When Lightning Strikes (Lightning Series Book 1) (25 page)

“What, no huge yacht?”

“Oh, we like to feel the waves under our feet.” That was an interesting way of saying no. “I think you’ll like it too. Have you ever been on a boat in the ocean?”

“No.”

He grinned. “Good, this will be fun.”

“Is it safe for us to go alone?”

“Yes, don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe. Nothing can happen when I’m around.”

Julie raised her eyebrows, remembering how she had pulled him out of the ocean a few weeks ago. He pointed to a seat in the bottom of the boat, and she sat down. She was wedged between the cooler and duffle bag. The sides were reassuringly high from down here.

The boat bumped gently against the dock with each wave. Instead of unfurling the sail, Rory unwound the rope, tying it to the dock, and sat down behind a steering wheel. Pulling a key from inside his pocket, he turned on a motor.

“Don’t you need to put the sail up or something?”

“Not this close to the dock. I’ll put it up when we get out there.” He pointed to the vast expanse of water in front of them. He grinned back at her, the wind whipping his hair, and lines around his eyes crinkled with joy.

She gripped the side of the boat. The waves were bigger out here. She felt like a bath toy in a vast tub.

I really hope he knows what he’s doing.

Once they were away from the dock, Rory turned the motor off, not worried about the how the waves pushed them around as he untied the sail. He cranked it up until it filled the sky with white above her head. Julie kept a firm grasp on the sides.

He kicked off his shoes, got up on the front of the boat without holding on to the tiny one bar railing in the front, and held out his hand to her.

“Come on, Julie. Kick your shoes off. Come stand up here me.”

“You have got to be crazy.”

“You promised! You said you would do whatever I asked.”

“I didn’t promise to do something dangerous.”

“This isn’t dangerous. Trust me. Or do you want to stay here all day?”

He stood there with his hand out, waiting. They were not going anywhere until she stood up with him. She kicked off her shoes slowly, eyeing the sail flapping a little in the wind. The boat kept bobbing around on the waves. They weren’t going anywhere. How bad could this be? It wasn’t like the boat was moving, so if they toppled into the water, they could get right back in. She took his hand.

Rory pulled her against his side and whooped loudly.

Suddenly the whole boat lurched. She looked back. The sail was no longer flapping—it was taut and full of air. The boat zoomed forward.

Julie caught her breath, sure they were going to fall, but Rory kept a tight hold on her, somehow maintaining his footing while they careened wildly in the wind. He held onto nothing.

How the hell was he standing so still? How the hell was she still standing? It felt like they were flying over the waves.

When she was sure she wasn’t going to fall, she took a deep breath. The wind beat at her, but she stood firm, leaning into it. The rush of wind and spray from the water made her breathless.

“This is awesome!”

He pulled the hair away from where it was plastered to her neck, leaned down, and kissed her neck in his favorite place. Julie shivered. Waves of longing swept over her.

She wasn’t sure how long they made out, standing on the front of the boat, but she would never forget her first boat ride. She wasn’t sure how he managed it. People must exaggerate how dangerous it was on the water. It seemed almost like the boat drove itself.

Her stomach rumbled. “What time is it?”

“Lunch time.” Rory smiled again as he pointed at a small island that the boat was approaching. He tossed in the anchor like it weighed nothing.

It was a very small island. There were four small trees, a big rock, and a wide beach. It looked like heaven.

“I didn’t bring a swimsuit.”

“Here.” He pulled something out something from the duffle bag and thrust it into her hands.

Julie didn’t trust that evil twinkle in his eyes.

She shook out a tiny swimsuit. “It’s purple. It looks like the one I already have at home, except smaller.” She frowned. “A lot smaller.”

He grinned, running a hand through his short dark hair.

“I have been picturing you in that damned thing for weeks. Why do you think I brought you out here? This was all my nefarious plan to get you back in that thing. I didn’t get a good enough look at you in it. Since I had this planned. I decided to…you know…get you a smaller one.”

She punched in gently on the arm to wipe the smirk off his face.

“Um, where can I change?”

