The First Step, page 9
“You really want to eat?” Reed clearly didn’t.
Justin took Reed’s hand and pulled him into the master cabin, closing the door behind them. This was one time he didn’t want Leila joining him in the bed. Before he could corner Reed, Reed had backed him against the door and was pulling up his T-shirt off. Reed kissed his navel and worked his way up until he found Justin’s hard nipple.
Justin hissed and cupped Reed’s ass over his shorts, then decided he needed to feel skin instead of fabric. He unbuttoned Reed’s shorts and pushed them onto the cabin floor before slipping his hands underneath Reed’s boxer briefs and grabbing the globes of his asscheeks. This close, Justin couldn’t really get a good look at Reed’s body, so he explored it with his fingers and his mouth. He was too horny to think of anything but fucking Reed.
“Turn around,” Justin ordered. Reed happily complied. It wasn’t just the cool breeze from the portlights and the hatch above him that gave Justin goose bumps; it was the excitement of knowing what would come.
“We need supplies,” Justin said against Reed’s cheek. “You stay put.”
Reed snorted and pulled off his shirt so he was completely naked. “Aye, captain.”
Justin took his time to look over Reed’s lean body, from the slight definition of the muscles of his abdomen to his narrow waist. His cock jutted from his body, paler than the rest of Reed’s skin, its glans gleaming with precome. Justin forced himself to look away. He pulled open one of the cabinets near the bed and rifled through one of the plastic boxes, triumphantly holding up a condom and lube a moment later. “Space on a boat is a bit limited.”
Reed laughed and pushed Justin onto the bed, straddling him. “The bed is big enough.” He leaned over and licked his way from Justin’s neck down his chest. “But you’re wearing too many clothes.”
Justin unbuttoned the waist of his shorts. “It’s more fun if you help.”
Reed sucked on his lower lip and pulled Justin’s clothing off, tossing it to the side. Reed got back atop Justin and moved his hands over Justin’s body, thumbs brushing his nipples. “Much better this way.”
Justin agreed. Reed’s skin was smooth against his hands. “God,” he hissed as Reed found his cock and pulled back the foreskin. “That feels so good.”
Reed leaned down and took Justin’s cock in his mouth. The wet heat had Justin moaning, not to mention that watching Reed move up and down on him turned him on.
Reed sucked harder and brushed the skin with his teeth. Justin keened to match his movements. “Shit, Reed, I can’t… if you keep going like that I’m….”
“Not yet.” Reed worked his way up Justin’s chest, nipping and licking until he mouthed his way over Justin’s chin and finally kissed him. He pressed his cock against Justin’s thigh and whispered in Justin’s ear, “I want you to fuck me.”
Justin growled and pushed Reed onto his stomach, pinning him between his body and the covers. He took a moment to admire the line of Reed’s shoulders and back and the slight curve where his lower back met his ass. He got back onto the bed and leaned over Reed, tracing fingertips over his skin, feeling the muscle beneath, and making his way slowly toward his prize, the globes of Reed’s ass. There he paused, kneading the muscle and spreading Reed’s cheeks.
He ran a finger over Reed’s opening and was rewarded with a gasp, so he sucked on his finger and then pressed a tiny bit inward. With his other hand, he palmed the lube and poured some over Reed’s hole. This time he pressed farther inward, so the tip of his finger felt the pressure of the muscles there.
“Fuck me,” Reed whimpered as Justin breached him with two fingers, then three, until he opened wider. With his other hand, he brushed Reed’s balls until Reed tucked his knees beneath him to give him easier access.
Beautiful. He tore open the foil packet and slid the condom on, then rubbed it over Reed’s ass until he was slick enough and Reed was ready. He pressed his tip inside. Reed shivered with pleasure and arched his back and pushed against Justin’s cock.
“Fuck…. More. Please.”
Justin filled him until his abdomen pressed against Reed’s ass.
“So good,” Justin growled as he began to move slowly, allowing the lube to slick the rest of his cock and making it slide out, then in once more.
