18. Galvin

galvin

. . .

H aving Sail in her bed was something Galvin could get used to. Waking to him not being there, was not. His side of the bed was cold and as unwelcoming as the sun rays trying to blind her. Instinctively, she reached for her phone, taking it off the charging cradle. There was a small glimmer of hope that there would be a text message from Sail waiting for her, until she remembered they hadn’t exchanged numbers.

She rolled her eyes at her thoughts. There hadn’t been a time when she needed to get in touch with Sail. He had impeccable timing and an uncanny way of knowing when he was on her mind. Either that, or she was constantly on his. Galvin preferred the latter because then it meant she’d been steadfast in refusing his charm.

Galvin checked her messages, saw a text from her dad that came in late last night. Thanks to the time difference of three hours, she missed it. No, that wasn’t why she missed his text. She sent him a message back, assuring him everything was going well.

“Very well,” she muttered as she typed. After pressing send, she stretched and got of out bed, thankful her bathroom was so close. She started the shower, used the facilities, and then climbed under the hot spray. Standing there, she closed her eyes and let the water rain down on her while her mind gave her a healthy replay of the night before.

Sail had been caring and at times rough in the way he handled her body. She never knew the two could go together, but they did, which made the night even more pleasurable. They still hadn’t had sex.

Galvin was the reason.

Initially, she’d told him no. She didn’t regret saying no the first time they were together. But after night two, she was ready. Eager even.

She kept her head under the hot water, her hand rubbing at the tension in her neck. Her body ached in both good and bad ways. Her feet hurt from standing on them for hours on end, but the rest of her body longed for Sail’s touch. She was already in too deep and feared what would come next.

After her shower, she dried off and then stood in front of the mirror. She blow-dried her hair, and then did her make-up. Halfway through adding mascara, her phone rang. It was her dad and she’d never been more thankful for a phone call. Normally, he was the type to video chat.

“Hey, Dad,” she said as she answered.

“Good morning,” he said. “Well, almost afternoon. How are things there?”

“They’re great. How’s everything going there?”

“Good. Good.”

Galvin looked down at her phone and frowned. Usually, when they chatted, her dad went on and on about the happenings in town, work, and his way more active than hers, social life.

“So, what’s up?”

“Oh. Nothing. I just wanted to check in. Make sure everything is going how you expected.”

“It is,” she said as she applied eye shadow.

“Are you saving a lot?”

“Yes. Way more than I thought I ever would. The diner is always busy.”

“And Jack is treating you well?”

His son is.

“Of course. Not that I see him a lot. The Carter’s own a couple of businesses in town. He’s pretty busy,” she told her dad. “His niece, Penny, runs the diner.”

“Are you making friends?”

This question gave her pause. She wasn’t making friends and hadn’t really put herself out there. Ana, who worked for Blue Lobster Adventures had mentioned them hanging out, but nothing had come of it yet. Galvin also wouldn’t force the issue. Sail occupied most of her free time.

“Working on it,” she said honestly.

“Do you think you’ll come home for Christmas?”

Christmas was still weeks away, but Thanksgiving was creeping up on them fast. Galvin grimaced. “I’m not sure. Seems expensive, ya know.”

“Maybe, I’ll come out there.”

This made her smile. “That would be great. Then you could spend time with Jack. I think you’d like it here.”

“I’ll look into getting a ticket.”

Galvin told her dad what the nearest airport was and asked him to keep her updated on what he finds. Honestly, until he brought up the holidays, she hadn’t thought much about them. Other than Sail, they only thing that’s been on her mind is working as much as she could. The more she saved, the better off she would be when she started school in January. The loan would be what it was, and there wasn’t anything she could do to change it. She could, however, make her first year of school as comfortable as possible.

She finished up, got dressed for work, and then made her way into the kitchen. With her hand poised on the handle of the refrigerator, she paused. Sail had left her a note, with his phone number.

Call me later. Sail

Galvin took her phone out of the pocket of her apron, typed his name and number into her contacts and pressed saved. A few times to be sure. Then, she plucked the note from the refrigerator and slipped it into her pocket.

The last time a boy gave her a note, they ended up dating from sixth to eighth grade. By dating, they sat together at lunch and sometimes met at the school for a friend’s soccer game. They never held hands or kissed, and the easiest break up in the history of break-ups. He moved away, and that was that.

When Galvin entered the diner through the back door, Andy was in high spirits, going on about Sail being out on the water this morning. The guys in the kitchen were animatedly and saying words that made zero sense to Galvin.

She didn't know the first thing about sailing and began wondering if she should take Sail up on his offers to take her out on the boat. Although now, she imagined he wouldn’t have much time with the training he needed to do.

One look out the window at the gray sky caused her worrying to spike. Even with her lack of knowledge, the weather didn’t look favorable to sailing. She put her hand into her pocket, felt the note, and then gripped her phone. Texting him wouldn’t be suspect since he told her call her later, although he did say call, not text.

This is why you don’t date!

What was the right thing to do? Where was the etiquette book when she needed one?

She shook her head and took her hand out of her pocket, telling herself Sail would stop by or call her when he was done. They hadn’t talked about his training, other than he needed his brothers to help him. She didn’t know what it all entailed but vowed to ask questions.

