Excerpt - Pacifically You by Christie A.C. Gucker

We pulled into the marina and I directed the driver towards the slip where Jason's boat was. I could see Tad up on deck working the headstay. He turned, saw me, immediately called for Jason, and came running in my direction.

"Lizzy! Oh shit, babe! You look amazing," he stated as he picked me up off the ground and whirled me around.

"This is going to be some hell of a trip," came from behind me in Jason's smooth, calm voice.

"Jason! Tad! Can you believe this is happening?" We formed a tight huddle and jumped into a three-way chest bump.

"Lizzy wins," Tad mused.

"Lizzy always wins. She has the biggest chest!" Jason affirmed as he affectionately messed up my hair.

"Enough. Let’s get my gear on board. Did she arrive yet?" I questioned, waiting impatiently for a reply. I watched as Tad and Jason looked back and forth between each other, trying to hold back their smiles. "Come on! Tell me, is she here yet?"

"She just got to the main area of the marina. They're bringing her back as we speak," Jason finally told me.

I actually squealed like a little girl and hugged Jason, which prompted Tad to get in on the action. We were interrupted by throat clearing. We all turned and looked at the gawky man standing in front of us.

He was wearing nice, pleated khaki pants and a windbreaker. He donned a baseball cap with a strange symbol on it, and huge nerd glasses peered out from underneath the brim.

"Excuse me. I don't mean to break up your little love fest, but I'm trying to locate a Dr. Lizbeth Drake? Oh, or the vessel Pacifically You. Can any of you help me locate one if not both of those two things?"

We all just kind of stood there gaping at him. I heard Tad stifle a giggle before he answered him.

"Well, one of those two things is right behind you," he answered while finally letting go of his chuckle. The strange man turned to look at Jason's boat.

"The other is right here," Jason chimed in, pushing me forward right into the geek. Apparently I was chest-bumping him, too. The man cleared his throat again, while fixing his glasses, which had gone askew during our bump.

"You're Dr. Drake?"

"Were you expecting something different?" I expressed, giving him a huge goofy grin. He promptly held his hand out to me.

"I'm Dr. Chase Logan."

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