The First Step rocked as a powerboat sped by the anchorage. Justin had never had sex on the boat before, but he liked it. The gentle movements enhanced the sensations of his cock inside of Reed.
Justin reached around and squeezed Reed’s nipples, rolling them between his fingers then pinching them hard.
“Oh fuck. Yes. Harder.”
Justin grinned and complied as Reed pushed against him, forcing his cock back inside his ass, holding it there, then canting his hips forward until Justin’s tip was barely within his body. Justin liked it when he wasn’t the only one moving, and he loved how Reed seemed both in control and willing to let Justin control him.
He reached around and grabbed Reed’s cock with his slicked palm, working it as he fucked Reed. With each thrust, Reed pushed back hard, slapping his skin against Justin’s as the boat rocked. Justin moved his knee to brace himself, changing the angle.
“Yes! Fuck yes! Right there. Right…. Yes!” Reed spilled hot and thick over Justin’s hand.
An image of Reed fucking him just like this had the last of Justin’s self-restraint leaving him, and he came hard as he grabbed Reed’s waist to keep himself from falling over. “Fuck, oh fuck.” He panted against Reed’s ear. “So good. So damn good.”
They both collapsed a moment later, with Reed’s head against Justin’s chest. The bed was a mess, the sheets were sticky, but Justin didn’t give a fuck. He felt way too good.
Chapter Sixteen
THE NEXT morning Justin cracked a half-dozen eggs and whisked them until they were fluffy, then set the bowl aside. He’d taken Leila to the shore to do her business at sunrise, leaving Reed—who truly slept like the dead—to rest a bit longer. He sipped his coffee and gazed out the portlight in the galley. Already there were several boats in the anchorage alongside them.
“Morning.” A sleepy Reed peered through the cabin door. He looked way too adorable with his curly hair sticking out at odd angles and his eyes half open.
“Coffee?”
“I love you.”
Justin laughed and poured a mugful. “Milk? Sugar?”
“Black is perfect.” Reed took a few sips and sighed. “You make good coffee.”
“The guys at work think it’s too strong. I think the words John used were ‘pig slop.’” He still made coffee the way he liked it. Fitting in only went so far.
“So what’s on the schedule for today?” Reed asked.
“We’ll head back to the marina after breakfast. I’ve got a few errands I need to run this afternoon.” With Reed’s accident, he still hadn’t had a chance to bring Marty the persimmons he’d promised.
“Sounds good.” Justin couldn’t see Reed’s face, but he sensed his disappointment.
“There are days I wish I could stay on the water forever.” Justin sighed as Reed kissed his back. “But since that isn’t an option, how about I make us some breakfast before we get going?”
The Intracoastal Waterway was nearly empty, so Justin joined Reed on the foredeck as they sailed back to Carolina Beach. He smiled as Reed hopped up to point out a few dolphins off the port side. Reed snapped a bunch of photos, then turned the camera on Justin and took a few more.
“Probably gets old, seeing them as often as you do,” Reed said as he sat back down.
“I still like it. When I was out to sea for months at a time, we used to keep count. Helped the watches go by faster.”
“When you were in the Navy?”
Justin shook his head. “After that. I spent a few years sailing on a container ship out of Hong Kong before I came back here.”
“Why did you come back?”
He knew Reed was fishing for information, but he didn’t mind. “The ship’s master retired. I’d worked under him as second mate. I didn’t have any reason to come back to North Carolina, but he’s an ornery cuss. Kept telling me I’d spent too much time on the water and it was time to settle down.”
“He suggested you become a pilot?”
“Even with all my time aboard the big boats, it wasn’t easy. I spent a year learning the river on one of the tugs. Got my pilot’s license, then worked as an apprentice for five years.” He’d loved the work. Now he couldn’t imagine doing anything else. But after Scott’s accident, he’d nearly thrown it all away. Without Kerry to remind him what he loved about the job and Greg’s unwavering confidence in his abilities, Justin might not have made it through.
