Chapter Twenty-Eight: Anchor Me

It was the gentle rock of the boat and the waves lapping against the side of the boat that Devon woke up with. Night-time had fallen but the cabin was lit by a bedside lamp and she was alone. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Her joints felt like she'd just run twelve miles but she smiled to herself as it all came rushing back to her.

"Jon?" She stretched out to an empty bed.

There were only so many places he could possibly go as it was a boat after all. She dragged herself out of the bed and dug around in her bag for the robe she had packed. She was halfway out of the cabin twisting it around her waist when she caught sight of herself in the nearby mirror. God, she looked hideous! She took five minutes and tidied herself up in the adjoining bathroom,  ran a brush through her hair and squirted on some spritz.  She climbed the steps up onto the deck which was peaceful and dotted with ship lanterns. Jon was sitting propped on a bench on the edge of the boat staring out at the water. The orange tip of his cigarette was like a beacon against the inky sky.

The wind whipped around her ankles as she rolled back on her feet. "Do you make it a regular thing to abandon women after mind-blowing sex?"

He chuckled, flicked his butt overboard and the lines in his face eased as he grinned at her. "It's so perfect and calm out here."

He patted the bench in front of him so she tucked herself in front of him facing the ocean. The scent of sea and spice swirled around him as his hands linked around her middle and his chin rested on her shoulder.

"Hey! We're not moving." She patted his hands as she realized they were stationary.

His warm breath against her ear raised the hairs on her arm. "That's because we're at our destination."

Around her was nothing but the night sky which with stars that twinkled like diamonds cut out of the sun. There was not a sign of land or light in the distance. "We're in the middle of the ocean."

"Ain't it grand?"

"It's paradise. It's the best, I mean...wow I didn't expect this."

"You expected some decadent desert island huh?"

"Well maybe."

"Disappointed?"

"Not one bit." This was paradise indeed and she could see why he thought so too. He was miles away from the hum and buzz of the city, photographers, and ex-wives and of course the image he worked tirelessly to up stand.

"You're a pretty romantic guy for a hard-ass aren't you?"

He wrapped his arms around her tighter. "Do you really think I'm a hard ass?"

She smoothed her hands down his legs. "Not the Jon I know. It's a part of you and you wouldn't be where you are today if you weren't.”

"You sound sure of that. I can be an asshole and deliberately."

Her fingers brushed along his knuckles. "Are you thinking about David again?"

"Maybe." The silence of him against the still of the night was humbling. She knew not to push him as she had observed he was a thinker and he internalized things.

She took a deep breath. In some ways she felt just the same and wished she really could open up to him. She really wanted to but she doubted even Jon would understand what she'd done and why. They both sat in a companionable silence for a few minutes listening to the water and enjoyed the weight of each other.

"Screw this. I'm going for a dip." Jon rose up off the bench, peeled his t-shirt off and popped open the fly of his jeans.

"Are you serious? In there?" She loved the ocean as much as the next person but she had no idea where they were and what lurked in the depths below them.

His grin spread wide as he stepped up to the edge of the yacht. "It's warm, the temperature gauge says so." He flicked on one of the spotlights that rolled out across the ocean like a red carpet.

"I don't care about the water. I'm more worried what's in it. What if there are sharks or fish with stinging-things?"

Jon chuckled and shucked off his jeans into a pile. "You'll just have to come and save me, won't you?"

"And you're butt naked."

He stood with his hands on his hips and smirked. "Like what you see?"

There was no denying the lean length of his body curved and tucked in all the right places and his ass was phenomenal but she folded her arms and shrugged. "Meh It's ok"

He smirked. "Liar."

She squealed as he took a dive off the side of the boat and sea spray coated her legs.

His head bobbed up from the water and he floated in the water. "Come on in!"

While it did look inviting, she was nervous. "No way."

 "Aw c'mon." He frowned and looked down into the water.

"What?"

"My foot is tangled in something."

"Tangled in what?"

"I can't see can I?" She was going to accuse of him of lying but his face fell flat.

"Seaweed? Rope?" Her heart beat a little faster and she looked over her shoulder and wondered if she should go and get Bob for help.

"Jon?" There was nothing but the stillness of the ocean in front of her, missing one rock-star. Fuck.

"Jon!" The panic rose in her throat. "Where the hell-" She had no time to answer a hand cupped her ankle and she lost her balance into the water head first. It hit her with a hell of a punch as she and treaded water to get her head back up above it. "You horrible man!" She coughed as spluttered as the sea salt burned her nose and throat. Her robe was slicked to her body but he tugged her close and peeled it off over her shoulders.

"There, much better." He grinned as he threw it back up over the side of the yacht. His hands ran over her shoulders and he drew her in and the natural reaction was to wrap her legs around his waist and let the water do the rest. Her breasts pressed into his chest and her fingers ran over his jaw and her fingertips across his lips. He smiled and the little crinkles on the side of his eyes deepened. She wanted to be angry that she was now slicked in sea-salt and god knows what else with no clue what was lurking below but she couldn't.

