Chapter 14
Jase
Two days after Christmas, Dylan and I sat at our gate in Atlanta after taking a red-eye out of Portland to head to St. John. Just before boarding, my phone vibrated with a text:
Faye: Plane is taking off. See you on the island!
Can’t wait, Princess! We should be boarding our flight soon
Dylan: Can’t believe we have an entire week to eat you … I mean see you
Faye: Pretty sure you mean both
Fuck yeah. I didn’t even pack that many clothes. I plan to be naked most of the time
Dylan: Ditto
Faye: I’m not going to complain
Not only were we going to be with Faye for an entire week, but we were going to be alone with her for an entire week. I wasn’t sure how she managed it, but she said something about signing off on her protection and her father agreeing that she could go to St. John for seven days by herself.
The villa we were staying at was private, with its own coral beach, a fire pit, and a pool I couldn’t wait to skinny-dip in.
When I said I planned to be naked most of the time, I meant it.
There were no neighbors near the house, and I didn’t think we’d see anyone the whole time unless we went into town.
And there was nothing wrong with that.
The gate agent called us to board, and after we were in the air, I slid my phone into the pocket of my hoodie and thought back to college, when parties and any trip for an away game with a hotel stay were some of the best moments in my life.
I’d have a good time with a cute girl, maybe share details with Dylan, then move on to the next hookup.
What we were doing with Faye felt nothing like that at all.
I missed her whenever her name didn’t show up on my phone.
It wasn’t just the dirty texts or the private pictures she sent.
I liked the late-night messages about a cooking show that made her hungry at midnight, or about a holiday or political event she had to sit through.
She’d text after those nights, give a rundown of who annoyed her and which dessert was actually worth the calories.
She’d ask how our day was, how our families were doing, and whether we knew what Tyler and Hayden were having yet.
They still hadn’t shared it with us, and I wasn’t sure why.
Maybe they didn’t know and were waiting until the baby was born.
Whatever the case with my brother and his husband, it still made me feel good when Faye would ask about my family.
But most of all, I liked that she called us her guys.
I shifted in my seat.
“Quit squirming,” Dylan murmured, eyes closed. “You’re stressing me out.”
“Shut up and go back to sleep.”
He yawned. “How much longer?”
I checked the flight map. “A couple of hours.”
“Wake me before we land,” he mumbled, already drifting off again. “I want to look pretty for our girl.”
Our girl.
Hearing him say it out loud affected me in a way I didn’t want to label yet.
We belonged to her, and she belonged to us, but what would happen next month when there was likely a chance we’d all be in different states?
What would happen if I was in Virginia, playing on the Sox Single-A team?
Dylan might be in Tennessee, miles away on his Single-A team, and Faye would be in Massachusetts.
But what about if I was brought up to Double-A or Triple-A?
Or what if I made the roster and relocated to Boston?
Would Faye and I keep doing whatever this was we were doing?
Or did we only work when it was all three of us?
I watched the little plane move across the map on the screen in the back of the seat in front of me and tried to shut my brain off.
It didn’t work. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Faye in the middle of her bed on the Cape, Dylan on one side and me on the other.
Then I saw the Florida hotel room where we didn’t have to rush off, so we wouldn’t get caught.
In the LA suite, she’d stretched across both our laps while room-service trays sat on the table.
I wanted to make more memories with them, but what if our time was coming to an end?
The heat hit us the second Dylan and I climbed down the stairs from the plane. Not Florida-in-August hot, but thick and warm enough to make me strip off my hoodie immediately.
“Damn, it’s beautiful here,” Dylan noted, gazing at the ocean in the distance.
We followed the other passengers to baggage claim, then we stepped up to the carousel just as the belt started moving.
“No new messages,” he said, checking his phone. “Her flight should have landed already.”
“Yeah …”
A second later, a familiar blonde cut through the crowd on the other side of the carousel.
Faye wore a light sundress that hit mid-thigh, with thin straps over her shoulders, white sneakers, and a denim jacket tied around her waist. Her hair was up in a messy knot, sunglasses pushed into it, a backpack on, pulling her suitcase, and no wall of agents anywhere.
“There she is.” He beamed.
She spotted us, and her whole face lit up. Not a practiced camera smile, just pure joy. Seeing her so happy to see us did something inside my chest I wasn’t used to.
“Hi,” she breathed as she reached us.
“Hi.” I pulled her into a hug. “I’m so happy to see you.”
“Me too.”
Dylan stepped in when I loosened my arms, then wrapped her up, pressing his face into her hair for a beat longer than I had. “Hey, Princess.”
“Hey, D.”
When he let her go, she stepped back and gave each of us a once-over. “You two look rough. How bad was the red-eye?”
