Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

As I boarded the Harlowe One, wearing a polo shirt that fit, unfortunately, my insulated cooler bag slung over my shoulder containing my lunch and water, Sam pulled me aside.

“Listen up, kid. This is gonna go real smooth today. Jack and Theo are longtime customers, and they’re pretty chill, but we’re gonna keep the bullshit to a minimum. Keep your clothes on, no flirting with the customers, and no drinking. You do what I say when I say it, and we'll have a good day. Understood?”

“Y-Yes, sir.”

A hint of a smile shone through his stern expression. “I kind of like the sound of that.”

Oh God, he ruffled my hair like I was twelve.

Everything did go smoothly, just like he promised. The water here was much darker than in the Caribbean, a deep, dark blue. Almost like the color of my dark-wash jeans. We were anchored twenty-five miles offshore, where the water was more than a hundred feet deep. The boat rocked gently in the waves. It was peaceful out here, with the sun shining, and the strong wind, and no hint of shore in sight.

Jack and Theo sat in chairs anchored to the deck in the boat's stern. Their huge, thick fishing rods were belted around their waists in harnesses.

Sam stood nearby, ready to lend a hand, and I hovered behind Sam, curious, and a little excited. I loved fishing, though I rarely kept what I caught. I just enjoyed reeling them in, the fight, the thrill of the chase.

Closing my eyes, I turned my face up to the sun, comforted by the rays heating my skin, and I could hear the fishy song in my head.

“You’re not gonna catch any fish like that, Nicky. You’ve got to sing the fishing song.”

“The fishing song?” I asked, “what's that?”

“Every fisherman knows the fishing song. The sound of it attracts all the fish to your bait, so you can catch the biggest fish.”

“Teach me, Cass.”

He slung his arm around my shoulder, an easy smile on his lips.

“First, you have to start by calling them. ‘Here, fishy fishy, here fishy fishy.’”

I repeated everything he said, word for word, calling the fish. “What’s next?” I asked.

“Then you’ve got to sing.”

“I cast my line into the water, and I hope I don’t catch an otter.

The worm swims up, the worm swims down, bobbing along with a frown.

And here comes the fishy, hungry as can be, will he bite? Yes, sirree!”

I sang that song over and over until I memorized every word. It lived rent-free in my head for years. Did it actually help me catch any fish? Of course not, but ten-year-old me believed deeply in the power of the fishy song. Or maybe I just believed in Cass.

I smiled, remembering how good he used to be to me. Hell, he still was. Was I just a selfish brat for asking him to sleep with me? Was I ruining everything between us we’d taken years to build?

Possibly, but was it worth the risk? Absolutely .

A man like Cass? Definitely worth the risk.

Like a good host, I handed Jack and Theo chilled bottles of water. “What kind of fish are you trying to catch today? ”

“Marlin, wahoo, maybe even some mahi-mahi,” Jack explained.

Sam scoffed. “Don’t think small, gentlemen, think big. We’re going to catch a sailfish today, the big daddy of the sea. Maybe even a tarpon.”

“Keep dreaming, old man,” Theo teased. “We've been doing this for years and we’ve never caught a tarpon yet.”

“That’s because you suck at this,” Sam sassed. “I caught a tarpon with Cass.”

“Bullshit,” Jack coughed.

“Nicky,” Sam called. “What's hanging over the sofa in my living room?”

“A big blue fish,” I answered, unsure exactly what kind it was.

“A big blue fish that you probably bought at a yard sale or on eBay,” Jack teased.

“I hope the fishing gods curse you today,” Sam joked. “I hope you catch nothing but seaweed.”

Around five o’clock in the evening, we pulled up the anchor. “Come, sit with me, Nicky. I’ll show you how to steer.”

My entire mood shifted on a dime, and I was filled with excitement. Steer the boat? Me? Awesome!

Sam sat in the captain’s chair, and I stood between his parted legs, with my hands on the wheel and his hands placed over mine. Like Cass, Sam smelled enticing, like salt air and tropical sunblock. Maybe because I associated it with Cass, but that scent stirred something deep inside of me.

He showed me how to shift speeds, and how to navigate around boat traffic. As we got closer to shore, I had to navigate around the buoys, for which there was an entirely different set of rules to learn.

“You’re doing so good. Wait till I tell Cass that you’re a natural.”

His praise warmed me inside out. Sam was a wild card, and I was never sure where I stood with him. Of course, he was nice to me when I was younger because I was a cute kid. Everyone was nice to me. But lately, I felt like we were competing and everything I did pissed him off. It felt good to be on the other side of his negativity today.

