Zero F*cks: a standalone novel

by LK Collins

  “Hey, sis,” he says through tired eyes.

  “You okay?” I immediately ask him and then Nixon’s beside me, pulling his shirt on over his head.

  “What’s up, brother?” Nixon asks him and he smiles, looking at our faces.

  “You good, Con?” I ask him again and he says, “Yeah, it was a long day. We had one hell of a raid. I’m happy to see you guys together though. I needed to.”

  Nixon kisses my cheek and I look up at him smiling, then Conner asks us, “So you’re back together?”

  “We’re taking things one day at a time,” I tell him emphasizing the key words to what Nixon and I are.

  “He’s being good to you?” Conner asks me and I honestly respond, “Yeah…really good.”

  “I’m right here,” Nixon says, and both Conner and I laugh. “Was everyone safe in the raid?” Nixon asks, clearly worried.

  “Yeah, McHale was hit by some shrapnel, but we didn’t lose anyone.”

  “That’s good news, man. When did you switch to land missions?” Nixon asks him.

  “After you left, they moved a bunch of us around. Reynolds got moved over with me too.”

  “Damn,” Nixon says, “I wish we were all together when I was there.”

  Conner shakes his head, “Then who would take care of our girl if anything happened?”

  “Don’t say shit like that, Conner,” I bark at him “Nothing is going to happen to you. You hear me?”

  “Geez, sis, I’m playing.”

  Nixon taps my shoulder then points to his watch. Shit, we are running late for work, which is not a good thing considering we want to keep things about us hush-hush.

  “Hey, Con,” I tell him, hating to ever be the one to end the call. “We’ve gotta get to work.”

  “Okay, be safe, you two. I heard there’s a few storms brewing in the Atlantic.”

  “We’re in the clear for now,” I tell him and the three of us say, “Bye” at the same time. Conner knows how much I hate ending our calls, so he makes it easy on me. The screen goes black and I throw my and Nixon’s lunches into two separate bags.

  “You ready, beautiful?” he asks me as I scramble around my apartment.

  “As ready as I’m going to be.”

  Chapter 18

  Nixon

  It’s been a slow day, no calls so far, so we’ve been out searching for six hours for the missing fishermen, and unfortunately, there are no signs of them. The mood in the helicopter is dreary and I’m not sure if it’s because of our mission or ‘cause Guy and Luke can sense that we are keeping something from them.

  “So what did you do last night?” I ask Luke, trying to be friendly and keep shit kosher.

  “Not much, man, went to the gym and then chilled. You?”

  “Saw the doctor, then met a friend for a few drinks and surfed a little.”

  “Really? Guy said you had dinner with him, Macey, and Cam.”

  “Yeah, that too. But it was later in the night.”

  He doesn’t respond and I glance at Cameron, then go back to looking out the window. “You surf a lot?” he asks me.

  “All the time.”

  “You should teach me to surf. I tried when I was younger, but I never stuck with it.”

  “Yeah, bro, whenever you want.”

  “How about tonight?” he asks me.

  I look at Cameron with wide eyes and she shrugs her shoulders at me.

  “You surf, don’t ya, Cam?” he asks her.

  “Uh-huh,” she says.

  “Come with us.”

  “Yeah, sure,” she tells him, aggravating me. I really don’t want to be around him having to hide that we are back together and that I’m aware he and Cam hooked up.

  “Did Seth get ahold of you, Cam?” Luke asks.

  “No, why?”

  “He’s coming back into town. The condo sold so he’s gotta sign all the paperwork at the closing and shit.”

  “I’m surprised you haven’t heard from him,” Guy says.

  “Why?”

  “Isn’t he staying with you when he comes back?” What the fuck, why would he stay with her?

  “I don’t think so,” she says.

  “Doesn’t he have family he can stay with here?” I blurt out and Cameron mouths to me, “Don’t.”

