Sailor Proof by Annabeth Albert

Chapter Eighteen

Arthur

“I can fake it.” Making my voice as seductive as possible, I nuzzled against Derrick’s chest. Like the prior night, he’d wrapped me up in a full-body embrace sometime in the night, but this time, we were both naked. Consequently, I was in even less of a mood to rouse myself from the bed simply because the breakfast gong had sounded.

“I know.” Derrick groaned and kissed the top of my head. “But we’re already lying about so much.”

“I don’t see how adding a pretend sprained ankle or something else that conveniently disappears later is another black mark on our souls.” I didn’t mean to come off as super cranky, so I kept my voice light. All I wanted was to maximize what little time I’d get with Derrick this week. “And it means we can stay right here.”

“Mmm.” He held me tighter, hard cock pressing against my side. “Right here is pretty great.”

“It is.” The sex had been so good that my insides were still all warm and trembly at the memory. I’d had make-out sessions before, but nothing had prepared me for the all-consuming need I felt with Derrick, the way he swamped all my senses, and how much more connected and alive I felt than with solo orgasms. And there was so, so much more I wanted to try with him. We’d ended up kissing and rubbing off again before sleep, but there was still vast uncharted territory I wanted to explore while I had the chance.

That in mind, I rolled, pushing Derrick more to his back, so I could—

Bong. The stupid gong rang again followed by loud voices. “French toast!”

“Oh. Haven’t had that in a while.” Derrick’s stomach let out a growl as he started to sit up. “Sorry. Guess you made me work up an appetite.”

“Not gonna apologize for that.” I grinned at him and moved out of the way so he could sit the rest of the way up, even as I wanted to shove him back down and show him what hungry really was.

“Bus to the trailhead leaves soon!” A booming voice sounded as people passed by our cabin.

“We’re going to be on it, aren’t we?” I moaned as Derrick stood up, leaving the bed that much colder and emptier.

“Might as well.” He shrugged like hiking held equal appeal to a sex-filled morning spent sleeping in. “Maybe it’ll be fun?”

“Not as fun as last night,” I grumbled as I too left the cozy bed behind.

“Few things are.” Derrick gave me a wink as he rummaged in his bag for clothes.

“I can think of about a dozen more things I want to try.” Reluctantly giving up on convincing Derrick to go back to bed, I found fresh clothes of my own.

“Only a dozen?” Wrapping me up in a hug from behind, he kissed the back of my neck. Him cuddly was a gift that I didn’t want to waste, yet he released me before I could tumble us both onto the bed.

“Not too late to fake a hangover or headache yourself,” I called as he headed toward the bathroom.

“Calder knows I was sober when I left the card game.” Smiling, he pointed at the bathroom door. “Come on, it’s a double sink. We can share brushing our teeth and then let’s get you fed.”

Getting ready together felt all cozy and domestic even if I failed to talk Derrick into shower fun. Damn being a responsible adult. At least the French toast was tasty and the coffee strong. We’d ended up at a table with Taylor and the twins again, and the kids finished their food in record time.

“Watch this, Uncle Arthur!” Taylor called as I came back from getting a food refill. Beaming at me, he did a pretty good approximation of the footwork I’d shown them the night before.

“Huh. Guess they actually were paying attention,” I said to Derrick as I sat back down. Taylor and the twins kept practicing, humming the song. They were a little off-key and bungled some of the lyrics, but it was still adorable to see them trying.

“Of course they listened.” Derrick nodded with the authority of a guy who could command a room anytime he chose. Still, his praise made me even warmer than the coffee. “You picked a good song too. All kids need a self-esteem boost.”

“It’s the parents I’m trying to get through to.” I cast a glance over to where Oliver and Roger were eating with some of the cousins and their wives.

“I know.” Derrick squeezed my upper arm. “And I think you will.”

My gaze returned to Derrick, and he met my eyes, an unexpected seriousness there, as if he actually understood what I was trying to accomplish here. Having someone in my corner made my chest tight. Wanting to convey how much the support meant to me, I leaned in so I could—

“Load up, hikers!”

Poof. The moment evaporated in a flurry of activity, the soft kiss I’d intended another casualty of Euler family enthusiasm.

“This waterfall better be worth it,” I grumbled as I followed Derrick and the others to the ancient camp bus. At least I got to sit next to Derrick. Maybe this wouldn’t be terrible.

“Who wants a song?” my mom chirped once the bus was underway. On second thought, maybe it would be exactly as interminable as I feared. Sure enough, Mom’s attention landed on me. “Arthur! Maybe you could teach the kids the words to that bear song we used to do when you kids were little.”

“I don’t know—”

“Go on.” Derrick nudged me. “I wanna see this.”

“Okay.” I did it because Derrick was watching, and he was possibly the only person here who laughed with me, not at me. Making him smile at the antics of the kids and me was worth any temporary humiliation on my part. I was good at all the old camp songs, even if they weren’t to my musical taste at all, and I taught the kids a couple more before we arrived at the trailhead.

The trail took us deep into the rain forest on a soft, boggy trail lined with lots of moss-covered evergreen trees and assorted ferns and other greenery. It was another sunny day, but the forest was dense enough to be dark and cool. Wooden guardrails rimmed the more difficult sections of trail and also gave the kids ample opportunity to attempt to climb to their doom. Eventually, though, we reached the first waterfall with everyone in the hiking party still intact.

“Wow.” Derrick’s low whistle at the narrow but towering waterfall made heat unfurl in my gut. Of course, everything the guy did that morning reminded me of sex, whether it was breathing hard on a steeper section of trail or making happy noises at some pretty sight. “Now, that’s worth the trip.”

He gestured at the waterfall as the rest of the family snapped pictures.

“It’s pretty, but I’d still rather be working on my wish list of things to try,” I whispered.

