Chapter 17

Cassidy stood up, gesturing for me to take her seat, and she darted back down into the boat to our room to grab us drinks. While she was gone the conversation had lulled, and I noticed Cattie kept typing for a bit, then set her phone down and glanced over at me.

I only really looked over at her when I saw her glance my way, and she looked at me with a quirked eyebrow and tapped her phone. I shrugged and pointed at the deck, down to the rooms. She made a little face.

“Cattie, it’s fine,” I said quietly. “And you look really nice. I particularly like the ball cap look.”

“Thanks,” she smiled, looking relieved that I wasn’t holding Heather’s actions against her.

Cassidy came up from below with a couple of cold beers for us from our cooler, and her phone in her hand. She slid into my lap easily, snuggling back against me as she handed me one of the beers. “Cheers, Tiger,” she said and clinked bottle necks with me. Then she opened her phone and showed me the group text that Cattie must have started between the three of us. The message was long - longer than I wanted to read at the moment. I put my hand on the phone to ask Cassidy to lower it, and I kissed my fiancee on the cheek.

“Did you have fun?” Cassidy asked me quietly.

“It was nice,” I said. “Different. And I could tell the Midas thing worked better on some than others.”

“Makes sense,” she mumbled, taking a quick drink and snuggling down onto my chest as she whispered. “Some girls are more into touch than others. Love languages are weird.”

I smiled and hugged my arms around her. “Yes, they are,” I said.

The buzzing of the blender in the pilot’s cabin died down, and soon Heather was strutting back out with a red-filled blender, her chest still bare. She went around the circle offering drinks, though I could tell she was a little miffed that Cassidy and I were nursing beers instead of her mix. Or maybe it was that Cassidy was back sitting in my arms. I’d always had a neutral relationship with Heather when we’d met at Cons, neither good nor bad, and I hadn’t ever gotten a weird vibe from her before. This trip felt different for some reason.

“I think I should go take over for JC again,” I eventually murmured to Cassidy. Wanda and Heels were into their own conversation, and Terra seemed to be talking with Cattie and Heather politely.

Cassidy stirred from her spot and stood, stretching her body right in front of me. “Want some company in there?” she asked.

“Sure,” I smiled, and we headed for the pilot’s cabin.

“Time for the First Mate’s break,” I said as I stepped in. “And I think you’ll enjoy the scenery out there.”

JC laughed. “Fuck, the scenery came in here for a few minutes. Anyone else topless out there?”

“Cattie,” Cassidy said. “At Heather’s suggestion. Terra teased Robbie a bit too, but put hers back on after her massage got interrupted.”

JC tutted and rolled his eyes comically as she stepped aside, letting me take the wheel of the houseboat. “That sounds like my girl alright. A big ol’ tease.”