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A sick feeling comes over me, which I settle by sipping some water.

7

NICO

Beer,chips, and sandwiches are hauled onto the boat. It always makes us laugh when Mom insists on the sandwiches. She wants us to have something on our stomachs to soak up the beer.

Sweat is already beading on my forehead, making me impatient to get out into the water. We've been delayed because Atilio and Essex had disappeared somewhere. Neither speaks. Hopefully they'll be more forthcoming after a few beers.

My other brothers hadn't noticed because they were half asleep. It's unusual for us to have secrets.

As I take off my t-shirt, I look at the horizon. There is nothing else out there that I can see. That's the way I like it. Being on the ocean calms my soul like nothing else can. I feel change coming, and I don't like it.

Ridge grunts, standing beside me. "I don't think I could live without this view." He drinks from a bottle of water. "Better hydrate before we start on the beer." He hits me in the chest with a bottle.

Scowling, I finish the water and crumple up the bottle, tossing it into the crate we use on the boat for trash. "Is the engine, okay?"

He scoffs. "I checked it!"

I grin. "Doesn't mean it works."

He flips me off, looking over his shoulder as he joins his twin.

I have five brothers, so sniping at each other is a common occurrence. Ridge deserves it, though. One time he swore blindly that he'd checked the engine before we left. He hadn't. Essex had swum back to shore for oil. Yes, we never let him forget that. Galen is the only one who never gives him a hard time. I'm sure they communicate half the time without opening their mouths.

Atilio climbs aboard and I nod at him. I narrow my eyes at my eldest brother, only one year older. The red-haired girl comes to mind as I watch him. He’s taken with her. Hell, we all were. The way her mouth had taken in that popsicle. I groan. It had been hot.

I'd snuck out the back of the store while she was talking to her uncle. I'd stayed at the back of the building and watched him leave her in the back of the patrol car.

The girl had piqued my curiosity, which was why I'd followed in the first place. I'd lied to Atilio that it was unintentional that I'd made myself look more like Essex. My youngest brother needs someone to push him out of his comfort zone. I figured she'd think it was him and be grateful. She would come to the house and seek him out. But she hasn’t.

I watch him now as he does some moves for the three girls who walk by. I'm sure I fucked one of them. Probably all three.

"Sorry girls," Ridge calls, "this is a boy’s trip."

"I don't see any boys," says the blonde.

Galen and Boone are standing in front of them, taking off their T-shirts. Not to be outdone, Ridge joins them. Essex glances in my direction and shakes his head. A smile appears at the corner of his mouth as he takes off his shirt. Chuckling, I've concluded that my brothers are flirts.

"Now we're all here, let's go!" I shout.

Ridge gives me the finger, but my brothers get serious and do their jobs to get us away from the small dock. I turn the engine over, and when Atilio gives me the signal, I steer us toward the horizon.

It's not often that we have a destination in mind, but after yesterday we'll head for the country club. We can dock far enough from shore that we'll be a blip on the horizon.

One by one, my brothers notice that we're not going to our usual spot. I feel more than one set of eyes on me and smile.

Atilio shakes his head and says something to the others. Now I get curious looks as they take their usual positions on the deck.

The water is calm, and I enjoy the solitude of being at the helm. Boone is known as the quiet one, but I'm the one who values my personal space more than even he does. A light, warm breeze brushes against my skin, which I enjoy as I steer the boat further out into the open water.

Thirty minutes later, I stop the engine. Atilio joins me and hands me a beer. "You want to tell me why we're here?"

"Not really." I keep my eyes on my brother as I take a long sip of the cold beer.

"You're angry," Atilio comments.

"No, I'm not angry. I'm curious where you and Essex went this morning."

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