Chapter 6 #2
Shoving my ridiculous thoughts aside, I got dressed in my usual outfit of shorts and a tank top and wandered down to the lounge.
There was an installer changing out the cracked door.
Charlie was talking about fixing the security sensors and making notes.
I wished them all good morning and headed out to the bridge deck to find Niall and George sitting together, chatting away.
Niall laughed at something George said and I found myself both curious and curiously annoyed.
Since when had these two bonded?
My weird mood continued. Was there something in that champagne last night?
“Good morning. I hope I’m not intruding,” I announced, raising an eyebrow at Niall who smirked in return.
I sat down opposite them, and the warm, salty breeze that wafted over me was a welcome wake-up call.
“George told me all about what happened last night after the party. And you, so brave, about to confront the would-be robbers with your flashlight. My hero,” Niall placed his hand over his heart and batted his eyelashes at me.
I grabbed a napkin off the table and threw it at him. He snatched it before it hit him in the face and lobbed it right back at me.
“Cheeky bugger,” I smiled at him. “And it was a big flashlight. I could’ve knocked them out cold with one swing.”
“I’m sorry, did you say flashlight or fleshlight?” Niall chuckled.
George coughed and spewed tea all over the table. Niall and I leaned back out of the line of fire just in time.
“Really, George, it’s so rude to spit. Be a good sport and swallow,” I quipped, and George coughed again, then cleared his throat.
“You’re a handful,” George whispered, and his green eyes darkened.
“More than,” I winked at him and then cursed myself for my flirty behavior.
Turning my attention to Niall, I noticed he was humming, a sure sign that he was happy. Then I noted the redness on his face. Was that from sun burn or beard burn? Only one way to find out…
“Where’s Willem?” I asked casually.
“Still sleeping,” Niall replied, then caught himself, his eyes bugging out. “I mean, I assume he’s still sleeping. Everyone was up late, so you know, late night, late morning.”
He reached for his coffee and sipped quietly, giving me the evil eye.
“I must be getting back up to the wheelhouse to prepare for our travels today. Niall, it was a pleasure chatting with you,” George replied formally, then glanced my way.
Something in his gaze made me pause.
“Are you all right?” we both asked at the same time.
George gave a small smile, but it wasn’t the genuine one I’d witnessed last night. He was in captain mode. It made my already strange mood take a nosedive.
“I’m fine,” I insisted. “I’m just out of sorts this morning. Sleeping in has thrown off my schedule.”
I couldn’t bloody well say that I was feeling out of sorts this morning due to my ongoing thoughts about him.
“And you?” I asked.
“Tired but fine. After the police left, I got a few hours’ sleep and then was up at seven. And now since I’ve had my break, it’s back to work. See you later,” he replied with a sharp nod and headed towards the stairs to the upper deck.
I rounded on Niall before he had a chance to grill me about last night. “So, you and Willem? Tell me everything.”
Niall shook his head. “I don’t know if I can talk about it.”
“Why? What happened?”
“Sex happened. Amazing sex. But this morning, when I woke up, I completely freaked out. I keep telling myself that if I meet a guy I like, one that has potential for a relationship, I’m not going to sleep with him right away.
And look what happened. Now he probably thinks that’s all I wanted.
Maybe that’s all he wanted? Fuck, I don’t know.
But I really like him. I mean, he’s sweet and charming and he really listens.
” He paused and ran both hands through his hair, tugging his curls.
“God, I sound like a fucking teenager again. Does he like me ? Will he ask me to be his boyfriend ? Agh. I hate feeling insecure.”
“Did you talk to him this morning?”
“No. He was sleeping soundly. I was panicked—and starving—so I quickly left.”
“Niall, if this means more to you than a hook up, I suggest you get your arse back down to your cabin and talk to him. Maybe bring him breakfast too. If he wakes up and you’ve scampered, he’ll assume it was just a fuck.”
“Shit!” Niall exclaimed and popped up out of his chair.
“Back to work this afternoon!” I reminded him as he all but ran from the table.
I doubted I would see Niall—or Willem—for the rest of the day. Lucky bastards.
Hearing my closest mate admit that he was eager for a relationship made me wonder about my own future.
I was tired of hookups, but I wasn’t sure I was ready for a romance either.
I wasn’t sure I even knew what that was.
When it came to my lovers, my staunch independence didn’t serve me well.
I was so busy in my own world that I didn’t pay enough attention to the men I dated, and they inevitably looked elsewhere.
To be fair, I’d never emotionally invested in a partner before.
Did I care for my former lovers? Yes. Did I love them? Prioritize them? No and no again.
With all the changes happening in my life, there was a difficult truth about myself that I’d finally faced.
I wasn’t an easy person to love.
And it would take a strong and infinitely patient man to convince me otherwise.
God help him.