Chapter 32

CHAPTER 32

Sawyer

The smell of coffee and quiet voices hummed through my camper. I yawned and stretched luxuriously, unfurling from my curled position like a pill bug.

"Morning, sleepyhead."

Ash held out a cup of coffee. I took it and breathed in the beautiful smell of my favorite hazelnut roast.

"Morning." I took a careful sip. "Why aren't you in bed with me?"

"We had an early morning visitor," Ash said.

I caught sight of Shua at the foot of the bed. Of course, the camper was so small the foot of the bed was also the kitchen…and the dining room…and the living room.

"Hey, Shua," I rasped, casting a quick glance down to make sure all my X-rated parts were hidden beneath the sheet.

Last night, I'd given Ash cuddles as promised. But those cuddles had morphed into a full-body massage that had morphed into both of us getting a little overly excited.

Happy endings were had by all, and then we'd showered—separately due to tiny-ass camper life—and curled up in bed together. I kind of expected us to wake together and repeat the happy endings part.

"What's going on?"

A pan on the stove sizzled, and Ash returned to the kitchen to attend it.

"I wanted to see if we could go wakesurfing again," Shua said eagerly.

"We just went yesterday, you little fiend!"

"But not for very long!"

"Sorry, kid. I've got to head over to the resort soon."

Shua's shoulders slumped. "Okay. But we can go again soon, right?"

I still remembered the excitement of discovering new water sports as a kid—and the frustration of waiting on the adults in my life to take me out.

"Very soon. I promise."

"Is Sawyer a good teacher?" Ash asked as he dished up what looked like an omelet onto a plate.

"The best!" Shua enthused. "I've gotten so much better. Sawyer always knows exactly what I'm doing wrong when I wipe out."

"I bet he does." Ash met my gaze. "Sounds like you've already got one very happy customer if you decide to lead water-sport tours. Maybe you could incorporate lessons into it too?" He paused. "You know, if you decide to do it."

"Hmm." I took a swallow of my coffee, well aware of what Ash was doing.

But I already knew I'd love doing it. I was good at it, and it'd be a lot of fun feeding off the thrill my tourists got from the experience. That was why I'd pitched it to Hudson in the first place.

Running the tours sounded great. But being a business owner was a totally different matter.

"You should totally do it!" Shua exclaimed. "I don't have much money, but I'd love to keep learning."

"Your money is no good here," I said. "You'll always get the friend discount."

"How much is that?" Shua asked.

Ash chuckled. "He's saying it's free."

Shua's eyes widened. "Oh! Cool. So, when can we do a lesson?"

"I'll have my regular days off later this week."

"Yes!" Shua fist pumped the sky. "I'm gonna go tell Mom and her new boyfriend to plan on me being gone all day."

All day? Sheesh. I'd better rest up.

Shua banged out the front door and Ash brought me a plate with a gigantic omelet on it.

"I thought we could share."

I set aside my coffee and scooted over to make room in the bed. "Get in here. I missed morning cuddles."

"Well…" He cut a bite of omelet and held the fork up to my lips. "How about morning feeding, instead?"

I snorted, amused that Ash would turn food into an intimacy. Not surprised, though. The man loved cooking enough that he'd made me breakfast even though he had to go spend his whole day in a kitchen.

I opened my mouth and Ash slid the bite between my lips. It was creamy, cheesy, with the perfect amount of saltiness to it. There was meat in there too.

"Is that… bologna ?"

Ash laughed. "Hey, a chef can only work with the ingredients on hand."

"It's freaking delicious. I just don't know how you make it taste so good."

Ash took a bite for himself then lifted another to my lips.

"Butter and cheese." He swiped his thumb over my bottom lip, smoothing away some grease. "The secret to all recipes, basically."

"You're fattening me up for slaughter, aren't you?"

"Mm. More like buttering you up," he said.

"What for?"

"So you'll listen when I say I think you should do it."

"We should do it, " I agreed, reaching out to grope his thigh with a leer.

He grinned. "We'll definitely do that. A lot. You know what I really mean."

"Yeah." I took the fork from his hand and cut a large bite. "I know."

"You'd be great at it," he said. "Like you're great at everything."

"Everything, huh?"

He set the plate aside and leaned in to kiss me. "Mm. Everything."

I tugged him down on top of me. Hard muscle pinned me to the mattress, settling my jumpy nerves.

I sighed, body going slack, as Ash kissed along my scruffy jaw. "I believe you can do anything," he murmured. "But you have to believe it too."

I swallowed hard and cupped his ass as he shifted on top of me. His cock grazed my thigh and he hissed as I pulled him tighter against me.

"There's one thing I don't know if I do well."

"What's that?" he asked, voice muffled by my neck. He pressed a kiss over my fluttering pulse.

"Haven't…gotten inside you yet."

Ash lifted his head, eyes already dark with desire. "We don't really have time for that right now." He licked his lips. "But I'm game to try it out soon. Tonight, maybe?"

"Yeah?" I pulled him down for another kiss, this one more sensuous. I slid my tongue along his and lifted my hips so that my cock got the friction it wanted.

