It was also a rare moment alone with Daddy. Most of this trip had been spent doing things with all my friends, not hanging out with Daddy. I stretched out, lying across the board and put my arm up to shade my eyes to look up at my daddy. He was so handsome with strong legs, covered in hair a few shades darker than his head. How could I not love those sexy, plump lips and his dark, bedroom eyes? They were hazel, but in this bright daylight, they looked golden brown.
I hadn’t thought much about making decisions, but they still ruminated in the back of my head. Even though I was going to move in with him in the near future, I still felt like I was on a deadline. It made my chest tighten.
Warner’s parents lived in South Florida, near Crow’s family. Or something like that. His dad worked for a cruise line, but not actually on the ships. He was a corporate guy, and his mother was a nurse. He talked to them on the phone but didn’t actually see them too much. Would we be the same with our kids when they grew up?
“Cody. Stop thinking so hard.”
“How do you know I’m thinking hard?”
“I see it in your face.” Daddy splashed me, using the paddle.
The water felt cool and refreshing. “I want to swim.”
“Wait until we get to the beach. I’m not familiar enough with—oh! Sit up, look.” He jutted his head up toward something in front of us, so I slowly sat up and looked.
A big potato hump rolled out of the water. “A manatee.”
Just then, I heard Joey squeal and the manatee went under the water. “Cody! Cody! A mantatees!”
“Hush, Joey, before you scare them all away.” Skyler grouched from the other side of us, making Joey slap a hand over his mouth.
Had he already scared them away? Nope. Two more popped up ahead. That made the rest of the trip so much fun. They swam near us all the way through the pass, only disappearing completely once we got closer to the beach where we were going to stop.
When we hit the sand, Joey jumped up and down all over the place, more excited than I’d ever seen him. “Ohmygawd, Cody. One of them was so close, I could almost touch him. I didn’t though, cause Daddy said it was illegals.” Then he ran in circles, kicking up sand.
Vince looked up and shook his head. “Settle down, Joey.”
I didn’t think he was going to listen at all, but eventually, he wore himself out, plopping down on the ground.
The daddies worked together to spread out blankets and get our food out, and we ate together, talking about the trip so far. I’d had a great time, mostly, but it was nearly over.
After lunch, when everything was packed away, Daddy took my hand. “Walk with me.”
“Yes, please.” We walked along the shoreline until we were well away from all the other people.
“Cody, before we saw the manatees, what were you thinking about so hard, anyway?”
“You won’t wait forever,” I huffed, expecting him to know exactly what I meant.
“No, but maybe we can talk along the way and check in. If we get too far apart…that’s when we decide. Are we already too far? Is there already too much of a gap?” Yep, he knew what I meant.
“Honestly, no. But maybe I’m putting things between us.”
“Like what?”
“Like kids. I’m afraid of screwing things up. And I don’t know…I guess it’s just that I don’t want to make a commitment like that, not knowing if our future dreams match up. And I’m not sure they do now. You’re talking about things I’ve never wanted.”
“If you don’t want kids, that’s fine. Or maybe we foster a kid. Later. Like I said before, but I’m not attached to any idea here. I just want to be with you, whatever that looks like. Hell, we could get a dog instead.” Warner shook my hand in an obvious attempt to lighten things up a little, but these were heavy topics.
“I don’t know what my future looks like. Hell, I sell insurance, and it’s pretty boring. I don’t want to do that forever, even if it is good money.”
“It really is up to you, Cody. I want you, however you come. I’ll support you no matter what you want to do. I just want to be with you, working all of this outtogether. It’s not going to become an either-or situation where we feel we have to break up. I don’t think so, anyway.”
“Really? You sounded like you want a family. Three kids and a dog running around.”
“You’re my family. What we decide together is what it is. Sure, kids would be great. Hell, I’d love to have a little boy who looks just like you running around, but I’m not married to the idea. In fact, I never thought I’d ever have that until you.”
We walked along quietly for a little bit, swinging our joined hands between us. We passed some trees that were full of white egrets, and out in the water, a pelican splashed down. We lived in paradise for sure.
