Chapter 24
Chapter twenty-four
The helicopter's blades cut through the sky, setting a quiet rhythm in the cabin as Gavin watched the yacht get closer and closer.
"Remember, don't kill him," Luis reminded him.
Ethan, who was sitting on the bench seat opposite him, nodded as he held up his phone for a selfie. "Yeah, no fighting. I'm here to relax, not referee."
Gavin said nothing; he continued to survey the deck of the approaching ship.
It was early, they had been traveling all night.
The sun was just coming up above the mountains in the distance, spreading its new light over the sea and the yacht, making them shine.
As the helicopter landed, Gavin watched as his father stepped out past the sliding glass doors onto the deck.
As the pilot spoke into the radio presumably to the ship's captain, flipping switches and pressing buttons to shut down the chopper, Gavin could see two familiar men join his father on the ship's deck.
But he could hardly allow himself to feel anything at their presence, not until he saw her. She was his only focus.
Finally, the blades stopped spinning and the pilot gave them the go ahead.
Ethan was the first to exit, jumping out with a flourish, his arms outstretched and a grin on his face.
As Ethan went to greet his father and uncles, Gavin stepped out.
His shoes hit the deck with a thud that felt heavier with every second his eyes scanned the unmoving glass doors beyond his father.
The salt air caught his hair and tossed it about, but he didn’t fix it.
Let it. He didn’t care about that, he only cared about-
Her.
Finally, he saw her. The doors parted, first his mother stepping out looking like the goddess she was in a gold one-piece swimsuit and matching white and gold shimmering coverup.
Somewhere in the back of his mind he noted with a smirk that it didn’t matter how early it was, his mother was never caught off guard.
But it was Ebony that held his attention.
Everything else disappeared the moment she stepped through the glass doors, her face soft with sleep, brows drawn in faint confusion as she followed their mother outside, clearly just woken up.
Gavin waited for a beat as she blinked, looking at Ethan's and Luis's smiling faces and then finally her eyes found his. For a moment, everything else went silent. Everyone else disappeared as they stared at one another. Her lips parted, but nothing came out. He didn’t say anything.
Not yet. His heart had stilled in his chest waiting.
Hoping. Fuck, praying. Would she still hold that same look she had given him before she left?
That look of burning fury and disgust? No, he couldn't move, not until she came to him. If she even would come to him.
Just as the doubt crept in. Ebony moved.
Everyone had moved out of her way as she darted past them and ran straight into his open arms.
Gavin exhaled as he caught her, turning them both with her momentum until his back faced the small crowd and her back faced the sea.
He shielded her from view from the others, just for a moment taking her all for himself.
They stood like that locked around each other as the cool salty wind whipped around them.
He held her as if a part of him was afraid she would vanish. Possessive and full-palmed. Her hair whipped around them and he inhaled deeper; it smelled like something citrusy and sweet. He leaned down, his lips brushing her ear.
“You stole a piece of me when you left,” he confessed.
He felt a small shudder run through her and pulled back just enough to see her wiping her eyes. Her face was a color palette of emotions—happiness, surprise, and a tinge of anger as she scowled up at him.
"You didn’t tell me you were coming. You didn’t even answer my text last night."
Her happy birthday text. He had stared at it for what felt like hours all throughout the night as Ethan and Luis had slept on the plane.
"Happy Birthday. I will always love you no matter how angry you make me."
Gavin reached out to capture a wild strand of her hair. "I wanted to see you in person when I told you how much I love you, too."
Ebony's eyes glistened as she fought back more tears.
Sensing the conversation from the group dying down and their moment of privacy coming to an end, Gavin stepped back, his hands still latched around her waist, reluctant to let go. "We need to talk. Let me come to your room tonight."
Ebony looked at him, trying to read his expression before nodding.
With that he forced himself to let go of her and turned to face the others with a smile.
Gavin smiled at his mother and went to hug her.
He saw him. Standing in the back talking to Luis as Ethan yammered excitedly with Elias and Leon about getting the call to join the trip.
