I jumped up from the chair and turned to Howie who looked at me with a raised brow.
"Howie, are you okay?"
"Yeah, not my first punch, but my first punch over a woman. Are you okay, he didn't do anything, right?"
"Other than annoy me, no, he didn't." I smiled as I looked at him. "My hero. I think you deserve a reward for that one."
"Yeah, like what?" I lightly cupped his cheek and turned his head to mine; giving him the softest, and sweetest kiss. "Thank you. No one has done that for me. It feels nice."
"Don't get used to it; I need my hands for work you know."
"I know which is why it's even sweeter. Come on, may I have this dance." He grinned as he lead me onto the dance floor and wrapped his arms around my waist while I laid my head on his shoulder, the feeling of being in his arms so very intoxicating.
"You really never punched a man over a woman?"
"You find that so hard to believe?" I pulled back slightly and looked at him, nodding slowly.
"Howie, you are smart, funny, sexy as hell, and so sweet. I would think that your preference of women would be those sexy types that have all kinds of male attention, so, I would have thought that there was more punches."
"No, I don't date extra sexy types. I mean, I don't think I'm that super-facial. And the women that I was seeing were not turning down the male attention. In fact, my dear Theresa, you may be the only woman I've ever 'dated' that has not liked that attention while with me."
"That is very sad to hear and breaks my heart for you. I may have had just a sexual relationship here, but I still remained faithful, I didn't want to see anyone else."
"And he didn't deserve such a heart like yours." I ducked my head as I blushed and felt him tug me closer. "And that blush on your cheeks is one of the sexiest things and I like to keep seeing that." I buried my head in his shoulder, trying my best to ignore that chuckle.
-----
I walked off the boat, taking a sip of the coffee that Howie bought and made our way to the van. We had booked an excursion for some shark diving, totally his idea. Not that I was scared. Oh, who the fuck was I kidding, I was, and he damn well knew it too. But, he said, and I quote 'don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you'. Now I knew what he was referring to, but I really couldn't help but feel that he meant something else. And that was totally crazy. After all, I've known Howie for such a short time, but yet, I had never been so open with anyone before, and truth be told, I'm not so very sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. I just knew that I was very comfortable with him and that was something I wasn't used to.
He glanced at me again and I smiled, taking him in behind my sunglasses. His shorts hung low on his hips and his tank top was tight against his chest, showing that off, along with those arms. Still mind blowing how women could walk over him.
"Would you stop staring?"
"I am not! And besides, how can you tell?"
"Your smirk!" I pulled down my shades and made it a point for him to see the roll of my eyes, which only made him laugh. "So, are you ready for this?"
"You mean to not get eattin' here?"
"You won't!" He chuckled as he threw his arm over my shoulder. "They have people there to protect you." I laid my heard on his shoulder and sighed.
"I know, but that doesn't mean I'm not worried."
"You'll be fine. Shall we?" He let me in first and took the middle seat, smiling as he slid in next to me. I moved closed and pulled my phone out and snapped a picture of us. "Are you going to send that?"
"No." I looked at it and then up at him. "I think I just want to keep it for me." Howie looked at it over my shoulder and smiled.
"Yeah, I agree. Want to send it to me?" I smiled all the more as I sent it off.
-----
I looked around as we got closer and sighed, feeling Howie chuckle at me, but he didn't feel like he was going to his death. And as we pulled up, I could feel my nerves kicking up a notch. We climbed out of the van and grabbed our bags, finally heading over to the shark housing area. I tossed my cup in a bin and grinned as Howie grabbed my hand, giving it a light squeeze.
I took another deep breath as I listened to the instructor, knowing that I was safe within the cage, but come on, we were talking about sharks here, those things with the many rows of sharp pointing teeth, all swimming around you, trying to figure out why you smell so yummy and wanting to bit. Yeah, sure, you all tell me you are okay with that. Howie took my hand as the guy finished and lead us to the boat. We climbed on and I looked around; finally turning my eyes to Howie who offered me one breath taking smile. Well, shit, if I was on my way to my death bed, at least I could die a happy woman after that smile.
----
"Are you happy now? You didn't die." I shoved him and rolled my eyes.
"It was an enjoyable experience and I did feel totally free, and they were gorgeous to see, but I was still freaking out. Swear my heart still isn't beating normal." We walked back on the ship and he just kept smiling.
"But you can knock that off your bucket list."
"That wasn't on mine!" I linked my arm through his aw we walked up to our rooms.
"Fine, still, something amazing you did."
"Yeah, I suppose so."
"Want to join me for dinner?"
"Sounds great. Let me shower and I'll meet you." I smiled as I walked into my room and sat my bag down. So far, this cruise had gone past anything I ever thought it would be; and was a good thing. I wasn't a one night stand gal, so wasn't my style. But, I wasn't expecting my heart to run away from me either.