Jesus, I feel bad. I’ve been seasick before and it’s no joke.
I look down at Nicole, who has her eyes closed. I need to make this up to her somehow.
Thank God we are not far from the marina. It should only take fifteen minutes or so to get back to the dock. It’ll feel like a lifetime to Nicole.
I don’t want to wake her up, but I need to feel her. I lean over and rub her arm lightly.
She moves a little. “Thank you for taking care of me.”
My first instinct is to tell her that I’ll always take care of her if she lets me, but I rein it in. Way too much, way too fast.
“We are almost there. Are you feeling any better?”
“As long as my eyes are closed, I feel great,” she says with a hint of sarcasm.
The next few minutes are uneventful. I start to slow the boat down as we enter the no wake zone.
“I’ll have you off the boat soon, but just lay still until I tie us up.”
She nods her head just enough for me to know she heard me.
Pulling into my slip, I grab the cleat to tie off and throw the boat bumpers off the side.
“OK, Nicole. We are all set. I want you to try and eat some of these crackers before you get up. It’ll settle your stomach.”
I hand her some crackers.
“Thank you,” she says. I can only nod because I feel like a jackass.
Nicole slowly sits up, and I slide in next to her for support.
“OK?” I ask.
“I’m OK.”
“Alright, let’s get you off here. Stand up slowly.”
Nicole takes my hand as I try to gauge how she truly feels.
Leading her off the boat and onto the deck, she stumbles a little.
“I guess I better get my land legs back,” she says with a laugh.
“No, you don’t.”
I put one arm behind her back and the other behind her knees and lift her into my arms.
She gasps, but she doesn’t fight me.
“I’m not letting you drive home. I will take you, and then when you are feeling better, I will bring you back to get it,” I tell her.
“I walked here. I only live a few blocks away, down the street from Emily and Mac.”
“Well, you aren’t walking home. So you can either recuperate at your place or mine. It doesn’t matter to me, but I’m going to take care of you until you feel better.”
She looks so small in my arms, yet she feels so right.
Looking up at me, she says, “I think I’ll like that.”
Getting Nicole to her place took some doing. I tried to drive slowly enough so I didn’t make her sick again.
As we pull into her parking spot, I ask for her house keys. She digs into her bag and hands them to me.
“Daniel, what are you doing?”
“I want you to stay put while I unlock the door. I’ll come back and help you in.”
“You don’t have to do that…”
I hush her up with a kiss to her lips.
She pulls away quickly and wipes her mouth.
“Daniel, I just got sick. What are you doing kissing me?”
“That doesn’t matter to me. I just want to take care of you. Do you want me to do that?”
“Yes,” she says before kissing me back. It’s not a sexy kiss, but rather a kiss of gratitude.
“Alright, I’ll wait for you here.”
Kissing her forehead, I jog over to her front door. I unlock the door and leave it open a bit. Nicole can see the front door from where she is, so I’m not concerned with someone getting in.
Jogging back, I open the car door and help her out.
“I think I can walk to my place from here.”
“You don’t want me to carry you?” I ask.
She smiles at me. “Oh, I love being carried, but I think I’m OK. I don’t want you to think that I’m some damsel in distress.”
Taking her hand in mine. “What if I like being the hero to your damsel?”
“I’m sure there will be plenty more opportunities for me to embarrass myself by needing your help.”
As we walk slowly toward her door, I decide to put it out there. “So, does that mean you want to see me again?”