"What?" She asked as he kept his eyes on hers that was matched with a bemused smile.

"I'm having fun."

The corners of her mouth twitched as she tried to keep her annoyance above the surface but failed miserably. "I feel like silly loved up teenager."

"I'm in love with you Devon."

Her heart skidded in her chest and her throat closed like a fist. She knew how she felt about him but she didn't expect it so soon from him.

"I-" Words failed her as she smoothed her hands down the side of his cheeks. Her heart swelled as she realized she never expected this to turn into love. She hadn't worked out all the details yet on how this would work long term but something had kept her going into the relationship. Something she'd missed for a very long time.

"It's crazy, isn't it? And you know I don't jump into things so quickly. But with you, I can't explain it. It's like I was breathing just to live. But you've made me want to live to breathe all over again."

She nodded. "I understand what you mean I do. I've-" The words lodged in her throat and a tear slid down her face before she could finish her sentence.

"Hey." He thumbed it away gently and kissed her lips. "It's a good thing."

She half-laughed. "I know it is. I just can't believe its happening." She closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against his. "I thought I knew what love was but what Jared and I had wasn't love and I was so scared I'd never meet or be able to do this all again, the right way." In her reality it still wasn't the right way with her past but it was as close as it could get.

"What did he do to you baby?"

She shook her head still in her darkness fighting the floodgate inside her. Jon had given her life too, he just didn't realize how much he'd opened her up again when she'd needed and craved it so much.

"He was a bad person Jon. But I was as much to blame for believing in him. I was young, impressionable and desperate to prove to my father he was the good man that I always defended him for. But he wasn't. I was desperate to love someone, care for someone and give them everything I had. I just chose the wrong person."

Jon cradled her into him. "We all make mistakes Devon. Hell, I could tell you what a crappy husband and father I was for years."

Although the years had passed it still hurt. She would never forget the look of disappointment on her father's face and the humiliation she'd caused him and their family. She had loved and lost and in the wake of realizing what she had done but it had been too late to turn back the clock. The only option she had left that had made any sense at the time was to run. The tears came quicker as part of this whole grand plan was to love her new life and move on. She'd met wonderful people that had given her a second lease of life and now a wonderful man. She was luckier than most people she knew. She trembled as she composed herself and stuffed the guilt and hurt down below the surface. "It must be that time of the month."

He braceleted her wrists. "Hey, don't." His voice soothed her and his lips feathered across the top of her forehead.

"I'm ok. I just didn't expect you to say those nice things to me." Love like this was something she'd craved all her life and Jon knew how to love, he wrote about it for goodness sake. He didn't have a hidden agenda and he wasn't a manipulative asshole like Jared had been. Devon had done an awful lot of growing up since she'd arrived in the States and she knew what Jon was giving her was nothing but real. She'd developed a whole new outlook on life and attracted him to her whereas before she seemed to attract all the wrong people. Looking back in hindsight she knew that there was truth in the old saying, you only attract what you are. She was arguably a different person now but really she was just who she should have been in the first place.

Jon hoisted her up in his arms so she was securely locked around his body as they drifted with the ocean. She traced her finger across his chin "I love you. I didn't want to at first and I tried to fight it but you were so damn persistent."

His eyes danced against the light on the water and he grinned tucking a wet curl behind her ear. "I told you, I always get what I want and I wanted you."

"Yeah I caught on quickly." She drilled a finger into his chest. "You don't let go of things easily, do you?"

"See? And who said women couldn't be taught easily."

She narrowed her eyes as he snickered. "Are you always this cheeky?"

"Only around you."

"Gee, lucky me."

"I think you're different around me too. You're more yourself than that reserved sexy woman I first met at the salon."

He had a brilliant handle on people, she'd give him that. "You do make me feel different. In a good way." Was she that transparent? But he was right as she'd never let anyone come this close to her in years.

Their teeth clicked as he nuzzled her and kissed up her jawline. "It's a little selfish but it turns me on knowing I get the real you."

She rolled her eyes and laughed. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

"Seriously though, look at you. You're a strong successful woman who had a hard knock but it didn't stop you did it. You came here and started a new life."

Well, that wasn't entirely true but for the most part it was. "I guess."

"So let go and relax with me."

"Oh yeah? You think so huh?"

"Yup. I'm good for you." His teasing melted away and his kiss took over. He drew her in with barley inches between their bodies. They both closed their eyes and enjoyed the simplicity of the moment. The shiver raced down her spine as the kiss broke. Jon made her believe that moving on was possible and that she really could be happy in the end despite all odds.

She smiled as he held her and hummed an old Sinatra tune against her ear.

He had anchored her in the middle of his deep blue sea.