“Bad,” Dylan answered. “I barely slept.”
“I don’t think I slept at all,” I added.
“Did you wear that on the plane?” I asked. It had to be freezing in Boston, and I wasn’t sure how she’d made it in a dress.
“Nope,” she replied. “I changed when I got here. I’m on island time now.”
“Big fan of island time,” Dylan told her. “Huge fan of this dress.”
She tilted her head, clearly amused. “Thought you might like it.”
The belt clanked, and the first bags rolled out. I watched the stream until my suitcase finally appeared. I grabbed it, then hauled Dylan’s off when it came around.
“Ready?” I asked her.
“Ready,” they said in unison.
I grabbed the handle of her suitcase while Dylan took her backpack, and we headed toward the exit doors. The humidity smacked me in the face, and I couldn’t wait to do a cannonball into the pool.
“Okay, I’m into this,” Dylan stated. “My body forgot what warmth feels like since we left Florida.”
“Can’t wait to get in the water,” Faye stated.
“Reading my mind, Princess.” I winked at her.
She gave me a quick smile, and my chest did that thing once more.
We grabbed a cab from the line outside. Dylan and I stuffed the luggage into the trunk while Faye slid into the middle of the backseat. I took one side, and Dylan took the other.
“Ferry dock,” I told the driver.
He pulled away from the curb.
“How was flying solo?” I asked Faye.
“Weird,” she answered. “Good weird. People still stared, but no one hovered. I got my own coffee. I walked to my gate without anyone blocking anyone who got too close.”
“You weren’t scared?” Dylan inquired.
“Not even a little,” she replied. “My dad and my detail hate this. They only signed off after we reviewed every rule and every backup plan they could think of.”
“They want to make sure you’re safe,” I affirmed.
“I know. They have the villa info, ferry schedule, and all my flight details. They don’t like that I’m here without them, but they couldn’t really argue with a week off.”
“No one will be in the bushes watching the house?” I joked.
“They’d better not,” she answered.
“That’s the important part,” Dylan said. “I don’t need an audience.”
She snorted. “Pretty sure none of us does.”
The taxi dropped us off near the ferry. We paid, grabbed our bags, and joined the line heading up the ramp. The air smelled of salt and fuel, and a few kids ran in circles around their parents. No cameras were pointed at us, no agents lurked at Faye’s shoulder.
It was just the three of us.
We found a spot on a bench along the side. Faye, of course, ended up sitting between us.
She let out a slow breath and tipped her head back, soaking up the sun. “This is so nice.”
“Yeah, it is.” I squeezed her knee. “It’s weird not having to hide with you, though.”
“But in a good way,” Dylan chimed in.
“For sure.” I nodded.
“You two still planning to stay naked most of the time?”
“Yes,” we both answered.
Her mouth curved. “And besides that, any plans?”
“Pool,” Dylan said. “I want to live in that pool.”
“Pool and the beach,” I added. “The listing said it’s a coral beach with shallow spots. I want to see if we can snorkel right off it.”
“There’s snorkel gear at the house,” Faye informed us. “I saw pictures online of a whole wall of gear in the laundry room.”
“Good. Then that’s one day locked in.” I looked out over the crystal-blue water.
“I want a full lazy day,” she decided. “No leaving the villa. Just swimming, tanning, food, naps, no shoes, no real clothes.”
“Deal.” I nodded. “We should probably be responsible tonight, though. Check in, hit the pool, then find food and stock the kitchen.”
“Tacos first,” Dylan cut in. “Then we can pretend to be adults at a grocery store.”
“I’m fine with tacos,” she said. “There’s a place on the water that looked good. We can eat there, then grab stuff for breakfast and snacks.”
“Sounds good. At least one day, we should take a hike. Nothing wild. Just something with a view,” I suggested.
Faye groaned. “You’re going to make me exercise on vacation?”
“You can talk trash the whole time,” I answered. “Then I’ll carry you into the ocean when we’re finished.”
Her eyes sparkled. “You better.”
“Plus, even though it’s the off-season, we gotta stay in shape for baseball,” Dylan remarked.
“All right.” Faye bobbed her head. “I guess it’s allowed, then.”
“So we’ve got naked time, pool, beach, snorkeling, a lazy day, tacos, one hike, and a full fridge,” Dylan summarized. “We’re going to have the best fucking time.”
“Best plans I’ve had in a long time,” she agreed.
The boat kept cutting across the water as we discussed stupid details like who would handle breakfast and whether we were tossing our phones in a drawer or just answering family. It didn’t feel complicated. It felt good, and I wanted it to stay that way even if our time together was limited.