Smooth Sailing Read Online Free PDF Page A

Nielsen.”
    “Swedish?”
    “Half Norwegian.”
    Kaatje chuckled, clearly finding herself very funny. “I’ll take you anyway.”
    They walked down the pier until they reached the back of the boat. Laurie was behind Kaatje and she spent the seconds available checking her out. Her opinion of her was changing, and she was trying to sort out her impressions.
    Kaatje was probably gay or at least bisexual, and that had led Laurie to read her entirely wrong. She had that hard-to-define vibe some lesbians give off. An “I’m not trying to impress you” attitude that made her seem slightly haughty.
    Adding to the puzzle, Kaatje was pretty enough to be a jet-setter, with her long, glossy dark hair and striking features. And she certainly had the build of a rich girl—tall, very thin and angular. But her excited smile when they decided to go sailing made that seemingly haughty façade disappear.
    “Have you been on a cat before?”
    “If this is a cat, no I haven’t. Actually I’ve never been on a sailboat.”
    “Then you are in luck. A catamaran is, in my opinion, sometimes faster and always a lot more fun than a regular sailboat.” Kaatje jumped on board and steadied Laurie as she followed. “I’ll give you a very quick tour. This is the cockpit.” She pointed at the thick vinyl-covered cushions in a U shape. “You can sit there”—she slapped the deck a foot and a half higher than the cushions—“or here. You can also go up where I was trying to sleep, but then you can’t listen to me talk, and I’m pretty interesting.”
    Definitely a lesbian . She had that vaguely flirty attitude that could easily be explained away as mere friendliness, but it could also mean she was hitting on her. Lesbians could get away with much more of that than guys could, and some of them were shameless about exploiting it. “You sail this big boat by yourself?’
    “I can, but it’s easier if I have an assistant. I had one during high season, but she left a couple of weeks ago.”
    “Are you sure you can do it alone?”
    With a smug smile Kaatje said, “Positive. I could use some help casting off, but if you don’t want to, I can find somebody to help.”
    “I’ll do it if you tell me how.”
    “If I don’t tell you how to cast off properly, you’ll get left on the dock and then I can’t charge you full price. So, it’s in my best interest to train you well.”
    “It’s in your best interest to stay awake and try to find clients.” She batted her eyes and gave her a big Teddy Bear smile.

Chapter Four
     
    LAURIE WAS NOTHING if not fastidious about following directions, and she was a stellar cast-off mate. She nimbly hopped back onto the boat at the exact time Kaatje told her to, and managed to balance herself with the aid of Kaatje’s steadying hand. “Well done! You’ve got good balance.”
    “I had years of gymnastics training. It’s paid off.”
    “Ready to head out?”
    She looked up at Kaatje who had climbed onto a wide bench that faced a big wheel and a dozen black gauges. “Yeah, but I won’t be able to talk to you.”
    “Come on up. You can sit right here.” She patted the seat next to her, trying not to look like she was flirting. When Laurie hesitated, Kaatje pointed to several relatively level spots that surrounded her. “Or here, or here, or here.”
    “Can I stand behind you?” There was a flat surface directly behind Kaatje’s seat.
    “Sure. But you should probably take your sandals off. The deck can get slippery.”
    Laurie slipped out of her sandals, then climbed up and stood just to the right of Kaatje. With a big, genuine smile affixed to her mouth, she looked as interested and engaged as it was possible for a human to be. “Did I tell you I’ve never been sailing?”
    “Sure did.” Kaatje expertly steered the boat away from the docks, and the wide bay opened up before them. “As soon as we get a few hundred meters out, I can cut the engine and we can really sail.”
    “Cool.