Following Me (30 page)

Devon walked down the hallway and
took the elevator to the bottom floor.  It was early, so Devon started walking
toward the L station on her way to Brennan’s place.  When she pulled out her
phone to text Brennan, she found it was already ringing.  She hadn’t noticed it
was set on silent.

“Hey!” Devon said.  She was glad
to hear from her brother.  It had been a while since they had talked.

“Hey, Dev.  Can I just tell you
how much I hate you right now?”

Devon laughed and shook her
head.  “Why is that?”

“Because you’re in St. Louis, and
I’m in New York City with Mom and Dad.  How exactly did you get out of this?”
he asked.

“I didn’t take the bait like you
did!”

“This is supposed to be for your
birthday!”

“No,” Devon said, “we both know
it’s for Mom.”

“Yeah, speaking of, she wanted me
to call and guilt-trip you for not being here.  I mean, she wanted me to tell
you how much she misses you and wished you could be here,” Dustin drawled.  He
had never given up his Southern accent.

“Well, tell her that I’m so sorry
even though I’m not, and good luck at the award ceremony, even though she
doesn’t need it,” she said.

“Word for word, Dev.  Word for
word.”

Devon laughed.  “Ass.”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

“No, really, tell Mom and Dad
good luck and that I miss them.  I have to go,” she said, wanting to get off
the phone before she reached the train station.

Devon couldn’t believe that she
had actually gotten this far without anyone growing suspicious.

“SO, WHERE ARE we going?” Devon
asked, walking up the stairs to the L station.

“You’ll see when we get there,”
Brennan said.

He took her hand and held it in
his as they walked.  He looked comfortable today, not wearing his work
clothes.  She liked him like this—in khaki shorts, a blue T-shirt with a
lighter button-up over it, and his ever-present Wayfarers.

“Am I going to like it?”

“Would I take you somewhere you
wouldn’t like?” Brennan asked.

Devon smiled and let him take
charge.  She wasn’t a big fan of surprises, but this one felt different.  It
was exhilarating.  They hopped on the train and sat next to each other.  She
could get used to this.

“I think Hadley’s getting
better,” she told him.

“That’s good to hear.”

“I told her I was going out with
you, and she turned into a total girl,” Devon said, rolling her eyes.

Brennan smirked.  “I’m sure I can
guess what she’s thinking.”

Devon looked down at their
hands.  “Probably.  She’s entirely predictable.”

He leaned forward and kissed her
lips.  Her eyes fluttered closed as she breathed him in.  This had been
happening all week, and every time he pulled back, it made her want more.  His
kisses were intoxicating, leaving a heady haze over her mind when he touched
her lips.

She pushed herself toward him,
trying to close the distance between their bodies.  She snaked her hands up and
gripped his collar between her fingers.  As their tongues met, Devon groaned
softly.  Her body was on fire.  She couldn’t get enough of him.

Brennan’s hand trailed along the
exposed skin on the small of her back, and she shivered.  He chuckled, pulling
back to look at her.

“I like when you get all riled
up,” he said huskily, pressing and lacing their hands together.

“You do it so easily,” she said,
her voice betraying her desire.

“And in public no less.”

Devon flushed all over, glancing
around at the people near them.  She was sure some of them had noticed, but she
hadn’t even thought about it.  She had never been big on public displays of
affection either…but this was Brennan.

“And there’s that blush,” he said
with a laugh.  “Damn, do I love that.”

She ducked her head and smacked
his shoulder playfully.  “Shush!”

“This is our stop.”  He dragged
her to her feet and kissed her full on the mouth again.

She wobbled against him, her mind
going blank.

When he released her, he chuckled
again and pulled her along.  “Come on, you.”

They walked through the streets
until they reached a park in front of the Navy Pier.  She had been up here
twice before.  The first time was with Garrett during her first week in the
city.  The second time, she had wanted some time to relax.  She had brought her
journal and sat by the pier, writing lyrics until she thought her brain would
explode.  Then, big fat water droplets had begun falling all over the pages,
and the waves had started crashing higher.  She had ducked out of there as soon
as she could get away.  She hadn’t been back since.

“Navy Pier?”  She wondered if
this was the surprise.

Then, she looked closer.  It was
packed
with people.  Children were everywhere, attached to their parents or running
around like mad.  Boats filled the harbor, stretching out as far as she could
see.  Big heavy sails held taut on enormous sailboats.  The lighthouse stood
out in the distance like a beacon against the cloudless horizon.

“Why is it so busy?” she asked.

Brennan’s smile was contagious,
and she found herself standing on her tiptoes to kiss him again.  He laughed
and picked her up, swinging her around in a circle.  Devon giggled, burying her
face into his shoulder.

“I think I’m going to love being
with you everywhere I go,” he whispered into her hair.

“Me, too,” she confirmed.

