Seth and Jay had headed back to shore a couple hours ago. Dean and Meg tried a few more fishing spots before putting the rods away for the day. "Alright. How many times did you navigate the boat by yourself?" he asked.

"Seriously? If you are on a boat, are you going to let a girl have the helm?" she snorted.

Dean shook his head. "Meg, we're different men. Scratch everything you know and just answer my question, which is obviously never. Dumbass." He made himself comfortable in the captain's chair and patted his lap. "Have a seat, sweetheart." Meg raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Seriously, get over here and sit down. You are going to learn how to navigate these waters or at least get your first lesson. It's important if you are going to be out here alone or if we are out here together and I lock into a big one like you did earlier. If I'm fighting a monster fish who's going to be driving the boat?"

Meg moved closer. "Me."

Dean pulled her against his side as he smiled up at her. "You. So you need to know what you are doing. It's better to learn while things are peaceful and calm, not while we're chasing that big fish and under that stress." She slid around and perched lightly against him. "Woman," he growled against her shoulder before yanking her against his chest. "Sit still. You are light as a feather."

"Liar." she muttered, knowing he couldn't see the little grin on her face.

"Babe, I've got you by a good foot and at least a hundred pounds. You can't hurt me. Now, let's focus on the lesson. You were reading the fish finder as a depth finder. Let's use some other features on this GPS because you actually have a really nice model." Meg listened to Dean explain how to use the electronic gadget, accelerating the engine, and the sensitivity of the steering. "Alright, next lesson. You've lived around here for years. Landmarks look different from the water. Look around what do you see?"

Meg looked at the shoreline. As she followed along the water's edge and looked farther inland, she finally pointed. "Over there! That's the water tower for town!"

"Which town?" When she glared at him, he laughed. "Teasing! Good job. That's one. It's good to have at least two more."

"Can I call those cliffs a landmark?" she asked.

"If you know what they are called." he said with a smile.

She groaned. "I'll know if you tell me."

"But we're pretending I'm not here. You are out here alone having engine trouble and you are going to call me to come help you. You need three landmarks so I know where to find you." Meg wanted to smack the smirk off Dean's face. He looked so adorable as his lips twisted and eyes twinkled.

"So now we are role-playing scenarios. Thanks for the heads-up." Meg rubbed her chin. "So my engine quit working. You didn't specify whether it just quit or whether I tried to refire it after fishing for a while. Either way, I would check the depth-finder and see if I was in the channel. If I'm not, I would anchor so I would stay put and not drift from my current location. That would seem to me like the best plan, unless there was a chance that the tide would take me towards town. Then I would start looking at the other boats out here on the water and since I apparently don't recognize any of them I would then start looking at landmarks as I got out my phone." Pausing for a second, Meg turned with her bottom lip stuck out and whimpered, "Oh, please, big strong Dean… I am stuck out here on the water all by my lonesome in a boat that won't go. Can't you please, please come rescue helpless lil' ol' me?" For extra dramatic effect, she had pressed her palm against his chest. For this reason she was able to feel his heart start to pound. She began to pull back. "Um…"

Dean grabbed the back of her head with his right hand. "Not backing away now, babe." His eyes were focused in on her mouth. His left hand covered her hand on his chest, keeping her frozen in place. "You are stuck on the water all alone, remember? You need my help. Tell me how to find you. You've got one landmark. You need two more. Find them, Meg. I can't get to you without them." His thumb began rubbing circles against her scalp. "Don't leave me panicking about you out here in this boat."

"Um… I can see the town water tower but I'm not very close to that."

"You already told me that. Find another one."

"Yeah, ah, well, I, um, I was near the cliffs where we were fishing that first time but I'm between them and the cove."

"That's good. It means something to me. Coast Guard would be clueless but it's personal to me. I need a third point of reference. You can do this, Meg." Concentrating was difficult with his breath hot on her skin.

"You are distracting me. You said friends today…" She looked into the eyes that were so close, their noses nearly brushing with every gentle rock of the boat.

"Mmmm." Dean finally raised his gaze from her lips to meet her eyes. "Friends. Yes, really good friends." Tilting his head to the side slightly he seemed to wait a moment. When Meg didn't back away, he pulled her closer. Her fingers gripped his arm. She sighed his name and closed her eyes. Keeping a slow pace, he let his lips rest against hers. When she parted hers, he parted his. Slipping his tongue into her mouth, he supported her head as she seemed to wilt against him. The moan from the back of her throat was so erotic. Was that from me? Just from a kiss… This kiss? Oh… And he's holding my head and my hand. I can feel his heartbeat. His heart is pounding, racing. This affects him as much as it affects me. And it's just a kiss…

Dean pulled his mouth from hers, drawing a deep breath. He whispered, "I can't apologize for kissing you, even if you think it feels like it's moving too fast. Meg…" She cut him off with a quick press of her lips. Just a quick peck, enough to let him know that everything was okay. "Well. Good to know. Alrighty then." He dropped his arms to her waist as the continued to hold eye contact. Now that he wasn't holding her hands, her arms had risen to encircle his neck and were toying with the hair at the base of his neck. "So…" He trailed off as her eyes dropped back to his mouth. "We can stay right here for a while longer or we can try to get the boat back on the trailer before dark. You might want that lesson while it's still daylight."

"Good point." she agreed.

"One you have no idea…" He shook his head.

Meg leaned forward to press another quick kiss to his lips. "I do because… But you made me a promise and you are a man of your word. And as much as you say not to compare," her voice dropped to barely a whisper. "There's only one man I've known so it's hard not to. I can only go by what I know." Dean gripped her hips hard at her admission, knowing exactly what she meant. "I know you are a good man. I am in good hands. It will work out."

"That it will. That it will." He kissed her nose and turned her around. "Next lesson; we are taking the boat back to the docks. Focus and learn." Meg swallowed hard and straddled his thigh. Focus on the boat, on the water, on the buoys, anything but the heat. "Very good. Keep it below 5 knots. That's going to feel like we're crawling. It's important not to make wake because of the boats in the marinas on either side of us. The boats moored in them just crash repeatedly throughout the day needlessly, so be respectful and obey the limit. Keep to the right." When they arrived at the dock, Meg was pleased that no one else was around. "Choose a side and pull close. Whatever you do, don't let the engine hit bottom. Cut it and let us drift in." Meg followed his directions precisely. Dean stood and caught hold of a piling, wrapping the ropes that Meg had to secure the boat after she raised the engine. "Here's the real question – Do you want to try to back the trailer to the boat?"