The First Step, page 8
“Got your errands done?” Reed climbed into the truck and put on his seat belt. He rubbed Leila’s head again.
Justin glanced at the cooler in the back of the truck. “Yep.”
“Where’re we sailing to?” Reed asked as they headed out of town.
“Back to Carolina Beach. From there we can play it by ear. If we catch the tides right, we could anchor near Mason Island and take Leila for a walk on the beach.” He cocked an eyebrow and added, “I’ve got plenty of sunblock and hats aboard. You think you’ll need a tether this time?”
Reed laughed. “I promise to stay inside the boat this time. No swimming.”
“Works for me.”
“I’ll probably need you to drive me back here and pick up my truck,” Justin told Reed forty minutes later as they drove into the large parking lot near the marina.
“So that’s why you wanted to hold my car hostage,” Reed teased. “Who knew you were so devious?”
Justin parked the truck and Reed got out, Leila chasing him around before darting off toward the docks. She ran down one of the docks, then back again, then down another.
“She okay like that?” Reed asked.
“She always knows where to go. See?” He pointed to his boat, where Leila was sitting patiently, waiting for him to pull the lines tight so she could jump aboard.
“How does she know it’s your boat?”
Justin shrugged. “I’m not sure. I guess by smell.”
“I never asked you before. What’s her name?”
“The First Step.”
“Great name.” Reed smiled. “So what does it feel like, stepping out over the water and catching that ladder?”
Justin swallowed hard. There were other interpretations, of course, but that was the one he’d had in mind when he’d named her. “It’s terrifying. And it’s the coolest feeling.” Once again words failed him.
Reed nodded, then seemed to hesitate as if he wanted to ask more on the topic. Instead he said brightly, “So do I get the tour? It’s not like I saw much the other day.”
“The cheap tour or the expensive one?”
“Expensive. I’ve got an expense account.” Reed winked.
Justin laughed. “Hope you can pay the price.”
“Damn straight I can.” Reed held his gaze briefly, then grabbed the cooler and walked toward the boat.
Justin scooped up the rest of the gear and followed, admiring the way Reed’s shorts fit his lean body and emphasized his perfect ass.
They set everything down on the dock, and Justin tightened the lines to bring the boat closer. The instant he finished, Leila hopped onto the boat and ran to the foredeck, tail spinning like a helicopter. “I’ll get on board first and you can hand me the stuff.”
“Sure.”
Five minutes later Justin unlocked the door and they headed down the steps to the salon. He opened a few of the hatches to cool the boat off and glanced back to see Reed running his hand lovingly over the mahogany wood countertop.
“She’s beautiful,” Reed said with a sigh. “And big.”
“Three cabins. The master cabin is forward.” He opened the door onto the master cabin.
Reed’s lips parted as he looked around. “Wow. I only sailed little boats when I was a kid. I’ve never been on anything bigger than twenty-five feet.”
“It’s nice having space to breathe.” Justin pointed to the head and smirked. “But the separate shower stall sold me.”
“Your bullshitting me again, aren’t you?”
Justin shrugged. “You won’t know until you try it.”
“I may just have to do that.” Reed leaned in, pinning Justin against the sink.
Justin tried to focus on something other than how good Reed smelled… and how close his thigh was to his— “Captain says we need to get the booze in the fridge and the boat ready to leave. Or do I need to hire a new first mate?”
“Depends.” Reed leaned in and kissed Justin.
“God, that makes me want to spend the day in the slip.” He sighed theatrically.
“Nope.” Reed grinned and stepped back into the salon. “Today, we’re sailing. Later…. We can deal with later later.”
“You’re really a writer?” Justin teased.
“So they tell me.”
Justin hoped that later they might make good use of the berth. For now, though, he was happy just to be spending time with Reed. Even better? Reed hadn’t been asking him questions. He liked things this way, and Reed didn’t seem to mind.
