Page 38 of Say Uncle

“Yes, sir.”

My lips grazed his neck, the heat from his sun-burned skin warming my lips. His biceps flexed under my hands, and I squeezed. Mattie had a gorgeous toned body, now tanned from sailing, that I couldn’t take my eyes off of.

“There’ll be rules, Mattie, and consequences when they’re not obeyed.”

“Like what?”

“You can take over the yard work when we’re in between charters. I expect you to clean up after yourself and keep the kitchen and bathroom clean. You’ll have a curfew, and no parties at the house.”

“Parties?” he snorted. “I would have to have friends to have a party. My only friend is Nicky, and I don’t think he’s the party type.”

“I don’t know,” I hedged. “It depends on what kind of party, I guess. Something tells me he would be theitguy at a sex toy or a bachelor party.”

Mattie laughed. “I could totally see that, but then again, he doesn’t drink, so I don’t know.”

“Who told you he doesn’t drink?”

“He did.”

Now I was the one snorting. “It’s not that he doesn’t want to drink, more that he’s not allowed to. Alcohol does strange things to the boy’s head. You’ve never laughed or worried until you’ve seen Nicholas Laurent drunk.”

Mattie grinned. “Really?”

“I couldn’t even make this shit up. Last summer, there were several incidents involving alcohol that I’ll never forget. Climbing into a hot tub full of men while wearing nothing but that little white bathing suit of his, streaking naked across the beach, and trying to swallow fire on stage.”

“We should totally fuck with him,” he chuckled. “You know, in a controlled environment.”

“There’s no controlling his environment when rum is involved. Everything gets out of hand very quickly.”

Mattie sighed, leaning into my chest. “I don’t want this summer to end. I’ve never felt this happy. For the first time in my life, I’m not carrying around a ball of stress in my chest, constantly worried about… everything. Walking through the front door to find another argument waiting for me, or walking on eggshells every time I discuss my future. I wish this could last forever.”

My lips brushed the shell of his ear, and he shivered in my arms. “It’s called Island Fever. I caught it a long time ago, and I think it’s incurable. This summer is a turning point in your life. You’re at a crossroads and you’re going to have to choose which direction you want to continue in.”

“I don’t wanna go to college. That’s the only thing I have figured out so far.”

“That’s fine. You don’t have to. But you need to figure out where you’re going.”

“Why can’t I stay with you and go where you’re going?”

“I’m not saying you can’t, but remember you asked me where to find happiness?”

“Yeah, you said between a man’s legs,” he joked, laughing at my wisdom.

“Since when do you listen to me? You’re gonna have to find what makes you happy, and it’s probably not necessarily what makes me happy.”

“I want to take pictures, but my dad says it’s a dumb career.”

“It’s not. There’re lots of things you could do with that. I’ve seen some of the pictures you’ve taken this summer and they’re magnificent. You should submit them to a travel magazine, like Nicky suggested, as a freelance photographer and see what happens. You have nothing to lose by trying.”

“A few weeks ago, I would never have had the confidence to dream that big. Now, things feel different.”

We stopped for Chinese food and brought the containers home with us. Mattie chose aMarvelmovie and after we showered—separately—and changed into sweats, we made ourselves comfortable on the couch and ate straight from the containers with chopsticks.

After midnight, I began to yawn and called it a night. I burrowed under the covers, appreciating the softness of my bed after sleeping on the yacht for the last two weeks. It felt good to be home. That was the thing about dry land: it felt like a comforting kiss on chafed skin, soothing and healing, but the sea always called to me, like a lover. I was never able to deny her for long.

My eyelids grew heavy, falling closed, and I drifted somewhere between wakefulness and sleep.

“Sam?” His voice startled me, my eyes popping open.

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