Chapter Nineteen
OVER THE NEXT week, Emery didn’t just fall into her new teaching schedule; she charged, planning her classes to the nth degree and taking extra time to get to know each student. Her client list was growing daily, with referrals from the inn, the resort, and from the flyers they’d distributed. She’d picked up several new clients at LOCAL, and she was more passionate than ever about her yoga back-care work. Dean was glad he’d pushed her toward not waiting to expand her business in the direction she enjoyed most. She and Dean had fallen deeper into their relationship, spending most evenings together, and she continued to leave pieces of herself all over his cottage. Forgotten panties tangled in the sheets, body wash in the bathroom, earrings on the coffee table. She still spent some nights at the inn, so she and Desiree could have some girl time. But on the following mornings, they’d seek each other out. Sunday morning she’d been waiting for him in his shower when he’d returned from his run. That was the best surprise he’d ever experienced. Until Monday, when having kept the key to his cottage at his insistence, she’d crawled into his bed at two o’clock in the morning because she couldn’t stand being apart a second longer.
That was the beauty of being with Emery. Not only did she wear her emotions on her sleeve, but she owned them. Whether they were in bed, or eating one of Desiree’s fancy breakfasts with their friends, where she scarfed down more of his food than her own and kissed him between each bite. Or when she relayed a story about one of her new clients at LOCAL who had been all knotted up because of losing a grandchild. Chloe had suggested Emery try to help center the woman’s mind and teach her to relax, which Emery said she’d done well. But when Emery showed up yesterday afternoon in the gardens near the pool where he’d been working, her eyes puffy and red from crying, it was all he could do to hold and console her. She was strong, opinionated, and rarely slowed down enough to take a breath, but his girlfriend was the most sensitive person he knew.
He gazed at her now, sunbathing with Desiree, Violet, and Serena on the enormous yellow raft that was tethered to the boat. It was late Thursday afternoon, and they were in the middle of the bay, anchored after a few hours of tubing. She was smiling, eyes shut, her hand intertwined with Desiree’s. Dean wondered if she felt like she’d come home by moving here as much as he did. She’d told him yesterday that she’d missed doing little things with Desiree, like eating ice cream out of the carton, creating new inside jokes, and catching up, which they’d been enjoying since she’d moved into the inn. Was it ridiculous that even though he was happy for her to have that time with her friend, he’d felt a pang of jealousy, wanting to be the one doing those things with her?
“Remember the days when we used to actually go tubing and waterskiing from sunup until sundown?” Rick said as he sat down beside Dean. His dark hair was damp and brushed away from his deeply tanned face, making his strong features look even more pronounced.
He looked so much like his father, Dean’s chest constricted. Before Rick’s father had drowned at sea in a freak storm, he’d been like a second father to Dean. But those were also the days when his own father had spent time with friends outside of the medical field, like the Savages. When his father had been accepting and less judgmental, easier to deal with. He missed those days so much.
“I remember those days,” Dean finally answered, his gaze finding Emery once again. The girls had decided they were done tubing and had been lying on the raft for the past forty minutes, giggling and talking. “But I wouldn’t go back to them for the world.”
“Yeah, me neither.” Rick clinked water bottles with Dean and drained half of his in one swig.
Drake pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it on the deck. “I don’t know about you wimps, but I’m done waiting for the princesses to feel like having some fun. I think it’s time for a shark attack.”
Dean and Rick exchanged an oh-yeah glance, set their drinks down, and pushed to their feet. The three men were a formidable force, but they slipped into the cold water as stealthily as ninjas.
Swimming underwater, so as not to cause ripples, they lined up beneath the raft. Drake gave a quick nod, and they burst through the surface in perfect sync, lifting the raft on end and sending the girls shrieking and sprawling into the cold water as the guys hollered, “Shark attack!”
Dean dove for Emery as she went under. He caught her around her waist and propelled them both to the surface. She clung to his shoulders, droplets of water hanging on her spiky lashes, her slippery body sliding against him in all the best places.
“I can’t believe you did that!” Her words tumbled out on the tail end of laughter.
He pressed his lips to hers, smiling into their kiss. “You’ve got to watch out for sharks in deep water.”
He squeezed her bottom, earning an expected swat on his shoulder. He kissed her again, harder, and they sank beneath the surface. He propelled them up again, holding her tight and stealing kisses while Rick and Desiree bobbed in the water a few feet away and Violet hollered threats at Drake as she and Serena dunked him.
Best. Summer. Ever.
They swam and hung out in the boat until it was nearly dark. Sun drenched and happy, they docked and made their way down to Newcomb Hollow Beach for their bonfire. Open fires weren’t allowed on the bay beaches, and it was nice to be on the ocean side for a change. They cooked hot dogs and burgers, and Rick did his best to embarrass Dean by sharing stories about his youth with Emery. But each story only made her hazel eyes grow warmer and the inches between them on the blanket lessen.
