Chapter 9
"Can you fix it?" Mandy asked Steve, looking up to the roof of the bridge but couldn't see him, even with her hand cuffed on her forehead to block out the sun shining in her eyes.
He stood up with a crescent wrench in one hand and a hammer in the other and looked down at her. "This is way above my pay grade. I think you're right, it was struck by lightning." He pointed with the crescent wrench at the obvious parts even though she couldn't see it. "It's really damaged in this area and there's black markings that must be where it was hit. The wind did a number on it too."
She let her hand drop and let out a deep sigh of disappointment. "I figured it was going to be bad. It sounded horrible when it got hit."
"Why do we need to know where we are right now anyway?" Steve said, trying to make light of the situation. "We need the radio and the motor, not the satellite system."
"How do we know where we are going without the satellite navigation?"
"Hey," he pointed at his chest, "you forget, I'm a sailor. I was in the Navy."
"Mandy chuckled, "So we just what then…follow the North Star, Admiral?"
"We could, but only an amateur would follow the North Star. We would use the compass in the bridge and the direction of the setting sun on the third day and go…" he pointed out over the water in no particular direction, "that way."
She laughed again, "And what is that way?"
He looked at her peculiarly as if she dare doubt him, "Well…land of course."
"So, we just keep going that way," she pointed over her shoulder with her thumb, "until we reach where…China?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Steve huffed, pointing in the opposite direction, "China is that way."
Mandy laughed over his silliness, shaking her head, "You're crazy."
He had made her laugh; taking her mind off of their situation that had him beyond concerned, but he wasn't about to let her know that. His biggest fear was another storm. It had been two days since they had been stranded and they hadn't even seen a plane overhead let alone another boat, which told him they were far enough out to sea that they weren't even in a flight path of any major airport destinations.
He climbed down and went inside the bridge, looking over the instruments. He knew very little about this size of boat and the high-tech equipment that went with it. If he could choose one instrument to work, it would be the radar. At least that way he could tell if anyone was close by or get a weather read. They were drifting blind in the vast open Pacific and it was only a matter of time before they ran into another storm, not wanting to go through that again, and knowing Mandy would be terrified at just the thought of it. He was hoping they would be rescued by then, or at least run into a freighter ship. It was the same ole story he thought, freighters were all the over the ocean and sometimes an eye sore, but never around when you needed one.
She stood at the door of the bridge as he turned the lever that started the engines, but it was the same as the last six times he had tried. They failed to turn over.
"I wonder if water got into the gas lines?" he said out loud, but was talking to himself and not necessarily to Mandy.
"Maybe the water from the engine room leaked into the hull of the boat," she added. "That's where the main gas lines run, but there's no way for us to get to them."
Steve looked over at her, impressed that she knew that much about the boat. "You know your boat, don't you?"
She shrugged, "While others were lounging, I wandered and asked questions."
"How do you know we can't get to it?"
"It's under the boat, we have to be at dry dock."
Steve ran his hand over his mouth, wiping away the sweat on his upper lip. It was hot already and still early.
Mandy came inside and started flipping through the manual that had been under the main console. It showed diagrams and the layout of the boat and its electronic and computerized mechanisms by level, but unless you really knew what you were looking at or looking for, it was like reading a foreign language.
"What are you looking for?" he asked her.
"The stabilizer instructions. I want to see if maybe we can get below through the stabilizer wings area."
"We should leave them alone," he replied. "Let's not mess with the stabilizer. If we pull them in, I don't want to risk not being able to get them back out again."
She looked over at him, getting his meaning, feeling her stomach roll just a bit over the thought of another storm.
She closed the manual. "You're right. Let's just leave them be."
He saw her thoughts all over her face and changed the subject again.
"I'm getting kind of hungry."
She stared at him, processing his words while the current dreadful scene in her head of another storm played out. "What?" she whispered and then answered him. "Oh, yea, me too."
"I haven't been in the galley," he said to her. "But after that dinner last night, I think you have it under control."
Mandy followed him out of the control room as he shut the door, making sure it was sealed properly.
She glanced out at the ocean in all directions for what felt like the hundredth time already that morning, looking for some sign of rescue, or even by some miracle Frederick or Captain Bordeaux would appear, but as before, there was nothing on the horizon but miles and miles of blue ocean.
She looked over at him and they met each other's gaze, it didn't do any good to comment on it, because he had been doing the same thing. The subject was already becoming one that they just avoided talking about. What was there to say? It was pointless unless they saw something.
Neither wanted to bring that negativity or disheartened topic to conversation and potentially make the other feel nervous. They were doing a great job at keeping things positive as he had suggested, but no matter how hard they tried to appease the other, their situation that could quickly become dire was always the main topic in their thoughts.
…
Mandy opened the tall but narrow pantry door and showed Steve the inside. It had eight shelves that held a variety of dry goods. She named off the inventory from memory, starting on the bottom shelf.
"There are about four bags of pasta, a bag of rice and two loaves of bread and a box of Corn Flakes. About every kind of spice you can think of." She looked up at the top three shelves that were above her head. "Some dried beans and a bag of coffee beans. Flour, sugar, chocolate syrup, ten pounds of potatoes and…" she stood on her tippy toes, "oh yea, a bag of onions."
"That's a pretty good supply," Steve said, figuring off the top of his head that it was at least a two-week supply if they played it smart. "What about in the fridge and freezer or any fresh vegetables?"
"A lot of the fresh vegetables were in a crate on the floor," she said sadly. "They didn't fair very well."
"Did you throw them out?"
"No, I set them outside to dry out, but they don't look very good."
"I'm sure they're covered in salt water too, that could make us sick. We might want to just toss them. Are there any canned goods?"
