Page 87 of Tide Over

“But,” I say, pulling back from his lips, “we also need to find time to go fishing before you head back to work. I need to kick your ass once and for all.”

He laughs, his breath warm on my lips. “You wish.”

“It’s happening,” I say firmly, leaning down to give him one last kiss before I stand. “I’m starting to get a bit pissed off.”

“Starting to?” he teases with a chuckle.

“Whatever,” I mutter, heading for the door to hide my smile. “See you this afternoon.”

“Have a good one,” he says, his voice already fading into sleep as I gently close the door behind me.

Downstairs, I set the coffee to brew, and let my eyes drift towards the sunroom as the rich scent fills the air. A smile forms on my lips as a warm feeling settles over me and I think about spending time with Liam in there. In the room we built together. Lobster season ends in just two weeks, and usually I’m dreading this time of year because I need to keep busy to stay out of my head. But now… quiet, slow mornings sound pretty damn good.

With Liam.

I grab my coffee, taking that comforting feeling with me as I head down to the marina through the quiet, sleepy town. As I pull into the parking lot and hop out of my truck, I see Sheila just stepping out of hers as well.

“Morning, Theo,” she greets me, bright-eyed and cheerful.

“You know, Sheila,” I say, falling into step beside her as we head onto the dock, “you don’t have to be here this early.”

She waves a dismissive hand in the air as we walk. “And who would keep all you in line if I wasn’t here?”

I glance around the quiet marina, seeing only John, one of the other captains, here so far. “I think we’d manage.”

She raises a brow at me. “The day I’m not here is the day everything goes to shit.” She turns towards her office, waving to me over her shoulder. “Have a good day, my boy!”

“Thanks, Sheila,” I say with a chuckle, then head to the boat.

I fall into my usual routine getting everything ready, and Sarah arrives first, as always.

“Aw, one crew member down today, huh?” Sarah says with her usual cheery hop into the boat.

I nod as she pulls out her waders and slips them on. “Didn’t want Liam showing you guys up any more than he already did. Especially Glen.”

“Jesus Murphy,” Glen exclaims, appearing on the dock with his hand dramatically over his heart. “I heard that. You’ve got some nerve.”

I just smirk at him, then step into the wheelhouse to look over the coordinates for our traps. I want to start where we finished yesterday at the new locations I set, hoping they’ll give us a better haul.

By the time we’re prepped and pulling away from the dock, the air is warming up and the sky is starting to show the first signs of light. As I listen to the familiar hum of the engine and the laughs from my crew as we drive towards the first trap, my mind wanders.

To yesterday, with Liam here on the boat. His soft smile under the morning sun, and his crystal blue eyes sparkling with joy as he held up a lobster. To what we did after, and how we fell asleep in each other’s arms after yet another shower that also ended up quite heated. And to tonight… when I’ll finally tell my mom I’m gay.

I never thought I’d have the courage to be here, ready and able to do this. But Liam has helped me see exactly who I am,what I want, and has shown me how to do something about it. And I still can’t quite believe that he wants to do it all with me.

I’m seriously, madly, in love with him.

And I plan to tell him that too.

He’s been through so much, facing intense grief and pain every day. But over the past couple days, he’s been working through it. And when he’s ready to face it head on, I’ll be right there with him.

When I pull the boat up to our first trawl line, the sky has lightened with beautiful, subtle hues of pink and orange. The water is still and the sky is clear, making for a perfect morning.

“Let’s see what we got,” Mitch says, moving beside me as Sarah and Glen take their positions. I reach out with the hook and snag the buoy, pulling it in to see a bright seahorse painted on it, with long eyelashes.

“Quite possibly my best work,” Sarah says seriously, watching as I secure the line to the winch and flip the switch to start hauling the line up.

I shake my head with a smirk. “Honestly, I do think you’re onto something with googly eyes.”

---