Me: Absolutely riveting. You?
Alec: We were slammed from the moment I clocked in to when I clocked out. You’d think people would want to get their overpriced mediocre meals elsewhere once in a while.
I let out a laugh at that.
Me: Hey, don’t hate on my favorite Italian restaurant. I was just starting to like you again.
Alec: When did you ever stop?
Smirking, I begin typing out my response when my phone is plucked out of my hands. My head whips up to locate the thief, and of course, I’m not at all surprised by the suspect. Nico’s eyes trace over the screen, that perma-scowl he wears so well firmly in place before he looks back to me.
“Stop flirting with your boyfriend and come spend time with your dad. He’s been trying to get your attention.”
I look up to see my dad gesturing towards him, another fishing pole at the ready, presumably for me. Standing to my feet, I reach for my phone as I speak.
“He’s my ex-boyfriend,” I clarify.
Nico pulls the phone just out of reach as he lowers his face just a half an inch closer to mine.
“You sure about that?” his deep voice husks, almost like it’s his attempt at a whisper.
My eyes pause on his, that rich chocolate color practically drowning me before I swallow roughly.
“It wouldn’t be your business even if I wasn’t,” I say before snatching my phone from his meaty paws as I make my way over to my dad.
“Let’s do some fishing, pops.”
After hours of fishing I caught four blue gill, my dad caught six and one huge bass and Nico caught approximately nothing. Despite his frustrations and ever changing ‘technique’ the fish wanted nothing to do with him. I bet they could sense his shit personality from down there and said no fucking thanks.
Now we are heading back to the docks, a cooler stocked with fish and a smile on my dad’s face that he couldn’t wipe away if he tried. He loves being on the water, I swear if he could retire and live on a house boat, he would. I think him and mom would both really like that actually.
Some of my favorite childhood memories are fishing with my dad. Carly came sometimes but each time she did she ruined it with her whining. She didn’t like the outdoors, the cold or anything outside of shopping, really. God, would you listen to me? I make her sound like a high maintenance vapid bitch.
…but I mean, if the shoe fits.
Mom and dad wandered inside the boat a little bit ago, though calling this mammoth a boat is honestly an insult. We could be out here for days and I don’t think we could see every room on this thing. Okay, that’s a complete exaggeration but you get my point.
I wandered around for a bit before I came to the bow. The breeze is gentle but constant, blowing my hair behind my shoulders as the sun begins to dip into the water for the night.
“Why do you insist on tempting fate?” Nico asks
I look over my shoulder to see him glaring at me, arms crossed while maintaining a healthy distance from the railing.
“Why do you insist on being such a coward?”
He scoffs at that but doesn’t say more, and I don’t feel the need to fill up the empty space with useless words. So, instead, Ifocus back on the sunset. My hands that have been gripping the railing loosen as I throw my arms out by my sides in the wind.
“You’re being reckless,” he warns.
I shake my head and smile to the sky, loving the feel of the ocean breeze through my hair.
“This is the part where you’re supposed to reassure me that I’m flying.”
“I’m not going to recreate a scene from a movie about a horrific watercraft accident.”
Spinning around to face him, I frown.
“You really do have a stick up your ass, you know that, right?”
