Page 45 of Unmoored

For once, I don’t think the waves themselves are taking up all the space in his big, weird head.

Just as Zach’s elbow slams into my ribs, my jaw drops. I grunt and glare at him, and he points at Murph. Felix is giggling under his breath, and Carter clears his throat pointedly.

Even Kieran is smirking, arms folded as he watches Murph. “I know you’re not writing sonnets to the ocean, boyo,” he says at last. “Half of us have already met your boyfriend.”

The more he refuses to talk about Eden, the more I know we’re onto something. He’s never been like this before, and boy, does love look good on him.

“He’s not—” Murph lurches, a blush furiously racing up the back of his neck, right to the tips of his ears. “I mean?—”

Kieran crows triumphantly, and I join in the friendly laughter as Carter punches his shoulder.

“So? Who’s this guy? The other half of us need to know.” What I really want to know is who Murph’s typeis. I used to bet on a gnarly, bearded old skipper. But I’ve seen him around plenty of them and I’ve never seen a spark like this in his eye before.

“And they won’t trust the first half,” Alph grumbles a complaint.

I just snort at him and shrug. “I know how rumours are. I’d rather hear it from the horse’s mouth. Or the barge skipper’s mouth.”

“Now, now. I think the barge skipper’s had his mouth full lately,” Kieran interjects, and Murph turns a colour I’ve never seen him before as we all burst out laughing.

“Okay, but—” Murph interjects, waving for us all to quiet down. “You’re right. Rumours spread. You can’t call him that yet.” Then he hesitates, rubbing the back of his neck. “I mean, I haven’t asked.”

“Yet,” Ronan gasps, saying out loud the part that the rest of us are thinking.

“But you want to,” I grin. “Wow. Okay, who is this guy? For those of us who aren’t listening to the rumour mill?”

“Liar,” Carter mutters. “You listen as hard as the rest of us.” I can’t quite reach across to punch him from here, but I stick out my tongue and he does the same back to me, while Felix rolls his eyes.

Murph sighs. “He’s an artist. He just moved here from Vancouver. He’s, uh… he’s not a natural on the water, let’s put it that way.”

Alph coughs, sounding a little strangled, and the rest of us barely hide our snorts. The rest of us have heard the story—about Eden arriving on a floating pool toy, hoping to buy groceries for what was apparently a dinner date.

But nobody dares interrupt, because there’s something on Murph’s face that we haven’t quite seen before. He looks… spellbound. It’s enough to make me catch my breath, briefly forgetting how much I want to make the most of our rare opportunity to tease him.

“He’s smart, and self-deprecating. Real funny. Hard worker. Kind. Very kind. That’s important.” When Murph’s emotional, the words don’t come as easily. But he’s just glowing, plain as day.

And another singleton bites the dust.There’s a little lurch in my belly. I really am glad for all my friends who are finding happiness. But he has no way of knowing how much I’ve been feeling out of place lately—and how much I worry that I’ll be the last one left.

“And he likes the ocean?” Ronan prompts, grinning. “He also makes a good impression on local baristas.”

“Of course Jamie’s in on this gossip fest,” Murph snorts. “Yeah. He likes the ocean. He doesn’t know a lot about it… but he likes it. He just needs someone to keep an eye on him.”

“Tick,” Carter pretends to have a checklist in one hand, using the neck of his beer bottle to check off a box. “The most important tick, I think.”

The rest of us murmur our agreement. We made so much fun of Murph when we had to read The Old Man and the Sea way back in English class. But it’s true—Murph’s not quite himself on dry land. He was only ever going to fall for someone who likes being out on the water, at least some of the time.

“I’m glad you’re keeping an eye on him. He sounds great,” Ronan murmurs with a smile. Watching the way Murph perks up in response, with this proud look in his eye… it makes me grin even harder.

“Iheard he was pretty hot, too,” I pipe up with a smirk. “Worth keeping two eyes on.”

“Drew—”

“And maybe a ring.”

Murph huffs with irritation, looking like he wants to throw something at me. But despite it all, the look on his face is… oh, my god, it’s all soft and tender. He’s even got the tiniest hint of a smile on his lips.

“Ohhhh!” I crow triumphantly.

Murph snorts. “Keep that up and you’re buying the beer on Saturday.”

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