He waved his hand around the small boat. Julie put her hand on her hips and shook her head.

“Suit yourself, but I’m going to go have lunch.”

Rory stripped off his shirt and tossed it in the duffle. He threw the cooler over the side of the boat and dived in next to where it bobbed along in the water. His dark shorts were obviously a swimsuit.

“Change. You can join me in a minute.”

Julie watched as he towed the cooler and bag behind him to the shore of the island. She looked down at the tiny swimsuit. Her bikini was made for sports, with comforting wide pieces of fabric. These were just triangles with strings. She wasn’t even sure it would stay on as she swam to the shore.

She sighed. She didn’t want to spend the whole day sitting in the boat. She had the feeling Rory was more than willing to wait for her to decide to join him.

I’ll get him back for this.

She sat down in the bottom of the boat and changed. She looked up a few times, afraid someone could see her. But even if a plane was way up there, they wouldn’t see her changing. She peeked over the side to see where Rory was. He had his back turned, laying out a blanket on the beach.

She stood up quickly and dived into the water. The ocean was cool out here but not unpleasant. The water gliding over her was as gentle as Rory’s hands.

When she got to shore, he turned around at her splashing and grinned, his teeth glinting in the sun.

“I knew you would look better than I remembered.”

“This isn’t funny, Rory. I will find a way to get you back for this.”

“I don’t get it. You look great. Why all the attitude?” He pulled her into a hug, and she melted against him.

At least he couldn’t see her if she was plastered against him. It made her feel less uncomfortable around him when they were touching.

“I know my dance stuff doesn’t leave a lot to the imagination, but I’m used to the layer over my skin. Bikinis like this are different. I might as well be wearing nothing. They aren’t made for moving around in. They don’t have any purpose except for some guy to stare at you.”

“Exactly.” He chuckled.

“That’s not funny.”

Rory drew away from her, making her look him in the eyes. “You are so tiny compared to the other girls on the island. Tiny and perfect. You have a dancer’s body. I’m the luckiest guy in the whole freaking world.”

He held her for a while rubbing her back. “Will you relax some now? I promise not to stare…much.”

Julie giggled, and her stomach rumbled. “All right.”

He guided her over to the blanket and they ate lunch. A couple times when she was looking out over the waves, she caught him staring. But as soon as she looked at him, he turned away, smirking.

“Would you cut that out?”

“What? I said I would look. Just not much.”

Julie got up and walked awkwardly to the ocean. She wasn’t used to this kind of blatant attention.
I feel so exposed.

How the hell did Mandy deal with it? She always pranced around in the smallest bikini she could find, without a care in the world.

She crouched down in the water as soon as she could without looking ridiculous and then turned around. He unfolded himself from the blanket and waded in after her. As she watched him, she felt a sudden hard bump in her back.

Julie screamed.

“What?” He dove towards her.

A giant gray head popped out of the water. Blunt teeth that still looked like they might hurt if they bit her opened up in a toothy grin. The front of its head was a long, blunt snout.

“Oh, it’s a dolphin.” He walked up beside her. “It won’t hurt you. Come here, dolphin.” He slapped the water by his side as if the dolphin would come over to him.

“Stop being silly. Will it hurt us?”

Rory raised an eyebrow at her. “Come on.” He slapped the water again. The giant body moved toward him as if it understood, bumping its head against his hand.

“It won’t hurt us?”

He looked at her, tilting his head to the side, and leaned down next to the dolphin, almost like he was whispering to it.

“He’s going to give you a ride. Grab on here.”

“What? Are you talking to it?” She tensed up. How was he doing this? The dolphin swam up beside her, butting her in the stomach gently. “Rory.”

“Stop worrying so much. Remember, no questions. Go on. You promised. Grab on here with both hands, gently.”

He patted the dolphins fin, poking up out of the water. Looking at him doubtfully, she put her hands where he showed her. He wrapped her hands around the fin firmly.

Sure. Wild dolphins appeared and offered to give rides. That wasn’t weird at all.

