I want You Deeper

Derek had never been so happy to see land in his life.

Well, maybe happy wasn’t the word for it. He hadn’t been happy in a full day and a half, starting at the very moment Renee Forrester revealed she’d been deceiving him all along.

Renee Forrester, reporter for KSFT News. He wasn’t much of a TV watcher, so it wasn’t surprising to find her coverage area had included his home. He got all his news on his phone. She’d been fired, and there was no shortage of speculation online as to why. People were writing horrible things about her, and the most surprising thing to him, after all this, was that he felt this overwhelming urge to defend her. After all this, he still cared.

That was why he was glad to pull into Radio Bay and work alongside Captain Jake to dock the boat. If it was just him, he’d be all for having a meal on land and hopping right back on the boat to go to his next destination. But there were three people on this ship with them, and one needed to get to an airport to fly home, so the plan was to dock, spend the night on the boat with his crew, and give Renee the freedom to leave and go on with her life.

“I’m going ashore for a while,” he announced to Captain Jake before exiting the boat. “Let Renee know the airport’s nearby.”

There were things to do in town, but he’d have to grab a rideshare to get anywhere. That was fine by him. The more distance he could put between himself and Renee, the better.

But he’d barely stepped off the boat when he heard Renee calling after him. It was the first time she’d spoken to him directly since their showdown in the stairwell. She’d done her cooking thing and he’d taken all his meals alone, brought to him by April.

He thought about ignoring her, but he heard her footsteps approaching. Somehow, she’d managed to catch up with him.

She didn’t have her luggage-no surprise, considering she couldn’t drag that along without help, not with so many suitcases. But her purse was slung over her shoulder and she was wearing an oversized hat like she was on vacation.

“Please come to Kona with us.”

“Kona?”

He knew what Kona was. It was the place to be on this island. The word just didn’t seem to be sinking into his brain right now. His mind was one hundred percent focused on running away from this.

“April and I want a luau,” Renee explained, her face scrunched up in a pleading expression. He couldn’t help but think how cute she looked right now. He had to help but think that.

“I don’t think-”

“We’re leaving at three,” she interrupted. “Think about it. Please?”

“When are you flying home?”

The question sounded cold. He didn’t really intend it to, but that was the way it had to be now. He couldn’t open up to her. He had to stay closed off for his own protection.

“I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

She looked down at the ground, and the expression on her face wasn’t one he could quite define. The defeated look on her face crushed him. He wanted to harden his heart against her and tell her that if she thought she was hopping back on his boat, she was out of her mind. He couldn’t bring himself to say the words.

Instead, he made an offer. “If you need help, let me know. I got you out here. I should at least fly you back to where we started.”

She shook her head. “I’m not going back to California. I’m flying home to my family. I need…some time away.”

Of course, she did. She didn’t have a job right now. She had to sell her story, then figure out a way to push herself to the next rung on the career ladder. He was no fool. Besides, she wasn’t the only one who could research. He’d logged some time on his phone, studying up on the typical career path of a TV reporter.Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.

“No problem. Have April send me the information and I’ll get you a ticket by tomorrow morning.”

With that, he’d said all he needed to say. This was awkward and uncomfortable, and the longer he stood here, the more disappointed he was that the connection he’d thought they’d shared wasn’t a connection at all. It was all fake.

“Derek.”

He’d started to step away, but her voice lured him back. Looking at her hit him right where it hurt. She stared up at him with large, soulful eyes, begging him to listen to her.

“You don’t have to say any more,” he said. “I’ve got it. You did what you had to do. You didn’t know me when we met. You owed me nothing.”

“But things changed the longer I was on the boat. It wasn’t about the story after a while. I started out researching to write about you, but I realized, once I learned what I did about your father-” “When did you learn that? Right before the storm?”

Her mouth clamped shut at that question. That told him all he needed to hear, but he waited around anyway to see if she’d try to spin her way out of this one.

“I knew for a day or so. I wanted to tell you, but-”

“That’s all I need to know.”

He turned to leave, telling himself he wouldn’t stop if she called out to him. He’d just keep going until he was far enough away that he could request a car without worrying about her seeing him.

She didn’t call out after him this time, though. He wasn’t sure whether to be disappointed or relieved.