Husband With Benefits
Chapter 404: Fishing

Chapter 404: Fishing

"Uncle Ian! You’re not going to get any fish if you keep that up!" Caius called out in his young voice, a mix of amusement and concern as he observed Ian Frost goofing around with the bait on the hook instead of casting it into the water.

Seb, the resident fishing expert, couldn’t resist chiming in with a sly grin. "He doesn’t know how to catch fish, Caius. That’s why he’s goofing around. So that later, when he has to show off his catch, he can say he was busy entertaining us instead."

Caius giggled at the explanation as Uncle Ian playfully tossed the bait at Uncle Seb. "Ah hah! Just for this, I’ll make sushi tonight."

Caius wrinkled his nose at the thought of consuming raw fish, prompting Ian to cluck in mock disappointment.

"Oh, come on, Caius! Sushi is an art form. You’ll thank me when you’re older and have a sophisticated palate."

"And curse him in the morning when you have an upset stomach." Seb added wisely.

Caius burst into laughter at Seb’s remark, his eyes wide with the anticipation.

"Ah, Seb, always the voice of reason. But trust me, Caius, my sushi-making skills are legendary. You’ll be begging for more."

Seb shook his head with a grin. "Well, if the fish survive your ’legendary’ bait dance, we might have something to work with. I am not sacrificing any fish I catch to you sushi making altar."

" I don’t need your fish!" Ian, determined to prove his fishing prowess, finally cast the bait into the water with an exaggerated flourish. Caius, still giggling, watched the bait land with a splash.

"If the fish could talk, they’d be asking for refunds on that performance! Are you trying to lure the fish or warn them away?"

Just then, Seb felt a tug on his line and grinned," And, get ready, boys, we might be having a feast after all!"

Caius leaned in, eyes wide with curiosity. "What is it? What did you catch, Uncle Seb?"

Caius leaned forward, his eyes wide with anticipation. Ian, not missing a beat, nudged Caius conspiratorially, leaning over himself.

Seb began reeling in the line, the tension building. Suddenly, a loud splash disrupted the tranquility, and a burst of laughter echoed as Seb pulled out not a fish but an old sneaker, covered in mud and dripping water.

Caius burst into laughter, his small frame shaking with amusement. Ian seized the opportunity to tease Seb as he broke into laughter looking at the dangling mess and taunted," Guess, we won’t be getting any grilled fish tonight. Unless Seb, you’re planning to feed us grilled boots."

Seb shot Ian a mock glare and snapped back," Well, at least I got a shoe, lets’ see what you can get."

As Caius continued to laugh and rolled over, Seb winked at Ian who winked back. Their mission had been successful for now.

With the child’s laugter echoing on the large fishing boat, Gabe and Erasmi joined in curious about the reason for the hilarity. Spotting his father, Caius, still caught in fits of laughter, pointed at the muddy sneaker in Seb’s hands. "Uncle Seb just caught a new shoe for himself."

"He’s starting a new trend in fishing."

"Hey! Don’t look down on us. I was just unlucky for a moment. Erasmi, are there even any fish in this lake? Are you trying to fool us?" Seb accused.

Before Erasmi could say more, Caius jumped to his father’s defence," Uncle Seb! You’re being a fox! Just because you couldn’t catch fish, you’re saying there are no fish here. Last time, dad and I came here to fish! He caught three wishes in an evening! We had a feast! Tell him, dad!"

"I don’t believe hearsay, kiddo! Come on ’dad’, show us." Seb passed the rod to Erasmi who had frozen with a wink.

Unexpectedly, Caius had addressed Erasmi as ’dad’ for the first time. And it seemed so natural from him. Even though Erasmi had been fine taking his time and building the relationship with the kid, he’d never really expected to be addressed as dad. He’d tried to tell himself that it was alright but only now, could he accept that it probably hadn’t been all well with him.

Gabe grinned and understanding the situation, nudged Ian," You go and do the vegetable cutting, you inexperienced peasant. Let me show Caius, how to catch fish. Come on Caius, I can bet that I’ll catch at least four fish tonight. Break your dad’s record."

Competitive, Caius shook his head," You’re on, Uncle Gabe. But I can promise you that you will lose the bet. Dad is the best at fishing!"

Gabe chuckled and challeneged," Oh really? Erasmi, youve been showing off in front of your kiddo? Let’s see who the true fishing champion is."

Caius jumped up, pumping his fist into the air," Yes! Go dad. You’ll definitely win."

Erasmi rolled his eyes, having caught his emotions in check, and challenged," Gabe, let me remind you that I am the oldest of all. I will definitely win."

"Ha! We’ll see about that, you old man."

Soon, the entire side had turned lively as the four brothers bantered and competed, with laughter and the occasional cheer as a fish was caught breaking the peaceful ambiance.

Demetri shook his head and lay down to stare at the sky, enjoying the sounds of laughter as well as the peace of the day. Lucien, on the other hand, who was lying next to him, could only sigh as he spoke up softly" Demon."

"Hmm? You’re ready to talk about the reason for your self-torture these past few days?"

Lucien chuckled. Could he hide nothing from his brothers?

"Maybe. I’m not too sure what to say..."

"We’re in the middle of a lake, and not going anywhere. Take your time, Lucy..."

"What if someday you had to be away from Nora for a long time, and during that time, she was attracted to someone else... What would you do?"

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