Haven: Traces of Sunlight
"I thought you were going to make calamari?" Audrey asks as she stands on one end of his boat, gentle waves slapping against the peeling paint.
(She doesn't have to remind him of the fading lettering on the side of the boat. The distinct lettering that spells out 'The Cape Rouge.' He should probably get a new coat of paint put on at some point).
He smiles, lips curve to form a playful expression. "Does it look like I have the ingredients to make calamari?" he asks. "Besides, I was actually planning on making lobster rolls. But that's for when we dock on Sunday."
Her face falls slightly. "I prefer calamari."
His fingers tuck a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear as his other arm wraps comfortably around her waist and he kisses the exposed, warm flesh of her neck.
"I know you do," he whispers as his soft breath tickles her ear. "That's why I was planning on making both."
She chuckles, looking out across the expanse of water as the gentle waves continue to rock the boat. The odd rhythm of the boat's movement somehow puts her at ease and Duke notices how the traces of sunlight reflect off of her loose curls of blonde hair that spill across her shoulders.
"I can make us peanut butter sandwiches, though," he says after a few more moments of silence have passed between them.
A smile creases her lips as she leans back against him.
She briefly finds herself wondering, I wonder if the other Audrey or Lucy Ripley liked peanut butter sandwiches.
It seems silly, she knows. But it's the things that were the simplest, the small, basic pleasures, the intricacies of her life that she keeps hidden from everyone.
Except him.
She remembers one time a few months ago where he'd gotten her some scented body oil and she made a joke about why the only reason he bought her scented body oil was because he wanted to massage her with it.
(When his oil-covered fingers had kneaded into the sore muscles of her naked back, she let out a low, soft moan and an amused grin swept across his face. Giving her pleasure satisfied him. But he'll never admit to her how much it killed him to see her in pain at other times).
But no one else has ever known that. Not even Nathan. Just Duke.
Only Duke Crocker, the smuggler turned friend turned lover (she'll never tell him how much she hates that word) knows of the simple pleasures. The simple pleasures that make her happy.
His voice disrupts her reverie. "Nobody knows you like I do, do they?" he murmurs, a hint of seduction in his voice.
She bites her lip in nervous contemplation before answering. "That's because no one has ever tried to get to know me. Not the real me. Not in the way you do anyway."
Her response lingers on the fragrant air that smells like sea water, sweat and the faintest hint of lilac perfume as traces of sunlight glare against the sparkling blue waters. His arms tighten around her, providing her with a sense of security she hadn't been expecting.
He doesn't respond.
Fin.
Author's Note: Written for mollivander's prompt on Audrey/Duke LiveJournal: 'Nobody knows you like I do.' Hope you enjoyed reading!