Tampa, Florida
Part 18
"Paul's waiting for you out back in the pool," my mom said, then went on to explain that Mark had ridden my BMX down to the Marina to check out a dude who'd phoned.
"Paul's here? Coolio. Thanks, mom."
I ditched my school bag in my room, stripped, then headed outside, where I was attacked by a mountain of flying wet black and white fur. I was gonna have to do something about Kyle's toenails 'cause I looked like a rearranged barber's pole by the time I arrived at the pool. "Down boy!"
Paul was also naked, but he wasn't swimming. He was sitting on the side of the pool, dangling his legs in the water, apparently deep in thought. "Hi, Daniel."
"Hey," I said as I sat beside him, close enough so that Kyle couldn't squat between us as he often did. That was the mutt's way of getting more attention. So he had to settle for sitting on my other side, where I draped an arm around him. "Howzit?"
"Cool. Mark and I had a chat on the way home."
"What about?"
"A bunch of stuff... you and me."
"Oh, yeah? So what did I miss?"
"I'm sorry for what I said the other day; about Cody being a corpse. That was cruel."
"Yeah, it was."
"I was jealous."
"And now?"
"Mark told me about what your mom said... that she sometimes thinks of your dad while she's with Andy."
"I'd be pissed if she didn't."
"Yeah, I understand that now. Mark told me that he thinks of Cody sometimes when he's with Candy."
"He thought of Cody last night when... uh..."
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Did you and Mark do something last night?"
"Kinda fooled around a bit. Listen, don't say a fucking word about that, OK? Anyway, it was only a BJ. Actually, he didn't blow me, so chill."
"I still think it's weird that people can't have just one special person, though."
"Everyone I know is special in his own way, Paul. There's only one you, y'know. For fuck sake, dude, it's not like you're in a competition or whatever. It's not like we're just two guys on a desert island here. Are you trying to tell me you don't have the hots for Dick or Jo or Steve or Benny or any of the other guys? Yeah, right. Hey, I've seen you in action, buddy. Heh. You're hornier than a fucking rhino. Besides, we're teens. Testosterone is in charge here. Instant boner at the sight of a hunk is something that comes with the territory."
"So how come you don't have a boner now?" he asked as he checked my semi.
"'Cause we're having a serious convo, man. What's the matter with you?"
"How come you never get jealous?"
"Jealousy's a fucking curse."
"Mark says it's 'cause you're like him... you love people but you're not in love with them."
"He said that about me?"
"Yeah. He said he thought he was in love with his girlfriend Carol, but when it came time to make a decision about leaving Cape Town for Joburg, he knew he wasn't in love. Not really. He said there's a big diff between loving someone and being in love. He understands that now."
"Must've been quite a serious chat you guys had."
"He's a serious guy when he wants to be, as well as totally cool."
"So you're not mad at me any more?"
"Let's just say that I understand our relationship better since talking to Mark. It ain't perfect, but, hey... what the heck."
"You got your schoolbag here?"
We spent the next hour or two in my room doing our homework. It was cool. I knew some stuff he didn't, and vice versa. But he couldn't stay for dinner. His mom had a thing about his being home on school weeknights. Anyway, we made a date for the following Friday when he would sleep over, and we would pitch the tent in the backyard like always.
Mark arrived home just before dinner at 7. As we ate, he was telling us about the dude he met at the marina. He had an 85' ketch, and Mark was really amped about the whole thing.
"An oldie but a goodie," he said. "Twin masts, four queen-size cabins with ensuite bathrooms, two singles, a huge salon, large galley... Whoa! This thing is a floating paradise. Everything that opens and shuts. Anyway, he wants me to help crew the thing for four weeks. We leave early Saturday morning; sailing down the coast to Florida Keys, then heading east to the Bahamas."
"Jeez, I get to pitch my tent in the damn backyard and you'll be sailing around the Bahamas?"
"Hey, Daniel," he laughed. "Sorry, pal. But there'll be ten paying passengers on board. The dude charters the thing, but supplies his own crew. So I'm afraid I can't invite you along. Maybe some other time, huh."
"No wonder you're hooked on sailing, Mark. Jeez, fancy getting paid to sail around the Bahamas. What a life!"
"Yeah. A dream come true. Anyway, this dude knows a lot of guys in the charter business, and if he's impressed with me, he says there'll be no shortage of work."
"You call that work?" Andy smiled.
"I know it sounds like it's too easy, but it's not really... not with ten passengers to look after. Busy, busy, busy."
"Who does the cooking?" my mom asked.
"Funny you should mention that, Nancy," he giggled. "The owner asked me if I could cook. I said yeah, sure I can. Me and my big mouth. I won't be doing the main meals, though. There's a chef on board, but the owner said I should help the chef in the galley when I can, and pick up a few extra skills. Hey, that's fine by me. I enjoy cooking. By the way, Nancy, you've excelled yourself again. This baked fish is superb. Shallots and ginger, right? Hmmm. And maybe a touch of soy sauce and sherry?"
"I'm gonna miss you big time," I interrupted. "It's so damn cool having you stay with us."
"I appreciate that, Daniel. I really do." Then he scanned all our faces while wearing a toothy grin. "You folks make me feel like I belong here. You remind me a lot of Cody's folks."
There was no way I could say anything at the table about the chat Mark had with Paul earlier that day, so I waited 'til Mark and I were alone in my room after watching a bit of TV with the folks.
