Dirty Pucker (Denver Bashers #2)

37. Del

Chapter 37

Del

T heo hunches over the side of the fishing boat we’ve chartered for the day, puking his guts out.

I step over to him while keeping hold of the railing as the waves crash against the boat. “You okay?”

He retches for a few seconds, then pushes himself back up. He flips around and leans back against the boat while he catches his breath.

The crew speeds back to shore. We were supposed to be on the water for the rest of the afternoon, but the waves kicked up an hour ago. As soon as that happened, seasickness hit Blomdahl and Theo like a freight train. The two of them have been puking off and on.

I pull a napkin from my pocket and hand it to him. He mutters, “Thanks,” then wipes his mouth. He pulls up the hem of his shirt and dabs at his sweaty face.

“I should have listened to my wife,” he mutters.

“Did she tell you to skip the boat trip altogether?”

He lets out a weak chuckle. “She told me to take Dramamine. I told her I wouldn’t need it.”

He flips around and pukes again. I wince at the unholy noise. It sounds like he’s exorcising a demon.

I pat his shoulder and help him turn around when he finishes.

“Thanks,” he mutters. He slides all the way down and sits on the floor.

I lower down next to him and hand him the water bottle I’ve been holding on to but haven’t yet opened.

He downs half the bottle in two swallows. I hear a retching noise from the other side of the boat. I glance over and see Blomdahl throwing up over the side. Sam is standing next to him, bracing him so he doesn’t lose his balance.

When he notices me staring, I mouth, “He okay?”

Sam nods and makes a drinking motion with his hand.

“Hey, Xander,” I holler.

A second later, Xander steps out of the main cabin. “Yeah?”

“Can you get Blomdahl some water?” I jut my chin to where he’s standing. Xander’s eyes go wide.

“Shit, yeah. One sec.” He steps back inside the cabin before emerging with two bottles of water in each hand. He hands one to me. A wave crashes against the side of the boat, splashing salt water onto us. Theo groans before finishing the rest of his bottled water.

I take the empty bottle, crack open the fresh one, and hand it to him. “Keep drinking. Otherwise you’ll get dehydrated.”

Theo guzzles more water. I watch Xander, who, despite how unsteady the boat is, walks easily to the other side and hands Sam the other two bottles of water to give to Blomdahl.

The captain of the boat tells us we’re about twenty minutes from the harbor. I thank him for the update and for hauling ass back to calmer waters.

He flashes a thumbs up. “No problem.”

“Blomdahl, you hanging in there?” I holler.

He spits into the ocean, then turns around, gripping the railing with both hands. His already pale complexion is stark white. He grimaces at me. “Oh yeah. Never been better.”

We all laugh. Even Theo.

“Hey,” Theo mumbles. “I owe you an apology.”

I frown, confused. “For what?”

He looks straight ahead at the water and wipes his nose with the napkin. “For what a dick I was to you about Ingrid.”

“Oh…”

He rests his elbows on his knees. “I know there’s something going on between you two.”

My body tenses, bracing myself for whatever reaction he’s about to have. I try to gauge his expression. He’s frowning but he doesn’t look pissed.

“I was out of line when I told you to stay away from her after I saw you two flirting,” he says. “That was before I got to know you.”

I stare at him, shocked. “Uh, thanks.”

He nods and takes another drink of water. “Not that you or my cousin need my permission to be together or anything. I’ve just always been pretty protective of her. We grew up together. We’re close in age and she’s always felt more like my little sister. So I wasn’t too thrilled to see her show interest in you, the guy who tried to kick my ass every time we’re on the ice together.”

“Yeah, I get it.” I pause for a second. “Now that we’re on the same team, I haven’t tried to kick your ass in like a month. That’s gotta count for something, right?”

Theo chuckles. “I guess you’re right.” He turns to me, his expression serious. “You seem like a completely different player since you’ve been playing with us. And the way you handed Crowley his ass when he said that fucked-up thing about Ingrid…”

The side of his jaw bulges and the skin on his neck turns red. He’s still pissed about it. I don’t blame him. Because even now, when I think about what Crowley did, that familiar rage flickers in my gut. I take a breath and it fades.

Theo looks me in the eye. “You’re a good guy, Del.”

His words hit me like a Mack truck, but in the best way. This is a guy I’ve fought with a dozen times. This is a guy who used to hate my guts.

He thinks I’m a good person. And that means everything.

He holds out his hand. I clap my palm against his, and we shake hands. “Thanks, man.”

Before I let go, he clamps down on my hand. “Treat her right, okay?”

“I will.”

We finally hit calmer waters. Ten minutes later we’re approaching the harbor. The crew docks the boat and we all gather our things. As we step off the boat onto the dock, we dig out cash to tip the crew. They tell us thanks and hand us each a beer left over from the cooler that we didn’t get to drink since we came back to shore early.

Both Theo and Blomdahl look a million times better now that they’ve hydrated and are back on land.

We call the resort shuttle and hang out at the marina, drinking our beers while we wait to be picked up. On the drive back to the resort, I check my phone. I see a text from Ingrid.

My eyes go wide at the pic she just sent me.

I quickly turn my screen to black and glance around as discreetly as I can to make sure no one has seen it.

Theo and Blomdahl are sleeping. Xander and Sam are laughing about something on Sam’s phone.

I pull up the photo again and take a nice long look.

Ingrid is totally naked, standing in front of a mirror. I zero in on her perfect tits. My mouth waters.

She looks fucking incredible.

I type a quick text.

Holy fuck. You look insanely hot.

A few minutes later she texts me back.

Wait till you see what I’m wearing to dinner.

I smile, my dick twitching in my shorts in anticipation of how sexy Ingrid is going to look.

“What’s that smile for?” Sam asks.

I slide my phone back in my pocket and pretend to stare at something out the window. “Just excited for dinner. I’m starving.”