"No canned items. Frederick hated anything that came out of a can."
She moved over to the oversize stainless-steel side-by-side refrigerator freezer. "I don't want to open it because I'm trying to keep the freezer cold. It's working off the generator, so the temperature isn't quite at freezing level, but cold enough to keep the meat safe. I moved everything from the fridge to the freezer."
"What do we have for meat?"
"Steaks, hamburger patties and pork chops. There's also ice cream, milk, cream, sour cream, crème cheese, three different kinds of block cheese., and some fresh berries and lunch meat."
"Frederick stocked a decent galley," Steve commented.
"Yes, he did," she replied. "I think our only dilemma is how are we going to cook anything? I tried the ovens, but they won't light. We could use the microwave, but it takes up a lot of electricity away from the freezer. I turned it on and I could hear the fridge slowing down and the lights dimmed in here."
Steve smiled and walked over to the wall on the other side of the galley and opened up the steel box. He flipped the switch to the propane and looked over his shoulder at her.
"Try it now."
She raised her eyebrows over his cleverness and turned to the stove next to her, turning one of the knobs. They both could hear the clicking of the gas and then the burner lit.
"Oh my god! You are a genius!" she clapped her hands and then turned it off right away to conserve the propane.
"Not really," he confessed. "I turned it off the night of the storm. There was smoke coming out of the oven."
She turned and opened the oven door. Inside was an 8x8 square glass dish.
"It looks like brownies," she said, looking disappointed at the burned mess. "They're my favorite."
She suddenly remembered the night of the storm and how Frederick had found her on the deck crying, feeling her heart sink.
"I think he was making them for me," she said sadly. "He knew they were my favorite."
Steve walked up and gently mover her out of the way. He took out the brownies and set them on the stove top. He reached around her and took one of the sharp knives from the wooden block that was secured to the countertop and used it to cut into the brownies.
He dug out two chunks as she stared at him.
He handed her one and smiled. "Burned or not, I don't think there is anything that Frederick will ever make that is not edible."
She loved him for not speaking of Frederick in the past tense. His ability to see the good in all things astounded her.
"You're right, and he would be very angry if we let these go to waste."
She took the chunk and tapped it against his as they both took a bite.
It was hard and crunchy but they both nodded in agreement, surprised that it was indeed, tasty.
"Not bad," Steve said, taking another bite.
"A little well done," Mandy commented, "but overall, they are pretty good."
Steve took the knife and dug out another piece. "Did you say we have milk?" he asked.
"Uh huh," she replied with her mouth full, opening the freezer. "We should drink it before it goes bad."
"No point in wasting it," he agreed, "and nothing goes better with brownies than milk."
They filled up two glasses and took the brownies up to the next level and sat at the dining table, enjoying their 'lunch' they considered in honor of Frederick.
Mandy finished off her milk and sat back in her chair with her hand over her stomach, "That was delicious."
Steve dug out one more and used the rest of his milk to wash it down. "Lunch of champions," he smiled.
She giggled and laid her head back and closed her eyes. "So far being stranded hasn't been so bad."
That was music to his ears. "It's what you make of it, and I think both of us are very optimistic." He got up and went over to one of the surviving lounge chairs and sat down, looking out over the vast horizon as the afternoon sun loomed overhead.
"I'm optimistic because you're here," she confessed.
"Bullshit," Steve said. "When I was laying on my back you took over and did what had to be done. You didn't hide in a corner." He glanced around the chair at her. "If I hadn't been here you would have done it anyway. It's called survival."
He said what he had to say and then faced the horizon again, not seeing her pleased grin and look of admiration once again.
"I guess you're right," she sighed, "because just sitting her makes me a little anxious. I feel like I should be doing something to improve our situation."
"I know. I feel the same way. I'm going over a list in my head but when it comes down to it, we've done everything I know of." He looked back at her. "Unless you have something we might have missed," he asked hopeful.
She shook her head, "No, I think we covered it all."
She ran her hand over her hair. "It sure is hot today."
"Jump in the water."
"Jump in the water?" she questioned.
He stood up and took his shirt off.
"Yea, like this."
He went to the edge and climbed up on the top of the rail like he had done once before and turned, giving her the shaka sign and a big grin before diving in.
She came out of her chair to the edge and looked over just as he came up and shook the water from his head.
"Come in, it feels good."
"You better be careful with that bump on your head," she scolded him. "And the last time I got in the water I was almost eaten alive. You should come out." She scanned the area for a relative of the nasty predator that had tormented her.
Steve laughed, "Are you serious?" he moved his body and arms showing off the space around him. "So, in this vast, huge ocean you honestly believe there is a shark right here waiting for us to jump in so he can eat us for dinner?"
"There was one last time," she argued.
"Because we were near the reef and that was a 'reef sharks'," he used his fingers as quotes. "As you can plainly see we are not near a reef."
She gave him a smirk, "Let me go put my suit on."
"Why? Just jump in."
She looked down at her tank top and shorts and shrugged. "Ok."
She climbed over the railing and screamed out as she jumped the ten or so feet into the ocean, landing feet first.
She came up and opened her eyes seeing Steve right in front of her with a big grin.
"Feels good huh?"
She wiped the water from her face and nodded, "Yes. It does."
He lay on his back and floated, looking up at the clear sky. Mandy did the same next to him.
Their fingers touched and Steve took her hand, holding it.
"Don't float away on me."
"I won't," she giggled, grasping his tighter, feeling a little uneasy about being in the deep, dark water, but she also felt safe knowing he was there.
They stayed like that for a few more seconds, soaking in the calmness around them when he let go of her hand and ducked under.
Mandy treaded water as he popped back up again in front of her.
"I have an idea on how to pass the boredom," he said.
"What?"
