sometimes it just gets too warm. I dated…just…I don’t know,” she shrugged and thought for a minute. “This is a date.”
“Cassidy, it’s okay. I don’t care. We’re here and it’s now. I’m counting each and every lucky charm I own at the moment, believe me,” his grin was crooked when she laughed, her free hand reaching for his this time.
“But the point you’re missing…about dating others…you wouldn’t have gotten this far if you hadn’t gotten to my head first,” Cassidy explained simply but firmly. “Guys…and don’t take this personal…they don’t care about what’s inside a girl’s head. They don’t care how she thinks or feels or what she enjoys or hates. Dates can be so stressful…and annoying because when you send them home at the end of the date and they didn’t get anything for their money…” She shook her head. “Batteries are easier,” she concluded, holding her breath while he choked on the swig of water he was taking. “That never gets old.”
Mac ignored the chuckle, wiped the water off his shirt and kept walking. “I bet we logged over a thousand hours just talking,” he mused, thinking about her comment.
“And what’s your excuse? You’re smart and charming and funny…you’re not on the rebound,” Cassidy looked over at him, his lips pursed in thought. “And you are kinda cute…”
“Maybe a lot of the same, even if it was subconscious. Women want to know what you do for a living, does it pay well…then they see the sports car and assume it pays very well,” Mac shook his head. “Pretty soon you just feel uncomfortable with the whole thing.”
“We’ve argued about gold in the game, but never cared about income in the real world. We’re both self sufficient and I like that,” Cassidy looked from the brightly colored kayaks being led to the water. “They rent them?”
“Heck if I know,” but Mac saw the excitement and increased their pace. “Can you swim?”
“Like a fish,” she breathed.
“Then let’s go out on the water for awhile,” he decided, heading for the window with his wallet from one of his pockets. “And for the record, the only time we argued about gold was when you led me on some half baked instance run that cost me a fortune in repair bills.”
“And you know what else?” She smirked when he jumped, unaware that her lips were right next to his ear while he waited for his turn. “You have a command of the English language that includes more than just W-T-F,” she whispered before nipping at his ear lobe and quickly striding to the cart with the kayaks piled high.
Cassidy managed to look innocent and alluring all at the same time, Mac decided, casually adjusting his jeans and focusing on the man asking him how many kayaks he wanted and for how long.
He laughed when she made the guy pull the bright yellow kayak from the bottom of the pile, accepting the life vest and paddle at the waters edge. Cassidy looked over their footwear and shook her head.
“I’ll launch you…my shoes are waterproof and…”
“Get in the kayak, Cassidy,” Mac held her vest and waited. “I can manage.”
“Who made you party leader?” She grinned crookedly at him, but slid easily into the kayak, excitement and trepidation filling her with the new experience. A tiny yelp left her lips when she was shoved into the calm waters, her body frozen as the thick plastic floated on the surface. She heard Mac’s deep laughter seconds before he was gliding alongside her. She worked the paddle, learning to use long strokes to move into the deeper waters.
“You did when you accepted my date,” he answered, sweeping the paddle over the surface to send his kayak gliding alongside hers.
“How long do we have?” She looked at him, very aware he was staring at her. “You’re staring, Mac.”
“You’re beautiful,” he answered simply, exhaling deeply. “I paid for two hours. Thought we could go to the island and back in that time.”
“The island?” Cassidy had found herself caught in the water sparkling in his dark eyes and his sweetly spoken compliment. She looked up and watched the ferry gliding slowly through the water to the dock on the other side. “Alright…let’s go…”
Cassidy watched his hands, his strokes. He was much better at this than she was. She was a few yards behind him when he circled back, he pulled the kayak up beside her, deciding even the little pouting frown was cute.
“I’m beginning to doubt my co-ordination,” she answered the unasked question. She looked into his eyes and then at the casual way he held the paddle
across the front of the kayak. “You’ve done this before.”
“Guilty as charged,” he answered, holding up his paddle without speaking. She immediately mimicked the position of his hands. “Now when you stroke, the upper arm pushes and the lower one, pulls. Lean back…stretch out your legs….it’s supposed to be fun and relaxing, Cassidy. When you switch sides,” he moved slightly away to demonstrate. “Let the paddle rotate so you keep your knuckles line-up with the top blade and sweep the water to the end of the kayak. No digging…not deep…good girl…”
“Thank you,” she said, watching him glide silently past her. She continued watching for a few long minutes before beginning her strokes, gliding after him with long, sure movements.
