26. Cole
TWENTY-SIX
Cole
“The parents are back together, I take it?” Lawrence asks at breakfast.
“Lawrence,” Morgan warns. “You want coffee, Sunshine?”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
I check out Morgan’s muscular ass as he walks to the kitchen. His dark hair is all mussed from me roving my hands through it.
“Excuse me.” Lawrence plants his palms on the table and swings his head toward me. “Did he just say Sunshine? When’s the vow renewal?”
“Sorry to tell you, but he calls me Sunshine when he’s mad at me too.” I lower onto the upholstered bench with a wince.
“Look at you, Captain Freshly Fucked,” Lawrence says.
Javi rolls his eyes. “Next time you two fuck, take it to the engine room.” He shovels scrambled eggs into his mouth, and adds, “I couldn’t sleep.”
“I told him he could jerk off with me, but he stayed up with a boner while I slept peacefully.”
“Are you saying you got off to my husband moaning?” Morgan asks, pouring coffee from the half-full pot.
“Don’t be jealous. Your moans turned me on too.”
I burst into laughter before my mug reaches my mouth and nearly scald my crotch.
Morgan narrows his eyes on Lawrence.
“What did you think was going to happen when your hips rocked a boat full of horny men?” Lawrence asks.
Javi scoots out of the bench. “Not all of us are into men, or want to hear their friends fucking. Wear a gag next time. We don’t get enough sleep as it is.”
“See. He’s no fun anymore,” Lawrence says.
“It’s not about fun. It’s about safety. People make mistakes when they’re sleep deprived and mistakes kill out here.”
My thoughts stray to Seb and what mistakes I made, at least until Lawrence groans.
“Javi, if this is you trying to get me to buy life insurance again…”
“You don’t have life insurance?” Morgan asks.
“Do I pay more than rent to stash money away for my nonexistent beneficiaries when I could use that money to travel and have fun? No.”
“Typical.” Javi walks down the hall, opens the door to the head, and slams it shut behind him.
Lawrence’s facade drops into a frown.
“What’s going on with you two?” I ask.
Lawrence snaps his bacon in half. “Gabi broke up with him before we left.”
“Damn,” I say.
It shouldn’t hurt my feelings that Javi didn’t tell me about Gabi when I ignored most of his texts over the last six months, but it does. I’ve become the third wheel in all of my friendships.
“I guess she was serious about him quitting the Briar,” Lawrence says.
“Quitting?” I look to Morgan.
Lawrence bites into his bacon and drops the other half on his plate. “I get it. If he’s going to get married and have kids, he can’t be out here for months.” He shakes his head. “She wants him to quit me too.”
“That doesn’t sound like her,” I say.
“If I was her, I probably wouldn’t want my boyfriend to hang out with an ex-con, recovering addict either.”
Morgan squeezes Lawrence’s shoulder and shakes him gently. “I’ve never felt that way about you with Cole. It’s not like addiction is contagious, and you’ve been clean for what, four years? That’s a huge accomplishment.”
“Thanks, man.”
“Did Gabi actually say she has issues with your past?” I ask.
“No, but her mom has been in her ear.”
All the hate Lawless gets is bullshit. He should have gotten a medal for putting his mom’s boyfriend in the hospital.
“Fuck her mom,” I say.
Morgan arches a brow.
Lawrence sighs wistfully. “I already tried.”
He’s joking… I think.
“Maybe I should swap rooms with Alejo.”
Morgan takes the spot Javi vacated and slides a plate of scrambled eggs and sausage to me, then digs into his own.
“You can have our room,” I say.
“Hell no. That room is a biohazard.”
I snort. “It’s probably the cleanest it’s ever been since we haven’t fucked in there all year.”
“I’ll think about it.” He gathers his hair into a bun. “I just want my friend back.”
“You’re a good man, Lawrence,” I say. “I’m lucky as hell you’re my best friend. Javi is too, okay? He’ll come around.”
He throws his arm around my shoulder. “I missed you, brother.”
Brother. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to hear it without missing Seb. I hide behind my mug under the guise of taking a swig of coffee. Morgan reaches under the table, and takes my hand, stroking my palm with his thumb.
“I missed you too,” I say belatedly, forcing my gaze from Morgan to Lawrence. “I haven’t been a good friend to you and Javi.”
“You were going through it. Even if you were being a little bi—Ow! What the hell, Morgan? If kicking my shin is how you play footsie, no wonder Cole is sitting like the Princess and the Pea.”
Morgan cocks his head to the side with a smirk. “I told you not to call him a little bitch.”
