a toothbrush in there, too. Do you have any toothpaste?”
“Of course, I have toothpaste.” I half sat on the counter and sipped my coffee. “Why do you keep a toothbrush in your purse?”
“Oh, for all the one-night stands I have,” she said breezily, then rolled her eyes again when my face dropped. “Joke. Wow. You’re too easy. I keep it there so I can brush my teeth when I have to go from the library to class. I like getting my study sessions in early in the morning, but I also like coffee, so yeah.”
“Considerate of you.” I liked the explanation way more than I had her joke. The thought of her being with other guys bothered me weirdly. I had no claim on her, but a primal possessiveness was making itself known deep down in my chest. “Where would you like to go breakfast? There’s a diner not too far away that’s near the water.”
Her tongue swept over her lips and she averted her gaze like she was nervous about something. I arched a brow, waiting for her to come clean about what it was. “I might have sneaked a peek at the pictures up on the wall. There’s one of you with a boat. Is it yours?”
“Yeah, why?”
She tugged her lower lip between her teeth, hope flashing in her eyes. “Can we go out on it?”
“Sure, if you want. But unless you want to catch fish for breakfast, we’re still going to have to stop for something to eat.”
“Let’s get takeout. I haven’t been out on the water in way too long.” She beamed at me, then jerked her head in the direction of the bathroom. “Should I shower first, or do you want to?”
I blinked at her. We were falling into this morning-after routine really easily for two people who had only done it once before. “You can. I’ll bring you a shirt.”
In the end, I showered with her and we fooled around a little but didn’t get too intense again. Last night had been something else. I just wasn’t sure what yet.
We stopped to pick up bagels for breakfast and added a variety of snacks and drinks for the day. Once that was done, we drove together to the marina and Sofia surprised me by being willing and able to help me with the boat.
“Dad sails, too,” she said in passing, and I didn’t ask anything else about it because the last thing I wanted was to talk about Charles. Especially in the context of having something in common with him.
Eden was on my mind constantly, but I’d left a message at the base hospital. I’d been told in no uncertain terms that he wouldn’t be allowed visitors today. Apparently, they were running some tests on him.
It was hard to go about having a relaxing day on the water when I knew my brother was lying unconscious in a hospital bed, but Sofia helped. She coaxed me out of my mind and into talking by asking me questions about the boat.
“You didn’t want to keep a place, but you bought a boat?” she asked disbelievingly as we sailed across the bay. Slightly choppy waves clashed with the hull and made us need to anchor ourselves by holding on to something, but it wasn’t bad out at all.
“I’ve always loved boats and working on them. I bought it to have as a form of meditation when we were around.” My lips curved into a slight smirk. “A counselor told me to try therapy and meditation, so I did. But my way.”
“I like that.” She smiled and released a contented sigh. “It’s a damn expensive form of meditation, but I suppose it’s so much better than sitting cross-legged in your own living room.”
I nodded. “Much better. Plus, I bought this one for cheap and fixed it up myself, so it wasn’t damn expensive. Do you mind if I do some fishing for a bit?”
“Only if you’ve got a spare rod.” She squinted into the bright sunshine and shook her hair out in the wind. “But do you mind if we just keep going for a while? There’s something about being out here with the wind roaring in my ears and my hair going wild that clears my head the way nothing else does.”
“Yeah, I get that,” I replied, but I doubted she’d heard it. While she smiled into the sun with her eyes now closed and her nose slightly lifted, I did my best not to stare at