Sailor Proof by Annabeth Albert

Chapter Twenty-One

Derrick

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.” Arthur broke off another piece of brownie and handed it to me as we walked to the sand volleyball court beyond some of the larger cabins. “The last time I played, I’m pretty sure I narrowly avoided a concussion.”

“I’m sure you’re not that bad.” I smiled at him, both to be encouraging and because something about sharing the treat was so sweet that I wanted to savor the moment. I hadn’t been kidding about enjoying taking care of him. Watching him enjoy his coffee and brownie was deeply satisfying in a way that made my muscles warm and loose and my smiles that much easier.

“I’m hopeless at all sports involving balls.” After eating the last bite, Arthur licked a stray chocolate crumb off his thumb, and I nearly groaned with wanting his mouth on me instead.

“Not all.” Watching his tongue swipe at his fingers, I seriously regretted turning down an orgasm earlier. I hadn’t wanted him to feel obligated, but my body was still protesting my noble impulse and was ready to haul Arthur back to the cabin, prove what exactly we were both good at.

“Point.” He met my gaze, faint blush saying we were on the same page there. “But whatever the game, I do my best work solo and one-on-one. I suck at team sports.”

Right as I was about to make a joke about sucking, a pack of kids greeted us, and I stowed away the flirting for later.

“Uncle Arthur!” Taylor grinned at both of us. “How was your coffee?”

“Good.” Arthur’s blush deepened. I hid my own grin behind my hand. That little interlude had absolutely been hot enough to melt ice, and I didn’t feel the least bit guilty about distracting him from his drink.

“We got to help,” Vince announced as he bounced up next to Taylor.

“I heard. Thanks. You did great jobs.” Arthur’s tone was always so kind and patient for the kids.

“It was fun,” Taylor added. “Even if Uncle Derrick wouldn’t speed.”

“Uncle Derrick, huh?” Arthur teased as the kids sped away. “You must have made a big impression during your outing.”

“They just like me for my car.”

“Don’t we all.”

We were both still laughing as we reached the volleyball area right as Oliver whistled.

“Hey, volleyball players!” He hopped on top of a nearby picnic table to address the group. “To make this fair, we’re going to count off for teams.”

As we all lined up, Calder and his friends were near the front, and I did some fast math as soon as they were counted off. I deftly swapped places with Vince and motioned to Arthur.

“Quick. Move one back.”

“What?” Arthur frowned.

“Just do it,” I insisted, pointing again. “You can help me teach Calder a lesson.”

“Now you’re speaking my language.” Arthur ducked behind his cousin Ingrid, right as the count reached me. And sure enough, my machinations resulted in Arthur and me being on the opposite team from Calder.

“What the—” Calder strode up after everyone was assigned to a team. “How did you end up on the other team?”

I shrugged. “Luck of the draw.”

“And you got most of the kids.” He pointed at our side of the court where Taylor and Seth were having some sort of dance-off with two of the girl cousins. Some of the other kids were happily digging in the sand. “Good luck with that.”

“I think we’ve still got a good chance.” Yeah, Calder’s side had more height, but Taylor was tall for his age and we had some older cousins who would make decent blockers.

“You want to bet?” Calder bumped my shoulder. “Post-camp laundry?”

“You’re on.” I didn’t have to think twice.

Next to me, Arthur groaned. “Can’t you both play for enjoyment?”

“No fun in that.” Calder grinned, his usual good-spiritedness replacing our tension from the parking lot. There was no activity that he wasn’t willing to make more fun with a friendly bet, and having been stuck doing monotonous tasks with him more than once, I had to say it wasn’t the worst quality to have.

“And do try to avoid injury this time, Arthur.” Oliver jogged over, volleyball under one arm.

“Oh, they’re going down,” I muttered as Arthur and I headed to join our team.

“You’re cute all competitive on my behalf.” Arthur sounded somewhere between amused and exasperated. I didn’t entirely get his irritation.

“Why play unless you’re in it to win it?” I motioned the rest of our team over.

“Why indeed.” Arthur rolled his eyes at me, but he didn’t say anything else as the kids and assorted other players surrounded us. Somehow I ended up the default captain, organizing who stood where and working out a rotation for those who wanted a turn serving.

“Once a chief, always a chief,” Arthur teased, voice lighter now. The game got underway with Calder’s team scoring a fast point off a strong serve that cut right between Seth and Taylor.

“Come on, gang! Heads up!” I encouraged before passing the ball to Taylor, who promptly served it straight into the net. Family rules said kids got a second chance, but that try also bounced off the top edge of the net.

“Sorry.” His chin drooped as he passed me, and I patted his head.

“It’s okay. We’ll get the next one.”