  “Nah, his family is in Cali, where he and his girl moved. We were all he had here,” Guy says, then suddenly Cameron interrupts us, “I spot something at eleven o’clock.” Unbuckling my safety belt, I slide over to her window and look outside. Sure enough there is someone in the water waving their arms back and forth. Their head looks like a floating soccer ball, out there in the middle of the ocean, and I don’t know how she spotted him.

  Luke calls it in over the radio, and Guy circles him before making a descent, getting us close enough to go down into the open waters and rescue him.

  Cameron unbuckles and I whisper to her, “Let me go down,” hating to see her risk her life.

  “No,” she’s adamant, and I’m pretty sure there is no talking her out of it.

  Grabbing the rope, I attach it to the basket as she adjusts her snorkel and mask. The guy is floating in the water, and she’s got nothing to land on, so she has to jump in. Opening the door, Guy gives her the all-clear. The seas are moderate today, and I want to kiss her so bad before she jumps, but I can’t. She winks at me and then goes. As I watch her land and swim to the man, I wonder how in the world he survived in these open waters floating all the way from Miami up here. I’m sure he’s gotta be one of the missing fishermen, as we haven’t received word of any other missing persons in our area. Slowly, I lower the basket down to the guy that Cameron has made it to, getting close enough for her to grab ahold of. Once she does, she gets him in the basket and then signals that she’s clear. I wait for Guy to give me the go ahead from up front before bringing him in.

  “You’re clear to proceed, Nixon.”

  The second he says the word “clear,” I hit the button bringing him up. Once he’s in the helicopter, I lower the basket back down to get her out of the ocean as quickly as possible, my jaw clenched with the worry I can’t completely push away. It seems to take forever until I have her back, but once I do, I kiss her neck, not able to control myself.

  “What’s your name?” Luke asks the man.

  “Jack,” he says.

  “Hey Jack,” I respond and begin to work on him. “Jack, is your last name Brightly?” Luke asks him and he says, “Yes,” through a shaky tone.

  “That’s affirmative, we have one Jack Brightly, onboard USCG 6035 and are en route to Jupiter Medical Center.”

  “Ten-four. USCG 6035, what’s your ETA?” the dispatcher asks.

  “T minus seven minutes,” Guys says, and Cameron and I get Jack on a body board, then take his vitals and begin an IV. He’s clearly dehydrated, you can tell from looking in his eyes.

  “You feeling okay?” Cameron asks him.

  He’s shaking, his body is in shock from going through what he has endured, yet he has the wherewithal to tell her, “Thank you for saving my life.”

  “Of course. It’s what we do. Everything is going to be okay now.”

  Cameron looks up at me, her face flushed and she’s still breathing hard. “Good job,” I tell her and wink. She gives me a wink back and I remind myself that I’ll get to have her tonight after work. Well…I will after I finish dealing with Luke and his fucking surf lessons.

  ***

  “You want me to text you my address?” I ask Luke as we walk out of work.

  “Yeah, I’ll run home and change, then head that way.”

  “Cool, see ya in a bit.”

  Cameron walks off from us and says, “Night, guys.”

  “You’re coming, Cam, right?” Luke asks her.

  “Yeah, you wanna text me your address too?” she asks me.

  “Sure.”

  I hop in my truck and dial her phone number. She lo
oks over at me through her tinted windows and answers, “Hey, big cock.”

  “You have two options,” I tell her.

  “Do I now?”

  “Yes, you can either beat Luke to my house so I can fuck you, or you can talk dirty to me right now and I’ll jerk off in my truck.”

  She giggles and I tell her, “I’m dead serious, baby.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you are. But I want your cock inside me, so you better get home.”

  Peeling out of the lot, I put the pedal down. “You still want to talk dirty to me while we drive?”

  “What do you mean? Like you want me to tell you how fucking hard it was to sit next to you all day, while I watched your dick straining your pants, or how I’d clench my pussy every time you brushed up against me?”

  “Keep going,” I tell her, my cock stiffening from her words, loving how she’s having the same struggles that I am.

  “Did you just pass me?” she asks me, and I look in my rearview mirror to see her tiny black sports car fly up on me.

  “Guess, I did. I didn’t want to miss my opportunity to fuck you.”

