Going With The Winds

Chapter Seven

JAKE

“New stanchions, and we and we replaced the rattlens leading up to the nest,” Jim was saying as we slowly worked our way through the ship. He was showing all the recent work done on the “Enchanter” since my last stint as her skipper the year before. Unlike many larger yachts the owners did not lend her out for charters, but they did keep Jim busy taking her out on short day or overnight trips during the summer months. Jim was more than capable to handle that with just Kieth as his only ship’s hand. After all the sails halyards and winches were run by electric winches. It could be done manually, and if we were in a hurry, it often does.

But on a ship this size, the “auto pilot” was not just a feature to keep a ship on course. The auto pilot automatically trimmed the huge black carbon fiber sails, but a crew was needed to manage the hydraulics that raised the sails or reefed them. Managing all that, happened at skipper’s station by the helm aft just in front of the top aft quarters under the poop deck, my quarters.

Naturally, because of this, I spent a considerable time going over the hydraulic system below with Jim, not to check on him, but just to get a feel for the natural wear and tear. Luckily for us, the “Enchanter” was a relatively young sailing ship. Everything checked out in top condition, and very well maintained. Nothing less than I would expect of James, who in addition to being my exec., would have been a first class bosun on any sea going vessel.

As we walked around, I couldn’t help noticing how buff Jim had gotten. He had a heavy build, stocky, meaty, powerful, the sort of build that could easily turn muscle into fat. But the man walking around with me in snug jeans, deck shoes and a warm jacket, which his broad shoulders strained just a bit, was clearly trimmer than I ever remember him being. Last night, between Keith’s exhibitionistic obvious desire for me, and Jim’s warm good humorous pleasure on seeing me, they had made it obvious I would have been welcome in their bed. Hell, Keith had been more than obvious. So obvious, Jim had finally had to haul his horny partner off of me and off to bed.

Reluctantly, I told them Dan and I had just decided to divorce, and that while I thanked them and would be more than happy to “play”, one of these days, I felt the need to be alone, to embrace my situation, and come to terms with it.

The truth was, I was feeling a little burnt by the way things had dwindled to an end with Dan. The last thing I wanted to be was a third in another relationship, however casual. Not so soon as the night right after, anyway.

My cabin was comfortable, with a wide double bunk on one side, opposite a desk on the other side, ample room for the bolted down computer console, and the chart table beside it, with shelves of books on seamanship, the almanac, navigation, and a scroll rack for numerous charts. It was all well to be able to navigate digitally and by satellite, but every Captain had a nightmare of being far out at sea and having all such systems fail. What then? Well, you better know how to use a sextant and take sightings, and use the compass, or you and your nicely paying charter guests and crew could be screwed. It hadn’t yet happened to me, but I’d heard tales of charters or bareboat charter captains getting themselves lost at sea.

Thank God for GPS, but if that failed, just thank God for charts, a compass and a sextant and for buoy markers at sea, at least near land.

Anyway, we would have, including Jim, Kieth and I, and three others, six crew aboard. Half our job would be seeing to the safety of our passengers, that would be four pairings, eight men. There was a fifth stateroom, but it was quite small, and in the past, Marty had kept that stateroom open just in case of what he called “spontaneous guests,” men we might pick up along the way.

Jim and I were working our way back toward helm, when there was a shout from shore.

Looking back down the dock, a familiar figure, carrying a duffle bag, was heading out our way.

I recognized Rion Granger, Marty’s husband. He was dressed in jeans and a navy-blue sweatshirt. I had to smile. He hadn’t changed a bit.

To greet guests and arriving crew, I had opted for some official formality, dressed in a pair of my warmer jeans, a thicker one of my jerseys and a wind breaker with my Skippers four silver stripes on each cuff and the name “Enchanter” emblazoned on the back. Rion was one of my favorite people. I went down the boarding ramp to meet him, and we exchanged a hug.

