Seb’s Summer by K.C. Wells

Chapter Six

 

June 21

It had only been six days, but Lord, Seb was tired. He did the math: there were ten weeks left until school started. Fuck. He hadn’t even scratched the surface. Levi’s remark about being buff by the end of it had one drawback that Seb could see—he’d be too exhausted to do anything about the line of guys waiting to drool over him.

Okay, that’s an exaggeration. He’d never be that tired, and a line of guys? In his dreams.

He’d celebrated the start of summer vacation with a night at Maine Street, and if he’d known that would be the last time he’d get off for almost three months, Seb would have foregone Grammy’s birthday party, and spent the whole weekend in as many different positions as he could imagine.

I can imagine quite a lot.

Maybe that was why it was eight o’clock on Sunday morning, and he was still in bed, enjoying the luxury of not having to get up. What is there to get up for? All the shit he hadn’t done during the week because he was too tired? He’d made himself some coffee and taken it into the bedroom. Then he lay under the comforter, scrolling through his phone and drinking coffee.

When his phone buzzed and he saw Levi’s name, Seb smiled. “Hey. Welcome to my only day off of the week.”

“You’re still with us then.”

“What did you think I’d do—fall overboard? Get eaten by a huge, radioactive lobster?”

Levi chuckled. “So how was it, the first week?”

“Tim—that’s the guy who works with Gary—said after two days that we could start working properly. When I asked what he meant, he said, ‘Well, you’ve had a couple of late starts to get you into the swing of it.’ Late? I was on the dock by four-friggin’-thirty. Then he tells me Gary is usually out on the water by four.”

“Four a.m.?” Levi sounded horrified.

“Yup. So the last four days, we’ve been out there before dawn.” There was one benefit to that—Seb got to watch the sun come up over the ocean, and the sight never grew old.

“How’s it going?”

Seb stretched beneath the sheets. “What gets me is the uncertainty of it all. We can have a huge haul one day, and not enough to cover fuel the next. The thing is, Tim’s been doing this long enough, he knows the ocean. He knows the best places to go. Of course, so does everybody else. We spend a lot of time dodging the traps that aren’t Gary’s.”

“How do you know they’re not Gary’s? Don’t all traps look the same?”

Seb cackled. “You can’t see traps on the bottom of the ocean—you see the buoys they’re attached to. Every lobsterman has their own color of buoys.”

“So how are you coping with the early mornings?”

Seb snorted. “I’m not cut out for this. Only time I usually see that hour of the morning, is when I’ve stayed up all night.”

There was a pause. “Have you been keeping up with local events?”

Seb knew Levi well enough to know it was a loaded question. “What’s happened? What have I missed?”

“It was on the news last night. Police busted a party. Teenagers mostly. A lot of them are students at your school, the report said.”

“Busted for what? Did the neighbors complain about the noise?”

“Nah, the kids got busted for possessing pot. A large amount, by the sound of it. Plus, they were drinking. The cops said in a statement that other drugs had been found. Seems like nothing changes, hmm?”

It didn’t take a genius to work out Levi was thinking about his mom.

“Schools are trying to make a difference, you know?” Seb said in a gentle voice. “There’s a program in Maine to educate the kids about drugs, and another to help those kids already experimenting with booze, pot, and other drugs.” The staff at the school had all gone through training.

“I’m sure there are a ton of programs out there. But if the message is only Don’t do drugs, then they’re not working. The message is not getting through. I’m seeing this more and more in the stuff I post for work. They start on pot, but they don’t stay on it. They move on to better and harder stuff. Before you know it, they’re addicts. And we all know how society treats addicts, right?”

The bitterness in his voice tugged at Seb’s heart. “It still hurts. I get it.”

“I’m sorry, but you don’t. You know where your mom is. You might not want to know, given her opinions, but she’s still around. I have no fucking clue whether my mom is alive or dead.” He made a choked sound. “I’m sorry I brought this up. Let’s talk about something else.”

Seb could do that. “You would be amazed at what time I go to bed.”

“Go on. Amaze me.”

“Well, the first day, I took a nap once I’d finished work. Except I soon realized it didn’t help. All that happened was I didn’t sleep at night. So I forced myself to stay awake. We work from four till noon and when I come home, no more naps for me. Then the moment my head hits the pillow, I’m out like a light. There are some nights when I’m in bed by eight.”

Levi laughed, and the sound sent a flush of relief coursing through Seb. “Okay, I’m amazed. Have you met any of the locals yet?”

“Apart from Tim—who doesn’t do a whole lotta talking if it’s not about lobster—I’ve spoken to precisely one guy.” But what a guy.

Levi let out a wry chuckle. “Why am I not surprised it was a guy? Dare I ask… Was he a hot guy?”

