Page 33 of Tide Over

Tingles spread up the back of my neck and in my balls, and the pressure inside me is pulsating as I near the edge.

With a groan into the quiet room, and the image of Liam’s smiling face in my mind, the pressure peaks with a rush of ecstasy. I come over my hand and stomach, and an intense feeling washes over me that almost feels like relief, leaving me feeling lighter than I think I ever have.

But as I open my eyes, breathing heavy as I stare up at the skylight, that lightness starts to fill with darkness. The reality of my situation sets in once again as I remember all my reasons for hiding this part of me.

Yet here I am, jerking off to my roommate who probably isn’t even into guys.

Fuck.

I’m in deep.

FOURTEEN

“If you don’t hurryup and get this game started, I’m going to paddle your ass. And I bet you’ll fucking like it.”

I chuckle from my seat on the couch as Raúl shoots Colin a look across the ping-pong table and holds up the ball.

“Aw, so excited to get my ball,” he says with a smirk, bouncing it on the table.

Colin laughs, settling into an intense stance on his side of the table. “You only got one? Well, that actually makes a lot of sense.”

“Fuck off,” Raúl says, finally serving and getting this game started. The amount of trash talk these guys all do with fuckingping-pongis ridiculous.

I stay seated on the couch, watching the game with a few of the other guys. It’s the last night of our three-week shift, and they are definitely making the most of it. The intensity of this game might be the highest I’ve seen yet.

But while they’re all amped up, I’m fucking exhausted. I’m used to the three-week rotation schedule since I’ve done it in Alberta, but this is my first time being the only welder on a rotation. And offshore, there are a lot more emergencies to tend to outside my shift.

The guys all cheer as Raúl earns himself a point, and I slap on a smile. I’m also not used to this much social interaction. In the larger camps in the oil sands, it was easy to find quiet solitude when I needed it. But here, living in such tight quarters, there’s no escaping the social aspect of rig life. I do genuinely enjoy spending time with these guys, but putting up a social front day after day, even with people I like, is tiring. And in these last few days of rotation, I’ve been craving the peaceful quiet of Torrin Cove more and more.

My phone buzzes in my pocket as the game, and the trash talk, picks up again.

Theo

Late day, just finishing.

He sends a photo of a large window he installed in an older home today, and holy shit. He did an awesome job. The photo he sent earlier this afternoon before he started showed an absolute disaster. The old window was broken, and the wood around the frame was rotted. Now, after he replaced both the frame and the window, it looks flawless.

Damn, that’s awesome.

Then I smirk down at my phone as I tap out another text.

But you do know there are seven days in a week, right? Not every job has to be finished in one day. Poor Miss Bobber, all alone…

As I wait for him to respond, I scroll up in our texts to another photo he sent early this morning. A photo from the lobster boat at dawn, the sky over the water a mesmerizing blendof colours as the clouds catch the early light of the rising sun. It looks like a painting, with everything looking so perfect and still.

“You up, Liam?”

I look up from my phone to see Colin holding his paddle out to me.

“I’m good,” I say, shaking my head. Then my phone buzzes in my hand, and I quickly glance down at it.

Seven days, seven jobs. No rest for the weary.

And I actually went home before coming here and put a fire on for her. So… I’d say she’s doing alright.

I smile at the thought of him lighting a fire for Miss Bobber, and a flicker of excitement stirs inside me knowing I’ll see them both tomorrow. But I quickly lift my eyes to Colin again.

“I’m actually going to head to bed,” I say, pushing to my feet.

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