Asch and Octavia looked into their iced coffees, then at each other. She spoke first. "I'd buy the place myself except for two things. I ain't got the money, and I like the idea of you buying it."
Asch sighed, using his straw to stir his iced coffee. "Buying the place has its appeal. I like it, but it would be a pretty serious commitment. When I came here my intent was to look the place over, then check out a few other islands, and maybe settle on one, maybe not."
"Girl in every port, eh?" she kidded.
"Ha. I didn't come with the intention of being on the make, but I have to say I met a woman who blew all the other ports to pieces." He wiggled his eyebrows. "I think."
"You're welcome to shop around," she said, "if you like living dangerously." She gave him a sexily dangerous look, then got more serious. "Well, you could still buy the place, get a sailboat, have here be your base of operations."
Asch nodded. "Hmm. True. Have Bill be my pilot."
"I bet he'd like that. He can't afford a boat yet himself, and I hadn't thought about him operating someone else's boat until just now. But that might work out. He could still own the bike shop; give Jenny and the others a bigger share, still make money." She smirked. "Then he could have a girl in every port."
Asch chuckled. "He ought to get lucky sometime." He scowled a little. "The thought keeps intruding that I might as well spend my money on something, and it's tempting to just do it."
Octavia tilted her head. "Your call. I don't want to nudge you either way. In fact, whatever you decide to do, I'm content. As long as you don't decide to ditch me. I mean, I've been a hundred percent happy just living in the present, and hadn't even thought about your future until this came up. So I know I'll be happy if nothing changes, and the prospect of actually having the house is attractive in prospect." She smirked again. "Those are the facts. You decide."
Asch slurped the last of his coffee, making an obnoxious noise. "Ah! Best part of the drink." He sighed and smiled. "It's almost noon. Let's go have lunch."
They stopped by Bill's Bikes and Asch asked if they could figure out a way to put a bike carrier on the back of their little car, then they stopped in Bob's Beers for a sandwich while Charlie went to work on the bike carrier. Octavia could tell that Asch was looking at her a lot, mentally taking off her white blouse. The thought made her nipples hard, and increased both their fun. Private fun, of course. They were halfway through their sandwiches when Charlie ventured in. "All done! Piece of cake. Um, I wonder if I could ask you two a question."
They invited him to join them, and Asch insisted he order a sandwich, on him. "Call it a tip for fast service." So he did. They chit-chatted about scuba things, and Charlie timidly held up his challenge coin, to which both Asch and Octavia presented theirs.
"Guess I don't get a free beer today, he grinned. Oh well, I hate the stuff anyway. Had one for my twenty-first birthday and haven't had one since."
Asch agreed that beer was an acquired taste. Charlie's sandwich came, and they both looked at him expectantly.
"Okay here's my situation; you guys have been around the block a couple times, so I figure you might have some wisdom for me."
"Well, we'll see. Is it girl problems?"
Charlie chuckled at their insight. "Close. It's girls problem."
Asch and Octavia nodded knowingly. "Having two girlfriends ain't so bad," quipped Asch. Octavia kicked him under the table. "Oof! Okay, I'll be serious. And we won't share what you say with anyone, either. Okay? Spill."
Charlie heaved a big sigh. "Okay. I've known Jenny for several years, and admired her from a distance, but too scared to do anything. Then she got her job at the bike store, and she was even friendly! We went to that music lecture together—which was pretty interesting, by the way—and I walked her home. Got ice cream. She let me kiss her goodnight! I was in heaven."
Asch and Octavia were holding hands under the table. They smiled at Charlie's romance.
"So okay, we agree to be cool and professional at work, which was all right. Lets me concentrate on the job. Then Sharon shows up, and she starts flirting with me!"
Asch shook his head. "Man! What a problem. Oof!" Octavia had kicked him under the table again.
In spite of himself, Charlie smiled. "Yeah I know. All the guys are jealous. It wouldn't be so bad if Sharon weren't so cute. And she does things I like. And I dunno, I like Jenny. A lot. And I don't want to make her mad at me. But she's more reserved, y'know." He heaved another sigh. "Sometimes I think about Jenny doing the things Sharon does." He looked up at them and grinned. "That's kinda fun."
"Have you asked Jenny what she thinks of Sharon?" Octavia asked.
Charlie looked blank. It hadn't occurred to him to talk to Jenny.
"You might find out how much Jenny knows about Sharon."
"And if you ask Sharon about Jenny, she could get the idea that you like Jenny more. And in any case, people reveal a lot about themselves when they describe someone else." Asch added. "But I think you're wondering how much you can get away with with both of them. If that's the case, try socializing with both of them at once. Like a three-person dive or something. If you try to chase each of them behind the other's back, you're crusin' for a brusin'."
Charlie brightened. "I'm saving up for an underwater camera. And studying for the underwater photography certification. We could have a photo session." He got a gleam in his eye. "Several photo sessions. We could be a team."
Asch sat back. "Excellent idea. I think you hardly needed our advice." The lunch meeting broke up and Asch and Octavia headed back to the house. They still had several hours before she had to show up at Rita's.
They found a note on the table. Lydia had gone to Easthaven to talk with Sharon, then have dinner; didn't expect to be back until late.
"Oh goodie!" Octavia clapped her hands and jumped up and down. "We can pretend the place is ours and see how we like it!"
