Ocean Pulse Chapter 6

 

Chapter 6: Beneath the Surface

The Neptune Star continued its steady course across the open sea, the days blurring into each other as the crew fell into their routines. For Troy and Jules, those routines now included something else—something that neither of them had quite acknowledged but both felt growing between them. After long days of work, they would find themselves together, their conversations spilling into the late hours, tucked away in the quiet corners of their world at sea.

It often started innocently enough, a simple chat over dinner or a casual visit to each other’s cabins after a shift. But over time, the air between them had shifted. What began as friendly camaraderie had deepened into something unspoken yet undeniable. In the small space of their cabins, lit only by the dim glow of the ship’s lamps, they shared more than just stories.

Troy was seated on the edge of Jules’s bunk one evening, leaning back against the wall as they talked about home, about the families they had left behind. There was an ease in their conversations now, but beneath that ease, there was also tension. The kind of tension that came with every accidental touch, every glance that lingered just a second too long.

Jules leaned back in his chair, watching Troy as he spoke about his childhood in Negros, about the long, quiet afternoons spent by the sea, the warmth of his family. Jules listened intently, but his thoughts were scattered, lost somewhere between the words and the soft rise and fall of Troy’s voice.

“Sounds peaceful,” Jules said, his voice low.

Troy smiled, nodding. “It was. Sometimes I miss it, but out here… I don’t know. It feels like I’m meant to be here, like I needed to get away to really figure out who I am.”

Jules didn’t respond right away. His eyes drifted to the small gap between them, the space that seemed to shrink with every passing day. He could feel the pull, the invisible thread that had been tightening around them, bringing them closer, even when they tried to stay at arm’s length.

“You’re doing well, Troy,” Jules said finally, his voice soft. “You’ve handled the sea better than most. And more than that… I think you’re finding yourself out here.”

Troy’s gaze flickered toward him, and for a moment, the room felt too small, the space between them electric. “I’m not sure I would’ve made it this far without you,” Troy admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.

Jules’s heart tightened at the words. He had been wrestling with this feeling for days now, the growing connection between them that felt like more than friendship. There were moments—moments like this one—where he found himself on the edge of something dangerous, something that blurred the lines between duty and desire.

He was a sailor. There were rules. Boundaries. And yet, when he looked at Troy, those rules seemed harder to remember.

Their conversations had taken on a different weight, their silences filled with a tension that neither of them dared to name. The accidental brushes of their hands, the way their knees would touch when they sat close—all of it had become something they couldn’t ignore.

Jules shifted in his seat, his gaze dropping to his hands. He had always prided himself on his self-control, on his ability to keep his head down and do the job. But now, in the quiet of their shared space, he felt that control slipping.

“Jules?” Troy’s voice was soft, tentative.

Jules looked up, meeting his gaze. “Yeah?”

Troy hesitated, as if trying to find the right words. “Do you ever… do you ever feel like there’s more to this? More than just… the job, I mean.”

Jules’s breath caught. He knew what Troy was asking, even if he wasn’t saying it outright. He could feel the weight of it in the air, thick and heavy between them. His mind raced, caught between the pull of what he wanted and the knowledge of what he shouldn’t want.

“I think about a lot of things,” Jules finally replied, his voice rougher than he intended. “But out here, you have to be careful. Things get complicated.”

Troy nodded, understanding the unspoken warning. But even as he did, he couldn’t help but feel the pull between them, the connection that had been growing stronger with every late-night conversation, every glance that lingered just a little too long.

The air between them felt charged, like the moments before a storm. Neither of them moved, but both felt the shift, the slow unraveling of something they had both tried to keep hidden.

Jules wrestled with the conflict inside him, the struggle between what was expected of him and the undeniable attraction that had been building. It was a dangerous line to walk, and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold himself back.

But in that moment, as he looked at Troy, he knew that whatever was between them couldn’t stay hidden forever.