His Father

by A. E. Murphy

  She didn’t tell me that part of her past.

  When she sees my expression, which is likely one of shock and worry, she pats my hand and continues, “It’s just one of those things. I figured anywhere was better than there. I made friends who I’ll keep for life, but eventually moved onto a different campaign, one where women are held in higher regard.”

  “They’re sexist?”

  She shrugs. “They were where I was but their culture is a lot different.”

  “And eventually you found your way to my campaign?”

  Her worried frown becomes a beaming smile. “I did and it was the best ever. We helped so many people and the places we visited were stunning. I met Maddox during one of my rare nights off.”

  “Can we rewind back to the homeless bit?” I ask firmly, likely putting her on the spot but I need to understand.

  Her cheeks pink. How can she be ashamed of such a thing? Life throws us all so many curveballs. Seeing me now, one wouldn’t believe it, but I was a paycheck away from homelessness too.

  “It was after my dad died. I was too old for foster care but too young to rent anywhere.” She clears her throat and the waitress brings our drinks and takes our food order. I’m happy when she orders what she wants and not just what’s inexpensive. “But life became pretty great after that. My dad wasn’t a good man so nobody missed him, not even me.”

  “Well there’s no pressure on the Africa thing,” Cassius says, and I know he struggles to find people for his missions so it’s no surprise that he is in fact putting on the pressure.

  “I can give you my email and number so you can send over the details? But Africa is one of the places I’ve really wanted to go anyway…”

  “Give it time, think it over,” I insist, hating that she can so easily make plans to be away from me for what could be months on end.

  Am I thinking that far ahead? She’s likely being realistic.

  I know she thinks I’ll get bored, I do tire easily of the same thing but she’s, for lack of being a cliché, different.

  I have a hunger for her that I’m not sure I’ll ever satisfy.

  “What a splendid evening. My wife is finally no longer my wife and I may have found somebody for Africa.” Cassius beams, holding up his drink and she clinks hers against it.

  “You’ll be going to this one yourself?” I ask. “How will you find the time?”

  “While you’ve been slumming it with your employees,” he jests. “I’ve found myself a couple of replacements to handle my shit. I’m not getting any younger. It’s time to do the shit I want to get done before I get too old. You should consider the same.”

  Cassius has a point but one I can’t linger on for now. There are too many other things to worry about.

  Tempest

  “Maddox is still ignoring me,” I tell Fidget. She’s the only person I’ve opened up to about my relationship with Sargent. Not because I’m ashamed… Okay, maybe because I’m a little bit ashamed. “I miss him.”

  “Give it time.”

  “It’s been nine days now,” I grumble, frowning when Kent knocks the cap off a man’s head as he walks in the store. “Is there a new no cap policy?” It’s the fourth time I’ve seen him do that today. The customers take it all in stride but still, it’s a bit weird.

  “Afternoon, boss.” Fidget grins at Devon as he walks in with a broken surfboard in two pieces under one arm.

  “Take a dive?” I ask, tossing him a towel.

  He catches it and dries off his hair. “Something like that. Feel like joining us in the water, Pest?”

  Fidget nudges me forward with her hand on my shoulder. “Go on, you’ve been talking about it nonstop since you started.”

  “I’m working.”

  “You’ll still be working, you just have to help me keep the kids balanced on their boards.” Devon grins, nodding for me to follow. “Go get yourself a company wet suit, they’re on the hangers, and meet me in the workshop when you’re done. Next class is in half an hour, waves permitting.”

  “They’re wild out there today.” Fidget grins, bouncing excitedly. “Go… why are you just standing there?”

  I race into the back and grab what I need. The wet suit fits like a body glove. It’s so soft and warm. At least he chose a nice and sunny day for me to join in.

  When I enter the workshop, I help him wax a couple of boards that have the company logo and colors, sea green and black, and we carry them down to the beach where it is cordoned off for his store specifically.

  “Before they get here let’s check out your stance.” He grins, dropping a board onto the sand with a thud. Surfboards are a lot heavier than they look. “It’s easy enough, we have the guides on our boards but everybody has their own way.”

  “You want me to balance on the board… on the sand?” I laugh and hop on without shame.

  “Start on your front, cheater.” He smacks my ass then realizes what he just did and we both stare at each other before roaring with laughter. “Please don’t sue me, I wasn’t thinking… I just did it and immediately regretted it.”

  “I’m telling Sargent,” I jest, dropping onto my front so I’m fully on the board.

  It’s been a while since I surfed but not so long that I don’t remember what to do.

  I hop up, using my arms to steady the board and take my stance.

  “Not bad but you need to be quicker.”

  When I lie down for the third time, I squeal as a hard body hits my back.

  “This is a rather cushioned board,” Sargent chuckles in my ear, kissing my hair and rolling me over. He’s wearing his own jet-black wet suit with silver stripes down the arms and legs.

  He helps me to my feet and yanks me into his body before kissing me.

  “Stop,” I snap, slapping his chest. “I’m wearing the company logo. It’s against policy.”

  “She deserves a raise,” Sargent tells his friend, ignoring me and grabbing my arse with both hands. “I missed you.”

