Chapter 40

Perhaps it was sleeping on water, or perhaps it was the sea air, but I woke early the next morning feeling refreshed and remarkably calm given that the previous night I'd cried myself to sleep, my mind heavy with worries. I dressed in bed, pulling on fresh socks, pants and combats and replacing the teeshirt I'd worn to sleep in still under the big unzipped sleeping bag I'd slept beneath, grabbing a jumper and slipping it over my head as I stumbled from my bow berth along the narrow corridor to the galley.

I knew Kathryn was an early riser and expected her to be up by now, but the drive and the long day of sailing must've exhausted her as she was nowhere to be found. Peeking through the galley to the saloon I could just see the darkened shape that must've been her sofa bed poking out into the corridor. After running the basic safety checks on the gas supply, I put a kettle of water on the ring to boil for tea and had a rummage through the cool box (Kathryn had opted not to waste battery life on firing up the fridge for an overnight) for something to snack on. Spotting a carton of orange juice I was reminded of Kathryn's disinclination toward hot drinks and, after a hesitation, I poured a glass for her and crept along to where she slept.

The saloon was dark, though growing lighter by the minute with the sunlight from the companionway creeping in. Kathryn was sprawled on the small sofabed and I felt bad for not insisting she take the berth, seeing how tiny this one was. Her face was relaxed and peaceful, one hand curled on the pillow next to her head. As I watched she shifted, hand groping to one side for the small alarm clock propped against the wall.

Taking this as a sign that she must at least be beginning to wake I knocked lightly on the wall and ventured in, perching on the short stretch of seating to the other side of the bed. "Morning. Brought you some juice."

Kathryn opened her eyes, taking a moment to resolve me in the dim light. "Oh, um, Alex... good morning," she said slightly hoarsely, pushing herself up on one elbow. "Thank you. That was very nice of you."

"The least I can do after you slept on this. Why didn't you say? It's not as though there aren't two beds in the bow berth." Albeit our legs would have fought for space at the prow... The idea of waking up, legs tangled together with Kathryn's, flashed through my head unbidden, and even at this time of the morning it sparked a slight warmth in my stomach.

She smiled, reaching out to accept the cup of juice from me. "I didn't want to wake you in the morning... which of course seems silly now."

"Hard to sleep in long out here, isn't it? Well, if you're not a teenager, anyway..."

"Mm, exactly. I doubt we'll be seeing him for some time yet."

I found myself smiling both with my new-found fondness for Kathryn's bright, alternately sullen and endearingly overenthusiastic son, and at the fact that we would have some time alone together before he woke. "What's the expression, 'Youth is wasted on the young'?"

"I always thought it was 'Hey you, turn down that music!', but that sounds familiar as well." She took a sip of orange juice and then set down the cup, stretching her arms to either side and almost brushing the walls. "Right, time for breakfast I think. I can offer an exciting array of fruit, granola bars or porridge."

"Or a heady mix of the three," I suggested with a smirk, fighting to ignore how strong my insane urge to crawl into bed with her was right now.

"Indeed. Let's go wild, shall we?"

 

[ 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 ]