"Let's take the jet skis' out for a spin."
Her mouth came open as well as her eyes, "Good idea! Let's go!" She took off swimming to the back of the boat with Steve on her heels.
There was nothing else for them to do but wait and he couldn't just sit and stare anymore at the empty horizon. This would be the perfect solution to past the time and enjoy themselves at the same time. The water was calm and a break from the underlying stress was a plus. Besides, he figured get the fun in now, because if they weren't rescued soon, he considered setting them on fire to try and signal someone, but doing something like that today might not be in the right mindset for Mandy, so he decided to have fun with her instead.
…
Mandy followed behind him as they jetted across the water, staying close to the boat but going in circles around it.
Steve made a sharp right and whipped the back end around but still held control.
She tried the same move but lost her grip from the centrifugal force and flew off.
They both laughed as Steve pulled up next to her, gripping on to the handle of her machine as she climbed back on.
"That didn't go as planned," Mandy laughed.
"You looked very graceful flying off though," Steve complimented.
"Why thank you," she replied, putting the key back in the machine. "Let's try this again without the graceful fall."
She pushed the ignition and turned the handlebars and floored it, spraying him with the water that came out the back.
"Whoa!" he yelled out, wiping his face off as he took off after her, seeing her glance over her shoulder laughing at him.
They came around the back end of the boat and took off at a high-speed skimming across the water.
They got about a hundred yards out and she made a wide turn going back.
Just as he made the same loop, they both heard a loud boom over the sound of the jet ski engines.
Mandy slowed down, thinking it was Steve's jet ski, but as she turned to check on him, he flew past her at full speed with a startled expression on his face.
She turned and looked toward the boat, seeing what had him so upset, smoke was pouring out from the main deck.
Her heart skipped as she leaned forward and opened the throttle all the way, following his wake.
He didn't wait for the jet ski to come to a complete stop as it bumped up against the platform on the back of the boat. He jumped up on it ran along the side to the front, smelling the smoke before he could see it.
The living room area was already filled with a grey cloud as he came inside; realizing then that it was coming from below.
He went down the spiral staircase, putting his hand over his mouth as the smoke in the air became thicker.
It was coming from the galley. He saw the red emergency box at the end of the hall by Frederick's room and pulled it open, taking out the fire extinguisher.
His eyes burned and he coughed as he came in the galley, seeing the damaged stove from the explosion and the smell of propane. Flames were shooting up the wall all along the back and into the pantry.
He pulled the pin on the extinguisher and pointed it, blasting the fire with the white foam.
It terrified him that the small device wasn't powerful enough to tackle the blaze that was getting hotter and harder to breathe through, if it got any bigger it could easily consume the boat, which would leave he and Mandy stranded in the ocean with nothing.
He heard a noise behind him and turned seeing Mandy with another larger fire extinguisher. She pointed in the same direction as his and both of them together were able to douse the flames.
He tossed his aside as it ran out, turning to Mandy. She let go of the nozzle and handed him the fire extinguisher that was becoming too heavy for her to hold.
He resumed the task of making sure all of it was out, fearful of a smoldering coal in the wall. He moved in closer to the pantry and regretfully coated everything down, but he had to be sure the fire was out. There was no use trying to save the food that was in there by now anyway, it was either burned or covered with the foam from the extinguishers.
He heard Mandy in the hall coughing and came out, letting out the breath he'd been trying to hold as well and bent over, coughing up the smoke and particles from the extinguisher.
He felt a hand on his back as he stood back up.
"Are you ok?" she asked as he nodded.
"You?"
She nodded too as he went back inside the destroyed kitchen.
He leaned over the damaged stove and could smell propane, fearing another explosion.
"Mandy!" he yelled over his shoulder, "Go up top and stay there!"
"What is it?" she asked fearful.
"Propane is leaking. I need to shut it off. Go up top to the back of the boat just in case."
"I can help," she argued when he turned to her and voiced his command one more time.
"GO UP TOP!" he bellowed, not having the time or the patience to argue with her about it, wanting her out of harm's way before he attempted to shut it off.
She startled over the voice that was a mixture of anger and panic. She turned and darted for the stairs, her adrenaline pumping from putting out the fire, but her heart raced from the fear of leaving him down there with another potential explosion.
She kept running until she was where he had told her to go, banging into the railing as she turned, staring at the leftover smoke as it slowly dissipated into the air; her hands nervously bunched up against her mouth, listening closely to the silence, praying that it stayed that way.
"Please be ok, please be ok, please be ok," she whispered over and over as horrible images of him being burned or worse overwhelmed her. The sight of him lying on the floor with blood all over his face when she had found him after the storm was frightening enough, but it would be nothing compared to burns or his death. Tears from that horrible thought began to fill her eyes.
She stood there for several minutes but what seemed like hours, before she finally began making her way back to the front of the boat, regardless of what he said.
She came around the dining table and into the living room through the open sliding doors. The room still held the lingering smell of smoke but was quickly being replaced by fresh air from the breeze that blew in off the water.
She saw him sitting on the white leather couch with his head bent in his hands, covering his face. A wave of panic rose up in her, fearing that he was hurt.
"Steve!" she practically screamed as she ran to him.
He removed his hands and looked over at her.
She stopped just before him with her palms pressed over her heart. "Oh my god," she gasped in relief, "I thought you burned your face," she let out a couple of deep breaths, "but you're ok. You're, ok," she said again, more or less to assure herself. "We're ok."
"No were not!" he blurted out, rising off the couch and moving away from her. "The kitchen is completely destroyed!"
She shook her head in confusion over his outburst, "It could have been worse," she reminded him.
"It is worse!" he yelled again. "Didn't you hear me? The kitchen is destroyed! You have nothing to eat!"