“Fuck, yeah. Except the jury is out on whether he bats for our team. My first instinct was no.” But after that remark about Seb’s shirt, he wasn’t so sure.

Oh, come on. You’re just hoping, that’s all, because you want him to be gay.

“So what are you doing with the rest of your Sunday?”

Seb cackled. “I have some really exciting things planned. First there’s the laundry. Then I get to shop for groceries. Then I get to clean.”

“Wow. You have so much excitement crammed into a few hours. But to be honest, I think some of those can wait. It’s a beautiful day. Why don’t you go outside?”

“I’m outside six days out of seven. On the ocean. In a boat.”

“That’s not what I mean. All you see of Cape Porpoise is from the boat. So go for a walk. You’re gonna be there for a couple of months. You get one day off a week. You get afternoons too, by the sound of it. Take a look at the town. Take photos. Get to know your surroundings. If all you do is work with Tim, shop for groceries, and then spend the rest of your time in that house, you’ll go nuts.” He paused. “You’re not meant to be a solitary person. You need people. And you’re not gonna find them inside those four walls. So get out and meet people. Talk to people. I’ve seen you charm little old ladies five minutes after you opened your mouth.”

Seb snorted. “You wouldn’t say that if you’d heard me in the store a week ago.”

“What do you mean?”

“I struck up a conversation about bananas. It was all I could think of.”

“Did it work?”

“Nope. He probably thought I was an idiot. And of course, the next time I ran into him, I was wearing oilskins. I mean, nothing says sexy like a bright yellow fucking oilskin, right?” Thank God he’d changed out of the muck boots.

“Would this be the one guy you were talking about?”

“The same.”

Levi snickered. “Then you’d better work on your lines in case you meet him again.”

Chance would be a fine thing. “Well, it’s been a week and there’s been no sign of him.”

“Have you been looking for him?”

Seb snorted. “Levi, you know me way too well.”

He laughed. “I’ll leave you to enjoy the rest of your Sunday. Don’t work too hard this week.”

“Hey, if I don’t work hard, Gary will have my ass. I’ll talk to you soon.” Seb disconnected, and tossed the phone onto the bed. His heart went out to Levi. It must hurt him something awful. Seb wondered where Levi’s mom was. There was always the possibility she was dead, but surely Grammy would be notified if that happened. He lost his mom, and she lost her daughter.

Thank God they had each other.

Seb glanced toward the window. Levi was right—it was a beautiful day. Too damn nice to be stuck inside doing laundry. I could combine a walk with the groceries. That’d work.

It would—after he’d gotten rid of his morning wood.

Seb grabbed the phone, pulled up one of his favorite porn sites, and reached for the lube. Except it wasn’t long before he’d abandoned the porn and closed his eyes to focus on Marcus.

Because Marcus was way hotter than the guys on that small screen.

 

 

Seb walked along Langsford Road, drinking in the sights and smells. Boats were moored along both sides of the channel of water that separated the two banks, their masts reaching into the sky, their white hulls mirrored in the rippling water. Chains rattled and flags snapped in the stiff breeze. Chatter could be heard as boats passed on their way in and out of the bay.

Seb had to admit Levi had nailed it. It was far too beautiful a day for doing laundry.

The plan was to head for the spit of land at the end of the road, do a loop, and work his way back to the store. Langsford’s Lobster and Fish House was up ahead. It occurred to Seb maybe a little lobster salad would be perfect for his Sunday dinner. Not that he was gonna buy a live one, no sir. He had enough recollections from childhood of the smell that filled the kitchen when lobster was boiling. Better to buy it ready-cooked.

Then he spied a couple of people up ahead outside the fish house, and his breathing hitched at the sight. Marcus.

Except Marcus was with a woman. They were laughing, and the way she touched his arm and watched him spoke volumes.

Damn. Guess he’s gonna stay relegated to my spank bank after all.

Seb knew when to back off. It was a pity. He’d been anticipating a little flirting if the occasion presented itself, but he wasn’t about to flirt with a straight guy. He watched as the woman went into the shop.

Do I keep on walking? Or turn around and go back before he sees me? What was it about Marcus that made him so damn skittish?

Stupid question. Marcus ticked all Seb’s boxes: hot, sexy as fuck older guy, not too tall, silver among the black…

Down boy. Seb was imagining silver on Marcus’s chest, running his fingers through it, trailing them down to his pubes. He hoped to God the man didn’t shave.

Doesn’t matter if he does. He’s straight. It was too much to hope he was bi.

God was having way too much fun at Seb’s expense.

Then Marcus saw him, and that was the end of that. Seb walked towards him, with as much nonchalance as he could muster.

Marcus gave him that same polite smile. “Good afternoon. No hauling today?”

