7. Duncan
Chapter Seven
Duncan
I really needed to start setting my alarm. I've always been able to reliably wake up in time to open the Kitty without one, but since I've met Rune, even if I’m not up late with her, I can't fall asleep on time because I’m thinking about her.
Fantasizing about her.
Those fucking amazing tits. Her big blue eyes wide and fraught as she comes all over my mouth. Her lips sliding down my cock…
Fuck.
I tried like hell to put her out of my mind as I opened the Kitty, wiping down bottles, putting down chairs and stools, counting the till drawer, checking inventory, preparing the deposit from the previous day's take, going over the schedule for the week, rotating the stock in the beer fridges…
yet even while doing all of this, my mind kept returning to Rune, her lush, gorgeous body, her wit and sarcasm, the way she sounded when she came.
I got the Kitty opened and ready for business, handled the first few customers, and then stepped into the office to make the promised phone call.
It rang three times before she answered. "Dunc! My favorite nephew!"
I laughed. "Hey, Aunt Low. I bet you say that to all the boys."
She faked an outraged gasp. "Why I never!" Her tone returned to normal. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call, favorite nephew?"
"I wish it was purely because I love talking to you so much, but I do have a favor to ask you."
"Hit me with it, bub."
"So, I have this friend. It's a whole big story, but—"
"Whoa, let me stop you there," she said. "If you're gonna ask me for something, you have to give me the whole scoop or I say no."
I peeked out of the office to make sure I didn't have any waiting customers. "Okay, fine. So, her name is Rune."
"And she's definitely just a friend," Aunt Low said, her voice sarcastic.
"I, um. No. I like her. I don't think it's gonna be anything, but I do really like her. And she has these friends who were planning on getting married at the Old Toby Inn. They had their whole wedding party coming and everything. Tickets bought, rooms paid for, everything."
"Didn't the Old Toby just catch on fire?" she asked. "I saw a headline about that on one of my news feeds."
"It did. Like, pretty much to the ground, less than three days before the wedding. No one was hurt, thank god, but the place is just gone, and with it their entire wedding plan.”
"Oh god. That's awful, Duncan. I’m so sorry to hear it. But I confess I don’t really know what I could do to help."
"Well, Delia offered them the back room up in Anchorage for the wedding and reception, and the hotel nearby has rooms for everyone."
"But?"
"The bride and groom, Raquel and Hamish, have been out camping or hiking or whatever out in the bush. I have flights to Anchorage set up for everyone tomorrow, but Raquel and Hamish don't have anywhere to stay tonight, and Uncle Brock is taking us up pretty early tomorrow."
"And you're hoping Raquel and Hamish can use the yacht," she guessed.
"I know it's a big ask, Aunt Low. Especially because these aren't even my friends. I haven't even met them yet. So I totally get it if you don’t feel comfortable with it. I just promised Rune I'd at least see what I could do, since there aren't any rooms available in Ketchikan."
"One sec, baby, let me talk to your uncle real quick." The line went silent for a minute or so, and then she was back. "We're okay with it, but we'd like to have a video call with the bride and groom."
"I have a feeling that can be arranged," I said. "Are you sure?"
"Dunc, that big dumb boat sits empty more than it gets used. We're more than happy to lend it to the happy couple for the night."
"You're the actual best, Aunt Low," I said.
"I know. We’ll have the marina crew get the yacht ready. Shoot me a text when the couple is in town and ready to check into the S-S Loveboat."
"I, um, I was planning on just saying it belonged to a family member," I said. "I didn't want to get into who you are."
"Where's the fun in that? Just don't tell them anything before we video call them. Use the screen in the main saloon. You know how to work it?"
"Yeah, I do." I peeked out again and saw that I had a couple people waiting at the bar. "I gotta go, but for real, thank you."
"If this Rune girl turns out to be more than just a friend, I demand to be the first family member she meets. That's my payment for the favor."
"Deal."
"Okay. Love you with all my heart, favorite nephew."
"Love you with all mine, favorite aunt."
I ended the call and shoved the phone in my back pocket as I headed out to the floor to do my job.
For some reason, my idiot brain kept conjuring images of Rune sitting on my lap on the couch at home with the whole Badd clan around us, as if this limited-time-only situationship with Rune could ever be more.
