Page 157 of Three Pucks and a Baby

“You know that’s who I am. For fuck’s sake, I do the same to Vivian.”

Shaking my head, I replied, “You still manage to give yourself to her emotionally.”

“I’m aware of that. It was part of the stipulations of her giving me a chance, remember?”

“Yeah, well, I need it, too. Desperately.”

Theo opened his mouth to say something but then shook his head. After jerking a hand through his hair, he dropped back down on the bench. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m just learning how to have a relationship with Vivian. I have no fucking clue how to do you and me. And then there’s Grayson, too. My head is swimming.”

“Those feelings of your head swimming? That’s what you’re supposed to share with me. You’re supposed to tell me you’re spinning, so we can talk you through it. I don’t know unless you vocalize it.”

“Sometimes it’s hard for me to talk about us when we’re with Vivian and Gray.”

“Which is why I wanted us to have this alone time today.” With a pointed look, I added, “And why I wanted it to be sex free.”

“I get it, and you had every right to request it. I guess I’m still struggling with equating romance with sex and vice versa. I mean, I only romanced girls in the past to get them in bed.”

“Jesus,” I muttered as I ran my hand over my face.

Leaning forward, Theo cocked his head at me. “What do you need from me, Bennie?”

“Only you.” With a wink, I added, “From the waist up.”

He threw his head back with a laugh. “Okay, I think I can do that.” Rising to his feet, Theo grabbed the extra rod. As he held it out, he asked, “Can you teach me?”

A grin curved wide on my cheeks. “You mean it? This is a pity fish?”

He grinned. “Absolutely.”

“Then I’d love to.”

With a nod, Theo asked, “What do I do first?”

“Okay, you stand there.” I then motioned to the place where I’d been standing earlier. “Then, you’re going to hold the rod with your right hand.”

Theo did as he was told. “Then you’re going to place your thumb on top of the handle and wrap your fingers around it.”

After fumbling for a moment, Theo was ready. “Okay, now raise the rod so it’s angled slightly behind you.”

“How far do I angle it?”

“Two o’clock.”

He scowled at me. “What the hell does that mean?”

“Here. Let me show you.” I then gripped his shoulders, pulling him back into the two o’clock position. “Like that.”

“Now what?”

“Swing the rod forward to the ten o’clock position.”

“Once again, what the hell?” Theo growled.

I laughed. “I’ll help you this first time.”

Bringing my arm around his back, I placed my hand over his. “Right when the rod is pointing forward, release your index finger to let the line fly out.”

With my finger over Theo’s, I released our fingers, and the line released perfectly into the water. “There you go. Now you’re ready to catch a fish.”

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