Page 111 of Tide Over

His eyes narrow and I smile. “Come on, get up.”

“Why?” he groans, rolling onto his back as Miss Bobber stretches out lazily beside him.

“We’re going fishing.”

He stares blankly at me for a moment, then lifts his splinted arm. “How?”

I just smile, rising to my feet. “Let’s go.”

I head downstairs with a chuckle as I hear Theo get out of bed, asking Miss Bobber if she thinks I’ve lost my mind. I brew two coffees and pour them into travel mugs, screwing on the last lid as Theo walks into the kitchen, dressed for fishing despite his earlier protests.

He takes the coffee I hand him, and I lean in and press a kiss to his lips.

“So, I’m just going to watch you fish then?” he asks, lifting his coffee to his lips to take a sip.

I shrug. “I mean, usually that’s what you do anyway.”

His jaw tightens as he glares at me, but I flash him a smile and head towards the door. He follows me down to the dock, where I have the boat ready to go. When he stops beside me, his eye catches something on the edge of the boat near one of the seats. He furrows his brow as he inspects it for a moment, then his eyes lift to meet mine.

“You… made that?” he asks.

I nod, stepping into the boat and picking up a fishing rod. I place it into the metal rod holder I welded and clamped to the side of the boat. “You can rest the rod in here so you can hold it with one hand. Andif,” I glance up at him, “you get a bite…” I reach forward and flip a spring-loaded clamp over the holder, which snaps down to keep the rod in place, “you don’t have to hold it. You can reel it in with one hand.”

Theo stares down at it for a moment, before he steps into the boat and pulls me into him. His lips crash against mine, and I feel the weight of his gratitude behind his kiss. I wrap my arms around him to give him everything I can before he eventually pulls back and looks into my eyes.

“Thank you,” he says.

I nod and press another kiss to his lips. “Let’s go fish.”

I untie us from the dock and move behind the steering wheel so I can drive us to Theo’s favourite fishing spot. Which has now become our favourite fishing spot. When we get there, I flip on the trolling motor and grab Theo’s rod, putting a worm on his hook while he watches. It’s quiet and peaceful out here, as a soft fog rolls off the water in the early morning light, and waves gently lap against the side of the boat.

Theo takes his rod as I pass it to him, and I watch as he clamps it in the holder, so he can use his good hand to release his line, and his lure drops into the water. I smile, grabbing my own rod and getting it ready.

As we sit in the peaceful silence, listening to the breeze rustling in the trees on shore and the seagulls hunting around us… I can’t keep my eyes off him.

It’s been a couple days since he told his family he’s gay, and the shift I see in him is unlike anything I could have imagined. It’s like a dark cloud has lifted, and now all his days are sunny.

I’m so proud of him for doing what he needed to do to find shelter from his storm.

And now I need to do the same.

“So…” I say slowly. “How do you feel about a drive to Cape Breton tomorrow?”

Theo turns his head to me, and his eyes flick between mine for a moment. Then he nods with a soft smile. “Yeah.”

I smile back at him as I swallow down the fear attempting to push through. But something else churns inside me, growing stronger beneath everything else.

Excitement.

Because tomorrow, I’ll finally see my parents for the first time in months.

But before I can say anything else, the end of Theo’s rod bends.

You’re fucking kidding me…

He quickly reaches forward, closing the clamp to hold the rod in place, and starts reeling it in with his good hand. Moments later, a large mackerel is pulled to the surface and Theo leans forward, grabbing the line and pulling it into the boat.

I help him unhook it, and open the livewell for him so he can toss it in. And once he does, he turns to look at me with a smile.

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