Connor walked to the very end of the dock so that Adonis could wade out into the deeper water. He dug his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie and waited as Adonis came to him.
One look at his face and Connor’s will crumbled to dust. “I’ll hang out with you for a little bit longer. Okay?” He sat on the dock and crisscrossed his legs. He would have dipped them into the water if he wasn’t so cold. The light was fading from the sky, and with the sun disappearing, the warmth was going with it.
Adonis abruptly disappeared underwater. His dark form darted out to sea and vanished into the dark of the ocean. Connor frowned, surprised at his sudden departure.
“Connor?” Trevor called.
Connor sighed. Right. He twisted around, seeing Trevor halfway down the sandy path leading to the house and approaching fast. Trevor glanced at the paddleboard as he passed it and walked down the dock to Connor.
“You got some sun today,” Trevor noted, stopping next to Connor.
“It’s just windburn.” Connor stood up, casting one last look at the ocean before accepting that Adonis had gone. He hoped it wouldn’t be like the lab where he’d been permanently spooked away.
“Here, I’ll help you lift that up.” Trevor nodded to the board.
Connor was glad for the assistance. Trevor was big and strong, and despite Adonis shouldering the journey back, Connor’s shoulder muscles burned as he put them under strain. Trevor picked up the cooler under one arm while Connor gathered the last of his loose things.
They walked up the sandy path to the back door.
“Did you go out far?” Trevor asked casually.
Connor cast him a sideways look. His mom was an uncaring individual, but Trevor wasn’t. And given the protective edge he’d seen in his approach to Laurence, he knew, just as he knew the sky was blue and grass was green, that he was about to be on the receiving end of such worry.
“Just the usual,” Connor answered as casually as Trevor.
Trevor’s dark eyes cut toward Connor, and his expression filled with resignation as he sighed. “You know, ten times out of ten, Laurence and Nick both fall for that? You already know what I’m about to say, don’t you? And you’ve already decided whether you’ll listen to it. And the answer is you won’t.”
“Well, since we got that talk out of the way so quickly, I’ll just…” Connor grinned at Trevor’s world-weary sigh.
“I grew up on the water and I can swim better than the national swim team,” Connor said. “I listen to the weather reports before I go out. I take note of the currents. I’m never out there without a way to call for help. And yes, you’re right. I’m not going to listen to you telling me not to go out alone.”
“Your phone is charging next to your bed,” Trevor pointed out. They stopped by the back door, where Trevor set the cooler on the wooden porch. He placed his hands on his sides.
Connor let out an amused breath. “I don’t bring my smartphone, obviously.”
“Obviously,” Trevor repeated.
“I have a satellite phone.” Connor dug into his waterproof backpack and took out the block phone wrapped in plastic, showing it to Trevor. “You can track the GPS signal on this even if it ends up on the bottom of the ocean, and I’ll get coverage no matter where I go.” He looked at the aged, chunky device. “First phone I ever had. Dad’s pretty good at giving presents despite his head being in the clouds most of the time.”
“May I?” Trevor held out his hand, and Connor gave him the phone to examine. “Have you checked the batteries recently?”
“The green light flashes orange when it’s low,” Connor replied.
Trevor was still unsatisfied. “You know most car accidents that happen are experienced drivers on their route home?”
“And most drownings are experienced swimmers,” Connor said, knowing where this was going. “People get comfortable and endanger themselves in ways beginners don’t.”
“Would you consider not going out alone?”
“No,” Connor replied promptly. It would have been “no” even if he hadn’t run into Adonis today. Getting out on the water was the only thing that made this place bearable. The only thing that gave him the strength to get through everything that happened on dry land.
Trevor sighed. “You need to tell me, at least.” He handed back the phone. “So that someone knows where you are.”
“I can do that,” Connor said.
“Ideally, you would bring someonewithyou…” Trevor looked at Connor hopefully, but that hope disappeared when he saw Connor’s expression. He’d schooled his face into a “no”—a trick he’d learned from his dad. “I’ll settle for you telling me, then. I’ll just be very anxious the entire time and won’t be able to focus at work. I might even develop stress ulcers…”
Connor snorted. Did such an obvious stab at emotional manipulation work on Laurence and Nick? He bet it did. He bet Trevor exaggerated the obviousness because if he’d tried in earnest to guilt Connor, it would backfire. “I can live with that.”