“Did you? Because Lawless told me that and more when he kidnapped me.”
“And? I’ll kidnap you again if you ever let down Morgan or Finn again.”
Morgan squeezes my hand. It’s really nice to have him by my side while I navigate the many ways I fucked up.
Javi emerges from the head, and disappears inside their room.
Lawrence tsks. “Definitely not long enough to get off. Move over, Morgan. I’m going to go work on the bait. I’d rather gut dead fish than deal with him.”
I trace the rim of my mug with my fingertips until Lawrence leaves, then lift my gaze to Morgan. “If Javi quits the boat…”
“We’ll figure it out.”
I tug his hand to my lips and kiss his wedding band tattoo. “You didn’t just support Finn while I was gone. You took care of my friends too. Thank you.”
He shrugs like it isn’t a big deal, but it is.
“I owe you so much. I promise I’ll take care of you from now on.”
“We’ll take care of each other.” Morgan drains his mug. “Lawrence isn’t wrong. You’re perched on that bench like you sat on a traffic cone.”
I sputter. “Wow.”
He laughs and kisses the corner of my mouth. “I’m serious.”
“I’m fine. It’s just the usual aches and pains.”
I brace for him to challenge me on it, but of course he doesn’t. He’s always respected me when it comes to my recovery. He’s always respected me. Period.
Morgan scoops scrambled eggs from his plate and brings the fork to my lips. “Open.”
I close my eyes and hum. “Why is that so hot?”
“It’s not. You’re just horny.” He leans forward and kisses me.
“Feed me your cock then. Best of both worlds.”
Morgan plunks his mug down on the table. “Let’s go check the rudder pole in the engine room. It’s been making a weird knocking sound.” He helps me down from the bench and opens the door for me.
Inside, Morgan places a pair of noise canceling headphones over my ears before donning his own. He grips my shoulder and mouths, On your knees.
I do as he says, holding eye contact, and extend my tongue. His Adam’s apple bobs. He pulls his cock out and guides it to my mouth.
Taking two handfuls of his ass, I pull him closer until my nose presses against his skin. He drops his hand to my head, his legs trembling already. Not long after, he rewards me with his cum. I swallow and continue sucking until he pulls me to my feet.
He swipes the corner of my lips with his thumb and feeds me the cum I missed, then reaches for my cock. I shake my head and point to the door.
“Everything okay?” he asks after we shed our ear protection.
“Yeah. We’re running behind, and I don’t want to give Javi another reason to leave.” I am also more than a little sore.
We shower quickly, taking turns in the en suite in the captain’s quarters. It’s cramped as hell, but we don’t need to do much beyond brushing our teeth when we’re about to work for twenty hours.
I spit into the sink and rinse my toothbrush. “Be safe out there, okay? Try not to be too disappointed if your traps aren’t as full as mine.”
Morgan takes his toothbrush out of his mouth. “You can’t take credit for that first string. The family grounds are always a payday.” He finishes brushing, then spits. “Kent said the Unfathomable is planning to see what they can get away with on the Morrissey grounds.”
“Wow. That’s low, even for them.” It feels like they’re spitting on Seb’s grave.
Morgan takes my hand and unclenches it, then kisses it. “They were probably just talking shit. Kent said he’d warn us, but keep an eye on the GPS in case we need to hustle back out there.”
“Does Kent still want to join the Briar?” Poaching him from Luke is going to be satisfying as hell.
“Yeah. We have plans for tonight if you want to talk to him about it.”
“Plans?” I laugh. “Dinner plans, or?”
“We hang out when we do night watch.”
“Hang out?”
“Yeah. We usually just talk, but sometimes we listen to podcasts, watch movies when the weather is nice.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. He’s a good kid surrounded by degenerate assholes. Don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like I’m a woodland creature you’re very fond of.”
“Don’t be so adorable then. I’m definitely crashing your date.”
“Okay, but you can’t make fun of us.”
I cross my arms over my chest and cock my head to the side. “Why would I make fun of you?” I swish mouthwash and spit. “Wait, what’s your call sign?”
“How do you know about that?”
“Who do you think started the night watch bro dates?”
“Oh my god.”
“Wait, did he make you feel like you were the only one?”
“Shut the hell up, Sunshine.” He cups my cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Make sure you keep taking Tylenol and ibuprofen, but if you’re miserable, call me up and I’ll give you a little massage between pots.”
“Thank you.”
Reluctantly, we part ways. I wish I could spend the day with him on deck, but sharing the same boat, let alone the same bed, is still better than the last half year we’ve spent apart.