Page 27 of I’m Not Yours
“Thank you,” I said once again, my teeth now chattering, as he guided me out of the water and onto the sand, an arm still slinked around my waist. He took off his green rain jacket.
“Here, take off your jacket, we’ll put this one around you instead.”
“That’s chivalrous, but I’m soaked. You take it. It’ll get wet.” My body jerked as if it was being electrocuted.
“Please. Wear it. Let me help you. You’re shaking too much to do it yourself.”
That was true.
He unzipped my jacket and took one of my arms, then the other, both rattling around from cold and shock, and pulled my rain jacket off. He threw his jacket around me, stuck my arms back in, and zipped it up. I was instantly dwarfed by the giant’s jacket.
He pulled the hood over my head.
“But you’ll get wet now,” I gasped.
“I am not going to get anywhere near as wet as you already are. Please. Wear it.”
He was wearing a blue sweater and I noticed that his chest was flat and the type you could sleep on, not that I would sleep on a man’s chest ever again. No way .
“Thank you. I’m so, so glad you were here.” A sense of utter relief, utter gratefulness flooded over me. Had he not been here, not taken action . . . I could have died . That had not been on my agenda for today. I bit my frozen lip and tried not to cry.
“Happy to be here. I did have to run faster than I’ve ever run in my life, but I’ve got my exercise in. I’m renting a place up the hill, just arrived today, came out for a walk, and saw that huge wave hit you. It came out of nowhere, didn’t it?”
“As if it dropped out of the sky.” I pushed my dripping hair out of my eyes and stared at him, the wind lifting that blondish hair around a super tough and strong-looking jaw and prominent cheekbones. “Good of you to make a run to rescue me.”
He bowed. “My pleasure.”
Those green eyes stared right into mine, as if the drowned rat in front of him was interesting and appealing.
I could not look away. The rain sprinkled down, and there we stood, staring at each other.
My, how his eyes were a light and wondrous color, bold and sure, as if he wasn’t afraid to look away from life .
. . the trustworthy, strong, I have a deeper side to me and I want to know the deeper side of you sort of gaze.
He shook his head, blinked a couple of times, and smiled again, his eyes crinkling in the corners.
Wow . Rough and tough and manly. Wow.
“Take off your shirt.”
What? I felt myself prickle under his jacket, a blast of fear shooting through me.
“No, no, no.” He put his hands up. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. But you’re all zipped up under my jacket. Can you take off the wet clothing on your upper half so you don’t get colder on our walk back?”
“Oh, okay.” That made sense, since I was shivering so spasmodically.
“I’ll turn around to give you some privacy and keep an eye on the ocean while you wriggle out of whatever you can.”
I thought of taking my clothes off in front of this macho he-man. One graphic picture jumped into my mind after another, and my breath quickened. Honestly, June. You almost drowned and you’re thinking about getting naked? You haven’t thought about a naked man in over two years.
“Are your hands too cold to do it?” His face creased into worry lines.
“No. Yes. No and yes to you.” I coughed. Please, June, don’t embarrass yourself. “I’ll be fine.”
The water off the Oregon coast is so absolutely freezing it hurts your brain, even in summer, but as we stared at each other from inches away, my head tilted back; I felt a blush climbing up my neck.
He blinked again, as if he was somewhat rattled, too, then turned around. I started to strip while sneaking peeks at his backside. Huuuuge shoulders. A solid man, not skinny. Tall, rangy.
I wriggled underneath the jacket, still warm from his manly man heat, and managed to pull my sweater and T-shirt off.
I hesitated on my bra, then thought, what the heck .
I was going to freeze to death if I didn’t.
The rain coming down wasn’t helping. I dropped everything in the sand, stuck my arms through the jacket’s sleeves, then rolled my soaking, sandy clothes into a ball.
“Okay, I’m undressed,” I said, then stopped. Come on, June! Think! Don’t say it that way! “I’m undressed but dressed. I’m dressed in your coat. Not naked undressed.”
He turned around and I could tell he was chuckling on the inside.
“I mean, I’m ready. Ready to walk.”
“All righty, off we go.” He pulled the hood over my head again. “We’ve probably got a couple of miles to the steps. I’m worried about you getting cold. Walking will keep you warm.”
He was worried about me? Worried about me? That was so darn sweet. I smiled at him, even though I felt my frozen lips wiggle.
“I’ll hold that.” He held out his hands for my clothes. “Wrap your arms around yourself to keep warm.”
As a river of ice ran through me from head to foot, I handed him my clothes, and of course, my bra had to drop to the sand.
I bent to snatch it up but because I was a frozen popsicle, I didn’t move real quick. He moved quicker, and my brassiere was soon in his huge hands.
“Oh no,” I groaned. It was my black-and-white–spotted cow bra. There was a pink cow across each cup, surrounded by polka dots. It was a funny gift from my sister September, because she said I was an “udderly” wonderful sister. “Put your girls in these two cows!” she’d giggled.
“I’ll take that back.” I put my trembling hand out for the bra.
“Polka dots?” He raised an eyebrow. “And two cows.” He held the bra up with both hands.
“I am so embarrassed. Please blame my sister. She sent it to me.”
“It’s original!” he declared, smiling at me. “It’s a cow bra.”
“Yes, oh me, oh my.”
“Me, oh my, too,” he said softly, and oh me, oh my, I could tell that man was struggling hard not to laugh.
Who was this man? And why, after almost drowning , was I all aflutter?
He held the pink cows up again. “I don’t think I’m going to forget today.”
“Me, neither. And not only because of the cow bra.” Soaked, freezing, a summer rain drenching us, we laughed.
And that was the beginning. The laughter was the beginning.
The beginning of Reece and me.