Zero F*cks: a standalone novel

by LK Collins

  “Good. They fucking deserve it. They abandoned us.”

  I still can’t believe that Luke and Guy actually left us. Our number one rule in the Coast Guard is to look after your team.

  Reaching down, he unzips my vest and says, “Let’s get you out of these clothes.” I agree and let Nixon help me stand so he can undress me. I’m wobbly as he takes all of my layers off and once he finally puts the robe from behind the door on me he says, “Why don’t you lie down?” And I couldn’t want it more.

  “How are you so steady?” I ask.

  “I’m a SEAL, babe, I lived in and on the water for four years.”

  He takes an extra blanket out of the closet and wraps me in it. He strips naked and wraps a towel around his waist. Then pulls the covers back and lies down himself. Just then there is a knock on the door and he answers it. Tama has a huge tray of food and sets it on the bed in front of me. “We stay in room two, if you need anything.”

  “Okay, thank you very much,” I tell her.

  She leaves and I grab something fried off the plate shoving it into my mouth.

  Nixon smiles, watching me eat it, then does the same. “Are those conch fritters?”

  “I don’t know, but they’re so good.”

  We eat in silence, not really saying much. My mind is racing so fast, I couldn’t make a coherent statement if I tried. After everything that we went through today, from almost dying to now being secluded and stranded on a tropical island, I can’t help but feel there is someone or something behind all of this.

  Chapter 34

  Nixon

  The sun is barely lighting the morning sky and I find myself watching Cameron, feeling grateful that we’re here together. I’ve never been more pleased with a rash decision in my life.

  She’s so calm and gorgeous. All I want to do is make her happy. She passed out hard after a bath last night.

  Thinking back on things, I didn’t question jumping for one second. Hell…I didn’t even think about it, my body just did it, the magnet of our connection always keeping us close. There’s a light knock on the door, and I get up, wrapping a towel back around my waist. When I open it, there is no one outside, I look in either direction, but don’t see anyone. Then on the ground, I spot some clothes and a note, Breakfast begins at 7:00am. We can take the boat at 9:00am.

  Bringing in the clothes, the sound of the door closing wakes Cam and I feel bad. “Sorry, baby,” I tell her.

  “It’s okay. Everything all right?”

  “Yeah, Tama must’ve dropped off some clothes.”

  She smiles and lifts the covers. I climb back in, getting close to her, nose to nose, and she says to me, “Please tell me everything that happened yesterday was a dream.”

  I smirk and play along with her, “Sure…it was all a dream, baby. Don’t you remember we got married and are on our honeymoon?”

  She grins happily and kisses me. “I like the sound of that.” Then she pulls me on top of her. My cock is hard and my breathing is rough, wanting her, then she urges me on, and I push myself inside of her tight little cunt. Grunting as I cup her face, I pump my hips.

  “Mmmhhh,” she moans, spreading her legs wide, and in this instant, I let all the worry, regrets, and what-ifs go, living in the moment, the way she and I decided when I first came back.

  Her pussy is tight and she holds my dick hard with every push and pull. My lips move to her neck where I get carried away sucking on her. “Oh fuck,” she whines, and I cover her mouth with my hand, assuming the walls to this place are paper-thin.

  Leaning up as I fuck her and try to keep her and the bed quiet, I take in her beauty, loving how her body tenses as she orgasms and how right everything feels. Then I let go, coming hard, milking every bit of myself inside her. She looks back at me unsure and says to me, “I didn’t take my birth control last night.”

  “Okay,” I respond coolly, her words not bothering me in the slightest. The truth is, I want everything that there is and more with her, and only her…she is my forever.

  “Does it bother you?” she asks me.

  “No…not at all.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. Cam…you…you’re my future. With you by my side, everything is right, and if that means we’re meant to have kids, then so be it, baby.”

  She kisses my lips and then I pull out of her. Looking through the clothes that Tama brought, I slide on the board shorts and t-shirt that are a little small, and Cam slips on the dress. “You feeling okay?” I ask her as she stands.

  “Yeah, way better.”

  “Good.”

  After breakfast, we wander around this amazing place and find a hammock hidden beneath some banana trees.

  “Let’s lie down.” I slide in and she nestles in against my chest. The heat of the day is perfect, the birds are chirping.

  “It’s beautiful here.”

  “It is. I could live here,” I tell her.

  “Me too. What if we stayed here and didn’t go back to Florida?”

  “What do you mean?” I ask, perplexed by her question.

  “What if we both quit the Coast Guard jobs and lived here? I have almost a hundred grand saved up that I was gonna use to buy a house. We could start a life down here with it.”

  “Would you really want to?”

  “Nixon, what I know is, when you left me all those years ago, I was heartbroken and never thought I’d see you again, or get a second chance. Then God brought you back into my life. Now…after losing my brother and us almost dying yesterday, then winding up in this beautiful place, I can’t help but think that it’s gotta do with fate. Why would we leave here? We ended up here, together, for a reason. ”

  I think about her words and I agree with her. She is right on so many levels that it’s scary. But…up and leaving our lives in Florida to live in the Bahamas, is that even crazier?

  “How would it even work?” I ask her.

  “One day at a time, baby…” she says to me. Our motto…it’s worked thus far. Which is what I was thinking this morning. The way we think alike, it’s something else. Looking out at the vast views. I imagine having every single waking moment together, and that…that feels so right.

  Epilogue

  Cameron

  1 year later

  Staring at a picture of Nixon and me with Guy and Luke, I miss them, but I also know in life the hardest decisions don’t come easy.

  They tried to come back for us, but the storm was too strong. They would’ve died, and had that happened, I don’t know how I could’ve lived with myself.