She hadn't got that far yet, and started doing a mental tally of the food in the kitchen that was now gone, but before she could fathom the outcome, he did it for her.
"The pantry that had all the food is gone! It's all gone!" he turned away from her, running his hand over his sweaty hair. "I was so fucking stupid to turn that propane on! What the fuck was I thinking?!" he blasted himself.
"What about the food in the freezer?" she asked.
"The freezer is broken; all that meat will spoil as soon as it thaws! You'll only have enough to eat for a few days," he explained intensely, "but not nearly enough if help doesn't come soon!"
It was as if he had already given up.
"It'll be ok," she replied passively, trying to calm him down.
"How?!" he shouted, "I destroyed the fucking kitchen! What are you going to eat?"
She noticed right away that he kept mentioning her and not they, clearly he was more concerned for her well-being than his own, which she should have found flattering but she didn't. He was beginning to sound like the rest of the men in her life who saw her as a weak little child who needed taking care of.
"Jesus," she fired back, "you make it sound like all of my baby formula was just destroyed! I'm not a child! I understand what is happening here, and I also understand that we have been in trouble since day one! What do you think, I'm a fucking moron?! Stop talking to me as if I have no idea that we are stranded in the middle of the ocean or that our situation is not critical. I'm aware! I'm also aware that we have to stick together, it's not just me so get off that male ego bullshit mentality!"
He was initially startled over the outburst but it did little to sway him from the responsibility that he felt for making their situation all that more dire.
He somberly walked back over to the couch and sat back down, shaking his head as he turned his face away from her. "I'm sorry, Mandy. I'm sorry for making it worse than it has to be."
She sat down next to him, "This wasn't your fault. The storm wasn't your fault. The engine room flooding wasn't your fault and the propane tank exploding certainly wasn't your fault."
"I should have checked it. The whole boat could have burned up," he said uneasily, feeling that wave of overwhelming fear go through him again as he saw the smoke from his jet ski. All he could think about as he skidded across the water was the two of them stranded on the jet skis' in the middle of the ocean. Leaving the boat altogether was another crucial error. What if they had been swimming when the explosion hit and there had been no way to get back onboard? He felt a shiver run down his spine over that thought. It was his job to protect her and he had failed miserably.
"It didn't burn down and we're still in one piece. I consider that a plus."
He gave her a side-glance forcing a small smile but felt no exoneration from the ordeal.
"I'm going to go check and make sure there's no smoldering ashes," he said, getting up and going to the spiral staircase.
She let him go, even though she knew he was still beating himself up over it. She felt that nothing she could do or say that she hadn't already was going to change his feelings. He just needed some time alone to absorb the fact that it really wasn't his fault.
She got up and went around to the back of the boat to retrieve the jet skis' and tie them down.
It took her about thirty minutes, having to go out and get his that had drifted off, but she finally got them put away, all the while hoping he'd be calmed down by the time she got back.
She tried not to think about her stomach that was growling. They might have lost all the food in the pantry, but they still had a freezer full and an ocean full. She assumed there were fishing poles on board but had yet to use one herself, ever in her life, but she assumed Steve had.
He just seemed the type that would know how to fish. Most of the men she knew who experienced deep sea fishing did it on boats like this one, but it was someone else who baited and cast the line while they had a cocktail and waited until they were told they had a bite. After that the crew helped them reel it in until it got too difficult and then they would step back so as not to get reel grease on their fancy clothes. It was always the boat crew who cleaned the fish too and then packed it for them to take home. Even then it was the housekeeper or their personal chef that cooked it for them as they told their guests how they caught the prize dinner with a story that sounded much more impressive than the actual event.
Somehow, she didn't think Steve fit that bill.
She came in the living room from the deck and didn't see him, but heard him below still in the galley she presumed. She heard a loud noise as if he were tearing it up, assuming his anger was still intact.
She sat down on the sofa and leaned back staring straight ahead, thinking about him and the fun time they had in the water earlier before all hell broke loose. She didn't want to think about the explosion, or the lack of food, or the even more apparent lack of a rescue. She closed her eyes and moaned softly, sliding her hands down her face as if letting out the exhaustion that she felt from it all. They had done a superb job of dancing around the subjects that could lead to massive depression and fear. Both of them working ever diligently trying to appease the other, she just never thought in a million years that it would be Steve who broke first.
When she opened her eyes back up, she focused on a bottle of Cuervo Gold Tequila behind the bar on the enclosed shelf that had somehow survived the storm.
She never did straight shots of tequila, but somehow the moment called for one.
….
Steve pulled down on a piece of fiberglass wall in the pantry and examined the other side of it, he then leaned forward checking the interior of the wall for anything glowing that might resemble an ember. He saw nothing but black soot and the remains of the fire extinguisher foam.
He tossed the burnt piece of fiberglass wall in a pile that he'd made as he cleaned up the debris. It helped having a job to do, even if it was this one. His mind wasn't so much occupied anymore with the food shortage and the fire as it was with Mandy's scolding. He had treated her exactly as she had said, but not because he thought she was weak or childlike but because he was genuinely beginning to care about her in ways that he hadn't expected. It had been hovering around him since that first night they had spoken on the deck, which now seemed like a lifetime ago. He'd tried since then to play down his feelings for her, but it was evidently impossible. So much had happened to draw them closer. It had materialized quickly but the short timespan didn't sway his feelings for her that were moving in a direction which panicked him on her safety, and his ability to keep her out of harm's way.
He smiled to himself over her getting fired up and putting him in his place. Danny would have been proud of her, he thought humorously. She was shy by nature, but she could also be vocal when she wanted to be, admiring the way she had certainly cooled his jets.