The dolphin surged ahead. Julie kept her hands tight and her head above the water. After a few seconds, she smiled. The dolphin easily pulled her through the waves in circles. He wasn’t trying to go under.

It was fun. She felt like a little kid riding a horse for the first time.

After a few moments, the dolphin brought her back. Rory pulled her into his arms. He patted the dolphin almost like a thank you.

“See, I told you.”

“Are you going to go next?”

“Nope, I have something else I want to do,” he said, as if a dolphin offering a ride was a normal everyday thing to him.

He leaned over and kissed her. They floated in the water off the shore, making out for a long time. Rory took advantage of the swimsuit, but the exhilaration of the boat, the dolphin, and being with him made her less self–conscious.

The rest of the day, they played around in the water. No more dolphins appeared, though Julie watched out for them. It didn’t feel like they were there that long when he frowned at her and said they needed to get back.

The boat ride back was just as fun. Julie changed in the car while he stood with his back turned, watching for anyone coming by. She wasn’t sure why she cared if he looked now, but it still mattered to her, and he respected that.

She hid under the blanket again to go across the bridge. This time she stayed quiet, and a few tears dripped down her cheek.

Julie didn’t want this day to end. She didn’t want to go back to the weirdness of the island and her family.

♦

Chapter 18: Frenemies

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T
he next morning Julie went shopping with Andromeda, and Ariel was able to convince her to help her in the store a few days a week now. It was better than nothing, but she wished she had more to do.

Andromeda and Ariel were talking all morning about different colors, cuts, and styles. Julie couldn’t care less, and they didn’t seem to notice. They kept her busy unpacking a shipment that came in the day before. She should invite Kara next time. She wasn’t sure when she volunteered to help in the shop too.

“Julie, hon, can you run across the street and get us lunch before you go? I’ll call in the order,” Andromeda said.

“Yeah, sure.”

Julie walked down the street to the coffee shop in a haze, oblivious to everyone around her. She couldn’t get yesterday out of her mind. It was one of the best days of her life. She was warm all over and wouldn’t be surprised if her face was permanently flushed. Her body tingled thinking about him.

She might fall in love with Rory if she had many more days like that.

The shop was crowded, as others picked up sandwiches and coffee for lunch too. The owner waved at her when she came in and handed her the lunch order. Julie’s skin prickled as she turned around to leave. Rory was sitting in the front window of the store. Since the window area jutted out a bit from the front door, she had passed right by him coming in and hadn’t realized it.

He was with three of his friends from the other school, but that wasn’t what drew her attention. He was sitting next to Kara’s cousin Melissande, who was laughing hard at something he had said. She leaned over and hugged him.

Julie gripped the coffee carrier, and a chill moved through her body. The action seemed natural, like something that happened often. Maybe they were friends. Boys and girls could be friends, right? Even beautiful, tall, and polished girls like Melissande.

It might not have meant nothing. She wasn’t sure if she should go over there and say something. She didn’t know if Rory had said anything about them to anyone or if she was even ready for that. What would it mean for their families or his friends?

Before she could decide, Melissande looked up and saw Julie standing there staring at them. The girl’s red lips tipped up in a smirk.

“Why look who’s here. It’s your savior.”

Rory’s head turned, and his expression remained blank. He turned back to his friends. “Oh yeah. Her.”

“Shouldn’t you go thank her again?” She pointed over to where Julie stood a couple of feet away.

Julie’s face flushed with anger. Rory hadn’t even spent more than a second glancing at her. Someone bumped into her, and a little coffee sloshed onto her hand and the floor. She barely felt the burn, though, as she watched Melissande laugh at her own joke and pull Rory’s head around to kiss him.

The cups and bag fell from her hands. Coffee splattered everywhere. It felt like someone punched her in the gut. She couldn’t catch her breath.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” said the woman who had bumped her.

Julie tried to focus on her as she handed her some napkins.

Gratefully, she gripped a chair to bend over to help clean up. Her legs were so wobbly she thought she might fall. She blinked fast and tried to take slow, deep breaths. Rory and his friends watched her and the woman clean it all up.