Page 15 of Passing Ships
“Works for me.”
We order one more round and finish our meals before settling the check and heading out.
“Are you sure about this?” Seb asks on our way back to the cabana.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You don’t think things will be uncomfortable at all with what happened last year?”
“We had sex, Seb. It was good sex. One night of good sex. That’s it.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought with Avie too. But trust me, one night of good sex can turn into something else if you’re not careful,” he quips.
“Well, it has been nine months, and there’s no baby, so …” I tease.
His free hand comes up and punches me in the chest.
“Ouch. Fuck. I’m kidding.”
He smirks before his eyes return to the road, and his tone turns serious. “Even if there were no Leia, I think Avie and I would have made our way back to each other. That night in Hawaii, I knew she was different. It was good sex for sure, but somehow, it felt like more.”
I reach over and clutch my baby brother’s shoulder. “I’m happy you two found each other again. Avie’s amazing.”
“I’m a lucky son of a bitch.”
“That you are, bro. That you are.”
Amiya
It’s just my luck to be stuck sharing space with Sebastian’s brooding brother. I’m not thrilled with the situation, but I don’t tell Avie that. She has enough to stress about. Besides, I can handle Lennon Harraway.
I never shared the details of that night with my best friend. It’s not like I’m hiding it from her. She just never asked, and I never mentioned it. There wasn’t any reason to at the time because I knew her well enough to know that she’d be worried about how it would affect the dynamic between me and her future in-laws.
Which is ridiculous.
We’re both adults. Adults who had a good time together.
He didn’t want it to go any further.
So, it didn’t.
End of story.
He didn’t say it in so many words, but I put my name and number into his phone while he was in the bathroom that night after our little rendezvous, and he never used it.
Not a phone call or text in nine months.
I can read between the lines.
No harm. No foul.
I’m over it, and there’s zero chance of a repeat performance, so cohabitating at the cabana is not a big deal.
After moving his oversize green duffel bag to the smaller room, I make haste to unpack, and then I jump into the shower and start getting ready for dinner at Sebastian’s parents’ house.
I’m drying my hair when I hear the front door unlock and close.
I take a deep breath and open the bedroom door to peer down the hall.