  I only have one regret in life and that’s not being able to share all of this with Conner. But…that’s also one of the reasons why I followed my gut when we ended up here. I truly believe it happened for a reason and that this is where Nixon and I are meant to be.

  When Nixon came back into my life he was in a rough place and gave zero f*cks about where his life was going. He’d given up on any chances of saving who he used to be. But as time passed, the old Nixon that I'd always known and loved crept back to the surface.

  There’s no rulebook to life, or right or wrong way to do things. Your life is as you create it, and the decisions that you make throughout it.

  Let me show you what Nixon and I chose…

  “Did you feed the chickens today?” I ask Nixon and he shakes his head as he chops down a stalk of bananas. They come flying towards his head and he swiftly catches them. Grabbing the bag of feed, I sprinkle it on the ground, my wedding ring glimmering in the setting sunlight. The chickens surround me as I look out at the water, seeing if I can spot my parents yet. They should be here any minute, and I feel like I haven’t seen them in ages.

  “I got the bananas. Do you want anything else?”

  “Can you pick some lemons? I want to make lemonade for my dad.”

  “Sure, babe.” He swats my ass with the end of his machete and I jump, laughing. Living here with him r
eally is a dream come true. Each day is a new adventure.

  As scary as it was to say goodbye and leave the only place that I’ve ever called home, I knew it was the right decision.

  “Hello, Mrs. Cameron,” Beni says, bringing over fresh fish, which he caught today, and I think it’s the last of what we need before my parents get here.

  “Hi Beni, what did you get?” I kiss his cheek and he sticks it in our freezer. “Mahi, cobia, and red snapper.”

  “Nice, thank you.”

  “Where’s Nixon?”

  “Picking lemons.”

  Beni and I walk around the property to find Nixon plucking off all the perfectly ripe lemons from the top of the tree. “Hey, bro,” the guys shake hands and Beni starts to help. Then I look out at the water and spot them. “They’re here,” I shout.

  Nixon and Beni stop picking and we head down to the dock. Nixon holds my hand and steadies me on the way. As their huge sailboat pulls up to our dock, my dad tosses a line to Beni, who ties it securely, and I can see the tears of joy in my dad’s eyes as he looks at me. My mom is already crying as she rushes off the boat and grabs me by the cheeks. “Cameron, you look stunning.”

  I smile, embracing her, having missed my mom’s arms around me more than I could imagine. “And huge,” I tell her.

  She rubs my round stomach and says, “That’s nonsense. You are beautiful. Are you sure there’s not two babies in there, though?”

  “I’m sure, Mom. Daddy!” I exclaim after Nixon, Beni, and him all greet and he holds me tightly. “How are you, baby girl?” he asks me.

  “I’m great.”

  “It’s amazing here!” my mom says.

  “We’re very lucky to live here and thankful to Beni and his wife for everything.”

  Beni smiles and says, “We found ya for a reason. Mr. and Mrs. Hollis, it was a pleasure.”

  My parents smile at him and my dad shakes his hand saying, “Thank you for saving my little girl’s life.”

  He nods and then heads up to his place, which is down the road from ours. When we told Beni that we were interested in moving here, he said he had some land he could sell us. After the guys busted their ass fixing up the little house on it, here we are.

  Walking up to our tiny little beachfront bungalow, my mom exclaims, “It’s perfect!” and we head inside.

  “It’s not your traditional home.”

  “And you think our boat is?” my mom asks.

  I show my parents around and they love our home and as the four of us stroll to the edge of our property, my dad asks me, “Is that it?”

  I nod, tears pricking my eyes as he and my mom walk ahead of Nixon and me hand in hand, to a bench we built for Conner out of one of his surfboards. My parents observe it, like it’s him, and in a way, it is. Sitting on that bench is where I feel closest to him. Nixon wipes my tears away, and I look up into his loving eyes.

  “Don’t cry, baby.” He leans down kissing me tenderly, always knowing how to help me. As his free hand is resting on my stomach our baby kicks right where his hand is. He pulls away and says, “Really?”

  “I think she’s feisty today.”

  “Just like her mom,” he says and I glance at my parents who are both sitting on the bench looking out at the vast view.

  “Thank you for all of this,” I tell him, knowing how hard he’s worked to not only get everything ready for my parents to come visit—building the bench being one of the many things he’s done—but also to make this dream of mine come true.

  Thinking back on everything we’ve been through, I never thought I’d say this, but I wouldn’t change a thing about the past. Because if I did, it could risk the course of how things turned out.

  Deep down, I always knew Nixon and I would end up together, it was just a fight to get here, a fight well worth it and now we’re living each day to the fullest.

  Acknowledgements

  Mr. Prezident, you are the world’s best husband. Thank you for being my partner through it all. These stories would not be what they are without you, Zero F*cks included. Thank you for always loving me, even during my ditzy moments, guiding me, and never going easy on me. I love you, babe.

  Lisa, I’ve told you before and I’ll say it again, you are a remarkable editor. I can especially see it in the way this story turned out. Thank you for pushing me to be a better writer and always supporting me and working so hard to make these stories the best they can be.

  Leticia and Janice, thank you for always having my back and helping me under my crazy time constraints, this one especially. You perfect these books and are the best team of proofreaders I could ask for.

  Crystal, you are such an awesome PA and a true gift from God. I love all that you do and want you to know how thankful I am for everything; I’m so blessed to work with you.

  To my ARC team, crazies, and pimpettes, each and every single one of you makes a difference in what I do and are all so instrumental in the success of each one of my books. Thank you for your undying support. It means the world to me.

  Last, but not least, the readers, reviewers, and bloggers. I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for reading Zero F*cks. I hope you loved Nixon and Cameron’s story as much as I loved writing it. Be sure to check out my other books here www.amazon.com/author/lkcollins and for my upcoming releases, head over to my website www.authorlkcollins.com.