But we didn’t. Max got another fast point on us for Calder’s side. At least Seth got the ball over the net with his turn, but Calder stuffed the return in short order. Then Ingrid served for the other side, and Taylor showed some serious gumption diving to prevent another fast point.

“Great job! Nice dig!” I called to him right before Max set up Calder to slam the return right past Arthur.

“You sure you don’t want to renegotiate that bet?” Calder yelled, all jacked on adrenaline. He was fun when he was winning, but I wasn’t on his team.

“No way.”

“Excellent.” He gave me a thumbs-up. “Can’t wait for sparkling clothes.”

I took the next serve myself and drove the ball between Calder and the baseline for our first call. “Finally.”

“You and Calder are taking this way too seriously.” Arthur shook his head.

“You don’t want to beat him?” I was surprised. I would have thought he’d be all fired up by my point and ready to crush Calder’s team, but Arthur simply rolled his shoulders and stretched.

“I so rarely win against any of them. Honestly, I stopped caring years ago.”

“Well, I still think we’ve got a good shot.” Somehow his statement made me want this for him more,want to provide him that satisfaction against his brothers. I drew my shoulder blades together, posture tensing, like my will alone could lead us to victory.

“Good job, Ethan!” Taylor yelled as one of the older cousins managed to angle the ball past Oliver for another point for our side. We were coming back. Stoked, I doubled down on coaching.

“Get it!” I directed to Taylor. “Come on, Seth, pop it high!”

“Wahoo!” The boys celebrated as the game continued to heat up.

“You can do it. A little higher this time.” Arthur tossed the ball to Taylor when it was his turn to serve. I stifled a groan because we didn’t need to eat more net. But this time Taylor got it over, and our whole team cheered. However, the closer we came to winning, the more detached Arthur seemed, talking less to me, and more to the kids, and I wasn’t sure what I’d done wrong.

“We’ve got this!” I tried to embody team spirit as we rallied to tie Calder’s team. But Arthur barely cracked a smile even as I managed to coach Seth through setting up a floater for a cousin to poke down for an easy point. “Way to go!”

“Yes! We win!” Seth and Taylor broke out a victory dance as we squeaked out a two-point victory.

“Lucky break,” Calder scoffed. He wasn’t terribly put out, though. It had been a great battle, and he bounced on his feet. “Bet you can’t do it twice. Best two out of three?”

“You’re on,” I agreed before I glanced over at Arthur. That had been a rush. But apparently he didn’t feel the same way because he shook his head.

“You guys play but I’m out. Gonna try to get some practice in before dinner with the kids who didn’t want to do volleyball.” He headed away from the sand court, carefully stepping over two kids digging at the edge of it.

“Hey!” I jogged after him. “Are you okay? Not injured or sore from your fall?”

“I’m not injured.” Arthur had a sad little smile for me as he patted my upper arm. “I’m fine. Enjoy your game.”

I felt like I was missing some important point as he walked away. He didn’t seem as fine as he claimed, but before I could chase him down, Calder called me back to the game. I continued coaching Taylor and Seth and the rest of the team who had stuck around, and the boys whooped and hollered with each point. I missed Arthur, though. Missed having a reason to spur the team on to victory. Missed showing off for him.

A lot of my fight had left with Arthur, and it wasn’t surprising when we lost two fast sets to Calder’s team. The kids didn’t seem all that disappointed, still hopping around and turning cartwheels, but I felt guilty because I knew my distraction had played a role in our demise.

After the game I wandered over to the dining hall where people were milling around, waiting for the gong to ring. Arthur was surrounded by a different group of kids, and he was smiling far wider than he had playing volleyball. Tinny music echoed from the phone he was holding up as he showed dance steps to a pair of little girls, one of whom promptly tripped mid-spin.

“Oops. I messed up again.” The girl’s chin wobbled, dark eyes welling up. I prepared for waterworks, but Arthur simply laughed and tipped her head back up with his finger.

“That wasn’t a mistake! You invented a new move. Here, let me try.” He did a much more graceful version of her trip, managing to make spin-trip-spin look intentional. “Wow. That’s fun!”

“You’re silly, Uncle Arthur.” The girl grinned at him, no more tears, crisis averted. Damn, Arthur was impressive. I couldn’t help smiling too.

“And you’re brilliant,” Arthur said as he knelt down to the girl’s level. “Keep doing you, okay? Keep it fun.”

“I will.” Grabbing his hand, she swung herself back and forth.

Keep doing you. Keep it fun. Hell. Was that where I had gone wrong? By focusing so hard on winning, had I taken away the thing that made Arthur who he was?

He headed into the dining hall with his fan club of kids at his heels, leaving me kicking at the dirt and wondering how in the hell I was supposed to make this right. My neck hurt. Now I needed a real apology for my fake boyfriend and fast unless I wanted to be the one sleeping in the tub that night.