Sailor Proof by Annabeth Albert
Chapter Sixteen
Arthur
Derrick needed to hurry. And not simply because I was dying to be alone with him and running out of patience for later, but because I was currently under a pile of kids who had way too much energy after being confined to boats all day.
“Whoa. I thought you were going to practice a musical number, not wrestle.” Derrick’s voice was warm and oh-so-welcome as he pried Roger’s twins off my back. They’d dive-tackled me to the grass and some of the other cousins had joined them in piling on me.
“Thank God you’re here.” I sat up before accepting his hand up. We were nominally holding the practice in the grassy clearing behind the dining hall, and all their parents seemed to have conveniently disappeared, leaving me with a horde of overhyped, hungry kids. “That’s what I thought too, but this is turning out to be like herding wet cats.”
“Otherwise known as training new recruits.” Derrick gave a sharp nod, then whistled loud enough to scare whatever wildlife was lurking in the nearby woods. “Listen up, tiny terrors. Time to practice. Arthur’s going to tell us about the music. Arthur?”
“Wow. You’re better than my dad at getting their attention.” I had to shake my head because Derrick in navy chief mode was damn imposing. And more than a little sexy.
He shrugged modestly. “I know how to run a tight ship. My training better be good for something.”
“I’m still impressed.”
“Better be. And better start talking.” He made a sweeping gesture at the kids, who had all come to sit obediently in front of me. Working fast, I explained what I was thinking for the format of the show with an opening number, several talent acts, midway number, more acts, and then a closing number, with each of the numbers being short snippets of songs I had picked. Nothing too long or complicated and lots of high-energy, upbeat music.
“Do we have to dance?” Taylor made a face that was echoed by the expression of several of the others.
“Yep.” I smiled encouragingly. “It’ll be easy. And fun.”
One of the twins groaned. “Boys don’t—”
“None of that.” Derrick shut him up with a single stare before turning to me. “Show us the steps.”
I’d brought a portable speaker for my phone, and I used it to demonstrate the first selection, showing some simple choreography I’d come up with on the fly. Tons of big arm movements that could cover a lot of missteps.
“You weren’t lying.” Giving me a smile, Derrick stretched on the grass as I turned the kids loose for some practice. “You do have rhythm.”
“Told you. It’s nature I’m allergic to.” Right on schedule, I sneezed from the combination of grass and pine needles still clinging to my skin as I settled down next to him.
Chuckling, he brushed off my shoulders. “You’ve certainly earned your shower later.”
“Yeah? How was yours?” I asked in a low voice as I clicked Repeat on the song.
“Lonely.” He matched my whisper, but the word still made me shiver with want. Stopping our make-out session had been near impossible. He’d finally been all kinds of eager and insistent, and I couldn’t get enough of that side of him.
“You could—Hey, no kicking!” I had to abruptly abandon my flirt to stop one of the twins from kicking his brother in the stomach.
“But that’s my talent! I’m going to break a board with my karate kick!” Vince demonstrated by kicking at the air.
“Excellent. Your brother, however, is not a board.”
“Darn.” Vince didn’t look the least bit sorry, but he at least quieted down enough that I could lead the group through another practice. After we went over the steps, the other twin, Seth, came over to where Derrick and I were sitting on the ground.
“Thanks for stopping Vince. His kicks hurt. And I still don’t know what to do for my talent. I hate karate class.”
“I hear that.” I was still scarred from years of organized sports I would have liked to avoid. “What do you like to do?”
“Games. I’m gonna be a streamer when I grow up. But Dad says no one’s going to pay to hear me talk nonstop.”
“Sure they will. I know lots of professional gamers.” I smiled at him because Roger could stuff it with that attitude. The world was changing. Vlogging and streaming were making several of my friends good money. “It’s a fun career choice. But since the moms want this week to be electronics-free, let’s think. Know any magic tricks?”
“Talking fast doesn’t count?” Seth grinned back at me.
I tilted my head, considering. “How fast?”
“Like lightning! I can do all the words to ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’ in under twenty seconds.” Seth proceeded to demonstrate, doing the fastest rendition I’d ever heard, managing to keep the tune even as he rushed through the song.
“Sold.” I gave him a high five. “We’ll call it Seth’s Super-Fast Songs and you can do a couple like that. People will love it.”
“Awesome.” He raced back to the other kids. Some of them were turning cartwheels instead of practicing the steps, but we were minutes from the dinner gong, so I didn’t rein them back in.
“You’re good with them,” Derrick observed as the music moved on to the next song, which inspired one of the kids to show off a backflip.