“I didn’t think you’d be aboard already, Skip.” He said with a warm smile, followed by another squeeze. We kissed in a warm, not quite sexual way, though he was certainly attractive. His hair had a bit more salt to the pepper then it had months before, just a hint of crow's feet around his eyes, fine smile lines. A chiseled jawed, very pretty man, with a heart of gold, Marty was lucky to have him. They had been married for seven years now, so I suspected they would keep going for a long time.

“Well, it’s complicated,” I said, “suffice to say, Dan and I are coming to the end of our marriage.” (I had decided to just tell my closer friends as they came aboard as necessary, and not make a big thing out of it.)

“Jake, I am so sorry to hear that.”

I just nodded. “Its just one of those things. Dan and I are moving on. And rather than draw out the discomfort, I figured it would be a relief to just get on board go over everything with James. As usual, it all seems to be very shipshape. You know how thorough, Jim is.”

“Oh yeah.” Rion gave me one of those steady soul piercing looks he did so well, but he just patted my shoulder. “Well, you know you can talk to me, any time.”

“I know, thanks, and welcome aboard,” I said, taking his duffle from him before he could protest.

As I turned around with it, Keith appeared, “Oh yay, Rion! Ah, Sir, welcome aboard. Here let me take his bag, Skip.”

I handed it over. Keith, I saw wore short cutoffs along with his sweatshirt. As usual, he clearly wore no underwear and unless I was mistaken, that was the tip of his big cock peeking out the leg. Ahh, Keith, Keith, Keith, I thought.

Rion didn’t mind looking, either, I saw, but I also saw, I didn’t see any real interest, but more of a slightly amused quirk of his sensual mouth.

As we started up the gang plank, he stopped and put a hand on my shoulder, “Before I forget, Marty told me to tell you to be sure to have the fifth stateroom ready. Seems Marty has invited two more guests aboard.”

“Ah, ok. No problem.”

Jim was on the deck near the entry ramp, and he nodded to me, “I’ll make sure the stateroom is ready, myself. Good to see you back aboard, Sir.” He and Rion exchanged a more casual hug, and I was reminded that Jim and Rion and Marty saw each other frequently during the rest of the year. “Good to be here. Stateroom 3?”

“Aye, Sir, that’s the one.”

Stateroom three was the largest occupying the fattest part of the hull at ship center, directly below the salon on the upper deck that stretched from the foremast back to the main, with the open cockpit area behind that. Rion paused to take a look at the length of the ship. “She really is a beauty, isn’t she?”

“That she is.”

I had to grin. Rion was a traditionalist. Even though “Enchanter” was a masculine name, vessels to him were all female. I tended to vacillate; I hate to admit. I accepted when someone called “Enchanter” she, but I tended to just refer to the ship by name, or just say, “the ship”, which avoided the whole thing. His partner, Marty Hall, called the “Enchanter” he, and he and his partner frequently teased each other about it.

Rion went below to unpack and stow his gear. I went to the galley to put on a pot of cyder and dig out some crackers for some snacks. When we weren’t at sea naturally played back up to Jim in the hospitality department. If some of our people were coming aboard this day, then we needed to have something prepared.

“Stateroom five Is presentable. We did have a few extra life jackets and some lines and foul weather gear stowed there. Kieth is stowing all that where it belongs, in the supply locker forward.”

I nodded to him as he stepped past me to the stove. “I should be heating up the chicken soup I made up yesterday and make some sandwiches. It will be noon in a half hour.”

Jim’s phone went off and he lifted it off his belt to scan it. “More guests arriving in a few minutes. It’s Clarence and that slut husband of his, Kent.”

“Now, Jim.”

“Hey, it’s just you and me in here. My baby and I may like to play around once in a while, but we don’t lie about it to each other. Kent is low life.”

“Jim!”

“Ok, ok,” I’ll hush up. But mark my words, one of these days, Clarence will wise up and see what's going on.”

“I doubt it,” I said, remembering just how blind Clarence was in more ways than one. “But that’s their business. We only have to worry if their business affects ship’s safety or passenger safety, right?”

“Right, Skip, your right as usual.” Jim stuck his tongue out at me and winked. “He just better not try anything with my baby.” He added as he turned back to the stove.