"Thanks for talking to Paul this afternoon," I said as I dumped my shorts on the floor, then laid on my bed while he checked the comp for email.
"How come you don't watch TV naked?" he asked.
"I've got decorum. My mom says it's cool to be naked in the pool and the yard and sometimes in the house, but not at the dinner table or in the living room."
"Yeah, right. You've got about as much fucking decorum as your dog has."
"Do you really think I'm way too rad?" I had to ask the question twice 'cause he was reading an email.
"Huh? Yes and no. You wouldn't be Daniel if you weren't as crazy as you are. But I guess that's cool 'cause you have lots of friends, and your folks love you."
"Anyway, Paul told me some of the stuff you guys chatted about. Thanks for that. He's feeling better now. He's gonna sleep over Friday. We're gonna pitch the tent in the backyard. Hey, can I ask you something?"
"You will anyway."
"What do you do about sex while you're at sea?"
"Go figure."
"Jacking?"
"When you're at sea, bro, there's too much to do to worry about sex. Besides, being at sea is better than sex. It's a total rave. A total rush. Anyway, I usually manage to find a girl or two when we visit a port. Girls love sailors, y'know."
"I figure girls love you, period, Mark. Is it true about mermaids? That horny sailors in the old days got so fucking frustrated that they imagined those sea-cow thingies..."
"Dugongs."
"Yeah... were women?"
"Maybe. Mermaid mythology goes back to ancient times. The Babylonians worshipped a sea god called Oannes. They believed he taught them the arts and sciences. Some early depictions of mermaids showed the torso of a male and the tail of a fish. They were called a merman."
"Gay mermaids?"
"Trust you to think of that, you weirdo. Yeah... maybe, but without a dick. Or an ass for that matter. Anyway, it's all bullshit. Interesting bullshit, but bullshit. Sea lore is full of weird myths and legends."
"Do you believe any of that stuff?"
"It's not about believing, Daniel; it's about tradition. You don't just throw away thousands of years of myths and legends even if they are just superstition. They add color and character to sailing, and they give it a bit of mystery. Now, shuddup and let me answer my email."
Well, that was cool by me. I was content to lay there with my hands behind my head and just gawk at the dude while he was typing. You could gawk at that god for ages and not get tired of it. He couldn't move an inch without some muscle popping or twitching below his smooth, bronzed skin. Naturally, I was sporting a tummy-hugger, but what the hell. He was pretty cool about stuff like that. Well, most of the time.
It didn't take him long to finish answering his mail. I guessed he was a man of few words. "Can I use your chest expander for a while?"
"So long as I can stay here and watch."
"You're fucking impossible."
"And you're fucking awesome. Why don't you just admit it?"
"I don't understand guys like you and Cody and Steve," he said as he began to almost effortlessly stretch the springs. "I'm no more awesome than you are."
"Hah! So you are awesome! Gotcha!"
"I'm whatever you think I am, bro. You can be the judge."
"Paul told me you've never been in love," I said as I watched his chest and arm muscles begin to pump, and reveal his blue veins.
"Thought I was. But, no, I haven't. Don't breathe a fucking word of this to anyone, but I think I came closest to actually being in love when Cody and I became... well... close buddies."
"And you ran away?"
"Kind of. But there was more to it than that. I fell in love with the sea."
"You were in Joburg building a yacht. Not much sea around there. It's inland."
"True. But everytime I did anything with that yacht - sanded the timber, screwed a screw, polished a piece of brass - I thought about that beautiful thing skimming across the waves one day, white sails billowing in the wind. I could see it in my mind's eye, and I wanted to be there when it happened."
"Are you in love with Candy?"
"Nope. We're close. Very close. She's a fantastic lady. We enjoy each other's company. The sex is sensational. But, no, I'm not in love with her, and she's not in love with me."
"What do you think would have happened if Cody hadn't been killed?"
"No point in asking that question, bro. It's hypothetical."
"I'm surprised that Candy isn't in love with you. Jeez, bods like yours don't grow on fucking trees."
"People don't fall in love with bods, Daniel. They fall in love with your mind - your personality - your character."
"Is that why she's not in love with you?" I giggled.
"Fuck off, asshole."
"I wonder what it's like to be in love; to actually be content to hang with just one person."
"Don't ask me. My dad walked out when I was just a kid, so I grew up being cynical."
"You're not cynical now."
"It's like those sailing legends and mythologies I was telling you about. You can't just erase that kind of history like it never happened. Same with your own. Sure, meeting Cody changed me; changed my attitude in a lot of ways, but there's still a part of me that's suspicious, wary, guarded, unsure."
"Are you saying that you'll never be able to fall in love?"
"Who knows? Right now, my mistress is the sea. I love her. I love her because she's wild and dangerous. She's unpredictable. She puts you to the test. And if you're not careful, she'll destroy you. She has no pity. But when she's kind, she's beautiful; more beautiful than any person could ever be. She allows you to enjoy a special intimacy with her; her version of sex; riding the swell; rising and falling with the undulations; the bow penetrating the oncoming waves and shooting sheets of white spray to either side. She will have you experiencing the most incredible orgasms over and over and over again."
"Jeez! I've never thought about it like that! Awesome!"Copyright © 2003 All rights reserved. mrbstories