I know the score. I see her keeping me at a certain emotional distance. And to be honest, I'm doing the same thing. I just…I really like her. And I don't want to; I know she has a life elsewhere, and as soon as this wedding is over, she's gonna go back to it.
And it's not like I have the time or space in my life for a relationship anyway—I work open to close most days managing the Kitty.
This is what I want to do—I've grown up in the family bars, watching Dad, Mom, and most of my aunts and uncles pitch it and help out around the bars at one point or another.
I've watched Delia work her way up to being the Vice President of the Badd's Bar company, and the next in line to be CEO when Dad finally steps into something resembling retirement…
not that any of us expect him to ever totally retire.
None of my friends get it. Of the dozen or so guys I was close to from school, eleven of them chose colleges in the lower forty-eight and jobs down there after graduation.
The twelfth, Rodrick, joined the Marines and is looking to make a career out of it.
Of my entire football team friend group, I'm the only one who chose to stay in Ketchikan and not go to college so I could work at a bar for the rest of my life.
The point is that I take this seriously. I want my dad to know that I'm ready to do this, that this isn't just a job while I figure out my real plan. This is the plan. Just like Delia. I want this life. I want what Mom and Dad have had.
And that means I don't have space for distractions. Managing a whole-ass bar isn't easy. In fact, it's pretty damned hard. I can't afford the distraction of a girl right now, however much part of me may secretly wish the situation with Rune didn't have a built-in expiration date.
I handled the lunch rush. It was after two by the time I got enough of a lull that I could step away long enough to call Rune.
"Duncan, hi," she said, after answering on the second ring. "How is work?"
"Busy morning, which is why it's taken so long to call you back. I do have a place for Raquel and Hamish to stay, but I'm gonna keep the details a secret for now. I get off at six, so could I meet up with you guys once I'm done?"
"Raquel, Hamish!" Rune said, loud and excited. "Duncan found a room for you. We're meeting him at six—where, Duncan?"
"I'll call you when I'm done and we'll figure it out then."
A group of cruise ship tourists swarmed in then, which meant I had to go, so I said my goodbye and went to work.
Six was more like six-thirty by the time I actually was able to leave the bar, but I'd shot Rune a text saying I was running behind.
They were sitting down at a restaurant near the marina, and I joined them just in time to order dinner.
Despite having never met me, Raquel gave me a warm, friendly hug, and Hamish gave me a back-slapping hug as well.
"So," Rune said, once our food had arrived, "where's this room?"
I grinned. "I had to get creative, but I think you'll really like it," I answered. "It's actually really close to here. But I'm gonna keep the details a surprise. It's more fun that way."
Hamish frowned. "There're no hotels anywhere near here, and nothin’ in Ketchikan at all with vacancy,” he said.
"So I admit I'm a wee bit confused." The man's Scottish accent was thick as a concrete mixer from DQ, and his appearance—brawny, red-haired and -bearded, wearing flannel and denim—matched the accent perfectly, in my head, at least.
I just grinned. "You'll see."
We chatted through dinner, mostly about trivialities—music, movies, books, things like that.
Once we'd paid the tab, we left the restaurant and I led the four of us on a leisurely stroll through the marina—seemingly at random but in reality heading toward Aunt Low's yacht, which was berthed at the far end of the marina, a location which afforded her some semblance of privacy when she and Uncle Xavier were in town. For the uninitiated, my Aunt Low is Harlow Grace, one of the most famous human beings on the planet. And my Uncle Xavier owns one of the world’s foremost robotics and technology corporations.
We reached their yacht; it was only a few years old, as they'd just recently replaced the one Aunt Low had owned for over twenty years.
This one was state-of-the-art, having been designed by Uncle Xavier.
It wasn't a massive boat, certainly not a super-yacht like some celebrities own; only seventy feet or so, it boasted the main quarters, a saloon—the boat version of a living room—a gourmet kitchen, several guest suites, a diving platform, a workout space, an office, and every piece of technological wizardry Uncle Xavier could pack into the thing.
Which, Uncle Xavier being who he is, means it has things not even NASA does.
When we stopped in front of it, everyone seemed confused. The yacht doesn't look like a traditional yacht, looking more like a Chinese Junk than a luxury yacht, because Uncle Xavier is kinda weird and Aunt Low usually just goes with it. It’s a hell of a sweet boat, though.
Rune blinked at me. "Um. Duncan? What's…what's going on?"