Gavin sees me shiver and stands behind me. “I’ll keep you warm, if you want.”
Rolling my eyes, I bite back over my shoulder, “Don’t touch me.”
He steps back, raising his hands. “Hey, just offering, Sis. It’s the kinda stuff big brothers do, right?”
Whatever. I know exactly what kind of brotherly love he has for me, and chivalry has nothing to do with it. Besides, I have a luxury liner departure to watch.
It’s not quite like in those old movies with the transatlantic ships setting out and the docks packed with cheering people and streamers, but there’re at least a few people down there under the floodlights keeping the dock lit, waving as the ship pulls out. I wave back, though I’ve no idea who they are. They probably can’t see me up here anyway. Gavin throws me an amused glance before looking the other way, towards the open ocean.
As the ship picks up steam, it’s not long before the only sounds left are seagulls, water streaming by below us and the rumble of engines deep within the ship. It’s beautiful, but watching the shore pull away is a little scary too. There’s no running away now.
Gavin drops into a deck chair and sets his drink on the table next to it. The sun set a while ago, and the only light is what streams out from our room, so from my angle he’s mostly hidden in darkness.
“You’re being unusually quiet. I haven’t heard a crude comment in minutes.” I sit in the chair across the table from him.
“I dunno. Thinking about this marriage shit.”
“If I’m not letting you fuck me, I’m sure as hell not letting you marry me.”
He laughs. “We’ll see about that. What about you?”
“What about me?” I have lots of feelings about the marriage, most of which I don’t intend to share with him.
“What do you think of this whole marriage thing? Your mom’s getting hitched to a multimillionaire, if not billionaire. I lost track of how much money he makes a long time ago. That’s got to be a little weird for a girl... um... in your situation.” He trails off.
Ouch, direct hit. “In my situation? And what situation is that exactly?” My eyes shoot daggers at his outline.
“Well, you know... I mean, I guess you’re not homeless exactly, but now you’re suddenly heading into super rich territory. What do you think you’ll get out of it?” He takes a sip. “College money? Fancy clothes? A car?”
That is so far beyond insulting, words almost fail me. “Screw you, Gavin. I can work for my own damn things, if that’s what you’re so worried about. I’ve got a free ride to Stanford.”
“Fuck, should’ve known. You’re smart and sexy. What are you going for?” His question sounds like an inmate’s. What are you in for?
“Pre-med. I even have a lot of the first year requirements done early.”
He laughs, a short bark. “No wonder you’re still a fucking virgin.”
I consider denying it, but what would be the point? I get up, taking my water and heading for the door when he stops me.
“Wait. I’m just saying, you’d had to have worked real hard for that. Me? I tried business, but dropped out after a few months. I didn’t have time for that shit.”
I stop in the door, insulted that he thinks education is ‘that shit’, and annoyed that he has enough money for it not to matter. “Am I supposed to be surprised that a thug like you never graduated college? Hell, I’m surprised you graduated high school.” The temperature’s dropping as the ship moves further from land, but nowhere near as fast as it does in the space between the two of us.
“Loosen up and enjoy it while you can is my advice. It’s not going to fucking last, anyway.” He huffs, looking back out over the water.
“What’s not going to last?”
“Their marriage. You think this is the first time?” He drains the last of the whiskey. “This is Dad’s fourth marriage, plus a couple of false starts that didn’t even get that far. He’s a hard man to live with, especially when you’re only marrying him for his money.”
I’m halfway in, but I storm back out to stand over him. “Are you calling my mom a gold digger?”
He shrugs. “Just saying, isn’t it awfully convenient? Her business isn’t doing well, right? Are you so goddamn sure?” In the dark, his pupils are black, his eyes rectangular slits under his thick, frowning eyebrows.
I turn away, my voice quieter. “Mom’s not like that.” Right? She grew up poor, working her way up. Meeting Dad and becoming a Navy wife certainly bought her a lot of security, but she’s always worked hard. But now that her business isn’t doing that well, would she? It all happened so fast.