Someone Else's Ocean(71)

My name is Ian.

This time I lifted my own hands repeating his movements.

My name is Koti.

He nodded and made a quick sign, which I assumed was the word good or yes.

Over the next hour, we remained in silent conversation as I stayed puzzled half the time before I began to catch on. By the time class was over I’d learned to introduce myself and ask, “How are you?” Also a few basic signs, how, who, why, when and where.

“That was pretty good,” he said as he erased the board.

“That was incredible! You learned sign language this way?”

“Yes, my teacher was a deaf woman named Billy, and she was incredible.”

“It seems impossible to learn this way, but it’s really kind of amazing.”

“She could read lips and talk, but speaking was forbidden in her classroom.”

Excited, I jumped on him, he laughed at my unexpected enthusiasm and caught me easily, gripping my ass and holding me close to him. “I love it!”

“Really?”

“Yes, so much. I can’t wait for more. Do we have to stop today?”

“Yes. It’s easy to forget the signs. I want you to practice them all night and all morning. It may seem trivial to you, but you’ll understand why later. Okay?”

“Is this like the Karate Kid, where you make me wax on, wax off and then show me some kick-ass moves?”

Ian chuckled. “Something like that.”

“Well, I’ll make you proud, sensei.”

His eyes shone with something that resembled adoration and my heart warmed with the hope of it. “I suspect you will, puffer fish.”

Our matching grins disappeared as he leaned in and took my lips, kissing me with a lazy and seductive tongue.

“About what I said the other night while I was smashed.”

I gave him a side-eye. “You actually remember that?”

He winced. “Some of it?”

I shook my head. “No more. No more fighting, no more misconception, no more judging, speculating, worrying, none of it. I’m having a great time and so are you. That’s all we need to know. Let’s move on already.”

He let out a breath of relief. “Music to my ears.”

“Same here. Let’s leave it at the egg comes first and have some more fun.”

“What if I said the chicken came first?”

“Well then, I would have to burden you with coming up with proof, professor.”

“I have no proof.”

“Then we can debate about it during our swim like adults.”

“Swim?”

“Let’s go swimming and after,” I waggled my brows, “we can after.”

“Aren’t you hurting?”

“I’m good. Actually, I’m great. I’m growing into a huge fan of sex after years of being on team abstinence. Also, sex between us requires little communication which, if we’re honest, we seem to suck at.”

“Good point,” he said, smiling down at me. “But I think we’re getting better.”

“Agreed,” I said, as he let me on my feet.

“I’ll get my suit on.”

I took his hand and moved toward the front door. “That won’t be necessary, professor.”





ANXIOUS, I CHECKED THE ROAST in the oven for the second time in ten minutes. Any second, Ella would be walking through the door and I wanted more than anything for her to like me. Even if Ian and I didn’t have a future, some part of me hoped for a lasting friendship. I lost everything when I left New York and severed ties with everyone I thought was close to me, but Ian and I were a different kind of close. He understood me like no one else in my life ever had, including Jasmine. He knew me intimately and touched me in ways I needed. He knew my secrets, my fears and asked me constantly what my hopes were, to which I had no reply. I never thought past getting through my days when I arrived on the island. And now it seemed I had a whole different life in front of me. I didn’t tell him my hopes because the truth was I wasn’t sure. For the first time in my life, it wasn’t mapped out, which was both amazing and a bit terrifying. But I had learned I didn’t need big dreams and accomplishments to matter. And his question was more geared toward my happiness, I knew it without him telling me. So, when it came to hopes, I would let them evolve just like I had when I set foot in St. Thomas. And maybe before he left, I would have something to share. Even when our time ended, I hoped to remain a part of his life, even if it meant I would have to witness him living it with someone else.

His friendship was a rare gift when it came to acceptance. While a part of me knew I was in love with him, a larger part of me knew that for some reason, when I was six-years-old I was gifted with a best friend who later turned into a soulmate. We spent the first month together at odds, but the last few weeks had been some of the most blissful days of my entire life. When I knocked off work, I raced home without a clue as to where our night would lead. It was different from the predictability I learned to count on every day, but oddly the new routine felt just as safe because of Ian.

And the fact that I had never been in love played a large part of the reason for my happiness. I tried not to dwell on it due to the impending heartbreak, but the truth was I had never experienced the constant pounding heart, desire, the elation, the need, the torturous want, the playful comfort. All of that, from the time I was in my teens, was stripped from my life by my ambitious schedule and the aftermath of trying to keep up with it. There had been boyfriends, a few of them memorable but never had I ever felt such an attraction to a man. I’d never in my life been inspired the way I was by Ian. His ability to make me feel everything with a single look was unparalleled by any before him.