“Are you ready to tell me what your plan is?”

“My plan for what, sir?”

He chuckled at my use of the word ‘sir.’ “Don't think I don’t know what you’re up to, Nicky. You’re cooking up some sort of convoluted scheme in that pretty little head of yours involving my best friend, and I just want you to be honest and tell me what it is.”

Fuck, busted. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, glancing back at him.

His voice was closer, right in my ear, a caress that sent shivers dancing down my spine. “You’ve been flirting with him. Everyone thinks you’re this sweet, angelic boy, but I see the brat underneath. I can smell a brat a mile away, Nicky. What are you doing with Cass?”

I got distracted and nervous, sailing too close to a buoy, and Sam took over, boxing me in between his arms as he commandeered the wheel. I slumped against his body.

“Do you think I have a chance?”

His laughter was a soft rumble in my ear. “How badly do you want one?”

“Bad,” I whispered.

“You’re asking him to risk a lot for you. A hell of a lot. What are you willing to give him in return?”

I felt a thrill spread throughout my body. Were we really discussing this? “Everything.”

“Don’t play games with him, Nicky. I know Cass is a big boy who can take care of himself, but I don’t want to see him hurt. He's never trusted anyone enough to let them close enough to his heart, let alone hurt him, but you’re different. You’ve already wormed your way into his heart. Be careful. You’re playing a grown-up game, and you’re barely a man yet.”

My spine prickled. Didn’t every guy my age hate being called too young? “I’m not playing a game,” I defended hotly. “I just…I want Cass.”

“I'm not saying you shouldn’t have him; I’m just telling you to be careful. Be smart.”

Sam was green-lighting me? Had we sailed through the Bermuda Triangle and lost all sense of reality? “Why do you do that? You always act like you don’t like me, but then you turn around and do or say something nice.”

“What makes you think I don’t like you?”

The way he said it, so smooth and deep, made me feel like we were playing a game of cat and mouse, and I was the mouse. His tone set off all kinds of warning bells in my head.

“The way you act! You’re always pointing out my mistakes, making me feel like a silly little kid.”

“I point out your mistakes so that you’ll learn. This boat can be a dangerous place if you don’t know what you’re doing.” He brushed his lips over the shell of my ear, making my traitorous dick twitch. “Do I really make you feel like a silly little kid? I certainly don’t see you that way.” Sam trailed the tips of his fingers down my arm, and I shivered. “Entertaining, yes. Cute, definitely. But not silly. I think you’re very, very sweet,” he purred. “Sometimes reckless, sometimes foolish, but ultimately very sweet.”

“In Barbuda, you called my dick a pricklet.”

He shrugged. “That was back when I didn’t like you.”

“I thought you just said you did!” God, he could talk in circles.

“I do, now.”

Ugh! Samson Barlowe was an infuriating man! “The water was cold, you know, and I was soft.” Why am I defending my dick size ?

“Is it soft now?” he asked, dropping his gaze between my legs.

Not for long. “Why did you hate me?”

“Hate is a strong word.” He brushed a curl behind my ear, then slid his fingers down my neck. “Maybe I was jealous of you. Did you ever think about that?”

“Jealous? Of me? Why?”

Sam placed his thumb across my jugular, and I swallowed hard. “When I’m on the boat with Cass, it’s our time together, our space. This is my territory, and now you’re encroaching. I didn’t like it.”

How could he be jealous of me? It’s supposed to be the other way around! “I feel the same way. I don’t like sharing.”

Sam moved his thumb over my jaw until it covered my lips. He traced over them lightly and I parted them. That’s when he slipped his thumb inside, just the tip, but it was enough. He was inside my body for the first time, and it was enough to make my dick rock hard. I felt so confused, getting hard for him. I thought only Cass could do that to me.

“Sharing isn’t so bad, you know. Maybe you should give it a try. You might like it.”

Was he talking about Cass? Was he talking about sex? Whatever he was talking about, my dick was on board with sharing.

I turned, coming face-to-face with him. “Maybe… maybe I could learn… H-How to share. Maybe you could show me.” Cass and Sam played together, so d id that mean he would join us? I thought I’d have Cass all to myself, but would it be so bad?

He slipped out of my mouth and traced his wet thumb over my lips, making them glossy. Then Sam leaned in close and breathed warm air over my wet lips, making everything in my body rigid, not just my dick.

“I would love to show you, little Nicky.”

Little Nicky. Oh my God, so hot. Much better than him calling me kid.