Chapter 5 #2
Unfortunately, the current had other ideas, and they wound up looking like one of us when we were floundering around on the backs of our shells.
“Shall we take pity on them?” I asked, glancing over at Nyx.
“Maybe we’d better, considering we might find ourselves in the same position one day, or worse, stuck while shifted and unable to change forms.”
“Fair,” Nyx replied, scrambling to his feet, then helping me up so we could pull our mate to their feet.
Curvy and solidly built, Kekoa was heavier than they looked and stronger too.
They yanked while we flailed before landing face first in the water.
I came up sputtering while Nyx kicked up a bit of a fuss as he flipped himself over and half-stood before the rolling surf caught him just behind the knees and toppled him over again.
We wound up bobbing in the water, laughing beside him as the water lapped around us.
“Great, now there are two sneaky asses I have to watch out for,” Nyx grumbled as he ran a hand over his face. “I’m doomed.”
“Yeah, you are,” Kekoa said. “But I’m sure there are worse ways to go.”
“He’s right,” I said. “As far as doom goes, there are so many things out there you should fear more than us.”
“Like the Bog of Eternal Stench and Rodents of Unusual Sizes,” Kekoa blurted. “Oh, and don’t forget The Hell of Being Cut to Pieces.”
“The Chinese have a lot of hells,” Nyx quipped as we all cracked up laughing again.
“Oh my God,” I said, “no way you just quoted three of our favorite movies while fucking with him!”
“Pretty sure I did,” Kekoa replied. “Was a hell of a way to find out we like some of the same movies.”
“I’m not sure if I should dread or look forward to the way you introduce us to the rest of them,” Nyx replied.
Kekoa just winked at him. “Afraid. I’ve got a dirty mind and a creative streak that’s gotten me into trouble a time or two. You might find me sprawled across your bed in nothing but a Creature from the Black Lagoon mask.”
“The old-school fish-face one or the modern, sleek, slightly sexy variety?” I asked.
‘Now I think I’m just going to have to surprise you,” Kekoa said.
“You’ve got my vote,” I said. “I wouldn’t turn that down for anything in the world.”
“I-I…” Nyx stammered.
“What? Spit it out already,” Kekoa demanded. “You either like the idea or you don’t. It can’t be too hard to decide.”
“How about both?” Nyx remarked. “Because the jump scare when I snap on the light is sure to be epic enough that Lani might want to have his cell phone handy to record it, while the rest of the show will be hot as hell.”
“See, it’s all good then,” Kekoa said.
“How is me getting the crap scared out of me good?” Nyx grumbled.
“Fear makes the adrenaline spike, and adrenaline makes for one hell of a fuckin’ good time,” Kekoa replied at the same time as I said, “Well, it does make the pre-prep easier.”
“Tell me you did not just make an enema joke?” Kekoa said.
Snickering, I just shrugged. “In a roundabout way, I suppose I did.”
Nyx just sighed and shook his head. “Like I said, doomed.”
I clasped my hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “Yeah, you are. Sorry, buddy.”
He just cut me a look and stuck his tongue out at me. “No, you’re not.”
“You’re right, I’m not. I was just trying to make you feel better, though if you are going to resort to sticking your tongue out at me, you should think about putting it to good use.”
“I just did,” he replied, and as if to emphasize the point, stuck his tongue out at me again, and this time, he followed it up by blowing raspberries at me. “And a major #fail on the whole, making me feel better thing.”
“You guys are hilarious,” Kekoa said as the sun shimmered on the drops of water clinging to their skin. “I love it though. It feels way better than sitting around brooding and complaining about things.”
“Ain’t that the truth.”
“Sometimes I get too wound up and in my head,” Kekoa admitted.
“Being able to cut loose and laugh with you guys is going to be the best kind of decompressing, and so are places like this. Thank you for bringing me here today. I got bad news this morning that I was pissed off about when I left the motel. Until a moment ago, I’d already forgotten about it; that’s what being with you guys does for me, and it’s only been two days.
My blood ran cold when they mentioned bad news, instantly thinking it was going to send him off the island and far away from us.
“So, what was it, the, um, bad news? What happened?” Nyx asked.
“I got fired,” they explained. “Well, technically, I was laid off under the guise of the company experiencing a slowdown in work orders, which is bullshit, because I was literally just hired three weeks ago because of the uptick in project requests and a lack of hands to fulfill them all. I know it has to do with the incident at the bar. That wasn’t the first time Nuno got a little too friendly.
I should have reported him, but shit like that never works out for me; it always gets twisted back around like I was the cause of it. ”
“Reported him?” I asked, “For what?”
“Just being inappropriate and condescending, as well as a gross fucking pig. He never laid a hand on me at the jobsite, or I’d have broken it off and bitch-slapped him with it, but I’ve wanted to knock the leer off his face a few times when he was eyeing me, and he literally harasses everyone with his constant micromanaging and steady stream of just wrong-ass directions.
Now that I did report him for, since doing what he told me to do would have made it so that the measurements would have been off in the next phase of the project. ”
“Yeah, he’s a major prick,” Nyx replied.
“Has been ever since he landed on the island. From what I’ve heard, he came on as a temp and somehow managed to work his way up to a lead foreman position, which has convinced him that it equates to being head foreman with the right to go from jobsite to jobsite issuing orders and getting in the way of people’s work.
I know people on several of the work crews, and they all wonder the same thing: why the hell management keeps the guy around.
One even suggested he’s got some kind of dirt on a higher-up that he’s holding over their heads.
It’s fucked up and doesn’t make a good work environment for anyone. ”
“At least I don’t have to deal with him anymore,” Kekoa said. “But that does change my post-holiday plans from after-work beach bum to filling out job applications while sprawled beneath a coconut tree.”
“You never told us exactly what you do,” I pointed out.
“Because there’s no way to describe my job description in one or two words,” I explained.
“When I told you jack of all trades, I was dead-ass serious. There isn’t much I don’t do: roofing, cleaning out gutters, building patios and decks, laying concrete and brick, installing cabinets, tilework, laying flooring and carpet, the whole nine yards.
If it involves any sort of remodeling or home repair, I can do it.
“Hmmm, well-versed is a good thing,” Nyx said. “Sounds like you’re pretty handsy to have around.”
“Shouldn’t that be handy?” I asked.
“I said what I said,” Nyx replied.
Kekoa laughed as they leaned against my shoulder.
“Whether with tentacles or fingers, I always aim to please,” they said before letting out a contented sigh.
“Honestly though, the more I think about it, the less upset I am about being laid off. Maybe it’s time I finally just figure out one thing to focus on and make a go of it. ”
“Or you could get some business cards printed out and pass them around,” I suggested. “There’s always someone in the village who’s looking for a handyman, and they usually prefer to hire people they know. After tonight, you’ll know most of them.”
“Just had to remind me of that, didn’t you? They said.
“Yup.”
And with that I found myself knocked backward into the surf again, water going up my nose when I started laughing.
At least I couldn’t drown. My mates helped me up again, my ears so plugged that their laughter was muffled.
To say that it had been a great day was an understatement.
I just hoped we all survived the after-party.