Chapter Fourteen
“ALL CLEAR,” Reed shouted from the foredeck as he pulled the running line aboard. Justin steered the boat out of the slip, and a few minutes later they were sailing down the Intracoastal Waterway toward Wrightsville Beach. Reed took a moment to inhale the salty air and let the sun dance over his face before joining Justin in the cockpit.
“Here.” Justin handed Reed a tube of sunscreen.
“Thanks.” Reed slathered his face, neck, and arms.
“Hats are in the lazarette.”
“The what?”
“The storage compartment under your very fine ass.” Justin glanced sideways and Reed rolled his eyes.
“At least you recognize my inherent greatness.” He stood and opened the compartment to find a plastic bin labeled “hats/gloves,” making sure Justin got the best possible view before rooting around and pulling out a Carolina Panthers cap.
“Good choice.”
“The John Deere hat was a close second.” Reed put the hat on.
“I do not have a John Deere hat.”
“I had one as a kid,” Reed admitted. “I used to ride shotgun on my dad’s ride-on mower.”
“That’s the difference between mountain folk and coastal folk.” Justin waved at a powerboat headed the opposite direction.
“Mountain folk have more class.”
“How about getting your classy self downstairs and pulling a few sodas out of the fridge?” Justin leaned back against the railing and pushed his sunglasses up. He looked good enough to eat, the way his white polo made his tan skin look even darker in the sunlight.
“No beer?” Reed asked.
“Not while I’m driving.” About this, Justin was absolutely serious. “But help yourself if you’d like.”
“Nah.” If something was going to happen between them today, Reed wanted it to be on his own terms, without the alcohol running the show.
Inside the boat, Leila was sound asleep on one of the benches. The boat really was beautiful, with its soft leather benches and beautiful wood accents. Justin kept her immaculate, down to the shine on the wood and the neatly stacked dishes and perfectly lined-up glasses above the stove, held in place by rails on the edges of the shelves to keep things from tumbling out in rough seas. The door to the master cabin was latched open, and Reed found himself daydreaming about what it might be like to sleep—or not—on the V-shaped bed. He hadn’t had this much fun on a date in years.
Date? This really was a date, wasn’t it? They were both single. Justin was hot as hell. Reed really liked the guy. He was sure the feeling was mutual. So why had he slowed things down the night before?
Whatever this is, it’s going to end in three days. That was a good thing, wasn’t it? A finite end made things easier.
Fuck. I’m being an idiot.
“Reed?” Justin called down the steps. “You okay down there?”
“No worries. I was just drooling over the setup again.” He grabbed a few sodas out of the fridge and joined Justin on the bench behind the wheel.
“Thanks.” Justin popped the top of his drink and took a good swallow. “You ready for the float plan?”
“We have a float plan?”
Justin tapped his temple. “When I’m off duty, I usually play it by ear. I mean, I check the tide charts so I don’t end up fighting it through the inlet, but a lot of it just depends on the wind and the waves.”
“So what you got planned for us?”
“I thought we’d sail out the Cape Fear Inlet and north to Mason Island. We’ve got twelve knots out of the southwest, so it should be a good ride.” Justin steered the boat through channel, and they raised the sails as soon as they passed the final buoy. He shut the engine off, and the ocean lapped against the hull as the boat cut through the waves.
Reed sighed. “This is really nice. Definitely better than floating out to sea.”
“Yep.” Justin’s gentle chuckle reminded Reed of the warmth of the sun on his shoulders.
“You come out here often?”
“Any chance I get.” Justin glanced up at the sails and adjusted the wheel to the right.
The slight movement of the mainsail ceased and the fabric smoothed. Reed knew enough about sailing to appreciate just how well Justin controlled the boat, correcting in tiny increments to keep the sails full. Justin must have noticed him watching, because he asked, “Would you like to steer?”
Reed swallowed hard. “Are you sure?”
Justin scooted over. “Absolutely sure. It’s not like you can hit anything out here. You know the basics, right?”
