Page 9 of Passing Ships

The two of us stay up for another hour, chatting while she makes us both a grilled cheese sandwich. She fills me in on all the local gossip, and I regale her with tales from the base.

Then, I catch a few winks in the bedroom Sebastian and I used to share almost every weekend when we were kids.

After breakfast, Wade and Eden pick me up. My duffel bag from his house is loaded in the back seat when I climb inside.

The three of us head over to Sebastian and Avie’s cabana, and Wade and I help Sebastian clean up the remnants of the night before while the girls play on the beach.

“So, what happened to you last night, bro?” Sebastian asks as we pick up empty bottles from various surfaces and toss them into garbage bags.

“What do you mean?”

He smirks at me. “Nana called me, looking for you, around one thirty this morning. Said she had tried your phone several times, but didn’t get an answer.”

I fish my phone from my pocket and make a show of tapping the screen. Of course, I already know Nana called. I was a bit busy at the time and didn’t realize it until I fetched my phone after my and Legs’ activities.

“What do you know? I did miss a couple of calls.” I shrug.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, not all of us are anchored to these damn things,” I say as I toss it onto the coffee table.

“Whatever, freak,” he says, then continues, “So, where were you? You guys left here at midnight. It doesn’t take an hour and a half to get across the island.”

“I was at the cottage,” I say carefully.

“I knew it,” he mumbles.

“It’s not a big deal,” I say.

“It’s all good,” he says.

“It was just a drunken hookup,” I start, and he tosses a hand up.

“Dude, you don’t have to explain. I mean it. Amiya’s cool. You don’t see her and Anson being all weird and possessive. I’m sure she’s not going to sweat it, and neither should you. Besides, if I don’t know details, I can’t be grilled by Avie.”

Anson?

“Grilled?”

“Yeah. Amiya’s her girl. They’re protective of each other.”

“There’s nothing to tell.”

Like with Anson, apparently.

“Good to know. And like I said, Amiya’s cool as shit,” he reiterates.

I nod.

“Unless you want her to,” he says casually.

“No, I do not.”

“You sure?”

“Seb …”

He throws his hands in the air. “Okay, okay.”

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