“If we were alone, I’d drag you behind that waterfall and—”

“Whee!” Some of the kids raced between us, taking advantage of the lull in action to play tag.

“Better be careful.” Derrick stopped one of the smaller girls before she could duck under the guardrail. “Don’t want to slip off the trail. You’ll end up all muddy.”

“I don’t mind!” She squished her feet in the soft earth on the side of the trail, and I had to laugh as all the nearby kids did the same thing.

“Better watch it. You’re giving them big ideas.”

“Probably.” There was a softness around Derrick’s smile that I’d never seen before. And then he went and grabbed my hand while I was still trying to figure him out.

“Hey, what’s that?” I glanced down at our linked hands.

He shrugged, but a faint pink stain spread across his chiseled cheekbones. “It’s called being an attentive boyfriend.”

“Ah.” I didn’t pull my hand away, but I also didn’t like the weird flippy sensation in my stomach. I was no longer sure what was real and what was an act. When we were alone, every look and touch felt important, as real as life could be, but then we’d end up around the others again, and I’d lose my ability to judge. And what was worse was that I’d asked for this, begged for it. If Derrick was an amazing fake boyfriend, it was all my doing.

I couldn’t change the rules on him now, so there was nothing to do but squeeze his hand, try to enjoy the sweetness of the gesture.

He was still looking at me a little funny, that softness around his eyes lingering along with his blush. “Arthur—”

“Group picture time!”

I groaned because chances were high that I’d never find out what he’d been about to say. Another missed moment in the name of family togetherness. But if he could be a good sport, so could I. Following him over to the tree where my mom stood, I squashed in alongside Calder and Oliver.

“Everyone squish!” Aunt Sandy demanded as she waved her professional-grade camera at us. “Closer!”

“Arthur, dude, you’re on my foot,” Calder complained as I dutifully shuffled inward.

“Quit whining.”

“Boys!” Turning her head, my mom gave a sharp bark in our direction before returning to smile sweetly for Sandy.

“He started it!” Calder and I said at the same moment, like we were little again. We both laughed, but it was absurd how a few days together peeled back the years and exposed old rivalries.

“Everyone say cheese!” Aunt Sandy clicked away.

“Cheese!” We suffered through a few more pictures before disbanding to continue on the trail.

“Bet I can beat you to the top of that ridge.” Calder eyed me speculatively, exactly like we were kids again and he was daring me to do something with the bigger kids. Like most of the family, he’d been excellent at using his own competitive nature as a motivator.

“Are you capable of enjoying nature without a competition?”

“Nope.” He grinned, and several people close by laughed. “And it’s okay if you’re chicken—”

The laughter sealed my fate. “You’re on.”

The thing about Calder was that he was big like a tank that had two speeds, whereas I was smaller and had agility on my side. Also, I’d put in some serious treadmill hours since the last time we raced. Accordingly, I darted out in front of him, quickly establishing a lead, knowing full well that he’d finish strong. Scampering up the hill, I let out a triumphant noise as I neared the ridge. I was going to win. About damn time.

“Arthur!”

I didn’t turn at the sound of my name from a female voice I couldn’t readily place. I wasn’t going to listen to a lecture about not racing or being a good example for the kids, not when I was so close to finally beating Calder at one of these stupid challenges.

The angle was increasingly steep and slick, but I kept moving quickly. Too quickly. My left leg lost its footing, and then I was sliding back down the hill, crushing ferns and causing deadwood and rocks to tumble after me. My bare arms and shins scraped against the uneven terrain until I landed in a deep boggy, muddy puddle that smelled like dead things, like ancient dinosaurs had chosen this exact pit to decompose and now I was disturbing their eternal slumber.

“Oh f—”

“Language!” my mom scolded me from the top of the hill. “Little ears!”

“Sometimes no other word will work, Mom.”

“You okay?” Derrick had apparently raced after me, and now he reached a hand down to haul me out of the muck.

I rolled my neck and wiggled my limbs before accepting his help up. “Yeah, I’m good. Just wounded my pride. Again.”

“You could have been hurt!” Derrick’s eyes were hard, a greater level of concern than I would have expected. “Why’d you do that?”

“You know Calder. Always a bet. I just wanted to win and figured this was my chance to prove I’m faster now.”

“You are.” Derrick’s face softened. “But you need to stop letting the others get your goat.”

“Why? It’s so much fun for them.” I tried to brush myself off and ended up only smearing more mud around and encountering several shallow scrapes on my legs and arms. “Ouch. God, this mud is extra sticky.”

“You’ve earned a bath in that big tub when we get back.” Keeping a hold of my hand, he helped me slowly make my way back up the incline.

“And an iced coffee, but this far from civilization I’m going to be lucky to get leftover drip coffee from breakfast, let alone anything fancy.”

“I will personally track you down something cold and sweet while you’re in the tub.” He smiled warmly at me. He was the sweet one. So sweet I almost couldn’t stand it. And far nicer than I deserved, considering I’d brought this latest disaster entirely on myself.

“You could—” I couldn’t finish my invite for him to join me because we’d reached the others and were quickly surrounded by a horde of kids.

“Eww. Uncle Arthur, you smell!”

“Stinky!”

“Yep.” All I could do was laugh with them. “See? Mud isn’t as fun as it looks.”

“Like I said, you’ve earned that bath.” Derrick shook his head.

“And a treat.” I was holding him to that.

“Yup. I’m going to find you something even if I have to go into town. And while I’m at it, I’ll find you something for those scrapes. None look that deep, but it’s got to hurt.”

What was truly going to hurt was never having a fake boyfriend this nice again. But I wasn’t going to let myself dwell on that, and instead I started dreaming up ways to get him in that tub with me. Muddy might not be the worst thing if it led to dirty fun.