Four Weeks Later…

Crystal smiled as she woke up and rolled over, her eyes landing on Edgar's sleeping form in the early morning light. The past few weeks had been a blur of happiness and excitement as she and Edgar slowly grew closer and closer together. They both knew that first night she stayed at his apartment that there was no way that either one of them would sleep on the couch. They couldn't stay away from each other…she'd slept in his bed with him every night and loved every minute of it.

Just then, Edgar's phone went off, startling both of them. Edgar groaned as he rolled over and grabbed his cellphone off of the little stand next to his bed.

"I'll kill Sig," he muttered before he answered the phone.

Crystal froze at the mention of Sig Hansen. She hadn't spoken to or heard from the captain since they'd left the dock about a month ago. Edgar had never brought him up in conversation…clearly the two brothers weren't close and as far as Crystal could tell, neither of them really liked each other all that much to begin with…which worked out just fine for her as far as she was concerned.

"Yeah, sure….okay…we'll be there….yeah…thanks," said Edgar as he ended the call.

"What was that all about?" asked Crystal, keeping her voice neutral and trying to sound uninterested in the conversation. Inside however, she was dying to know what Sig had told Edgar.

Edgar gave her a confused look, "No idea…but he wants us both to join him and June for dinner tonight at his place."

Crystal gave Edgar a startled look, "What? Why?"

Edgar shrugged, "I have no idea. My brother never invites me over…ever. Maybe he's just happy I've got someone finally? I don't know. Anyway, he wants us there at six if that's okay with you."

Crystal swallowed nervously, suddenly feeling queasy, "Um…yeah, yeah that's fine," she said as she felt her world begin to spin out of control. What if Sig said something at dinner? Would he hint at what had happened between them? What would she do if he flat out told everyone what they had done? The very thought made her want to throw up right then and there. Tonight could ruin everything…absolutely everything…

…

Edgar rang the doorbell on the rather large, elegant house right by the ocean. Crystal shifted uneasily as they waited for someone to answer. She wore her little black dress with matching kitten heels and had done her hair and makeup for the occasion. Knowing Sig she figured this would be more of a formal dinner. He never did anything halfway. Edgar wore a black, button-up oxford shirt and designer jeans which, in Crystal's opinion, made him look sexier than she thought possible.

"Hello! Welcome!" exclaimed June as she threw open the door.

Crystal put on her best fake smile and tried to act calm and happy as she gave June a hug and followed Edgar into the rather exquisite dining room. Sig was placing some platters onto the table as they walked in. He glanced up and froze when his eyes met Crystal's. He glanced at her from head to toe and Crystal shivered slightly under his admiring glance, praying that Edgar wouldn't notice.

"Hey big bro," said Edgar coolly as he walked over and gave Sig a hug, "Thanks for the invite."

"Hey, no problem," said Sig, smiling calmly and moving with ease as he set up the table, "Figured this would be nice…get both couples together for a nice dinner shortly before the Opillio season begins."

Edgar nodded, "Yeah I'm all for it…your wife is one hell of a cook."

June beamed happily at that, "Aw you're just being nice," she said as she whisked away into the kitchen to finish her last dish.

"How are you doing Crystal?" asked Sig as his clear blue eyes met hers.

Crystal swallowed anxiously, surprised at being addressed so directly by Sig for the first time in weeks.

"I'm doing very well," she said with a forced smile, "Edgar and I've had an amazing last few weeks, haven't we?" she added, pointedly reminding Sig that she was with Edgar now and that their fling was over.

Sig tensed up visibly at that but forced himself to relax as Edgar replied.

Edgar gave a sheepish grin, "Best few weeks of my life," he said in agreement.

"Okay! We're ready!" said June as she bustled back into the dining room with the last dish, "Everyone take a seat, make yourselves at home and enjoy!"

Crystal sat down next to Edgar at what she was convinced would be the longest, most awkward dinner of her entire life…

…

"So how long have you two been together…officially that is?" asked Sig after a few moments.

Crystal nearly choked on her wine. Even though the question wasn't directed at her, she wasn't expecting Sig to start digging into her and Edgar's relationship so early into the evening.

"Well…we all know about the night at the bar," said Edgar, grinning devilishly, "I'd say we started right after we got off the boat pretty much. We got close fast."

Edgar reached over for Crystal's hand as she gave him an encouraging smile. Inside, however, Crystal wanted to run away from this whole dinner thing. This was a mistake…she could feel it. It was going to get worse.

"Wow, you two move fast," said Sig, his eyes darting over to Crystal and giving her a hard glare.

Crystal gritted her teeth and looked away.

"Sometimes you just know," said Edgar calmly, "And with Crystal…I just knew she was the one. So yeah I guess to everyone else it may have seemed fast but to us…it was just perfect."

Crystal nodded in agreement, "I've never felt like anything in my life was as right as this is. It really is about as perfect as it can get."

Sig gripped his fork and stabbed at his steak as if he were trying to kill the animal all over again. It made Crystal wince a little and bite her lower lip nervously.

"That's…great," said Sig, forcing himself to smile.

"It's wonderful!" gushed June, "You two look good together. I'm so happy for you both!"

"Thank you, June," said Edgar as he gave her a smile and cast a hard, warning glare in Sig's direction. He couldn't figure out why his brother was so infatuated with his relationship with Crystal. It was getting rather annoying.

As the evening wore on, the dinner began to smooth out as the two couples discussed fishing, life, interests, hobbies and ended on sharing some funny stories about things that had happened recently in their lives. After a while, Edgar stretched and stood up from the table.

"Well thank you June for the wonderful dinner and thank you Sig for the invite," he said as Crystal stood up next to him, "But I think it's about time we head back. We gotta catch up on sleep before we head out for Opillio it two days."

June nodded in agreement, "Ah, yes you all need to go get some good rest before the season begins."

"I'll walk them to the door," said Sig as he stood up and led Edgar and Crystal out of the dining room.

Sig opened the door for them and as they began to slip outside, he grabbed Crystal's arm. Her eyes flew open in panic as she glanced up at him. She thought that the worst was over…that they'd bypassed the incredible awkwardness and managed to move on, but it didn't look like Sig was done with her just yet. He slipped a note into her hand and gave her a wink as he began to close the door behind her.

"Have a good night you two!" he called out as Crystal tried to regain her composure for Edgar.

Crystal waited until she and Edgar got back to the apartment to read the note. She excused herself to the bathroom and sat down on the floor as she unfolded the scrap of paper and read its contents:

I can't stop thinking about you. I know you are with Edgar now but I want to see you one more time. One more time and I'll leave you alone. Please. Meet me at the hotel near the dock tomorrow at 8. Edgar has to meet up with Jake then anyway. They have plans to hang out tomorrow night. See you soon beautiful.

Crystal ripped the note up into a thousand little pieces and then flushed it down the toilet. She put her head in her hands and shook it in disbelief. What the hell was Sig getting at? He wanted to see her one last time? As if that would be enough…the way he looked at her, she knew he wanted her badly. But maybe…maybe if she did this then this really would be over. Satisfy Sig one more time and maybe he'd let her go. Maybe then things could return to normal. With a sigh Crystal knew she really didn't have that much of a choice. If she said no she knew Sig would find a way to get to her when they were on the boat and that would risk her getting caught by one of the other deckhands or worse, Edgar himself. This was easier…less messy…if there was such a thing as "less messy" in this whole situation.

"Fine Sig," she muttered to herself, "You win…one last time…"

…

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