They were a pretty good team he thought, taking her advice that they needed to stick together to get through this. He felt he was in just as capable hands as she was. She didn't blame him for any of the mishaps that he was taking full responsibly for, on the contrary she scolded him for blaming himself, taking her advice again and letting the guilt go. She pointed it out clearly that it was not helping their situation whatsoever.
He stepped out of the burnt pantry and looked up, hearing music coming from the upper level, tilting his head and chuckling over the song that was playing.
He came up the spiral staircase and saw Mandy holding a shot glass in one hand, the bottle of tequila in the other and dancing to Surfing U.S.A. by the Beach Boys as it blared out of a speaker that was sitting on the bar.
She saw him but didn't flinch, making her way over to him as she moved her hips to the beat of the music, singing along to the words as the second chorus began.
"We'll all be planning out a route. We're gonna take real soon." She poured a shot of tequila and handed it out to him. "We're waxing down our surf boards. We can't wait for June."
He laughed but held his hand up, denying the shot. She gave him a snooty look, flipping her hair as she turned the opposite direction and danced away from him.
"Stick together," he chuckled, following behind her. "Ok!" he yelled out over the music, "Give me a shot."
She turned back around with a bright smile and danced back over to him. "I had a feeling this song would do it for ya, Hawaii Boy." She handed him the glass and blasted out the next lines which she felt was even more fitting for him. "All over La Jolla," pointing at his chest, "and Waimea Bay."
He downed the shot and leaned into her, singing the last verse with her.
"Everybody's gone surfin. Surfin U.S.A."
"Woo hoo!" she cheered, holding up the bottle and dancing away from him as the song came to an end with the title being repeated as it faded away.
"How many of those have you had?" he asked.
"More than you," Mandy replied, setting the bottle on the bar.
"Obviously," Steve chuckled.
"Get over here," she demanded. "You need another one to catch up with me."
"And if I refuse?" he teased, walking toward her with the shot glass.
She turned and leaned back against the bar with her arms spread out resting on it. "Then you will have to face my wrath, Hawaii Boy," she whispered the next words. "And I don't think you want to do that."
"No," he agreed, "you already beat me up once today. I think I'll take the shots."
"Ahh," she teased him back. "Did I hurt your feelings with the truth?"
He stood before her holding the shot glass up by his chest. "Pour so I can drown my damaged ego."
She laughed and filled the glass.
He drank the shot and held it up for her again. "Ok let's get this over with."
She smiled happily and poured another one as he drank it down, making a face as he shook his head. "Whoa, one ok, two is…whoa!"
She went around the bar and pulled out a plastic bottle of sweet and sour mixture. "I don't want to waste the ice we have but I can make some warm, shaken margaritas?"
Steve slid into one of the barstools that were bolted to the floor and rested his arms on the bar. "I'm sorry for earlier."
She looked up at him as she poured tequila and the mix in a shaker cup. "No apologies during happy hour," she replied.
He liked that reply, but the idea of getting drunk was like a catch-22, he was enjoying her good mood but didn't want another mistake under his belt like the last two today.
She slid a glass half full of margarita over to him. "I promise not to do anything crazy like my brother."
"So, you are one of those people who knows how to handle their liquor?"
She smiled, holding up her glass and rested her elbows on the bar as she looked at him, "Yes, and I'm hoping you are as well."
He tapped his glass against hers, "I'm like a Boy Scout."
Mandy smiled as she took a drink.
"The music was a surprise," he added.
She reached over for her laptop and came around the other side of the bar and sat next to him. "I have a portable speaker with about five hours of battery life and my laptop with a zillion songs, which is also fully charged at the moment. What should we listen to next?" She shuffled through her list.
"I don't know, but let's make it fun."
She glanced over at him, "Ok, how so?"
"We'll do a list. First play your favorite song that you have on there."
"Impossible! There are too many."
"If you were stranded on a yacht in the middle of the ocean and could only have one song, what would it be?"
She chuckled over his analogy, "Ok," she sighed, "I know exactly which one." She looked at him sheepishly. "It's kind of my anthem song and ironically it has a theme for our situation."
He raised an eyebrow over her set up. "I'm intrigued. Let me hear it."
She scrolled down and pushed play, turning the volume up. "Miss Kelly Clarkson is my hero." She picked up her glass, feeling relaxed by the alcohol and energized as the song, Stronger. What Doesn't Kill You, came on. She lifted her glass in the air and slowly swayed to the music as she sang along with the tune.
He'd heard this song before not knowing the singers name or all the words but knew the song, raising his glass to her, "Nice pull!"
He watched her with a wide grin on his face as she sang word for word, clearly enjoying herself. He rested his back against the bar as the two shots began to relax him as well, raising his glass as she belted out the chorus.
"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, Stand a little taller."
He thought of her explanation of this song, not only as their theme which was true but it was her 'anthem' she proclaimed, wondering if she felt this way her whole life?
She came back over to him and sat down, "I love this song."
"No lyrics have ever been truer. What else do you have on that playlist?" he reached for her laptop and she shut it really quick, stopping the song before it ended.
"No!" she giggled. "You can't look at my playlist."
"Why not?" he laughed.
"Because," she held the laptop in her arms like she was protecting it, "it's embarrassing."
"They're just songs."
She rolled her eyes, "Yes, but some of them are kinda old."
"Those are some of the best ones."
She looked at him curiously, turning the tables on him, "What kind of music do you have on your playlist?"
He shrugged, "I don't know, new, old," he leaned into her, "some really old."
"How old?"
"50's, 60's old." He pointed at her laptop, "You had the Beach Boy's, that's from the 60's and that's nothing to be embarrassed about."
"Is your phone charged still?" she asked.
