“He looked good. Really good. Now stop distracting me. I have work to do,” Samira said as she slipped out of her boss’s office and headed to her own.
Samira sat down on her white upholstered office chair and rolled it closer to her large, gray, wooden desk. She closed her eyes and tried to push away all thoughts of Andy before tackling the stack of paperwork. The stack wasn’t as large as she thought it would have been, considering she had been off work for a week. She had told her aunt that she would only be able to return if she was able to get caught up at work.
It didn’t take Samira long to get into the groove of looking through the papers and putting them in the proper location. Some things needed her signature, some pages were invoices meant to be filed away. A few job applications were mixed in, so she set them aside to look at later.
“So, when you say he looked good, did you mean he looked hot, in good health, or like he was getting along better without you?” Andrea asked from Samira’s doorway, causing her to jump in surprise.
“Good grief! I didn’t know you were standing there,” Samira said with a gasp and grabbed her chest to settle her pounding heart.
“Well?” Andrea prompted.
“All of the above, I suppose.”
Andrea held up a brown shopping bag. “I brought us lunch if you want to talk about it. It’s bribery, but I was so very bored when you were gone. Tell me all about it.”
Samira stood and led the way to the small table and chairs on the other side of her office. She had the table and chairs put in so she could have the convenience of eating in her office without feeling like she never left her desk.
Samira told Andrea how Andy had approached her in the kitchen at her aunt’s house, and she’d cut the conversation short to avoid him. Andrea listened intently, nodding between bites of salad as Samira told her about most of the conversation that took place on the beach.
When she had finished, she concentrated on creating the perfect bite of salad. She carefully speared a piece of crisp green lettuce, warm grilled chicken, and a slice of cucumber. Closing her eyes, she hummed with approval. When she opened her eyes, she found Andrea staring at her.
“What are you leaving out?” Andrea asked after a moment.
Samira sighed before telling her the rest. “He invited me on his boat for the Skipjack Race, but I told him it was a very busy time at work, and I had to get back here.”
Andrea stared at her in disbelief. “It’s busy, but nothing the rest of us here can’t handle. You have two assistant managers and a boss with nothing better to do than hang around and make sure everything is going okay. You are going. In fact, take off the entire week. I know you have other things that you needed to get done down there anyway.”
It was Samira’s turn to stare in disbelief. “I can’t just take another week off. I have things to do here.”
“And you have things to do there. I won’t take no for an answer. I’m sure your aunt will be thrilled to have you there alittle longer. Just finish out this week. I’ll be fine,” Andrea said before standing and gathering their trash.
“Thank you,” Samira said to Andrea’s back as she walked out of the office.
***
Samira reached for her phone to silence the alarm without opening her eyes. She had spent her Labor Day mornings sleeping in for the past fifteen years, so setting an alarm had felt unnatural. She sat up in the bed and swung her legs over the edge before she could drift back into dreamland.
She hadn’t quite warmed up to the idea of spending the day on her ex-boyfriend’s boat, but her aunt had met the invitation with enthusiasm. She could imagine how Aunt Mary would feel spending her first Labor Day on land and without her husband. There was no way Samira would disappoint her by backing out.
She felt like a teenager getting ready for her first date. Her stomach was unsettled, and her palms were sweaty as she flipped through the folded clothes in her suitcase trying to find something to wear. She wasn’t sure how the weather would turn out, so she had packed clothing for any scenario. The Skipjack Race would happen rain or shine.
One look out the window at the signs of dawn beginning to appear in the clear sky told her it should be a nice dry day on the boat. After selecting a relaxed pair of denim shorts, a white fitted t-shirt, and a sweatshirt since it was still chilly, she went into the bathroom to finish getting ready.
“You look cute, honey,” Aunt Mary said in greeting once Samira finally made it downstairs. “You ready to go? Elizabeth said Andy was wanting to leave a little early because one of the skipjacks might need to be pulled out to the starting line. It was a last-minute thing, apparently.”
“I guess I’m ready. As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Samira wasn’t sure how she had allowed herself to accept the invitation. She had been doing just fine without Andy and without the memories he brought on. Thoughts of Andy always came with thoughts of her parents and her last interaction with them. She had been angry with Andy for a lot of years, but she had come to realize that anger couldn’t change the past.
Andy was walking out the door of the cabin when Samira and her aunt approached the boat. The boat reminded her of her uncle’s boat. The wood displayed signs of wear from many years of work. The outside was painted white and “Ms. Jeannie” could be seen in red letters across the stern. Andy stood momentarily frozen where he was and looked her up and down before a grin spread across his lips. Donning a simple no-frills outfit and her curly hair pulled up into a messy bun, she hoped she looked as if she spent all her free time on a boat.
“Hey,” he greeted as he walked over to help them step onto the boat.
“Good day for a race?” Samira asked, making small talk.
“Might be a slow race. It’s slick cam,” he drawled indicating the still waters. “And not a breath of wind.”
Samira couldn’t fight her returning grin at the way he spoke. She grew up around that unique drawl, but for some reason it was sexy coming from Andy. Forcing all thoughts away from her attraction to her ex, she looked over to see Mary already taking a seat by Elizabeth. She was on her own.