“I do get one day off.” He glanced at the shop. “I thought about getting some lobster for dinner. Which might seem weird, considering how I spend my week.”

“I don’t think it’s weird at all.” Marcus gestured to the gray cedar shakes that covered the shop, buoys strung up as decoration. “I like all these different colors.”

Seb pointed to a buoy with orange and yellow bands. “That’s Gary’s. He’s my uncle.”

Marcus peered at the sign beside the shop. “Steamers?”

“Clams,” Seb told him. “Delicious dipped in clam broth, butter, cider vinegar, and with a couple of slices of garlic bread.”

Just then, the woman came out of the shop, a bag in her hand. Marcus laughed. “That doesn’t look like a live lobster to me.”

She opened her eyes wide. “He pointed to a tank of live ones and asked me which one I wanted. I just couldn’t.”

“So what did you get instead?” Marcus asked.

She beamed. “They sell them ready cooked. Look at this.” She opened the bag and Marcus peered into it.

“That is one big lobster. There must be a lot of meat in those claws.”

“Can I see?” Seb asked.

The woman gave him a quizzical glance. “You want to look at my lobster?”

Marcus laughed. “This is Seb. He catches them.” He gestured to her. “This is Jess.”

Seb gave her a nod, then peered into the bag. “Oh my God.”

“What?” Marcus and Jess exclaimed at the same time.

“I know that lobster! I caught him yesterday.”

Marcus gaped at him. “You can tell it was one of your catch just by looking at it?”

Seb grinned. “No, but the look on your face was priceless.” Marcus rolled his eyes.

“I was more impressed you knew it was a male,” Jess remarked. “Do you live around here?”

“I’m staying here for a couple of months. My uncle runs a lobster boat. But he went and broke his pelvis, so I’m helping out.”

“We’ve caught Seb on his one day off,” Marcus told her. He gave Seb his attention. “Out for a walk?”

“I was taking a stroll before I headed to the store. Gotta get my groceries before bed.”

“I imagine you have to be up really early to go out on the boat. What time do you go to bed?” Marcus inquired.

“If I can get by on six hours’ sleep, nine o’clock. It should be closer to eight.”

“Do you like lobster?” Jen asked suddenly.

“Not when they nip me with their claws,” Seb replied with a grin. Marcus laughed.

“Well, we’re having lobster salad for dinner. Why don’t you join us?”

Judging by the way Marcus jerked his head to stare at her, the suggestion was as much a surprise to him as it was to Seb.

“You don’t know me.” And Seb did not want to be forced to see the pair of them together. That would be rubbing his face in it.

She smiled. “You seem to be the only other person Marcus has met in this place, apart from the mailman.”

“I couldn’t possibly,” Seb protested.

“See?” Marcus interjected. “He doesn’t want to.”

Jess had a glint in her eye that told Seb she could be a handful. “I won’t take no for an answer. Besides, I want to make dinner for my big brother before I leave. I promise we’ll be finished in time for you to go to bed at a ridiculously early hour. Plus, I spied a rather nice bottle of white wine in the kitchen back at the house. I bet it would go great with lobster.”

“I was going to get some lobster for tonight,” Seb admitted. He’d taken in one vital fact from everything she’d said.

Brother? Well, what do you know about that?

She beamed again. “See? Now you don’t have to. I’ll make the salad, and you can talk to my brother and keep him out of the kitchen. Works perfectly.”

Seb glanced at Marcus. “Does she always get her own way?”

Marcus let out an exaggerated sigh. “Always. Resistance is futile.”

Seb got the idea Marcus wasn’t all that enthused about the prospect. “Look, it’s a wonderful invitation, but—”

“Please.” Jess locked gazes with him. “I’ll be offended if you say no. And you wouldn’t want to offend me, right?”

Seb winced. He looked at Marcus. “Ooh, she’s good.”

Marcus rolled his eyes. “You have no idea.”

The thing was, Seb didn’t want to say no, not now he knew the whole situation. “Okay. What time, and where?”

Her eyes gleamed. “Sixteen Land’s End Road, and make it five o’clock. That way, we can let Marcus loose in the liquor cabinet, and see what amazing cocktails he can concoct.” She bit her lip. “Can you get there on foot? I wouldn’t want you to drink and drive.”

Seb laughed. “Have you seen the size of Cape Porpoise? You can get everywhere on foot. Okay. Five o’clock. I promise not to come in my oilskins,” he added, glancing at Marcus.

“See you then.” Marcus grabbed Jess’s arm and tugged her away. Seb watched them, smiling to himself when the conversation grew animated.

He wasn’t going to tell me Jess was his sister.He had to have known how it looked. And she let the cat out of the bag. His instincts told him the slip had been deliberate. Seb had a feeling he was going to like Jess.

That same feeling told him he’d like her brother a whole lot more.