Between Two Fires

^.^ Chapter 30 ^.^

"Wait here a second" He says. I watch as he jogs back to the parking and grabs a few bags from the back which include my camera and satchel. He leads us to one of the bigger mini yachts and steps onto it letting go of my hand.  As he places our stuff in the small yacht , I stand there confused , but he doesn't seem to notice. I take a cautious step onto the back of the mini yacht and into the shade provided by the ceiling. The yacht looked expensive and I was feeling a little out of sorts.

"L-luca?" I ask, walking around the deck cautiously and I notice a closed door which leads to the inside of the yacht. The boat could probably hold a small party of ten people and although I didn't know much about boats, I didn't think Luca could afford this on his wage from the shack.

"Whats up?" He asks from the back. He had finished untying the boat and made his way to the wheel.

"Are we stealing this?" I ask cautiously running my hands over the shiny silver metal railings that lined the sides. They are warm from the sun and I retrieve my hand when it gets too hot.

A melodious laugh reaches my ears, "Do you think I would steal a boat?" He asks instead.

"You haven't answered the question." I retaliate. "But no- I don't"

"Well there's your answer. No - I am not stealing it. It belongs to someone I know and he owed me a favor. I figured you'd probably never ridden a boat like this before either even though it wasn't one of the items you mentioned on your bucket list." He explains as he twists the key bringing the engine to life. 

He was right. I hadn't. I can feel my heart beat a little faster and I turn away from him. 

Just Friends, I remind myself. 

First the Jet-ski and now this.... I wasn't dumb. I knew these things weren't cheap and I knew that he'd put a lot of thought into this. I just couldn't figure out why. He wasn't willing to take me sexually because of his respect for me and I knew he was aware that a relationship wasn't possible and I was sure he wouldn't want one even if it was an optional. So what did he want?

 Why would he do this for me... 

We pull out to sea through the same path we had earlier and with no answer to my mental rant I decide to shut my brain off and live in the moment. Although I lived close to the sea back home, I'd never actually been out at sea. I had been wanting to experience this for a while so it would be best to enjoy it.

I carefully make my way back to where Luca is sitting at the wheel. I sit on the side and rest my chin on my hands, looking out into the sea, my rumbling stomach lost in the train of thoughts. The boats slow rumble is calming and I can feel the wind blowing softly through my dried sea curls. I hear the snap of a camera and it snaps me out of the peaceful silence.

I look over my shoulder as Luca hides his phone behind his back. "Did you just take a picture of me?" I ask curiously, shifting my body so I'm facing him. 

"Indeed - " Hid dimple is accentuated by his cheeky smirk and I glare at him.

"Delete it." I demand crossing my arms. I hated being photographed - I much preferred taking the pictures. Luca laughs and shakes his head, bringing the boat to a stop slowly. I get up off of the seat and lean forward trying to take his phone from him but he is quicker and moves away, holding it above his head. 

"That isn't fair!" I whine crossing my arms he shrugs and shakes the phone in the air taunting me. I huff and try to jump up for it one more time before I give up.

"I never said I play fair." He says and pockets it once I've given up. "On the bright side, we can eat if you want now." He says.

I look around and raise my eyebrows. We were surrounded by ocean and the beach was only a small speck in the distance. "Here?" I speculate. Lunch in the middle of the ocean. That was actually....pretty cool. The sea shimmered all around us in its shiny blue hues, reflecting the yellow light from the sun which was shining high above us.