Justin realized Reed was studying him. He straightened and focused on the autopilot controller. He didn’t need to adjust course, but he didn’t want to revisit the past, especially not with Reed.
“I was surprised when I read about how long it takes to work your way up to a full-fledged pilot job,” Reed said.
Justin nodded. This was an easy topic. “You need the experience on the river, and there’s no other way to get it than to work with someone who knows every inch of it. Even then, the water’s constantly changing.”
“You mean with the tide?”
“Sure. But also shoaling.” He saw Reed’s questioning expression and added, “Storms can move the bottom around. They dredge the shipping channel from time to time, but when you’re handling boats that draft around forty feet—sorry, that have a keel forty feet below the surface of the water—you can’t afford to make mistakes. The edges of the river can get super shallow.”
“Doesn’t the Coast Guard mark the channel?”
“Yes. But the channel can change faster than it takes for them to get a survey boat out. You don’t want to run one of those ships aground.”
Reed’s eyes grew wide. “That ever happen?”
“Last year a six-hundred-foot tanker ran aground not far from HQ,” Justin said. “It wasn’t pilot error. Something went wrong with the mechanical systems. But they had to wait nearly eight hours for high tide and get tugs to pull her off the bottom. There’s a YouTube video if you want to check it out.”
“I will.” Reed pulled his knees to his chest and leaned his chin on them. “Must be frightening to lose control of a ship that big.”
Justin nodded. He’d never had that happen in this job, although he’d certainly dealt with mechanical issues when he’d worked on the OOCL Bright Seas with Marty.
“Sounds like the worst part of the job is the transfer.”
“Can be.” Justin inhaled slowly, doing his best to counter the tension that rose in his shoulders and neck. He didn’t offer any more.
Reed glanced over at him and smiled. “Want anything from below?”
Justin relaxed with the change in topic. “A Coke, since you’re offering.”
“Sure thing.” Reed got to his feet and walked back to the cockpit. Did he know about Scott’s accident? Probably. He’d clearly done his homework about the pilots in general. Hard to imagine he’d not know about it. Either way, Justin was glad Reed hadn’t pressed the issue.
“Join me for dinner tonight?” Justin asked when Reed dropped him back at his truck in Southport a few hours later.
“I wish I could. I’ve got one day to wrap up both stories I’m working on. My flight’s early Saturday.”
“No problem.” Justin forced a smile. “It’s been fun.”
“It was a great sail, wasn’t it?”
Justin drew a long breath. Here, out in the open, a half a mile from his office, he wasn’t about to kiss Reed. Instead, he offered Reed his hand. “I look forward to reading what you end up writing.”
“I’ll be sure to send you the pilot story to read before it’s published.” Reed took Justin’s hand. “Thanks, for everything.”
“You’re welcome.” Justin waited until Reed got into his car and drove away, then got into his truck. He sat there for a moment and imagined what it might be like if Reed weren’t leaving.
Leila’s cold nose against his cheek brought him back to himself. “Yeah, I know. It’s you and me, girl.” That was just fine. Wasn’t it?
MARTY GRINNED up at Justin an hour later.
“I brought you something.” Justin held up the bag of persimmons.
“What’s in there?”
“Take a look.” Justin handed Marty the fruit and Marty beamed.
“I love persimmons.” He pulled out one of the fruits and looked it over. “This one’s a beauty.”
“There’re a few soft ones, but the others need a few days before they’ll be ready.”
Marty nodded and put the bag on the bedside table.
“I’ve brought some for Caroline. She said she was jealous last time I brought you some.” Justin pointed to the wheelchair in the corner of the room. “Would you like to go outside? It’s warm and sunny today.”
“Sure. Sun’s good for bones. Makes that vitamin D, you know.”
Justin helped Marty into the chair and pushed him through the hallway and out onto the patio behind the building. The sun was just starting to descend through the trees, and the temperature was already cooling off.