The last time they had their phones out was the day before to check for a signal after the storm. "Yes. I turned it off to save the battery. I don't want to use it unless I have to."
"Chicken," she grinned. "You just don't want to show me your music."
He grinned mischievously at her. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours?"
She blushed slightly over that phrase, but more so over the way in which it was delivered. "Ok," she replied, wishing that request was taken to heart, she just might show him, she thought, giggling to herself.
"I have music on my laptop too," he said, getting off the barstool and standing still for a second, feeling slightly intoxicated. "We should eat something soon."
"It's all defrosting," Mandy said. "We'll eat like kings until we can't anymore," she laughed.
"How are we going to cook it?" he asked.
"One thing at a time," she whined. "Go get your laptop."
"Pushy," he huffed, glancing over his shoulder at her. "Make me another margarita, that was pretty good."
"Demanding," she huffed and then smiled at him as he went down the spiral staircase.
He came back up just as she was setting his fresh drink on the bar.
He took the seat as before and opened his laptop. "How am I going to make it work on that speaker?"
"You have Bluetooth on your laptop, don't you?"
He purposely looked at her with a blank stare, playfully blinking repeatedly, as if saying he had no idea.
She laughed and reached over for it. "Give me it. You do, they all do."
"Don't I need Internet to hook it up?"
She chuckled, "Now I know why you have old music in your playlist."
"Hey," he laughed, "settle down now."
She glanced up at him from searching his laptop, "You're what? Thirty-three, thirty-four?" she asked curiously.
"Thirty-four," he replied. "And your twenty-eight."
She smiled, "You are very perceptive Mr. McGarrett. Good guess."
"I looked it up on the internet," he confessed.
"You Googled me?"
"Yep."
She rolled her eyes, "I'm sure you were bored after two minutes."
"Actually," he replied, "I was trying to get an idea of who you and your brother were."
She tilted her head to the side. "And? What was your assumption after your investigation on Google?"
"I had two. One was that you were spoiled because you never look at the camera, which makes you come across kind of snobbish. And…"
"That's rude to assume! Just because I'm at some event doesn't mean I have to…"
"AND THE OTHER," he interrupted her back, getting her full attention. "Was that you were cautious and shy, not necessarily comfortable with having your picture taken. That was the one I leaned toward and after meeting you, I was right. There isn't a spoiled bone in your body Mandy McKay. My apologies for even considering the other."
"Oh," she quickly backtracked, "well then…thank you."
"You're welcome."
She looked back down at the laptop with a pleased grin.
He watched her intently, feeling in that moment that he was glad he was where he was. The events that had led up to it, he was not glad for, but in this moment right here, it was nice.
"All done," she said, looking up at him. "Ok, so everyone has that one song in their playlist that they feel they will be shamed for. Don't tell me that you don't have one."
He cringed and smiled at the same time.
"Oh my god," she laughed, "you do have one! What is it?"
He bent his head chuckling, both from the having to reveal the song and from the alcohol that was making the situation more amusing than it should have been.
"Come on, don't be scared," she encouraged him.
He looked up at her trying not to laugh, "It's one of those songs that I play really loud in my truck, but if I stop at stop light, I turn it down." he chuckled uneasily, "I don't even know why I like it, but I do. It was a one hit wonder. You probably have never even heard of it."
"Tell me, I'm dying here," Mandy pleaded, putting her hands together, imploring him, "What is it?"
"Ok, ok," he caved, blushing slightly as he shuffled through the tunes and pushed play, looking up at her with an embarrassed grin.
She knew the song right away as the first bars of 'Come on Eileen', from the English band Dexy's Midnight Runners came on and she laid her head back laughing over the unexpected surprise from him. "I love this song too!"
"It's really good, right?" he laughed.
"Yes! And I think a lot more people like it than you think."
He started singing the first verse, word for word, which amused her to no end.
"You know," he said jokingly but with a straight face, "no one knows that I love this song, not even my partner. This could ruin my career wise. I would never live it down."
She crossed her heart, "I swear on my life that I will never divulge your secret that you love Come on Eileen."
He wiped his hand over his forehead as if relieved over that.
She laughed and slid off the barstool, reaching out for his hand and pulling him to his feet, singing out the second verse as she danced while he just held her hand not reciprocating the moves as enthusiastically as her but did sing with her.
He wasn't sure if it was the song or her or both, but he suddenly felt completely uninhibited and so far out of his element that it was actually like an adventure singing to the music and revealing a side of himself that no one else knew.
He grabbed her hand and pulled her up close as they belted out the words, "Come on Eileen, Oh I swear, what he means, at this moment you mean everything!'
She laughed with pleasure as his other hand slid around her waist and he started dancing with her.
They finished the tune with laughter and a hug.
He sat back down on the barstool and took a drink of his margarita. "Ok, now it's your turn. I want to hear your shame song and you have to be truthful," he added, "I just sold my soul."
She bit her bottom lip and turned to her laptop. "I'm a total geek from the inside out," she confessed. "Now I'm selling my soul to you." She looked over at him squeamishly, "I love Elvis and I love Barry Manilow."
He clapped his hands and laughed over the confession that was truly old school. "My mom loooved Barry Manilow songs," he said, "and Elvis," he declared with his hands held out, "who doesn't like the King?" She truly was unique and he was having more fun with her being stranded in the middle of the ocean than he'd ever had on a real date. "Give it to me," he motioned with his hands, "give me your best, most embarrassing Barry or Elvis tune."
"Well, it's Barry," she confessed, "but it's not the song Mandy," she quickly added. "I do like that one too though."
She cringed, as the song 'Can't smile without you' started. "This one just makes me feel good," she smiled happily.
