Page 20 of Little Saint Nautilus

I was half-tempted to give Nemo something of mine to wear just to see it hang big on his slight form, but he seemed to be texture-sensitive, and I knew he liked the clothes he’d gotten from my shop, so those would have to do for now. Not that I really minded, since he looked fucking hot in the crop top and linen pants. Crop tops were my kryptonite. I wore them plenty in my surfer days, loving the way they caught the eye of others on the beach. But I’d grown out of my twink phase. I wasn’t quite in my dad-bod era, but the time in rehab had changed the contours of my body. Of course, growing older and hitting thirty might have played a role, too. I knew I could still sport a crop top if I wanted to, but I found looking at them much more appealing now than wearing them.

I gathered Nemo’s clothes and brought them to him. He smiled his gratitude and dressed on his own. As I was about to find some jeans for myself to wear, a knock sounded on the door. A very impatient knock. Nemo’s eyes widened, and he looked frightened. We’d beenso caught up in each other that it was easy to forget the world outside, and that so much of it was new to him.

“It’s all right. It’s just someone here for a visit.” I winked at him and headed to the door with my towel wrapped around my waist.

When I opened the door, my grandfather came stomping in, without even a hello. “Where the hell have you been? Johnny called me because he said you closed your shop and left without saying a word to anyone. He was worried about you. I’ve been calling and texting, and you couldn’t even bother to answer. You’re not supposed to haunt us. We had a deal.”

My grandfather stood with his arms folded over his chest, his eyes catching my near-nakedness. I folded my arms in a matching stance, trying to cover myself up. “Haunt? What are you talking about?”

“You know, when someone doesn’t call you back?”

I laughed. “Oh, you mean ghost, like you’ve been ghosted.”

“Yes. That. You are not supposed to ghost me.”

Well, now I felt like an asshole. It was our deal. I’d texted him again earlier to say I was done on the water, but he was tight with a lot of the older folks on the boardwalk. Johnny ran the fish and chips place but was usually open for breakfast during the winter. Of course, I should have realized someone would notice me leaving or that my shop was closed.

“I’m sorry, Gramps. I didn’t mean to ghost you. I was a little…distracted.”

“What could have possibly distracted you so much that you couldn’t even send a quick text?”

Nemo walked out of the bathroom, thankfully dressed. “Is everything okay, Cory?”

I couldn’t stop the way my lips tilted up at his worried yet determined expression, looking as if he was ready to protect me, even as uncertain as he was.

“Ahhhh. I see. Soyoumust be the distraction.” My grandfather smirked, and I felt my cheeks grow warm. It couldn’t be more obvious, with me in a towel and Nemo’s hair still wet, that we’d likely been in the shower together. He held out his hand to Nemo. “Hi, I’m Woody, Cory’s grandfather.”

Nemo stared at the offered hand and held his own straight out, leaving a space between them. I bit my cheeks to hold in the grin that fought to stretch as my grandfather arched his brow and closed the distance, squeezing his hand and shaking it.

“It’s nice to meet Cory’s elder. You look very similar, though your face has a lot more lines on it. Are they scars, too?”

I snickered as Gramps shook his head. “No, not scars, wrinkles. Wrinkles are a sign of wisdom.”

“Oh. You must be very wise then.”

I barked out a laugh before tugging Nemo to my side and kissing the top of his head.

My grandfather’s eyes held a hint of amusement before he straightened and held his head higher. “Yes. I am. And who might you be?”

“Gramps, this is Nemo. He’s a…friend.”

“Friend, huh? Since when? I’ve never heard him mention you before?”

“Cory didn’t know my name before today,” Nemo said, beaming with pride. God, he was so fucking adorable.

My grandfather turned toward me with a half smile. “Is that so?”

He wasn’t judgmental and had always been supportive. In fact, I’d gotten way too in-depth of safety lectures from him, since sex had never been a comfortable topic with my parents. Not that it was comfortable with him, either, but it sure was thorough.

“Yes. He found me on the beach today. I was naked, but he was nice enough to give me clothes.”

Gramps coughed on a laugh and leveled a stare at me. “You brought home a naked stranger from the beach?”

I really didn’t know how to respond because that was exactly what I’d done, so I simply shrugged. Except Nemo wasn’t a stranger, not entirely, but there was no way to explain that.

My grandfather burst out laughing, shaking his head. “All right. Well, it’s good to see you’re alive. Just maybe tryto remember to at least send a text next time, so I don’t have to think about you lying dead somewhere.”

“I will. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you worry.”

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