Page 7 of Say Uncle

I hung up without saying goodbye. Pissed didn’t even begin to describe how I felt about being saddled with him. I had a lot of ideas planned for this summer.

Babysitting my bratty nephew wasn’t one of them.

CHAPTER TWO

Every step I took towards the boat made my heart beat faster and my stomach clench tighter. Sometimes life fucking sucked–like today, for instance. Just one day after insulting my uncle—step-uncle—and here I was, crawling to him and begging for a fucking job. Ugh! Did I not deserve to salvage an ounce of my pride?

His arrogant fucking ass stood on deck like he owned the whole boat—which he did, I guessed—watching me get closer. Was he smirking? Probably. Not that I could blame him. If our positions were reversed, I’d be eating this shit up.

“About that fishing trip,” I started, trying to come up with something clever.

“You can bet your ass I’m regretting the offer now.” Sam crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at me as I climbed aboard. “I don’t know what mysister was thinking. This is a terrible idea.”

Tell me how you really feel, dick. “Well, at least I’m not the only one who’s going to suffer.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t do anything wrong. I don’t deserve to suffer. I’m not the one with the attitude problem,” he all but growled.

“That’s debatable,” I snickered, enjoying the sound of his misery.

He tossed me a navy blue shirt, and I caught it out of reflex before it dropped into the water.

“Go change your shirt—and your attitude.” He pointed toward a set of stairs that I assumed led below deck, and I made my way toward them, but he snagged my shirt from behind, halting me. “I don’t care what your problem is, but in front of our guests, you cut that shit out and act like a respectable guy. They pay thousands of dollars and we are here to serve them. If you learn nothing else this summer, you’ll at least learn to act your fucking age, understood?”

There were several choice words I wanted to hurl at him, but instead, I held my breath and saluted him. With my fucking middle finger. The guests weren’t on boardyetso technically, I didn’t have to act my age.

Stomping my way down the narrow steps, I found what must be the crew quarters, and tossed my duffel bag on the only available bed. At least it was the top bunk, which I preferred.

“Hi, Matteo. I’m Nicky.”

I turned to find the little pipsqueak I’d met once ortwice at the grocery store. He seemed to follow Cass and Sam around like a lost puppy.

“Great, they roped you into working this summer, too?”

He giggled. Fucking giggled. Christ.

“Not at all. I love spending the summer on board with them. This is my second summer sailing on the Harlowe Two. Did they happen to tell you where we were going?”

“You work here and you don’t know?”

“My Daddy,” he froze, his face turning the brightest shade of red. “I mean, Cass and Sam thought it funny to tease me and keep me in suspense.”

Daddy?“Is he your dad?”

“Cass? No, not like that. I mean, he once dated my father for a long time, but that was in the past. He’s… He’s my…”

“Whatever,” I huffed, already annoyed with his overactive mouth. He reminded me of a Maltese puppy; chipper and panting over himself to make friends. An over-sharer.

“Did you find your bunk?”

“I guess,” I shrugged, looking at the other three beds that were clearly occupied. “Let me guess, that one’s yours,” I predicted, pointing to the other top bunk across the narrow aisle from mine.

“How’d you guess?” he asked, grinning from ear to ear.

Fucking seriously?“The stuffed seahorse?”

“Yep, that’s Hippo.” Jesus Christ. This summer felt like it was getting longer and longer. “Anyway, let me know if you need anything. I’ll be up on deck, helping our guests settle in.”

“Great, thanks,” I mumbled, not sounding grateful whatsoever. “Hey,” I called after him. He turned. “I’m supposed to put this shirt on. It doesn’t fit as tight as yours, does it? I mean, what the fuck? Are they trying to turn this boat into the ocean version ofHooters?”

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