Reed nodded and put his hands on the wheel. “Keep her pointing so that the sails don’t luff?”
“Yep. We can keep sailing on this tack until we’re ready to head back through the inlet, so that’s really all there is.” He put his hand reassuringly over Reed’s, causing Reed to momentarily lose his focus.
“Shit.” Reed adjusted the helm but overcompensated.
“Patience,” Justin said. “It takes the boat a couple of seconds to finish making the correction.”
“Got it.” Reed eased the wheel back a little and felt the boat pull against the wind, a familiar sensation he remembered from sailing as a kid. He laughed and glanced over at Justin, who beamed back at him.
“How many summers did you sail?”
“Two,” Reed replied. “Of course, the boats were a lot smaller than this one. So was my dad’s.”
“Once you understand the basics, the feel’s the same, big or small.” Justin watched him for a few minutes, then added, “You’re doing great.”
“Thanks.” He hadn’t expected Justin’s praise to feel so good. I didn’t expect any of this. He knew he needed to get back to interviewing Justin at some point, but he was having way too much fun to dampen the mood with lots of questions.
A comfortable silence settled between them as they sailed. The day was perfect, and the feel of the sleek boat under Reed’s hands made him remember what he’d felt like when he was a kid sailing with his dad. Good memories. Things had been simpler then, before he’d gone to middle school and stopped fitting in. The little kid in him wished his father could see him now. The adult in him wished his father was sitting in the cockpit with them, enjoying the ocean and the bright blue sky above.
“Thanks for inviting me,” Reed said after a while. “I’d forgotten how great it feels to sail. Last time I was on the water other than taking photos this past week was taking the Staten Island Ferry to some political rally.”
“Not exactly the same, is it?”
“Not exactly. Don’t get me wrong, I love New York Harbor on a sunny day.” He just didn’t have the time to enjoy it.
“One of these days I’m going to sail up to New York Harbor,” Justin said. “Take a few months off and head north.”
“Sounds amazing.” Reed imagined what it might be like to live aboard a boat for months at a time. The First Step wasn’t that much smaller than his apartment in Midtown.
Justin stretched his arms over his head and yawned.
“Tired?”
Justin shrugged. “I had a tough time getting to sleep last night.”
“At least I wasn’t the only one.” If you only knew. Justin had featured prominently in his dreams, and it made for a very long night of tossing and turning.
“We’ll nap on the beach after lunch.” Justin took a sip from his soda and looked over his sunglasses at something in the distance.
“What do you see?”
Justin put a hand on the wheel. “Go look for yourself. Starboard, about two o’clock.” He gestured to the life vest belt pack Reed had been wearing earlier. “You’ll see better on the foredeck.”
“Okay.” Reed snapped the pack on and walked along the lifelines to the bow. He saw them a moment later—a pod of dolphins swimming a few hundred feet off the right side of the boat. One of the animals jumped out of the water and dove back down, showing its tail flukes. Reed gasped in happy surprise.
“Bottlenose dolphins,” Justin said from beside him.
Reed stared at him in surprise. “Who’s…?”
“Autopilot.” Justin showed Reed a small electronic device. “I rigged this baby so I could sit on the foredeck and steer. Came in handy the other day when I was fishing you out.”
“This is much more fun.” Reed nearly clapped with excitement as several dolphins began to swim alongside.
“If you head out to the Gulf Stream,” Justin said, “you’ll see spotted dolphins too.”
“Do you ever see whales out here?”
“Yep. Never seen one on this boat, though. We usually see them come November, but I had to steer around one last week near the Cape Fear Inlet.”
Reed wished he could have seen that too. “I’m jealous.”
“I have the best job.”
Reed had to force himself not to reach for his notebook—he didn’t want to give Justin an excuse to shut down again. Besides, this was a quote he’d remember without having to write it down.