“You learn fast,” Mac complimented when she caught up with him.
“I try…it’s fun…and I bet the muscles will let me know just what I’ve been doing in the morning, but I don’t care,” Cassidy beamed her smile at him, her face tipping back in the noon sunshine. “It’s going to be a fantastic weekend.”
“Next time, we’ll bring the food and picnic on the beach.” He told her confidently.
“Where did you learn? To kayak?” They glided a few feet apart, Cassidy following beside him to the western shore of the island.
“College…and I’d go out sometimes in the mountains in California, just to get away and think. I took climbing lessons, too,” he saw her grin. “What? A nerd can have other abilities.”
“I never called you a nerd, Mac,” she replied, instantly serious. “We both game…we both play with programs on the computer…I can swim and SCUBA but I’ve never done this before. I like it. It’s relaxing…”
“I guess it depends on how you see yourself,” Mac shrugged. “I think I’ve heard the term since I started college at twelve.”
“Cruel kids grow up to be cruel adults,” Cassidy murmured. “I never wanted to believe that, but I’ve seen so much of it in schools and classes I’ve taken. Like being in a school of sharks…” she shook her head, eyes widening as if her words were being turned into reality. “Mac?”
Mac turned in the direction of her stare, his grin crooked. “It’s okay…it’s not a shark, Cassidy.”
“There are four of them,” she whispered, watching the tall, black fins gliding around the far western end of the island.
“I’ve been reading up on the area. They travel the Sound in pods, depending on the time of year. They attract a lot of tourists dollars here,” he stopped paddling, gliding next to her, his hand out and on the opening of her kayak, holding them both steady and still as the whales swam past, ignoring the humans on the surface.
Cassidy stared down into the cold, clear water, her hands tight around the paddle. “They’re beautiful, Mac…”
“Yeah…they are…”
Their gaze followed the water spouts disappear into the distance before continuing their glide around the island. Cassidy watched the gulls diving and squawking above them, reluctantly gliding into the shore where they had begun.
“It didn’t feel like two hours,” she sighed contentedly. She accepted the gentlemanly offered palm to pull her to her feet. His hands went to her waist, easily lifting her to the dry sand and holding her in place for a long minute. Cassidy immediately put her palms on his arms, her legs a little wobbly. She gazed up into his dark eyes.
“It’s pretty normal…your legs get a little lazy, especially after two hours,” Mac hauled the kayaks to higher ground, hefting one and taking it to the vendor and returning for the second. “I think it’s lunch time,” he declared, taking her hand and heading them back toward the over filled picnic basket.
They sat cross legged on the large blanket, Cassidy laying out the containers and offering another bottle of water.
“These are better than the ones at the ball park,” Mac declared after his second jumbo hot dog, smothered in kraut and mustard.
“It just seemed like perfect picnic food,” Cassidy had decorated hers with lettuce, tomatoes and pickles, crunching down hungrily. He pulled another container out, sliced peaches, apples and cubes of melon. Another larger container held chocolate chip muffins, both containers were laid out, the hot dogs put back inside.
“You are officially in charge of picnic foods, Cassidy,” Mac ate a muffin, topping it off with a couple slices of peaches before helping load the basket back with the containers. He stretched out on his back, arms up behind his head and eyes closed. He looked at her, reached out and took her hand with a gentle tug until she lay beside him, fingers entwined beneath the sun.
Cassidy moved away, climbing to her feet and wandering to the pavilion, reading signs as she went. She went to the restroom and immediately was back at his side. Sinking to her knees at his side, she tapped lightly on his shoulder.
Mac knew she was there. He’d been watching her through half closed lashes. She was graceful and moved with a liquid form that seemed natural to her. He groaned at the light tapping. He knew what that meant.
“I know you’re in there. I saw you leering at me,” Cassidy made sure everything was neat and inside the basket.
“I was not leering.”
“Come on…up…we got exploring to do.”