“Not particularly good at keeping them in line.” I laughed because even with the high-energy antics, this had still been fun.
“Eh. That’s what you’ve got me for, right?” Derrick bumped my shoulder. “I meant more that you’re good at relating to them. That’s like the fourth kid I’ve watched you find a talent for.”
“They’ve all got something. It’s just a matter of finding it.”
“Yup.” He met my gaze, and the appreciation in his eyes was almost better than another kiss. “That’s why they’re lucky to have you in charge of this thing—Hey! No climbing!”
The moment abruptly shattered as the twins and Taylor scampered up one of the trees. Taylor swung back and forth on one of the branches before dropping to the ground.
“And that right there is why I’m glad I’m not in the kids’ cabin this year. Love them being someone else’s responsibility.”
Derrick nudged me again. “Better as the cool uncle than the dad?”
“Trust me, no one wants me to parent,” I said automatically, but a weird pang went off in my chest. Derrick and I made an excellent team. Having someone like him around was enough to make me reconsider my long-held stance against kids. A glimmer of a vision of a future that wouldn’t be flickered through my brain, Derrick and me and a pack of rowdy kids.
Not privy to my inner yearnings, Derrick laughed lightly. “Same.”
But I remained ambivalent even as the parents arrived back to collect their kids for dinner. Derrick would make an awesome dad. Probably not with me, but someone. Being jealous of an imaginary future that Derrick didn’t even seem to want was not the most productive use of my time, yet I still stewed over it as we lined up for dinner.
“Come on, man. At least make it best two out of three.” Calder had the same pleading look for Oliver that he’d had whenever Oliver and Roger had gone off to do something together, leaving Calder stuck at home to watch me.
“What’s that?” I asked as Derrick and I found seats at the table. Maybe it was petty, but I was happy to see Calder put out about something. “Did you actually lose at something?”
“Ollie won a hand of cards last night.” Calder made a dismissive gesture. “No big deal, but I have to watch the kids tomorrow night so he and Stacey can have a date night.” Calder shuddered dramatically at the word kids, which got a laugh from the whole table. Derrick might have solid dad potential, but Calder had no such aptitude or inclination. “I need another chance to redeem myself.”
“No way, man. I won fair and square.” Sitting back in his chair, Oliver folded his arms. “You might not be my first choice as babysitter, but I’m not turning down some alone time with my wife.”
“Arthur!” Calder made a show of pretending to only just now notice my presence. “Maybe you want kid duty?”
His dramatics got a predictable laugh from the rest of the table, but I shook my head.
“No way.” I hated how he always assumed people would be willing to bail him out simply because he was so charming. “You can handle a couple of hours of kids.”
“I’d play you for it. You could come play tonight.” Leaning forward, he turned all that charisma my way. Luckily, I had a lifetime of learning not to take bets with him, and I was already shaking my head.
“Nope. You only invite me when you want something. I’m turning in early.” I risked a glance at Derrick. He’d promised me later, and I was damn sure planning to cash in on that. I had zero patience for Calder and his friends, especially when I had something way better on offer.
But I wasn’t the only one looking Derrick’s way. Calder clapped him on the shoulder. “Guess that means you’re all ours. You got out of cards last night, but you owe us a game.”
“Yeah, man. Someone needs to put Calder in his place again,” Calder’s friend Max chimed in. Great. A team effort to tear Derrick away from me. My muscles tightened, but I worked to keep my face neutral. If Calder got wind that our pretend relationship might include some very real kisses, we’d never hear the end of it, and I didn’t want to risk Calder’s reaction being enough to put Derrick off his promise to me. Besides, it was kind of nice having a secret from Chief Know-it-all.
“I don’t know...” Derrick pursed his mouth even as Calder and Max both leaned in. We were outnumbered. Damn it.
“You’re not getting out of this.” Calder had the same self-assured grin that usually got him exactly what he wanted.
Opening and shutting his mouth without saying anything, Derrick shot me a helpless look. And I supposed I owed him after he’d helped me with the kids. I didn’t like it, but I could be the bigger person than my stupid brothers.
“It’s okay.” I shrugged like I hadn’t been counting down the seconds until we could get horizontal. “I need to work on some more choreography for the kids.”
“Thanks. And good luck.” He nodded at me like that was that, and I supposed it was.
Nothing left to do but eat and then head back to the cabin on my own. I took a long, lonely shower then collapsed on the bed with my tablet. Unable to concentrate on my music, I stared hard at the locked door. Derrick better hurry indeed.