"Ahh yes," Steve admitted, "Even I know this one. I swear my mom wore out the cassette tape in the car and I even remember once after a fight, my dad took her in his arms and sang this song to her as a way of making up. At the end of the song he dipped her back and kissed her and all was forgiven."
"That's so romantic," Mandy cooed.
He stood up and held his hand out to her. "Come on. Let's do this."
She slid off the barstool and took his hand. He moved in close to her, singing the words as they came flooding back to him. Not recalling all of them but the chorus was easy.
"You know I feel sad when you're sad. I feel glad when you're glad."
She couldn't think of the last time she's had this much fun. Being with him was like opening that door that Cash had always been begging her too, finally seeing what was on the other side and rejoicing over the pleasure it brought. He truly was like no one she had ever met and the freedom she felt with him was refreshing and dreamlike.
As the song came to an end he dipped her back, holding her around the shoulders as he had seen his father do to his mother. He remembered thinking at the time how weird it was, but he was ten and now at his father's age he appreciated the move he had been unknowingly taught.
She held on around his neck and looked up at him as the words in her head almost rolled off her tongue. 'Now kiss me,' she thought eagerly, never wanting one more than she did at that second.
He held her in place, looking at her as she stared up at him. It seemed impossible but she was actually more beautiful now than ever before, staring at her lips that were just as perfect as she was.
He lifted her back up, giving her a sweet peck on the cheek. "You've got great taste in music," he said, not letting her go right away, liking the feel of her so close.
She bent her head and smiled, "And you've got some serious moves," she said of the dip at the end.
"I was a little worried halfway through it that those two shots might put us both on our backs."
She kept her head down, fearing he could see her thoughts all over her face. "I felt completely safe as always, "she said, moving away from him and taking a seat at the bar. She took a drink of her margarita and closed her laptop, feeling slightly jilted that he'd had the opportunity to kiss her but didn't take it, but why would he, she thought? He was intelligent, handsome, and confident. She felt like she had his respect, but that was all. It seemed that only men like Bryce, who were shallow and self-seeking were attracted to her. Steve was out of her league.
Her mood had changed in a flash and he blamed himself. He had over stepped his boundaries with her yet again. Why did he make that stupid move and why did he kiss her cheek? It obviously made her uncomfortable. He'd wanted to kiss her lips but was relieved now that he hadn't, disappointed but relieved.
He felt his heart drop to his stomach, realizing then through his haze of alcohol that they were alone on that boat together. What if she were now weary of him? He was a cop for christsake, he should know better. There was an underlying threshold of threat that women had for men, and he knew that. How could they not feel it? There were assholes out there that ruined it for the others who would never over step that boundary. He feared he had taken advantage of the moment of dancing with her, innocent or not, he and gone too far.
"I'm sorry, Mandy," he blurted out. "I know I made you uncomfortable. You know I would never…I mean, I feel like I might have overstepped my boundaries and we're alone here and I don't want you to think that I would ever purposely do anything to make you uncomfortable in my presence. I guess what I'm trying to say…"
"Hold on," she stared at him in disbelief, "are you under the impression that I feel threatened by you?"
He shifted nervously in his seat and nodded, "Maybe a little because of that stupid move. I can see clearly that it made you uncomfortable."
She couldn't believe what she was hearing. He was the most unthreatening man she had ever encountered in her whole life, yet here he was, fearing that he had insulted her because he had simply performed a move that she actually found incredibly romantic, wanting a kiss from it. He had grossly misread her mood change and now she in turn felt bad for it.
"Steve, please, you did nothing wrong."
"I don't know," he replied woefully, "you got awfully quiet and I could see on your face something…different."
"I thought you were going to kiss me," she blurted out thinking she was relieving him of his pain, but only enhanced her own, "Not that I would have minded," she quickly added, feeling her face flush. "I understand why you didn't and it's ok. It was just a silly thought I had when you dipped me back like your father had and when you didn't…" she was rattling on again and sounding foolish, assured now she had made him uncomfortable. "I know you don't see me that way and now I've made you uncomfortable," she sighed heavily, wanting to crawl away from him. "I have an idea," she said as she stood up and turned away from him, "why don't we forget this and see if that meat is defrosted. Those shots are making me hungry now and I'm talking crazy," she laughed but it came out more as a nervous chuckle. "I bet you're hungry too," she said as she went for the stairs, wanting to run. She started down and glanced over at him as he still sat on the barstool, staring at her as she went down.
'You don't know shit about women,' he thought, completely blind-sided by her. 'How could she think that I wouldn't want to kiss her? Not want to sleep with her, not want to just sit and stare at her?' he thought confused over her sincere confession that left him dazed.
He had originally alleged that she wasn't his type but he was dead wrong, she was exactly his type, whatever that even meant, which he wasn't sure anymore.
Besides her unmistakable beauty, she was smart, resourceful and fun, but it was her thoughtful insight of knowing how to handle him, especially earlier that day that impressed him the most. The simple truth was, he liked everything about her, and the way she got tongue tied when confessing her mischievous thought, he found that irresistible.
He slid off the chair and picked up his margarita and downed the rest of it, and then followed her down the stairs, hearing her in the galley, feeling his heart race as he neared the door.
He stood there as she came into sight, encouraged by her words that she wanted him to kiss her, and coming from her; he considered it the best compliment he'd ever received, needing her to know the truth that he wanted it too, so they could put this uncomfortable rift between them to bed.
"I think the hamburger will be our best bet," she said, seeing him at the door, trying to forget what had happened upstairs.
He didn't say anything but walked over to her as she unwrapped the meat that had just come from the freezer. The room still smelled of smoke and ash but it was the last thing on his mind, too consumed over her presence.
"Hey," he said quietly, brushing back a few strands of her long black hair away from her face.
