Prelude

Sailing Date part 0 prelude

Well this is definitely the most unique second date I’ve been on I thought to myself as I turned my car onto the dirt road. I’d met the girl I was going to see on tinder. Unlike the vast majority of dates I had been on that year; the first date had been a blast. There were a couple awkward pauses, sure, but by and large Hannah had been a lot of fun and very easy to chat with. Bonus points that she didn't seem to notice, let alone mind, that I was only 5’4” and not exactly buff. Scrawny, scrawny is the word, my inner monologue reminded me.


It had been her that suggested going sailing for a second date. She had a small sailboat, kept at a dock her family owned a little ways out of town.


‘A little ways’ turned out to be more like ‘an intermediate ways’ if you asked me. It had been nearly a forty minute drive


Finally though I was turning into a driveway. It was an empty lot except for a small shed and a dock. Hannah had explained that her parents bought the lot planning to eventually build a cottage. But that was nearly ten years ago and plans were no further than that.


I pulled my car up next to hers and put it in park. I was wearing a baggy grey shirt and jeans with a bathing suit under them. Hannah had told me to bring one and I figured this way I wouldn’t have to change, just lose the pants. The bathing suit was a baggy red thing.


At first I didn't see Hannah anywhere, but the boat was in the water a short distance away. Smaller than I had expected. I don't know why but for some reason I had pictured something sort of grandiose when she said sailboat. Something you could cross the ocean in, or at least sleep on. It surprised me when she said she owned one. This made a lot more sense; it was just a little dinghy sailboat, big enough for two people, maybe three. Around fifteen long perhaps. The small boat made me a little nervous, I really wasn’t comfortable swimming, in that I didn't know how to, there was no use sugar coating it.


Just then Hannah emerged from the small shed and spotted me. Her face lit up and she waved. That was a good sign. She was gorgeous, she had a fair freckled face and dirty blond hair that was in a single long braid reaching well past her shoulders. She was wearing a pair of tight black Lycra shorts and a white tank top under a pretty slick looking black life jacket that she somehow managed to make look good. It was form fitting, hugging her body tightly unlike most of the -allways slightly too large- vests that everyone seemed to have on their power boats. The front was a solid panel, with no visible buckles or zipper.


I walked briskly over to greet her.


The fact that Hannah was wearing a lifejacket was a bit of a relief, I honestly always preferred to have one on but sometimes felt a bit awkward if I was the only one wearing one.


“Hey! Welcome!” Hannah rushed over and gave me a big, and unexpected, hug. Hannah was noticeably taller than me and her hugs were legit, she squished me into the foam of her lifejacket. I was thankful for the lack of hard plastic buckles on the front of it. It struck me that it was probably a very comfy jacket.


“Are you excited?” Hannah released me, she was beaming.


“Ya definitely, I’ve never done this before.” It was the truth, I had been out on friends' power boats once or twice but never a sailboat, although I was also more than a little nervous.


“You’ll love it. It’s a blast.”


She looked me up and down.


“You brought a bathing suit, right? You don't want to sail in jeans”


I nodded. “Ya I have it on underneath.”


“Great!” She was still looking at me then at my car.


“Wait, what about a lifejacket?”


So I guess I should have grabbed it, I thought back to when I left the house and briefly considered getting one from the basement.


“No I don’t “ I responded, I hadn’t bothered to bring one as every time I’d gone boating with friends they had plenty of them on their boats.


Hannah seemed concerned. I shared the concern as I wasn’t particularly comfortable going out on the tiny boat without one, I liked this girl but wasn’t sure I was ready to drown for her.


“Crap, that's my fault, I should have told you to bring one.” She bit her lower lip and looked back at the shed for a moment then turned to look at the boat. “We might have something in the boat, let me go check.”


I considered mentioning that I couldn’t swim but it was a bit embarrassing to bring up, and Hannah seemed determined to find me a lifejacket anyway, so for the moment I just went with the flow.


I followed her to the side of the boat as she jumped in, opening a cargo hatch and digging through it. After a few moments she closed the hatch and seemed to think.


“Ok, let me go check the shed.” She didn't sound confident.


This time I waited by the boat as she ran off to go search the shed. Her long braid bounced as she jogged lightly. I gazed out at the lake while I waited, there was already a steady breeze; it was rustling the trees and creating ripples across the surface of the lake. It was really pretty beautiful. Just my luck that something stupid like a lifejacket would ruin what clearly had potential to be an amazing date.


Hannah was only a few minutes in the shed, she was already walking back when I turned away from the water. The fact that she didn't have anything in hand was a bad sign.


“Ok, so there’s nothing there.” Hannah seemed annoyed.


I cursed myself for not bringing a jacket when it occurred to me to do so.


“I’m really sorry, but we can’t go out without a lifejacket for you. I know it's kinda dumb but if I got a ticket for you not having one I wouldn’t be able to compete in the regatta-“ I cut her off mid explanation.


“It's fine, I honestly wouldn’t be comfortable without one, I’m not really comfortable swimming. I actually almost brought one but didn't want to seem weird and figured you’d have them on the boat.”


“Ow” She was surprised but didn't seem off-put. “That’s fine, ya we always wear them on the boat. I just don't have extras because I use the boat for racing, so I don't keep anything on it. You don't need to be embarrassed about that though, that’s dumb”


It was a remarkably easy exchange, I was really enjoying spending time with Hannah. I felt comfortable with her. We stood around for a moment looking at the boat and the lake. I looked up at her standing next to me and marvelled again at how out of my league she was. I couldn’t believe we were going to have to just head back to town. It surprised me how disappointed I was considering the idea of sailing was well outside my comfort zone.


Hannah seemed to sense my gloom at the turn of events. She frowned as she looked over at the boat and lake.


Then she turned and looked down at me, and her face became almost calculating, like she was sizing me up. She cocked her head to the side a little and seemed to be scanning my torso.


“Well,” she paused. “This is probably dumb but there might actually be an option here.”


I didn’t say anything, waiting for her to continue.


“This is a bit of a weird idea… my little sister's life jacket is out here. It’s a kids life jacket. But… you’re pretty small, I mean you’re small enough that you might fit into it… technically.”


She was as gentle as she could be regarding my stature but it still stung a bit, given that this was the first time she’d mentioned it in any way. She continued when I didn’t immediately respond.


“Only if you want to try it, I mean. I don’t expect you to.”


Comments about my size aside, the news was good. I really didn't see what the big deal was with a kids jacket.


“No, that's great!” More enthusiasm than I meant to show. “I mean I’m fine with that if it means we’re still on.”


She seemed less sure but brightened up and smiled at my enthusiasm. She started walking back towards the cabin, gesturing for me to follow.


“It MIGHT fit, it really is meant for kids.” Turning to me “And also it’s juvenile, like really juvenile. But honestly there’s never anyone else out here so it’s not like anyone will see you.”


“I mean if it fits me I don’t really care”


She seemed to like that comment.


“That’s honestly, really refreshing. I like that you don't seem to care that much what people think.”


She gave me a smile and the combination of smile and compliment made my knees weak.