After dinner Dean and Emery had taken a walk, and now Desiree and Serena roasted marshmallows while Dean played the guitar and Drake told him and Rick about another property he was going to check out for the music store. Dean was only half listening as he strummed the guitar, thinking of Emery and how often she’d been humming lately. He hadn’t realized she was so musical.
Emery turned, the moonlight catching in her eyes as she headed up the beach toward him, arms crossed over her shirt, which hung low enough to cover her bathing suit. He imagined her naked beneath that shirt, as she moved gracefully up the beach, gazing at the sand and smiling as she spoke to Violet. It was easy to imagine Emery in all facets of his life, dressed, naked, in a wet suit. But now, with the stars sparkling above, he imagined her in the winter months, bundled up in a parka and cap, still wanting to stroll in the moonlight on the snowy, windy beach, and in the spring, when flowers had just begun to bloom and she could finally leave the jacket behind and don jeans and a hoodie, he imagined her cute toes digging into the sand.
“Everything feels different tonight,” Drake said as he reached for the guitar.
Dean hadn’t realized he’d stopped strumming until Drake took the guitar from his hands. Drake was right. Everything felt different. Dean wasn’t just enjoying the evening with friends and a girlfriend. Emery had already become so much more than just a girlfriend. For the first time in his life, he didn’t feel like something was missing. If he never had anything more than he did at that moment, he could be happy forever. As long as he had Emery by his side and good friends to enjoy, life was better than good. Life was beautiful.
Emery smiled as she lowered herself to the blanket beside him, and he leaned in for a kiss. Her nose was cold, but her lips were warm and soft. She smelled like sunscreen and happiness. As he gazed into her smiling eyes, he realized she’d become his world.
“Do you know what the koshas are?” Emery asked.
Violet sank down beside Serena on a blanket and said, “Here’s a hint. They’re not Polish hot dogs.”
Dean shook his head. “I can’t say that I do. Why?”
Emery shrugged. “Violet and I were just talking about them, and I wondered if you had ever heard of the concept.”
“They’re the five layers of being,” Violet explained. She waved at Dean, Drake, and Rick. “You guys run like your life depends on it, and that’s great for keeping your physical body in shape.”
Emery put her hand on Dean’s thigh. “I do like Dean’s shape.”
“Not half as much as I adore yours.” He pulled her into a kiss.
“That’s great,” Violet said. “Anyway, you run, but what do you do for your subtle body? Your casual body?”
Dean nipped at Emery’s neck. “Trust me, all of her bodies get great workouts.”
“That’s right,” Emery said softly. “But…”
Dean arched a brow. “Seriously? You’re going to dis my skills in front of everyone?”
“No!” She laughed. “Not those skills! You’ve got great skills in that department.”
“TMI, Emery,” Rick said.
“Most bearded guys are skilled,” Serena said.
Drake glared at her. “How would you know?”
She lifted one shoulder and pushed a marshmallow onto her stick. “I dated a bearded guy one summer in college. He was pretty amazing.”
Drake’s knuckles turned white around the neck of the guitar. Dean took it from him before he broke it and began strumming another tune.
“We weren’t talking about sex,” Emery explained. “We were actually talking about meditation and how sometimes we can meditate so deeply it’s hard to come out of it, while other times our minds are too chaotic to even begin to find mindfulness. And I said that my go-to image for relaxation is the koshas. If you can visualize a circle with five layers, that’s pretty much what it looks like. The outer circle is your physical body, and as the layers get closer to the center, each one is made of increasingly finer grades of energy, until you get to the innermost circle and you find what some people refer to as your true self.”
Dean had seen the image she’d described before, but he couldn’t place where. As Emery explained the meaning of each layer, he tried to remember where he’d seen it.
“I think we should try to reach your innermost layer tonight,” Rick said to Desiree.
“Shh,” Desiree warned.
“That would be experienced as happiness and delight. Sheer bliss.” Emery popped up to her feet and grabbed her backpack. “Des, can you and Serena hold up towels so I can change out of my wet bathing suit?”
“Sure.” Desiree and Serena pushed to their feet and held up the towels to shield her from the others.
Dean stole a glance at Drake and Rick, who were pointedly looking away. This was Emery in action. He bit his tongue and blew her a kiss when she looked over, reminding himself that in Emery’s mind, these were her most trusted friends. At least she asked for towels.
“Actually,” Emery said, moving out from between the towels. “I’ll go change in the ladies’ room.”
A knot Dean hadn’t realized had formed unfurled in his gut. “I’ll walk you up.”
He set down the guitar and reached for Emery’s backpack. His other arm circled her waist as they headed for the path that led up toward the parking lot and the bathrooms.
When they were out of earshot from the others he said, “You didn’t have to do that because of me.”
“I didn’t,” she said, and put her head on his shoulder. “I did it for us.”
Dean didn’t know much about layers, or what needed to happen internally or externally to a person for each layer to pass for having been fully experienced and nurtured. But he was pretty sure the all-consuming happiness burrowing down and taking root in his soul counted as having found his sheer bliss.