Cameron watched him with a wary expression and Gavin took a moment as he kissed his mother's cheek and answered her questions about the trip to wonder what was going through his mind.
Was he thinking about their last encounter?
Was he remembering the pain from his fists?
Gavin hoped he was, even as he turned a friendly smile toward him.
His visible stutter and following apprehension were like nectar to a starving man but Gavin kept his expression in line and turned to his pseudo uncles.
Uncles who resembled Ebony in so many ways, especially the cool dark eyes of one uncle in particular.
Elias’s sharp eyes cut right through Gavin's facade reading him clearly and the man smiled, a rare occurrence for him unlike his twin who always displayed a ready smile.
Stepping up to the man, Gavin grasped his hand, feeling the strength in his grip as the man pulled him into a hug. "About time you showed up," Elias mumbled.
Gavin grinned at him. "Just a minor setback," assured him, knowing that Elias most likely knew the entire situation from his father. "I'm course correcting now."
"You better," Elias said, scratching his jaw and looking over his shoulder where his three friends stood by the couches talking to Ebony. "I'm getting quite tired of seeing him worm his way closer and closer."
If this had been a week ago those words would have ignited his anger like a spark to dry wood.
It would have been near impossible to stop himself from going over there and chucking Cameron off the side of the boat like a javelin.
But not now. Gavin had taken the time after his father's call to rebuild his control and come to a decision.
He no longer cared about Cameron's love for Ebony.
That was where he fucked up before. One of many stupid decisions that nearly cost him everything.
He went from his uncles to his father, exchanging words with him and a hard welcoming slap on the back that stung like a bitch.
All the while Cameron stood and watched, doing his best not to let his frustration show.
Gavin knew his arrival felt like a missing piece of the puzzle settling back into place, like a collective sigh from the group, and Cameron hated it. Good.
Eventually, Gavin walked over to him where he stood with the group.
He could feel Ebony's worried gaze and could practically hear her intake of breath.
Gavin turned to Cameron with a grin. Open.
Friendly. The kind of smile that made other people feel safe, but he was sure it made Cameron feel watched.
“I was an ass. Who could blame you for wanting what I value most?” Gavin grinned, glancing at Ebony. “I don’t take well to surprises. You caught me off guard, that’s all. Won’t happen again.” He offered his hand. “We good?”
Around them the air stilled as if everyone on the boat held their breath as they waited and watched Cameron's reaction.
Gavin nearly laughed at the small twitch in Cameron's eye. There wasn’t much choice to make.
Rebuff him on his family's boat? Turn down the olive branch in front of the girl he endlessly tried to impress?
Gavin did laugh when Cameron finally took his hand, his grip strong in his. He could feel the slight spasm wanting to tighten and wordlessly challenge him but Cameron restrained himself.
Enjoying the moment, Gavin laughed and turned back to the rest. He was back where he belonged.
"To Gavin, happy eighteenth birthday," Whitney said, her voice smooth and light as she raised her glass.
The dining room glowed with soft golden light from the chandelier in the center of the large room.
Crystal glassware shimmered along the table, reflecting the diffused light while the continuous lap of the ocean waves against the yacht underscored the soft music playing throughout the room.
Everyone around the table lifted their glasses, even Cameron, though his eyes didn't quite meet Gavin's.
Gavin nodded graciously to his mother and drank from his champagne glass.
He wanted to add Ebony to the toast since her birthday had only been a couple of days ago but he couldn't bring himself to look at her. Wearing a full-length black dress that clung to her body and her hair pulled back into an elegant little bun, she had stolen all capabilities of speech away from him when she had emerged from her room. If he looked at her now, sitting next to him, he wouldn’t look away.
Whitney turned to Luis with a teasing smile already knowing the answer to her question. "How did you convince Celeste to let you leave, Luis?"
Luis sighed dramatically at the mention of his mother.
"A lot of begging. A lot of reminding her that I've come on this trip in the past. But mostly that we're supposed to be getting back into Stardust by Christmas Eve.
Although, she did say if I was late and I ended up missing Christmas, I should ask you if I can come live with you. "