  “You did?” I breathe, a mental puddle of goo because of his words. It’s the first time he has ever said anything like that but he has been away for two nights with Cassius who is moving back to Malibu for a while to celebrate the divorce from his psychotic ex-wife. They didn’t choose very good women to first wed from what I’ve heard.

  He left me in the care of Devon because Maddox still hasn’t spoken to either or us and Sargent is worried about my safety. I think the knife-wielding maniac was probably just somebody trying to break in to loot the place, I doubt he’ll be back.

  “Didn’t you?”

  I shrug. “Nah, Devon kept me occupied.”

  “What?” he growls and Devon gives me a look as if to say, “Really?”

  I giggle and leap out of the way when Sargent tries to grab me. “I’m working!”

  He starts to tickle me and I hate it but also love it. Especially when we fall onto the sand and he kisses me again. His lips and tongue tease mine in a way only he knows how. I hum with appreciation until I remember where I am and what I’m supposed to be doing.

  “I’m working,” I tell him again, breathlessly, and he touches my cheek with sandy fingers. “I missed you too.”

  “She did, she’s been whining nonstop since you left,” Devon chuckles and then puts on a squeaky voice as he says, “What time is it? Is the day over yet? Has he called you? It’s been ten minutes since I spoke to him… blah blah…”

  I throw a piece of seaweed at him and stick out my tongue when Sargent finally lets me up.

  I can’t believe he’s back. I can’t believe how epic it feels that he’s back.

  “Go on.” Devon grins, winking at me. “You’re finished for the day. This asshole is taking you surfing.”

  “Really?” I squeal and throw myself at Devon next. I hug him, covering him in sand and then take the board from the ground. “Come on, old man,” I jest at Sargent. “Race you to the line.”

  “Old man?” He feigns offense. “I’m not the one wh
o always falls asleep first.”

  “That’s me passing out because you’re smothering me with your humongous pecks.” I laugh, panting as I take off for the ocean.

  He follows, cussing me out as we go. We clip our boards to our ankles and dive into the salty, cold, blue sea.

  It feels incredible, I wish I’d done this sooner.

  We paddle out, racing and ducking under steady waves, he overtakes me but I knew he would and we share a smile when we resurface.

  He’s so handsome. I’ve never seen a man more mesmerizingly beautiful. The sun hits his wet profile just right and I wish I had a camera.

  We wait, straddling our boards, in the still ocean and I feel the pull of the current beneath my feet. The water rises and we both take off, racing to the edge where we go our separate ways.

  He wipes out, not quite making the jump which makes me laugh and lose my balance as I make mine. I fall in sideways and my nose fills with water but I quickly resurface and swim back.

  “I beat you already,” I shout at Sargent as he swims my way and when he makes it to me, he shoves me off my board, laughing at the top of his lungs. It’s okay though because I steal the next wave.

  At lunchtime we eat a fruit salad together in his bed because we’re both exhausted. It’s nice and cozy and it’s the first time we’ve ever just lay together without talking. I remember Devon saying to me just the other night that it’s when you get the moments of quiet together that you enter the next stage of your relationship. I’m not sure how true that is but I’m probably going to ruin it.

  “I have to tell you something,” I say softly, ready to spill my darkest confession to a man who consumes nearly every thought. “It’s important and it might change your view of me.”

  He looks down at me, his eyes nervous but relaxed. “Please don’t tell me you fucked Devon.”

  “What?” I squawk and sit back on my ankles. He shuffles up the bed until his back is against the headboard. “Are you kidding?”

  “Sorry, stupid question,” he admits, sliding his hand up my thigh.

  I scowl at him, pissed off that he’d even ask me such a thing.

  “But, it’s okay if you did,” he carries on and my already nervous heart plummets.

  “It’s okay if I did?”

  He eyes me, scanning me for the truth, as though I’m withholding it from him. At this point I believe the only person holding back is him. “I’d rather know, before I find out from him.”

  The thought that he might truly mistrust me so much is a nauseating one. The complexity of my feelings for him are too much to bear at this juncture. I’m about to tell him to shove his mistrust up his arse when we hear the door downstairs open and slam shut, all thoughts of conversation leave us both and we race to see who it is.

  It can only be one person.

  “MADDOX!” I yell, racing down the stairs, past the kitchen and colliding with his chest before he can enter the hall that leads to his room and mine. My arms go around his waist and I hold tight. I daren’t let him go because he might not come back again. “You haven’t called.”

  “I’m ready to talk,” he tells me and when I look up into his clear blue eyes I see no small amount of troubles swirling around in them.

  “Mad…”

  “I’m also ready to listen, Pest.” When he says my name so softly I smile and hug him for just a moment longer. “I promise.”

  I want to cry, I didn’t realize how much I’d missed him until now. “Don’t leave again.”

  “I won’t, but I think you’re upsetting my dad, he looks ready to throw you over his shoulder,” he whispers and when I peek back at Sargent, he looks away quickly. Alas, I still step away but only a fraction.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” I breathe, clinging to the front of his T-shirt with both hands fisting the material.

  “I know.” He pulls away and looks at his father.