Chapter Fifteen
LEILA BARKED and ran into the water as Justin and Reed ate a late lunch on the beach. Justin set a large bowl of water out for her, and every so often she’d make her way back to them and drink.
“This is my favorite time of year,” Justin said as he unwrapped his sandwich. “It’s still warm, but the beach is nearly empty during the week.” It hadn’t escaped him that he’d been far more willing to talk to Reed than before. He felt comfortable, and Reed hadn’t pushed things. They hadn’t talked about his work except when he’d been the one who’d brought it up. Even then Reed hadn’t pressed him with follow-up questions. He’d simply listened. And that felt good.
“Thanks for letting me help out on the boat.” Reed still seemed to bask in the glow of the sail, which made Justin feel even better.
“You’re a natural.”
“I guess the time I spent as a kid paid off.” Reed appeared slightly embarrassed, judging by the hint of pink on his cheeks.
“I’m sure that helps, but it’s more than that.” He didn’t add that he saw it in how Reed responded to the boat or how his body moved with the waves. He’d been around the water long enough to notice these things, and for some reason it made him happy.
“Thanks.”
They finished eating a little while later and lay down on the blankets. Leila curled up in a ball between their legs. The sound of the waves crashing on the beach always made Justin sleepy, and before he knew it, he’d dozed off.
When he awoke, he was on his side with one arm draped over Reed, who still slept peacefully. He’d never have risked such an open show of affection on Carolina Beach—some of the guys he worked with had family there, and the last thing he needed was to undo everything he’d done to earn his coworkers’ trust. True, some of them probably wouldn’t give a rat’s ass if he was attracted to dolphins instead of women, but he didn’t really want to find out.
“Can we stay here forever?” Reed moved a little closer, dislodging Leila by accident. She settled back down again, undeterred.
Justin glanced at his watch. “We could spend the night at the anchorage.” He’d brought enough for dinner and breakfast, along with the staples he kept on the boat. He’d hesitated to ask, but Reed’s words suddenly made it easy.
Reed sat up. “Really?”
“You want to stay?”
“Oh hell yes!” Reed fell happily back onto the blankets, closer still to Justin, so they were now spooned against each other.
“You sure about this?” He’d understood Reed’s hesitation to dive headlong into something physical, but he needed to know what this meant. “I mean, I can make up one of the guest cabins and—”
Reed’s kiss silenced him and his tension eased. He’d needed Reed to make the first move.
Reed rolled Justin onto his back as he explored his mouth with his tongue. There was nothing tentative this time, and unlike on the boat, Reed didn’t end the contact.
“The guest cabin’s nice,” Reed said as their lips parted, “but I’m not sleeping there unless you want me to. Or you intend to join me there.”
“Master cabin’s bigger.” Justin cupped the back of Reed’s neck and gently pulled him back down. Reed’s hard cock pressed against Justin’s thigh, and he ground into Justin, making him want to fuck Reed there and then.
“Beach is even bigger.” Reed reached around and grabbed Justin’s ass.
“Too sandy and too open.” Justin wiggled out from beneath Reed, stood, and offered him a hand up.
Reed grinned, and they gathered the blankets and the cooler. Neither spoke as they sailed in the dinghy back to the boat. Leila, wearing her own life jacket, stood with two paws on the front of the inflatable and hopped onto the swim platform before Justin had even cleated off the rope.
“She always been that good a sailor?” Reed asked when they stepped onto the deck.
“Pretty much.” He laughed. “If I’d let her, she’d swim to shore, do her business, and swim back.”
“Sounds like a good deal.”
“She’d probably be fine,” Justin agreed, “but you never know who’ll come speeding by on a motor boat.”
“Lesson learned.”
Justin leaned down and unfastened Leila’s life vest, then unclipped his own and tossed it onto one of the cockpit benches with Reed following suit.
Justin surveyed the anchorage and checked the GPS to be sure the anchor hadn’t slipped, then turned to Reed. “Dinner?”