  “Come to my place then. If Luke shows up at your house and you’re not there, tell him you had to buy some sex wax for the boards or something.” She laughs out loud and I tell her, “Oh, I’ll show you sex wax.” We race to her house and somehow I get caught at a light. As I pull up, she is already parked and I run in. The second that I open the door, I find her naked in her bedroom. Turning the lock, she asks me, “Which one?” and holds up two swimming suits.

  “Neither.”

  “I mean for tonight.”

  “Don’t you have a wetsuit or something?” I ask her and immediately finger her pussy. She braces her weight back on her dresser, her bottom lip tucked beneath her teeth. “Jesus, Nixon.”

  “You like when I finger you?” I ask her and roll one of her nipples in between my teeth.

  “Uh huh.” She reaches down and begins to rub my cock. “Fuck me. We don’t have much time.”

  “We have all the time in the world, baby, that fucker isn’t going to rush my time with you.”

  She unzips my pants which fall to my ankles and I rip my shirt above my head. “Fuck me!” she orders me again and I barrel into her, with no warning as I slam her hard.

  She loses her breath and looks at me wide-eyed. “Is this what you wanted?” I slam her over and over. Each time, she yelps, her head hanging back, and I get lost in her scent, kissing and sucking on her neck.

  My mouth is matched with my thrusts, and then there is a knock on her door that stops me dead in my tracks. “Cam?” Luke calls out.

  What the fuck?

  “Uhhhh, one second.”

  My eyebrows crease as I gaze down at her, pissed off for responding. “Let me come,” I tell her, and she whispers, “No, he can’t know you’re here.”

  Taking one hand, I place it over her mouth and with my other I lift her off the floor and carry her to her bed, where I fuck her hard. My hand still covering her mouth to muffle her noises. She quietly moans clenching my dick, giving me a solid fucking come, my entire body tensing as I fill her with my white, before I pull out of her. Throwing her clothes at her, she struggles to get dressed. She laughs at me and asks me, “What are we going to do?”

  He knocks again and I tell her, “I’ll stand behind the door, and when he comes in, hug him and I’ll slip out.

  Going to the door, she opens it as I stay tucked behind it, “Sorry, I was video chatting with Conner and the connection was so spotty.”

  “That’s okay, is Nixon here?” he asks.

  “No!” she shrieks and pulls him into a hug. “Why would you ask that?” I hear her say to him as I slip out, wanting to pull them apart first…but I don’t.

  “I thought his truck was outside,” he tells her and then I hear the door close.

  That motherfucker.

  What was he thinking coming to her house? I should’ve left the door unlocked so he could’ve caught me banging her. Maybe then he’d get the point through his puny fucking brain; she wants a man, not a boy.

  Chapter 19

  Cameron

  “It must be someone with a truck like his. What are you doing here, anyway?” I ask Luke, as I hope he can’t tell what Nixon and I were just doing, especially with his sudden suspicion.

  “I wanted to see if you wanted to drive together to Nixon’s?”

  “Yeah, sure,” I tell him and consider talking to him on the drive…but it would make for an awkward evening. “Let me grab my suit.”

  “Cool,” he responds and I head into my bedroom, using the restroom as Nixon left me a fucking mess down there. Grabbing a bag, I pack it with a ton of shit, figuring I’ll be staying at his house tonight: clothes for tomorrow, a few swimming suits, makeup, PJ’s—not that he ever lets me wear them.

  Going back out into the living room, Luke has Nixon’s hat in his hand and says, “Is this Nixon’s?”

  “No, it’s my brothers, he asked me to send him a box with some stuff,” and I show him the beef jerky and sunglasses that I bought for him which are in a box on my dining room table. Tossing Nixon’s hat on top, putting it in with everything else, I ask him, “You ready?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You cool if we take your truck, so I don’t have to stop and get gas?” I tell him, hoping I can weasel my way out of leaving with him tonight.

  “Of course.”

  Nixon texts me as I get into Luke’s vehicle. Everything cool?

  Yeah, on our way now.