  Sargent

  “I saw you today on the beach,” my son says, crossing his arms over his chest. He looks every bit a man right now. “I saw you making out, I saw you surfing… I saw you leave together.” A heavy breath parts his lips and he rubs his face with his hands. “I hate it. I’m not going to pretend to like it. I don’t want it rubbed in my face or in front of me at all.”

  “Duly noted,” I reply, fighting the urge to yank her back to my side.

  “It’s weird. My closest friend, somebody I actually thought I’d probably marry one day…”

  I hear her gasp at his words and pray she doesn’t fall to his feet to beg for forgiveness. If she leaves me for my son it would be too weird.

  “You were supposed to fall in love with me, Pest,” he admits to her. “The fact it’s my dad… it’s weird.”

  “But we’re friends.”

  He nods his agreement. “We are, while we’re young. I sometimes thought… everybody who knew us even said we’d probably end up married one day. Not yet, but one day.”

  She wipes at her eyes and looks at the floor as I stare at him, waiting for him to get to the point.

  “But you’re both adults and you’ve made your choice. I can see that.” He leans back against the wall and scratches at the scruff on his chin. “I’ve never seen you like that with anybody, not even me, not for years at least.”

  “Like what?” I ask, frowning.

  “Like you were with Pest on the beach today. You weren’t even like that with Mom.” As he says this my heart sinks because perhaps he’s right. There’s just something about Tempest that makes me feel joyful and expressive. She brings the man I used to know to the surface. “I’m not blaming you or shaming your past. It’s just nice to see you happy, even if it is with somebody who is too young for you.” He points at Pest. “I don’t want to hear about any of it. I’ll vomit. Okay? I do not want to know at all.”

  She nods quickly and moves to hug him again. “Don’t leave me again. I missed you.”

  He returns the hug and glares at me over her head. “I missed you too. But you…” He’s addressing me now. “I’m still really fucking mad at you, Dad.”

  “I know,” I reply and even though that saddens me, I’m happy he’s home and at least trying to make amends. “It’s good to see you.”

  They separate and the smile she gives me is so bright it could light up the entire sky. It’s nice to see her happy again.

  “Do you want to do something?” she asks him, following him to his room, completely forgetting about me. “I need to go into town…” The door closes behind them and I want to follow and carry her back to my room. Now that he’s back it means I’ll have to share her. I’ve only just come home after two long days away… I don’t want to share her yet.

  Plus, I’m horny in a way only she can satisfy me. Then again, I’m always horny in a way only she can satisfy me.

  Tempest

  I discover as we’re walking through the streets of LA, having decided to go here instead of Malibu, that it’s Sargent’s birthday soon. In precisely four days.

  Maddox told me while we were discussing things, window shopping. I can see that it makes him uncomfortable so I’ll not approach the subject at all. Though I kind of want to discuss the whole “marriage when older” thing because I felt a bit blindsided by that. I also feel awful.

  I’m not going to talk about it. It’ll just open an awkward conversation that neither of us will enjoy.

  Maddox looks good, tanned and clean. His hair is lighter which means he has spent a lot of time in the sun.

  “So where have you been?” I ask him carefully, not wanting to trigger any kind of ill feelings.

  He smiles in reply. “Just at an old friend’s place along the beach. I was jogging when I came across you. I was going to approach you but then Dad appeared.” I don’t say anything because I promised him I wouldn’t. “You’re falling for him, aren’t you? Not surprising if he’s like that with you.”

  “Like what?”

  “Happy and playful, smiling like somebody hal
f his age…”

  I snort. “You like pointing out the age gap don’t you?”

  “Yep, just like you will in a few years when you want kids and a marriage and he’s fucking a different woman every weekend because he’s bored but he feels indebted to you because you made him feel shit he hasn’t felt before and because you’re my closest friend. It’s such a fucking TV drama.”

  “Wow, Maddox, say what you really feel…”

  “I’m not trying to be an ass. I’m your friend so I’m being real. I don’t want you to get hurt but he will hurt you,” he states, taking my arm and pulling me into a trinket store. “I need some more incense sticks.”

  “I need to get high,” I murmur, and he hums his agreement. “He can only promise me what every other guy can promise me…”

  “No, he can’t. Because he can’t give you kids or any of that other shit. He won’t want babies at his age.”

  “Maddox, he’s not old. He’s just older than me.”

  “That’s what he said to Cassius.” He runs his fingers over long, narrow boxes until he finds the scent he wants. I love stepping into stores like this, the different flavors in the air combined is so beautiful. “He said you’ll leave him soon anyway because he’ll never give you what you want.”

  “You’ve been talking to Cassius about my relationship?”

  He taps me on the head with the narrow box and smiles mischievously. “I’ve been kept up-to-date with the development of you fucking my dad. I was ready to swoop in and take you away if he fucked you over.”

  “How chivalrous…”

  “I’m here for you when he fucks it up and he will. He can’t be faithful. He cheated on my mom, did he tell you that?”

  I blink at him. “We haven’t approached the subject but I trust him. I’d like it if you didn’t put shit in my head that doesn’t need to be there.”