She slowly turned and looked at him, reeling over the romantic gesture that was anything but innocent. She was putty in his hands, willing to follow whatever impulse he had.
"I wanted to kiss you," he professed. "How could I not? I find you fascinating, Mandy, absolutely fascinating."
She felt her heart begin to race and the air leave her body. The sincerity in his expression and the words he spoke was profound to her. She bent her head, too shy to look right at him. "Fascinating?" she smiled but questioned his choice of words. "Most see me as boring, not fascinating."
He almost laughed out loud over the obscenity of that statement, but knew she was being 100% sincere, "Boring? I see you as a lot of things Mandy McKay, but boring is not one of them."
She smiled shyly feeling as if her heart was going to jump out of her chest, rejecting all her natural impulses to shy away from him and this conversation, but instead she spoke up, feeling this was a once in lifetime chance to connect with a man who really believed in her, finding the courage to look up and face him.
"I find you fascinating too. I don't feel threatened by you, Steve. I never would, simply because you would never allow it."
He felt that she had described his character to a tee, or what he had always strived for at least, despite his job and how some people perceived him; it was refreshing, wanting to kiss her, just for that.
"I feel like there's this giant elephant in the room now," he joked, "with big puckered lips."
Mandy bent her head and chuckled over that. "You make me laugh more than anyone I know."
She was flooring him with her beauty that just shined at the moment.
"What should we do about that elephant?" he asked.
She once again looked up at him, feeding off the opportunity to not let this moment go by that she might regret forever. "I don't think we need anything else to complicate our situation. Maybe we should just kiss, and make things uncomplicated."
Once again she had found a way to fascinate him with the perfect reply.
The forces of nature took over and he slowly leaned in to her as she closed her eyes, anticipating the moment she had been fantasizing over. What it would be like to be kissed by him?
Her lips were warm and they felt just as perfect as they looked.
It was everything she had imagined plus so much more, feeling butterflies in her stomach, a first for her. She put her hands on his face as he pulled her closer, practically lifting her off the ground as she rose up on her toes to get closer to him.
The warmth from her lips turned blistering hot as he got a taste of Amanda McKay unguarded and uninhibited, leaning her back against the counter as the kiss became more than just an ice breaker.
He slid a hand into the silky softness of her hair, cupping the back of her head as they shifted but neither one broke off from the pleasurable momentum they had going.
Mandy whimpered softly, feeling she might float away as the ground beneath her feet ceased to exist, all her senses were centered around his touch and the kiss that was gentle yet unmistakenly passionate too.
They finally broke away and he ended it by kissing her softly two more times before they opened their eyes and looked at each other, still in the tight embrace, both of them letting out a soft sigh.
"Well," Steve whispered, "I feel pretty uncomplicated now. How about you?"
"I feel pretty damn good," she smiled, her eyes still dreamy as she looked at him, understanding now the sensation of falling in love that she had read about so many times but had yet to truly feel in her life.
He couldn't hold back the urge to kiss her again, so he did.
She greeted him eagerly, wrapping her arms back around his neck.
She pictured in her head the two of them alone on a beautiful beach in Hawaii, laying in the sand with a sunset …
She suddenly broke from the kiss when a thought just entered her mind from the fantasy.
"Hey, you know what?" she blurted out, looking over her shoulder at the pound of hamburger meat on the counter.
Steve looked at her peculiarly, "Ahh, no what?" He chuckled slightly over the quick break and mood change.
"We have a portable barbeque on board." She faced him again with her hands on his shoulders. "We went to a beach one time and Frederick barbecued chicken on this little portable grill.
He received the information with as much enthusiasm as she had delivered it. "Great! Where is it?"
Her expression became perplexed, "I don't know, but it's here on the boat somewhere."
He stepped back and looked around the room. "It's not in here, I've been over every inch of this room."
"The jet skis!" she said. "I bet it's down where the jet skis' and floaties are?"
She went out of the room first with Steve behind her as they went for the inside spiral stairs. The romantic moment between them was special but their ultimate survival was priority for both of them.
They found it exactly where she had predicted. It was secured to the wall inside a small latched door where the jet skis' were kept for easy access. Steve undid the grill and small propane tank and brought them up to the deck. They both looked down at one of the huge problems that was now solved and smiled happily. At least for now they had a way to cook the food they did have left.
He glanced over at her and asked the question that had him wondering since she had made the discovery.
"Ok I have to ask. I was kissing you, and in the heat of the moment you suddenly realize that there is a barbeque on board?" he motioned to the grill, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm glad you did, but do you see where I'm going with this?"
Mandy bit her bottom lip and smiled, "Yes, well…" she stammered, "I, I was thinking about you and I during the kiss on a," she turned away, recalling her fantasy that brought on the grill, "and well…never mind," she shook her head blushing over the vision of them making love on a beach.
"No, no!" Steve playfully argued, "You can't leave it there."
"Ok, ok,' she giggled, deciding to come half way clean with him. "I was picturing us on a deserted beach making out, and I must really be hungry because in the background was a little picnic and grill… and then it just hit me."
He couldn't have loved any answer more than that one, laughing out loud as he put an arm around her shoulder. "I'm relieved. I was a little concerned that you were so bored with my kiss that you were taking inventory on the boat."
"Bored with you? Never."
He put his hand under her chin and turned her face up to his, "I feel the same way about you," he kissed her once and then took an extra second to look into her blue eyes that seemed to calm him even in the most crushing of moments. "Let me see what I can do about fulfilling that other half of your fantasy of a barbeque picnic."
She turned her body into his and hugged him. At the moment everything was perfect even though they were still stranded in the middle of the ocean, they had seemed to overcome yet another obstacle together, and in the meantime had grown closer as not only friends but as man and woman.