“You seem a little down,” Marty said as Justin wheeled him out into the garden.
“That obvious?”
“I see everything.” Marty looked back at him and offered him a brilliant smile.
“You do, do you?” Justin teased.
“Of course. Taught you everything you know too.”
“I’ll give you that much.” He winked at Marty as they stopped by their favorite bench. Several surprise lilies were in full bloom, and the staff had planted purple and white mums in another of the flower beds.
“So I’m right.”
“You just said you always were.” Justin put the brake on the chair and sat with a sigh.
“I’m listening.”
“I met someone.”
Marty waggled his eyebrows and Justin tried not to laugh. “Oh. And what’s this young man’s name?”
“Reed. He’s a reporter in town to do a story on the pilots.” He’d long since stopped reminding Marty that he’d told him something. He didn’t want Marty getting angry with himself that he couldn’t remember. “We had dinner the other night, and I invited him out for a sail yesterday.”
“Where’s he from?”
“Near Hendersonville originally, up in the mountains. He lives in New York now.”
Marty frowned. “That’s a long way away. He moving here?”
“Not that I know of.” Justin had no intention on dwelling on Reed’s departure. They’d had a great time while it lasted, and he’d be just fine when Reed was gone.
“Oh.”
“What’s that for?”
“Nothing. I was just thinkin’ it’s about time for you to settle down. And now that marriage between men is legal, this could be the—”
“You’re sounding like a mother hen, you know.”
“So?” Marty pointed a shaky finger at him. “Why shouldn’t you settle down and be happy?”
“Maybe I don’t need to settle down to be happy.” He had a good life. A few good friends. A job he loved and a dog who would follow him to the ends of the earth. That was good enough.
“Lorraine, God rest her soul, she was the best thing that ever happened to me.” Marty’s eyes filled with tears. “We had almost fifty good years together. Best years of my life. And when I came home from being at sea, she was there waiting for me.”
“You miss her a lot.”
“I do.” Marty wiped his eyes.
“You’re lucky,” Justin said. “Most folks don’t ever find someone like that.”
“Most folks don’t look.” Marty shot Justin a you’d-best-be-minding-what-I-say expression that made Justin laugh in spite of himself.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He forced a smile.
“You deserve it, you know.” For a split second Marty looked just as he had years before when he’d taken Justin under his wing—both determined and infinitely kind. “You just haven’t figured it out yet.”
Justin’s gut clenched. He was lucky to have what he did. He’d learned not to expect more.
“Tell him that you’re a keeper,” Marty continued, undaunted.
“I’ll try to remember that.”
“So what’s in the bag?” Marty asked.
“Persimmons.” Justin pressed his lips together and sighed. He knew he had no right to think it, but at that moment, he half wished he could forget Reed as quickly.
Chapter Seventeen
REED SHOOK his head when his phone rang and he saw the name of the caller. “Cal, man, this is becoming a thing. Is there something I should know? Are you feeling lonely?”
“As if.”
“So why are you calling me again so soon?”
“Karen Nelson called. She wants to feature your pilot story in Life Views.”
“What?” Life Views was the publisher’s magazine that was nationally distributed as part of Sunday’s papers. Reed had never had one of his stories run outside the New York metropolitan area, let alone across the country.
“You heard me right.” He imagined Cal’s Cheshire grin. “They’re looking for something gritty. She says the usual stories aren’t doing that well lately.”
Reed guessed the typical stories featuring people who’d overcome disease or learned to move on after the loss of a loved one in a tragic accident weren’t playing as well in the current depressing political climate. “Why this story?” He could imagine why, but he wanted to hear it from Cal.
“I sent them some of the photos you took.”
“You mean the photos of Justin.” He chuckled.
Cal coughed. “Well… ah… I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that he’s easy on the eyes.”
“Oh?”
“That isn’t the only reason,” Cal added quickly.
“The other reasons being…?” He loved to yank Cal’s chain.