"Lube?" Ash asked.

I fumbled to get us slicked up, and then we kissed and rocked, chasing a high that came so easily together. In seconds, I was cresting with a muffled groan into his neck.

Ash shuddered through his own release, then pulled back. "Damn, we got messy again."

As he rolled away, I checked the time on my phone. "We don't really have time for two showers. Wanna just jump in the lake before we head out?"

Ash grinned as he grabbed some napkins to wipe off and did the same for me. "Skinny dipping, huh?"

"Well, maybe wait to take off your shorts until you're in the water. We don't want to scar my neighbors."

He chuckled. "Okay, sounds like a plan."

We threw on some clothes, rinsed the breakfast dishes, and raced out to the boat. Instead of hopping in right by the shore, I took us toward the resort, stopping in an open area where there weren't many people.

Ash stripped off his shirt with a grin, and I followed suit. Then we jumped into the lake.

We hadn't done this together since I'd stopped working on the food boat. A wave of sweet nostalgia hit me. For once, it wasn't for our childhood antics, but the early days where I didn't know whether I wanted to hit him or kiss him.

In retrospect, I should have known which would win out. Ash had my heart, and he always had. Maybe it was once platonic, but somewhere along the way, mixed in with the anger and the hate and the confusion, attraction and admiration had coalesced into so much more than friendship.

"I love you," I murmured.

Right before I shoved his head under the water.

He came up sputtering. "Asshole!"

"You love me."

"I do," he said.

Right before retaliating by leaping on my shoulders, using all his weight to submerge me.

When I surfaced, water still steaming over face and blurring my eyes, his arms snaked around my neck.

I tensed, but he didn't pull me under. He kissed me softly.

"I'd love to start every morning this way," he admitted. "You and me. Breakfast in bed. Sex. The lake. It's all the things I want out of life."

"Even if have to live in a tiny camper?" I joked. "Because all your money's in the food boat, and all of mine…"

He blinked eyelashes beaded with water. "All of yours?"

"Well, there's not much, but if I were to actually buy into Hudson's business or launch my own…"

He shrugged. "We're young. There's lots of time to get a bigger place to live. Maybe we don't have a shower big enough for two, but we've got the whole damn lake. That's plenty of space for me."

I smiled. "Yeah."

"So you're thinking about it, huh?"

"Just thinking," I warned. "I still don't know. I'd love to do it, but to put all my eggs in that basket?"

"They won't be. Half your eggs will be in my basket." He winked. "Quite literally tonight."

I snorted a laugh. "Please don't equate my cock with eggs. That analogy is all kinds of wrong."

He chuckled. "Fair. You know what I mean. We can share everything, Sawyer. Our successes. Our failures. Whatever happens, we'll be there for each other."

"I thought the same about my parents," I said quietly.

"I'm not your dad," Ash said firmly. "I wouldn't bail on you, and I hope you wouldn't bail on me."

"Never."

"Well, there you go then," he said. "Besides, you've got this amazing group of friends. Do you really think they'd let you go down? You'll always have people in your corner."

I chewed my lip. "I guess…"

Ash squeezed my waist. "Just think about it?"

I nodded. "I will."

We returned to the boat, dressed, and made the rest of the trip to the resort. I led an early-morning tour since Gray was covering a sunset cruise that night and Hudson had office work to catch up on.

It was too early to take them by Ash's food boat, but I texted to let him know I was thinking about him.

Sawyer:

Gonna have lunch with Mom, so I won't see you till after work. Good luck today!

Ash:

What a coincidence, I'm going to have lunch with my mom too! She texted to say she's coming by.

Sawyer:

With or without Rick?

Ash:

Without. But I don't know what to say to her about all that. I don't want to put her in the middle.

Sawyer:

Don't you think she deserves a heads-up at least? You're both her family.

Ash:

Yeah, maybe. I don't know if she'll listen anyway. He's her everything.

Sawyer:

Not everything. She's got you.

Ash:

Yeah, okay, got customers. Talk later!

He sent a row of hearts.

I smiled down at the screen, relieved that Rick's nasty reviews hadn't done too much damage. The more people who visited the boat, the less impact those reviews would have, after all.

I sent him a few heart-eye emojis and pocketed my phone.

Who would have thought that Ash and I would ever get to this level of sap? It was weird but also amazing.

I'd watched Fisher fall for Hudson, and then Hudson finally give in to the inevitable pull between them. I'd watched Brooks open his guarded heart to Skylar and evolve into a happier, secure version of himself.

Now, it was my turn—and maybe it hadn't turned out at all like I would have ever expected, but I was damn happy to be wrong this time.

Until lunchtime, I trolled the Internet to research the best wake-making systems that could be installed in boats.

There were a lot of after-market products, but none of them were as good as boats with it built in, but that took serious money. Even if I did grow a pair and take the leap into investing in a business, that would remain out of reach for a while.

Not that I was doing this. I most likely was not doing this.

I met Mom in the dining room at noon. She'd taken off the chef's coat, leaving her in a blue blouse and dark slacks.