The rest of the morning and into the early afternoon she worried about Sail and how things were going out on the water. Every time the door opened to the diner her heart raced thinking he was coming through the door. She didn’t understand why she was so nervous. It wasn’t like the competition was today. He was practicing.

Each time the wind blew and rattled the awnings over the windows, her heart plummeted thinking the worse. Of course, when word spread across town about Sail being out on the water with his brothers and dad, that’s all anyone wanted to chat about at the counter. Thankful or not, depending on how she looked at it, the gossips were full of information and didn’t seem to care she had her ear on them. Although, hearing that Jack had been out there helping Sail made her heart soar. Sail had told her how crappy he felt, disappointing his dad.

They rambled as she filled their coffee mugs and brought them their food. The competition would be fierce. Not only were sailors coming from all over, but sailing was wholly dependent on wind and other nautical words that didn’t make sense to her.

“Sail Carter was the best Seaport ever had,” one resident said, while the others around him agreed.

“He’ll win for sure.”

“Or die trying.”

The die trying part seized Galvin’s heart. She shuddered at the thought of anyone dying during the competition, before or after. Let alone Sail.

Mostly though, Galvin wanted the worrying to stop. She’d let him out of the friend’s zone, even though she wasn’t sure it was the right thing to do. Law school was her priority. Not falling for one of the locals. Although, come January he would be gone.

And she’d be focused on school.

They’d be off doing their own thing and be nothing but a memory to each other.

She wasn’t going to let anyone, or anything come between her and her dream of living in Boston.

Except money. The bane of everyone’s existence was the only thing standing in her way.

Galvin looked at the clock and sighed. The lunch rush was almost over, and she still hadn’t seen or heard from Sail. She hadn’t necessarily expected him to come in, but hoped he would surprise her with a lunch pick up. Ana, who worked for Blue Lobster Adventures, had stopped by to get lunch for the crew. As much as Galvin wanted to ask her if Sail was there, she bit her tongue. There was no need to broadcast her crush on his coworker. In fact, the more low-key they kept their relationship, the better off they’d be.

“Why do you seem so on edge?” Penny asked as she bumped her hip against Galvin’s.

“Nothing, really.” Galvin picked up the gray tub, which was halfway full of dishes, and carried it to the back. There was a new dishwasher, and she hadn’t memorized his name yet. This position had a high turnover rate with the last one moving to cook. At least people stayed, once they started.

Galvin returned to the dining area, in time to help her next table. She went through the motions, getting their drinks, taking their orders and answering their questions about Seaport.

“What are you in town for?”

“There’s a sailing competition next week,” the man said. “I’m competing.”

“Oh, neat,” Galvin said when she really wanted to tell them to get the hell out of town. She couldn’t do that, despite the words being on the tip of her tongue. As she put their order in, the thought occurred to her that maybe Andy could poison them, but then he’d get in trouble. And it wasn’t like they could eliminate all of the competition without drawing a lot of suspicion to Sail.

Finally, when the door opened again, Sail walked in. She mustered every ounce she could to fight the shit eating grin that threatened to take over her lips. Galvin was happy to see him. Ecstatic, really. But there was no way to show him until they were alone later.

Hopefully.

Sail sat on one of the stools and rapped his knuckles on the countertop. Galvin came over with a glass of ice water and set a menu in front of him for shits and giggles.

“How are you today?” she wanted to keep things coy and not give away to Penny or anyone else in the diner who happened to watch them that they were more than what they should be.

“Fantastic.”

“Are you on your lunch break?”

Sail shook his head. “Nah, Dad said I could take the day off.”

Galvin’s expression changed and she worked hard to mask it. He had a life in Seaport and had one long before she showed up in town. There was no reason for her to be upset.

Sail reached for her hand before she could move away from him. “I’ve been with my dad, working on my boat.”

She nodded in understanding and then leaned forward. “The man behind you is here to compete so . . .”

Sail nodded. “Thanks for the heads up.” He winked. The simple gesture sent her heart fluttering and her thoughts back to Lalaland. “What are you doing tonight?”

“Uh, I literally have no plans.”

“Do you want to go out to dinner with Dune and Caroline?”

“That’s like a date date,” she said under her breath.

Sail nodded. “I’d like to take you on a date, Galvin. In public, with people I know all around us. I think you’d like Caroline and since my brother plans to marry her, I should probably get to know her.”

Her mind raced a mile a minute, if not faster, with scenarios—mostly centered around Jack and Pearl finding out about her and Sail—she couldn’t think and felt a panic attack coming on. She pulled her hand from his grip and darted through the door to the kitchen and then beelined it for the back door. She threw it open and gulped in as much fresh air as she could.

“Galvin.” Sail’s voice cut through the ringing in her ear. “I’m sorry.”

She turned to face him, tears in her eyes. “You don’t need to be sorry.”

“I do.” He took a hesitant step forward. “I know you’re worried about your job. I wish you’d believe me when I tell you, my parents would never fire you for dating any of us . . .” Sail paused and grimaced. “Well, they might if you were to date Tidal and Crew. You know, age difference and all.”

She didn’t want to laugh, but she did.

Sail reached for her hand. “I understand.”

Galvin shook her head. “No, I should go. We should go. If I’m going to live here, I need to know people.”

Sail smiled and leaned in to kiss her. He paused, right before their lips touched. “As long as I’m the only resident you get to know.”

He kissed her before she could protest.