Chapter 8 Skipper
SKIPPER
At any given moment, there’s a high chance I’m thinking about one of two things: the sun or the sea.
This morning, I’m thinking about Carmen. Naked.
She caught my attention long before she took off her clothes, though. I’ve traveled to many countries, seen many ludicrous things, but I’ve never seen a woman running around stage flaying her arms, bleating like a fucking sheep.
She has a mouth and she’s not afraid to use it.
Brave women who stand up for themselves deserve awards. Sailors name their boats after women like Carmen. Women who are beautiful, fierce, and way too good for you.
They have to be admired from a distance.
But can I keep distance after breaking it?
Carter bursts through the door and lets out a sigh loud enough to be heard down under. A place I haven’t been back to since setting sail from the eastern shore three years ago.
“How was it?” I ask.
“Fine.” Carter drops into a seat beside Vex and me. “Except she didn’t want dropped off at her doorstep.”
Vex scoffs. “Get over yourself. She’s obviously not gonna want you to see where she lives. She doesn’t trust us, and I don’t blame her. Look at us.”
“Doesn’t matter what we look like. I don’t think Carmen’s the trusting type.”
I sit forward and stare at Carter’s face, waiting for him to return my gaze. He’s changed a lot in the year I’ve known him. Last week marked his first year in the club.
I remember when he first showed up for initiation, suited and booted in Louis Vuitton. The cologne was so artificially strong it made my eyes water. He demanded a place here, but his millionaire status made Grizzly very hesitant.
I don’t know how much money he paid to become a prospect, but it must’ve been a lot. Grizzly’s a tough Prez.
If Vex hadn’t mentored him, Carter and I probably wouldn’t be this close.
For a guy who wouldn’t go anywhere without styling his hair, he’s come a long way.
“Are you gonna tell us what happened between the two of you last time, or do you want us to guess?” Vex sits forward and stares at Carter with me.
“We met on the strip, slept together and never spoke again. I did my usual and left without saying goodbye. It wasn’t a proud moment.”
“No shit,” I say.
“She was my last one.”
“Last what?” Vex chuckles. “Victim?”
“Last girl before karma gave me a big fucking reality check.”
“What was the reality check?” I ask.
This isn’t the first time Vex and I have asked questions about Carter’s past. Even though the three of us have been good friends now for a year, Carter still likes to keep his cards close to his chest.
“Don’t worry. It’s unimportant.”
Whatever happened, it must’ve been big. People don’t pack in their millionaire-womanizer careers for no reason. Carter had it all. The fame, the respect, the money and girls.
I always despised people like him; they were always like fingernails on a blackboard to me—intolerable. But Carter is living, breathing proof that people can change.
He rakes a hand through his hair and sighs. “I hate to admit this aloud, guys, but I had a fucking good time last night.”
“Not so pissed about being dragged to the auction anymore, are you?” Vex grins. “Looks like I reunited you with someone special.”
“Carmen isn’t special. Not like that.”
“But she did mark the end of CEO Carter Trescott’s reign.”
“It doesn’t matter who she is,” Carter says. “We’re not supposed to be in each other’s lives. Last night was a fluke. A coincidence.”
“Coincidences don’t exist.”
Carter glares at me. “I don’t want your voodoo input in this, Skipper.”
“Tough, you’re gonna get it. Ever heard of a soul contract?”
“No,” Carter deadpans. “Because I live in the real fucking world.”
“People keep reappearing in your life for a reason. My old friend Chuck and I split ways because I stupidly slept with his ex. He moved to Canberra and we never spoke for years…until we both happened to dock our boats at Airlie beach ten years later. We made up, tied loose ends, and then he died two weeks later out at sea during a storm.”
Carter looks at me like I’ve just given him a death sentence. “You’re saying that one of us is going to die?”
“No. I’m telling you that there was a reason you saw Carmen again at the auction last night.”
Carter’s face turns even more sour. “There’s no reason. Life’s much simpler when it’s lived alone, away from girl drama. Vex can vouch for me on this.”
“Yeah. I’ll die on that hill,” Vex agrees.
“Coincidences don’t exist,” Carter says. “We won’t be seeing Carmen again, so we might as well drop this conversation and move on with our lives.”
All I’ve ever fucking done is move on.
For me, that statement is quite literal.
I don’t need much in life to be happy—just a good tide and a sturdy boat.
If I hadn’t gotten caught out in a storm three years ago and docked in California as a result, I wouldn’t be here.
Move might as well be my middle name. I’ve never stayed in one place for more than five years, and I certainly don’t see myself exceeding that time limit here with the Venom Vultures.
Sure, it’s nice to be on the ground for once instead of the ocean, but home isn’t an external place. It’s a feeling.
And I’m still on the hunt for that.