After setting her gently back on
her feet, he kissed her forehead, her nose, both cheeks, her chin, and finally,
he planted a firm kiss on her mouth.  She tried to keep the kiss going, but he
pulled back.

“There are too many people here. 
We should just go back,” Devon said, wrapping her arms around his waist.

“You don’t even know what you’re
in for,” he said with a chuckle.

Brennan walked her away from Navy
Pier, leading her off to the right toward the park holding her hand once more. 
His hand was big and warm.  She had petite hands, and his dwarfed hers in
comparison.  She liked it.

She was starting to get really
curious about where they were going and what was happening.  She was
practically bouncing up and down with excitement.  Brennan kept looking at her
from out of the corner of his eye.  His smile grew wider at her enthusiasm.

“So…really, what are we doing?”
she asked as they passed through the small park.

“Have you ever heard of the
Chicago to Mackinac Race?”

“No.” Walking at his side, she
stared at all the huge boats docked.

They walked, crossed the end of the
park, and stepped out onto a sidewalk leading up to the water.  Devon looked up
at the building that stood before the docks and read
DuSable Harbor
on
the side.

“Well, it’s a huge sailing
tournament.  Hundreds of sailboats flood the lake to sail from here to the
island on the north coast of Lake Michigan.  It’s over three hundred miles.”

Brennan took a right and started
walking away from the Pier side of the harbor.

“Wow,” she said, surprised she
had never heard of this.

“It’s hosted by the Chicago Yacht
Club, which is that building,” he said, pointing it out from their vantage
point on the harbor.

“Oh, fancy,” she said, wondering
if it was anything like the country clubs at home.

Brennan shrugged.  “I suppose
so.  Anyway, I’ve actually sailed to Mackinac Island a couple times in the
competition.  Decided to sit it out this year, and I’m glad I did.”

“Why?” she asked, trying to keep
her mouth from falling open.

Brennan knew how to sail and
was good enough to enter competitions?  What else didn’t she know about him?

“Because now I get to spend today
with you.”  He took a turn, walking down one of the busy wooden docks.

Devon smiled brightly, giddy from
his compliments and the impending surprise.  They walked down the dock, stopped
at the very end, and faced a pretty imposing-looking boat.  She didn’t know
anything about boats.  Well, she knew nothing more than the one her parents had
at their lake house.  Even then, she hadn’t been all that interested in much
more than tanning, tubing, and drinking.

“This is Alma,” Brennan said,
gesturing to the boat.

“Alma?” Devon asked with an
arched eyebrow.

Brennan shrugged.  “She was named
after my grandma.”

“This is…your boat?” she asked
slowly, trying to keep it all together.

“Well, it’s my dad’s boat, but
we’re going to use it today.”  Smiling, he jumped onto the deck like he was
more familiar with it than the land.

He extended out his hand to her,
and she took it, steadying herself before taking the first step onto the boat. 
It rocked as her weight shifted it, and she all but fell into his arms.  He
caught her easily, laughing.

“We’ll work on your sea legs,” he
said, holding her steady.

“I’ve been on a boat before,” she
said defensively.

“When was the last time?”

“I don’t know.”  She chewed on
her bottom lip.  “Like two years ago.”

“Way too long.  I’m glad I could
remedy this,” he said.  “Come on, let me show you around.”

His boat included way more than
her parents’ lake boat, which was big enough for a couple of people, not much
more, to jet around the lake.  Brennan had pointed out that this was less of a
boat and more of a cabin cruiser.  It had plenty of space for hanging out on
the deck, and it also had a cabin area with a small kitchen and dining room as
well as a door that led to an even smaller bedroom with a double bed taking up
the majority of the room.  When her eyes landed on the bed, she knew that she
should look away, but somehow, she couldn’t.  Even when she had been staying at
Brennan’s, she had slept on the couch.

She scooted out of the room and
went back onto the deck.  It was hard to keep her mind out of the gutter.  Her
life had been filled with
that
for a long time. She didn’t want to fuck
this up.  She had so much more to figure out first.

They spent the afternoon enjoying
each other’s company, leisurely cruising around the harbor and watching the
sailboats depart.  It was lazy and comfortable and exactly what Devon needed.

Day faded into night, and the
soft crash of the waves hitting along the boat lulled them into silence.  Lying
on a blanket out on the deck, Devon cuddled up into Brennan’s arms, leaning her
head on his chest.  He rubbed his hand back and forth along her arm.  As the
boat swayed to and fro, she felt herself slipping away toward the sleep that
had so often evaded her.

“Hey,” he whispered before
kissing her forehead.

“Hmm?” she mumbled.

“You can’t sleep yet.”

“I wasn’t sleeping,” she said
with a big yawn.

“Good.”  His hand moved from her
arm to her waist, pulling her in close.

“Brennan,” she whispered,
propping herself up on her elbow to look at him.