When her lips part and our tongues meet, the flame that is always simmering between us threatens to erupt into another inferno that might have us stripping down right there on the deck. Fortunately, Lucy taps me oddly on the side of the head, causing me to pull back momentarily.
“What was that?” I laugh as I catch her hand.
“Malcolm just stomped up the stairs,” she giggles to me as she pulls slightly away.
I turn around and lean back on the rail as Malcolm approaches, giving us both a rare grin. “I saw you two sneaking off and just wanted to make sure everything was okay out here,” Malcolm says. “I thought maybe the small-fry here couldn’t hold her liquor and was out here ‘looking at the fish’ while you held her hair.”
“That’s honestly a fair assumption,” Lucy laughs. “I’m good at a lot of things, but drinking probably isn’t one of them. I’m not sick, though. I just came out to enjoy the view. I love the ocean at night. The stars, the moonlight on the waves, the wind…all of it.”
“I hear you,” Malcolm agrees, taking a swig from the whiskey glass he is holding as he stares out into the darkness.
“I haven’t had a chance to ask you today,” I say to get Malcolm’s attention. “Did Silas call you yet? Today makes what, six weeks since he disappeared?”
“Six fucking weeks,” Malcolm agrees with a heavy sigh. “And still not a peep out of him. Maybe he knows the case has been dismissed, and he’s having fun with his ‘new friend’, but I just don’t know.”
“You’re actually worried about him?” I try to clarify.
“Nah, this is Silas we’re talking about, not Fiasco,” Malcolm snorts. “He can handle himself as well as any of us. I guess I should say I’m not worried that he’s in trouble…I’m worried about what kind of ‘fun’ he’s having out on his own.”
“He’s an odd dude,” I agree. “I’d still trust him with my life. He’s always had our backs, no matter what. But some of the things he says, or the way he acts sometimes…”
“He’s kind of creepy,” Lucy chimes in.
“Amen to that,” Malcolm agrees as he raises his glass and drains the last of the whiskey.
“I could try and find them if you want me to,” she offers.
“Maybe. Let’s give him another week,” Malcolm tells her. “Best thing to do is just not think too much about Silas. He’s one of those guys that it’s best not to hear from sometimes. ‘No news is good news’ and all that, with him. The important thing is that Nash’s case has been dismissed, you’re actually smiling for the first time in years, and we’ve got a party going on downstairs. Let’s get back to it before the guests of honor think we’ve abandoned them.”
“Cheers!” Lucy smiles as she finishes off her bottle of beer, then grabs my hand and drags me towards the stairs. “I love you, Nash, but I have to say, meeting Jetta has also been a highlight of the last few weeks!”
“When I met you, I never would have thought you’d fit in so well to this fucked-up family,” I tell her as I follow her below decks. I wrap an arm around her as we head back into the party and pull her close to me. “I’ve never been so happy to be so wrong about someone in my life.”
* * *
The End