Disclaimer : I own nothing except my own fictional characters and receive no payments of any sort. This story is for simple entertainment and fun only.
One scene in this chapter will be similar to one in my last story so i hope you don't mind the repitition. Enjoy :)
"Unbelievable! Un-fucking-believable!" Edgar thought angrily as he pulled in the last pot of the string. The Northwestern landed on good numbers and would be headed in to St. Paul Island as soon as they sorted the crab from this last pot and set it back.
It had been a week since Natalia had been allowed to help sort the crab and with every passing day Edgar's feelings for her had grown as well as his anger and resentment.
"Typical Sig. I want to do things one way, he has to go ahead and do the exact opposite." Edgar thought as he set the pot back on the launcher and made his way over to the sorting table, standing on the opposite side of it from Natalia.
A few days before she'd been allowed to help sort the crab, Sig had pulled Edgar into the wheelhouse and asked him what he thought about Natalia sorting the catch. Since Edgar was her "mentor" he'd know better than anyone whether she was ready to take on added responsibilty or not. Egdar's automatic answer was to say yes she was ready, but he quickly stopped himself. The way he saw it, if he was going to avoid her, he didn't need her to be near him anymore than neccessary. Natalia was cosuming his thoughts more and more with every passing moment and his need for her sexually was becoming more than a little overbearing. Keeping her at the bait station far away from him was the best solution for them both. Best for him, because he could get over his growing attraction for Natalia and best for her, because she wouldn't find herself bent over the galley table, with him deep inside her. Atleast that's what he told himself.
So in the end, Edgar had told his brother that he didn't believe she was ready. Though Sig was skeptical of his brother's answer, he said he trusted his assessment and for the first few days after their little talk, Sig hadn't brought up Natalia's name again.
Edgar was in such high spirits, he had been laughing and joking around, getting back to his old self and for the first time he really thought this whole "crush" thing would fade. But as quickly as his elation had came, it left. Sig decided to ignore Edgar's wishes, overstep his boundaries and let Natalia sort crab. Edgar was so furious he almost thought he'd scream. He'd locked his gaze with Natalia's and all the walls he'd built up inside him were breaking down. One look from her and that's all it took.
It also didn't help when Junior decided to go over to her and give her some words of encouragement, as if she were "a damsel in distress". Who'd he think he was, her "knight in shining armor"? And then he had the nerve to hold her hand! Edgar temper flared and he was sure he'd lose it right then and there. It wasn't until Jake said "She's all yours Ed" that he'd finally been snapped out of his angry trance. Natalia came to stand by him ready to be given instruction and Edgar could see, even with the smile plastered on her face, that she was not too happy to be next to him. He wondered if she knew about his feelings for her and if she was disgusted by him. Did she think he was a dirty old man with a young woman as the object of his affections? After all he had known her since she was a child. Wasn't there some kind of rule against having feelings for girls you knew since before they had tits?
Edgar realized he'd been studying her just a moment too long and quickly handed her the measuring stick and went about giving her instructions, without any enthusiasm that he'd had just moments earlier. As the crew sorted the catch Natalia seemed deep in thought. "No doubt counting down the minutes till she can be as far away from me as possible." Edgar had thought bitterly. Every time she made a screw up he'd snapped on her. The crew was giving him funny looks and twice Nick had told him to "take it easy" which only angered him more. Edgar's suspicions that she didn't want to be near him had been confirmed as soon as Sig had called in the crew. Natalia all but ran into the wet room, stripped her gear in a haste, and locked herself into the bathroom for a shower. Edgar miserably made his way to their shared stateroom and dropped into his bunk, falling into a fitful sleep.
Now a week had passed and Edgar had come to face some hard truths within that time period. He wasn't just attracted to Natalia, he had genuine feelings for her. He loved her fighting spirit and the determined look she got in her eyes every time it seemed as if she were about to give up. He loved her smile and the way she laughed. He loved how her cheeks turned an adorable shade of red from the cold and the way her straight, black hair sometimes whipped across her face as they escaped from under her hoodie. She was smart, she was compassionate and she was understanding. She was tough, she was reliable, she was funny and she was everything Edgar could ever want and never have.
Edgar sighed heavily to himself as he glanced at Natalia standing at the other side of the sorting table. She was laughing at something Matt had said and she nearly took his breath away. She always looked her best when she laughed. Edgar was so transfixed on her face that he'd barely notice the pot, that was still on the launcher, shaking. Before he'd even had time to blink the pot had slipped from the launcher and was about crush Natalia to the table. Edgar didn't even have the time to issue a warning when another figure collided with Natalia's body and then fell to the floor, the pot missing them by a mere second. All was quiet and then suddenly noise erupted from every direction. Sig screaming through the loud hailer, the crew screaming, the cameramen screaming. And strangely enough, through all that chaos, laughter could be heard. Everyone rushed over to the heap of bodies on the floor and found Jake and Natalia laughing hysterically. Partly from nerves and partly from relief. Norman went to let Sig know that they were fine while the rest of the crew helped them up and checked to see if they were okay. Jake and Natalia assured them they were fine and soon the other guys were laughing along with them. Edgar, however, was frozen where he stood. He watched as the crew laughed and he couldn't see what was so funny. Was he the only one who had seen what just happened?
Edgar watched as Natalia smiled and hugged Jake with gratitude and relief. Jake was brushing it off, acting all humble and shit. Before he knew it, Natalia took Jake's face between both her hands and pulled him in for a kiss. The crew laughed, cheered and "woo-hooed" and Edgar's temperature flared. He was two seconds from getting ready to rip them apart when Sig's voice boomed over the loud hailer.
"I'm glad to see you two lovebirds are okay." he said, laughter and relief in his voice "Now let's set that last pot in the water, finish sorting the crab, and head to the Island for offload."
"Roger!" Everyone cried in unison, crew and cameramen. Everyone happily returned to their tasks at hand and soon went inside to relax and enjoy a dinner Matt had started cooking an hour before. It was all smiles and laughs with the Northwestern crew. Needless to say, Edgar had not joined in on the happy celebration. He went straight to his room and dropped into his bunk, more miserable than ever.
"Once again Junior's her knight in shining armor."