  “That Nixon?” Luke asks me, clearly paranoid.

  “No, why?”

  “Just wondering.”

  “I don’t talk to Nixon outside of work.”

  He looks out the windshield, like he doesn’t believe me and doesn’t respond. I can sense that he’s holding something back, maybe that’s why he really came to my house.

  “So we never got to finish our conversation from the other night.”

  Fuck!

  I know right where he is headed with this and I grab my phone, texting Nixon again quickly, Call Luke and distract him ‘til we get there, please.

  Not a second later, Luke’s phone rings and he pulls it out of his pocket. “It’s Nixon,” he tells me.

  “You better answer it, he might be cancelling with how flaky he is.”

  I can hear Nixon being all friendly in the background and Luke is laughing and playing right into him. I’m thankful for Nixon, as I’m not ready to talk to Luke right now.

  As we pull up to Nixon’s, I grab my bag and Luke follows me. Nixon opens the door, the guys ending their phone call, and he is wearing a pair of board shorts and nothing else. I swallow, acting like I’m not fazed. “Come in,” he says, and I ask him, “Can I use your restroom to change?”

  “Sure, let me show you where it’s at. Luke, you wanna beer, man?”

  “Yeah,” Luke says staring out at the water as he wanders out on Nixon’s deck.

  Nixon and I walk off and the second that the door is closed, he asks me, “What the fuck is going on?”

  “I don’t know. He keeps asking me about you. Then brought up the bar that other night and us not finishing our conversation. It’s like he knows something’s up and is mulling it over in his head, trying to catch us. Maybe that’s why he wanted the three of us to hang out tonight.”

  “Or he wants to see us together outside of work. I bet Guy told him something’s up after our dinner with him and Macey.”

  “You think?” I ask him, concerned.

  “Yeah, maybe. But don’t worry, Luke’s the kind of guy who doesn’t want to step on anyone’s toes. So if I need to I’m gonna let him know what’s up.”

  “Nixon, don’t tell him like this. It’ll hurt him; let me do it. I’ll let him drive me home and tell him on the way.”

  “Okay, I won’t tell him, babe.” He leans down and kisses me, then I take my suit of out my bag and he sc
offs at it. “For real, Cameron?”

  “What? It’s the best I had.”

  “Where’s your wetsuit?” he scolds me.

  “At work.”

  Then he swats my ass, and I change into a sexy red one-piece and walk out back finding the guys talking about the waves and looking at the bottom of one of Nixon’s boards.

  Luke’s jaw hits the floor when he sees me and Nixon pats his back. “Why don’t we watch Cam for a bit, so you can see what she looks for and how she pops up, okay?”

  “Sure,” Luke responds and I have no clue why Nixon would want to have him staring at me. “I waxed this one for you.” He hands me my board and we act like it’s his. “Thanks.”

  “Of course. Check out the ground swell from the storm.”

  I nod and glance back at the two guys and really hope Nixon doesn’t end up hurting him. Don’t get me wrong, Luke is adorable and at one point I thought there was a spark there. But when Nixon came back it made me question everything and realize that he’s only my friend, nothing more. I need someone like Nixon who’s gonna tell me how things are and have my back and treat me the way only he can. Like tonight, when he called Luke to distract him for me, he didn’t question me and wasn’t jealous or anything. He was looking out for me and us. The way my old Nixon did, and that’s how I know…I’m falling for him all over again.

  Chapter 20

  Nixon

  “So did you surf a lot growing up?” I ask Luke.

  “Nah, not much, I tried it a few summers when I was young. My uncle was big into it and would always teach me when he visited, but then when he left, I didn’t have anyone to show me what I needed to do to get better, so that kind of ended it. What about you?”

  “Oh, man, we grew up in the water. Every day, from sunup ‘til sundown.”

  “Who’s we?” he asks.

  “Oh, Me, Cam, and her brother, Conner.”

  “So you three were close?”

  “Yeah, really close,” I tell him as I watch her sexy ass paddling out. Thinking of all the time we spent together makes me think about how bad I fucking hurt her when I left.