Sailor Proof (Shore Leave 1)

“Well, aren’t you full of surprises?” I took a last look under the bed to make sure neither of us was leaving something behind.

“See? Dating will be fun.” Coming out of the bathroom, he threw my toothpaste at me. I stuck it in the front pocket of my bag, then crossed over to him and looped my arms around his neck.

“Yeah it will.” Feeling decidedly more hopeful about this whole dating decision, I gave him a kiss that quickly had me plotting to tumble him back onto the bed.

Gong. Gong. “Donuts are going fast,” someone called as they passed by our front window.

“Fine. Guess I’m ready.” I wasn’t really, but there was no choice other than to follow him out of our cozy little cabin. “I’m going to miss this place.”

“Me too.” He grabbed my hand. “We’ll have to find you another tub.”

“You do that.” I let the fantasy of another vacation carry me to the dining hall. Maybe no relatives, but some pretty place with another tub for two. That would be nice.

“I’m going to find you that donut,” Derrick said quickly as my mom headed our way.

“I see how it is.” I waved him away right as Mom reached me, a cup of coffee in her hand and a far too upbeat expression on her face.

“And he fetches coffee. Arthur, don’t let this one get away.”

“I’ll try.” I could no more hold on to Derrick than I could capture the lake in my hands, but at least I’d have a little longer with him, and the side benefit of a pleased mom wasn’t a bad thing.

“You do that.” She squeezed my upper arm. “I’ve never seen you as happy as I have this week.”

“Really?” Despite my crankiness around outdoor family reunions, I was known for being a pretty upbeat guy. As a kid, I’d been happy in my little music-and-trivia bubble, and I’d been pretty content in college and graduate school. Was this the happiest I’d been? I dug my teeth into my lip, dangerously afraid she was right.

“Really,” she confirmed before taking a sip of her coffee. “And he’s nuts about you.”

“Oh, we’re nuts all right.” Nuts to ever think we could pull this thing off without some serious collateral damage.

Mom’s eyes narrowed, undoubtedly picking up on my dry tone. “Are you okay, sweetie?”

“Yeah.” Mindful of her coffee, I gave her a quick hug. “Typical end-of-camp blues.”

“Ha. I know you. You can’t wait to get back to the city.”

“Not this time. This was pretty special.” Glancing away from her, I tracked Derrick to the food table where he’d been waylaid by Aunt Sandy. Even at this distance, he still made me smile, everything from how he balanced two plates and two coffees to how he managed to seem super interested in whatever Aunt Sandy was saying.

“See?” Mom called my attention back to our conversation. “I told you you’re happy.”

“Maybe.” Oh, why keep denying it? I exhaled hard. “Yeah, I am. He makes me happy.”

And now my brain was back in the tub with Derrick telling me how happy I made him and me believing it. Top ten moment of my whole life right there.

“Good. You deserve it.” Mom waved to Oliver’s family as they came into the dining hall, Oliver and Stacey looking even more bleary-eyed than Derrick and me.

“Thanks.”

“And maybe now that you’re happy you can call your mother occasionally, hmm?” Her narrowed eyes said that that point had been her objective the whole conversation. Which was typical of Euler family goodbyes. We couldn’t part without guilting each other into the next get-together and more contact.

“I’ll try.” I was struck by the sudden urge to ask her how she did it, loving Dad all these years, coming in second to the navy. But before I could work up the courage, she was tackle-hugged by Taylor and the twins.

“Help,” she squeaked, pretending to flail under the assault.

“Think you’re on your own,” I said even as I pried the kids off her.

“Found your donut.” Finally free of Aunt Sandy, Derrick returned with a triumphant grin.

“You’re the best.” I accepted the chocolate donut with sprinkles and the coffee, which he’d perfectly doctored to the butterscotch color I preferred. Perfect fake—wait. Perfect real boyfriend. That switch was going to take some getting used to.

“He is,” Mom agreed.

“You promised we could see your car,” Taylor reminded Derrick.

“Yup. Come on.” Derrick grinned at his fan club.

“We’re going to miss you.” Seth sighed dramatically before diplomatically adding, “Both of you. Not just Derrick’s car.”

“It’s a pretty sweet car.” I rubbed his shoulder. Seeing the kids all dejected at saying goodbye reminded me of being their age when the time between visits with cousins seemed to stretch on and on.

“Dude. Cheer up,” Vince demanded. “They’ll be back next year. And Derrick better bring the car. I’m gonna want to drive it someday.”