14
Brooks
Darcy’s glarewould have made anyone burst into flames, but not me, because I couldn’t see it. Even so, I could feel that look on my skin like fire, sizzling my arm hairs in his attempt to make me explode. “I’m not doing it.”
“Why not?” I grinned in his direction and finished buckling the life jacket to my chest. “It won’t hurt.”
“Because….”
By Levi’s snort, I imagined Darcy was making overdramatic actions with his hands or expression. The cool lake breeze fluttered through my hair and I closed my eyes, reveling in the wind against my face. I enjoyed the outdoors for this aspect alone—nature. I’d never really appreciated the outdoors until I lost my sight, and now it was an array of smells, sounds, and touches that tickled my senses. Lake Ontario was a fine example of Mother Nature’s beauty, the rippling waves whispering in my ears while the sun glimmered on the water, and I was having a slightly better day than normal, allowing me to see a burst of light through my retinas.
“What if you have a seizure and fall off the back of the Jet Ski?” Darcy’s worried tone was adorable, and he was the only person I couldn’t be annoyed at for caring too much. If it’d been anyone else, I might have shoved them off the jetty.
I patted my life jacket. “That’s what this is for.”
“I don’t like it.” Darcy sighed, and Levi snortedagain. He’d been doing that a lot today.
“You don’t have to like it. The Boss wants to go on the back of the Jet Ski, so take him,” Levi hissed out, and I reached over to pat him on the shoulder to calm him down.
“Enough, Levi.” The only reason he was here was in case somethingdidhappen and Darcy needed his help. But I didn’t want to live in fear of a seizure like I, and my parents, had when I was a kid. The moment I’d lost my eyesight, I’d promised myself I would do what I needed in order to survive, and that meant enjoying my life. I stepped closer to Darcy and cupped his cheeks, pressing our foreheads together. His skin was clammy and hot, but it was three in the afternoon and we’d spent the entire morning fucking, not to mention summer meant heat. That was why I wanted some fun on the Jet Ski.
“Sweet prince, listen to me. If we all lived in fear of death, we’d never really be living, would we? Anyone could walk out on the street and get hit by a bus. Epilepsy has always been part of my life. It will never go away. I will die with it. But I won’t live in fear of my seizures. Let me spend time with you.” I stroked my thumb up his cheekbone, then across his wet bottom lip. “I can’t drive that Jet Ski, but I can ride with you.”
Darcy nibbled at my finger, his tongue darting out to chase it across his mouth before he sighed. “Fine. But I want Levi to stay here in case you fall off.”
“Fine,” Levi grumped, and I rolled my eyes at them. Darcy probably didn’t see this was Levi’s way of accepting him. My assistant wasn’t a man who trusted easily. I didn’t know his history because he kept it close to his chest, but he had issues with strangers. It had taken Levi a good few months to warm up to me. His tone to Darcy was a lot softer than it had been when we’d gone on vacation, and there was a touch of respect in it, even if Darcy couldn’t hear it. I’d known Levi long enough to recognize the differences in his voice.
Darcy tugged on my life jacket, just to make sure it was secure. When he seemed satisfied, he grabbed my elbow, leading me to the edge of the jetty. Lemonade barked behind us, as if to warn me we were heading the wrong way, but Levi shushed her. We stepped down two stairs that led to a lower portion of the jetty, which was nearly on the same level as the Jet Ski.
“Let me get onto it first and then I’ll help you on.”
I smiled at him. “Got it.”
Darcy huffed, but the wooden planks beneath our feet swayed with a particularly strong wave. I tipped slightly on my feet, and Darcy gasped, but I held up a hand to tell him I was okay. He was glaring again; I could feel the pinpricks on my arms.
“Okay, I’m on it. Step closer, not too fast.”
Someone touched my shoulders—Levi—and I was guided forward. Darcy grabbed my hand, helping me keep balanced.
“Go down now. Carefully,” he warned, and I did as he said, stepping onto the small, curved footwell of the vessel. Between Levi and Darcy holding me, I didn’t go tumbling off into the water, and I managed to swing my other leg over the seat, sitting snugly behind Darcy’s long, lean body. I hugged him and kissed his neck, and he let out a sharp breath.
“I’m on,” I whispered into his ear, kissing the shell.
He stroked up my arm. “I can see that. Now hold tight.”
“Are you sure you know how to drive one of those?” Levi asked from the jetty, concern mixed in with his words.
“No.” Darcy didn’t beat around the bush; he was a lot like Madam Winters that way. He went straight for the jugular. “But Brooks said it was easy and I trust him.”
“I’ve never seen you drive anything, not even a car,” Levi muttered.
“That would be difficult, since I don’t have a license,” Darcy snarked back.
I’d had enough of their arguing. I had told Darcy it was easy, and it really was. The breakdown on how to drive a Jet Ski took less than five minutes, along with the explanation of the key attaching to the vessel. If it came out at any point, it would stop the entire machine, which seemed to satisfy Darcy’s nerves. I told him about the start button, how to use the throttle, and that he could only turn the Jet Ski if we were accelerating with the throttle engaged. In the end it was simple.
“Are you sure about this?” Darcy asked me, ignoring Levi.
“Yes.” I smoothed my hand over his gear-padded belly, wishing the life jacket wasn’t in the way and that I could touch him, but we were both safer with them. “You don’t have to go fast. I’d prefer it if you didn’t. Start slow and move with the waves. If you go against them, you’ll start hopping over the water, and I don’t want you to fall off and hurt yourself.”