She carried two plates, one a colorful salad with shrimp, peanuts, and bright vegetables, and the other a crispy catfish with slaw, pickled okra, and fries.

I chose one of the empty tables in the middle of the room—all those with a window view were taken by guests, who were a mix of locals and tourists.

Skylar had planned for a soft opening and a gradual build throughout the season, but they filled more rooms every week as word traveled about the place.

Mom placed the catfish in front of me because she knew I wasn't much of a salad guy, then took a seat across from me.

"Thanks," I said. "It's weird seeing you out here with the little people."

She snorted. "The little people?"

"Those of us who can't cook like a goddess."

She chuckled. "Flattery will get you everywhere. Especially since you've thrown me over for the hot new chef in town."

I grinned. "Well, it's hard to compete with breakfast in bed."

She raised an eyebrow. "You two are getting serious, huh?"

"Yeah, we are."

I cut into the catfish and discovered Mom had crusted it with salt-and-vinegar chips. "Mm, you've still got it."

"Of course I do." She sniffed. "Maybe your boyfriend has a talent for food, but don't forget who fed you first."

"I would never."

We dug into our food, and it was a few minutes before the conversation shifted. "How's he doing anyway? With everything going on?"

"I don't know. Okay, I guess? He seems to want to distract himself from it, but his mom is visiting today. That'll probably make it hard."

Mom nodded, brow furrowed. "How is Silvia these days?"

"Ash hasn't talked about her a lot. I know he thinks she deserves better than Rick, but also…that she kind of…"

"What?"

"Maybe she's too reliant on him, you know? I think Ash is afraid she'd choose him if it came down to it."

"Oh, I can't believe that," Mom said. "She loves her son. I remember back when she worked at the restaurant, she'd work these late-night shifts just so she could be around in the morning for Ash."

I looked down, throat tightening. "Yeah, I remember."

Mom laid down her fork. "What is it? You went quiet."

"I was just thinking about the restaurant. Do you ever…regret it?"

"Regret opening it, you mean?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Given how everything ended."

"Well, that's a tough question. I don't really believe in regret. It's not that I'm happy about what happened, of course. It broke my heart. But…I tried, and I learned a lot of important things from that experience."

"Like don't invest all your money in a business?"

She looked surprised. "Well, no. I learned that the only people worth keeping are the ones who stand by you in tough times."

"If we hadn't gone bankrupt, you might still have a marriage."

She shook her head. "Things were crumbling long before that, Sawyer. We hit some bad luck, but we could have recovered if your father hadn't taken out loans he didn't tell me about."

"What? You never told me that."

She shrugged. "It was hard enough for you to watch him leave. I didn't want to give you more reason to be angry."

I pushed my plate forward, most of my appetite gone now.

"You didn't ever try to open another restaurant though. You learned it was too risky?"

She shook her head. "No, I learned that I loved running a kitchen, not managing a whole restaurant. Your dad did all the business office work, you know? I never wanted that. This job at the resort is my ultimate dream. I get to focus on the food and my kitchen staff and let other people worry about the rest."

"I guess that makes sense. That's my dilemma too."

"How do you mean?"

I chewed my lip. "I had this idea to expand Swallow Adventures to include water-sport tours."

Her eyes lit up. "You'd have so much fun with that."

I nodded. "Hudson doesn't want to take it on. Not if things stay like they are now, anyway. Says he's looking to scale back, not expand."

"Oh." She frowned. "So you'd need to start up your own tours business to do it?"

"He said I could buy into Swallow Adventures, run the water-sport tours, and eventually take over the whole thing from him."

Her eyes widened. "Wow. That's an amazing opportunity."

"Is it though?" I leaned forward. "What if I invest and it goes down the drain like the restaurant? Or…or what if I hate running a business, like you did?"

She reached across the table to squeeze my hand. "Let me ask you a question."

"Okay."

"How did you feel about managing the business for Hudson while he was gone?"

"It was fine." I shrugged. "I kind of liked setting the schedule, and even though I had problem with an employee, I think we came out with more respect for each other. I came up with a better way to set up payroll too. I need to show Hudson?—"

I stopped as she smirked at me.

"What?"

"I can safely say you wouldn't hate running a business," she said. "You got a trial run, and you sound more enthused about your job than you have in years."

"I guess I did like calling the shots," I admitted. "But that's not the same as having all the financial responsibility."

She nodded. "True. Running a business is risky. You're right. You have to decide if you want the reward enough to take the risk. You asked me if I regretted opening the restaurant, and my answer will always be no. I'm glad I tried. I'm glad I learned what I really wanted from the experience. If I had a regret, it would be that you seem to be letting my mistakes hold you back."

"It was hard," I admitted. "We had to move and Dad left and I lost my friends."

"I'm sorry for that, Sawyer. I wish we'd planned better. But you can learn from our mistakes. You can mitigate the risks you take with proper debt-to-income ratio, with insurance, with a business partner like Hudson. Just, please, don't be afraid to go after what you want."

I smiled wanly. "I guess that means I have to figure out what I actually want, huh?"

She smiled. "I guess it does."

"I'll work on that."