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“Very smooth, Mr. Brandt. I bet you pull that move with all the girls.”
“There aren’t any other girls, Charlotte. There haven’t been since you ran into me, brandishing a purse as a weapon while I was wearing a towel.”
Charlotte seemed speechless, and the waiter returned with my card and copy to sign, breaking the moment.
“Want to take the water taxi back? Or opt for the more direct option of taking a car the whole way home?” I held my hand out to help Charlotte out of her seat.
“Let’s go for the water taxi,” Charlotte said, seeming to want to extend our day as much as I did.
Charlotte tucked her arm through mine, bringing her body closer. Maybe she was seeking heat, but I liked to think she also wanted to be near me.
We got to the dock to learn the next boat was leaving in a few moments, having timed things just right. We bought our tickets and climbed back to the top deck. Charlotte walked to the edge, taking in the view of National Harbor to the southeast and the Washington Monument and National Cathedral to the north. I stopped a bit away from her, taking in her profile as her head turned this way and that, soaking in how much I’d enjoyed this day and how much I hoped she had too.
She turned her head over her shoulder and caught me watching her, encouraging me toward her with a bob of her head. “Come on over, Hayden. Guess we won’t see any leaves this time, but the lights sure are pretty.”
I stepped forward to stand beside her and I felt the boat shudder as the engine started and we pushed away from the dock. Charlotte shivered next to me, her arms coming up to grip her sleeves where they were exposed under her vest.
I moved to stand directly behind her, placing my hands outside of hers on the railing, resting the side of my head on the top of hers. Charlotte seemed to lean part of her weight back against me, and I heard her sigh.
“So, did you have a good day?”
“I had the best day.”
“Good, I’m glad.” I smiled against the top of her head, wondering if she would be able to tell and know she was responsible.
“Hayden?”
“Yeah?”
She turned around in my arms, so my grasp on the railing bracketed her torso against mine. I saw her look behind me on either side, and pleased with what she found, she brought her hands up to rest on my chest.
“I know I said we could have today. And after today, I would very much like to have a tomorrow, but I came here to accomplish a goal, to prove to my parents, and to myself, that I could do more than just run a bookstore in our small town. I wasn’t expecting a roommate, and I wasn’t expecting that roommate to be you and for you to offer… this.”
She buried her face in her hands, leaving my chest feeling cold and incomplete without them.
“Gosh, I’m saying this all wrong. Stupid tequila and intoxicating Hayden scent.”
I removed my hands from the railing to gently tug hers from her face, tangling our fingers together at our sides.
“You can’t afford for a distraction.”
“That makes what you have to offer sound so cheap, and it’s not. Hayden, you’re amazing, but?—”
“But you don’t know where you’re going, and now you know I don’t exactly know where I’m going.”
Charlotte nodded. “Yes, exactly. I’ve never taken a chance on myself, betting on me, before. And if I didn’t see that through, I’d never forgive myself.”
I squeezed Charlotte’s hands in mine.
“I understand.”
Charlotte searched my face. “So, like I was saying, I said we could have today. And I think I need today to end when we get off this boat, because you know, we live together, and you look like you do, and you smell so fucking amazing—what is that, by the way?”
I smiled. “It’s Mister Babe. A dumb name, but the smell is unmatched. And I get what you’re saying.”
I went to step back, but Charlotte held tight to my hands and tugged on them, pulling me so I was flush against her.
“So, we’re agreed then, when the boat docks, our perfect day ends.”