“You’re relentless,” but he climbed to his feet, shaking out the blanket and laying it over his arm.
“I am…let’s go to the zoo,” she declared, striding toward his car once more.
“The…you know, I used to think I was really the party leader,” he set the basket in the back seat, scratching his head and looking her over with a critical squint. “But it’s all an illusion…”
“You’re handling it admirably well.”
“Get in the car, Cassidy,” Mac only laughed and shook his head, pulling keys from his pocket. “We’ll drive to the zoo entrance cause I think it’s in the middle of that big hill over there,” he gestured in the direction of the signs.
“You have a very nice car, Mac,” she wiggled on the cushiony leather seat, the interior done in a nice shade of grey.
“Thanks…I’ve had it a long time,” he followed the signs, winding beneath the large trees and walking people until they came upon the large parking area and found a spot.
They bought food for some of the animals and Mac was positive he should be holding onto the belt loop on the back of her shorts. She was leaned over so far above the seal enclosure, trying to fling a small fish in the right place. He sat outside while she wandered to wash her hands. He had been snapping photos through their whole day, and he almost made it without her seeing him.
“You’ve been taking pictures,” Cassidy approached his resting spot slowly, one eyebrow arched. He was sitting cross legged on a very large concrete toad stool. She saw him wince and try and shove the phone into his pocket very quickly.
“I have,” he admitted, head tilted and eyes narrowed against the afternoon sun. “It’s what guys do. We snap off photos of our date with our girl, post them to our Facebook account with a sweetly sappy comment like: I have the most beautiful girl on the whole west coast! Maybe even the whole world.”
“I see.” Cassidy accepted his palm as they resumed their walk through the massive zoo. “This ‘our girl’ thing….is that something a girl is invited to?”
“Hmm…well…I think,” he began with serious thought. “Historically, it began in high school. You know, with the school ring or that letter jacket thing…the guy offers it up with…hey, wanna be my girl? I was in and out of high school too fast to get either of those, though. At our age, I’m not sure what we offer up…”
Cassidy just laughed. “Oh, I’m positive you’ll think of something.”
Mac knew a quest when he heard one and despite the laughter and the continued chatter and discussion on wildly unrelated topics, that quest was in the back of his mind.
They left the zoo shortly before eight, the small sports car weaving it’s way along the one way road to the beach where they had rented the kayaks. He glanced at his watch and knew they still
had at least another hour of daylight, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.
He carried the basket and blanket to the high grassy area. Cassidy took it from his arm and spread it across the soft, trampled grass.
“The tide is up…” Cassidy sat but stared out at the ocean, fascinated at how much closer it was now than hours before. It was at that moment that she knew accepting the job and being with Mac was the absolute right thing to do.
“Happens twice a day…every twelve hours,” Mac commented absently, rummaging in the basket, his face lighting up. “You brought roast chicken? And rolls?”
“And horseradish sauce,” she answered absently, her knees pulled up and arms circling them as she stared. “There’s chocolate chip cookies in there too, Mac. But be warned…I made those and the chicken last night.”
“You’re not eating?”
She sighed and turned to sit across from him, cross legged. Cassidy dug out the large container with fruit and the last two bottles of water. Another smaller container was in her hand next.
“It’s so different…I spent almost six years in Vegas,” she talked as she dipped the bits of fruit into the lemon dip. “It was okay there…lots of pools and you get used to the weather after awhile. I think you spend so much time working that you don’t really pay attention to it…and everything is air conditioned. The apartment I have has this great view and three really nice ceiling fans.”
“I’m pretty sure it doesn’t stay hot here long enough for people to have air conditioning,” Mac remarked, peeling chicken from the bones in between bites. “You think this job will be a long one?” He knew he worked hard to sound casual.
“I think this job will be my last one,” she returned firmly. “It’s an amazing opportunity and so much variety. What about you? Will this job work out well?”
“Considering I’m the boss on this one, I think it’ll be beyond well,” Mac answered with a shrug.
“The boss, huh? Genuine party leader then?” Cassidy winked and laughed at the face he made. “When we game now I’ll have the facial expressions to match the acute frustration you voice so masculinely from time to time.”
WindSwept Narrows: #2 Cassidy, Abby & Mia Page 2