“Judging by last year, I doubt he will. Somehow, I don’t think Keith is Kent’s type. Kent is after different meat,” I opined. Then I added, “And who knows after being partnered by Clarence for a second year, maybe Kent has learned the error of his ways.”

“Judging by last year, I doubt he will have.” Jim said, echoing my line back at me. We both laughed.

Not even twenty minutes later, the men we had been talking about arrived… just in time for lunch. I met them at the entry plank, putting on my best skipper’s smile, echoed by Jim, who stood across me as the two men came up the ramp.

The older man who I knew as Clarence, beamed when he saw me. A shortish man, with silvering side walls to a sparsely covered scalp on top, wearing spectacles that made me think of a kindly Ben Franklin, Clarence Cristabel was somewhere just short of sixty, with watery soft blue eyes that always seemed outsized behind those thick lenses. At five eight, he wasn’t exactly short, just on the lower side of average, I suppose. He wore his hair very short to help disguise that balding pate, and a very trim greying little mustache and goatee. With a thickening paunch and insipient double chin, it was easy to see he had once been a good-looking young man. But age had had its way with him as I supposed it would with us all.

“Jake, so wonderful to see you. You remember my love, Kent, don’t you? He’s been so impatient to see you again, isn’t that marvelous? Always Jake this and Jake that. It’s so delightful to be sailing again with such dear friends.”

Clarence stepped to one side as his partner stepped up the gang way carrying two large bags.

Keith appeared just in time to hold out his hands for them. Rather than hold them out to Keith, Kent let them fall to the deck, and stepped to me, taking me by the biceps. “Lovely to see you, again,” Kent said in his languidly cultured British way, his lips very tight set, leaning in to kiss my cheek. Kent was a Ken doll in the flesh. Age thirty-six, he was older than me, but looked younger as if time hadn’t touched him past his twenty-third year. Wavy blond hair, blue eyed, model thin, fit but not what I would call ripped in any way. He was pretty, but though others last year had swooned over him, I sort of forgot what he looked like as soon as I looked away from him. Then again, I had that same problem with names. If I didn’t really find a way to like someone, I usually tended to forget their names. I wasn't bragging. It could really be awkward and embarrassing at times.

Behind him I saw Jim and Kieth exchange eye rolls as Kieth retrieved the bags. Jim himself stepped to Clarence and took the older man’s shoulder bag.

“Oh, you men are such gentlemen.” Clarence exclaimed, "and so handsome, as always." He smiled wide, taking us all in and then sniffed and inhaled deeply. “I smell something. Chicken soup, perhaps?”

“Got it in one,” I told him. Come on below. Its cold out here. You can warm up in the galley and we can catch up.”

“Sounds wonderful. Come along my sweeting,” he said to Kent, "Oh but I am being selfish. Do you need to linger and catch up with our handsome skipper?”

Kent paused briefly, “Perhaps just a moment, Clarence. You go ahead, darling.”

Clarence beamed and told me, “Kent is really very fond of you, Jake. I’ll just leave you two to get reacquainted.” Clarence turned away with a fluttery wave and headed carefully forward into the overhead cockpit and into the salon. Half blind or not, he seemed to be recognizing the layout all right.

As I watched him go, I felt a presence move in behind me, and teeth tug at my left earlobe.

“Gods, I have missed you, you delicious man.” Kent breathed in my ear as his hands moved around from behind to cup my bulge. Don’t tell me your still taken by that hotel manager, whatever his name was.”

“Is." I corrected, "His name is Dan.” I sighed inwardly, even as my cock twitched under his massaging grip. I was going to tell everyone, anyway so I might as well tell Kent, too. “Dan owned the hotel, but he and I are divorcing.”

Kent’s massage froze for a moment, but only a moment. He moved around me to face me, his pelvis rocking in to make contact with mine. Kent wore very snug, body-hugging white slacks and a blue and white shirt under a navy-blue sweater. I was sure he thought it all very nautical. Perhaps it was, but there was nothing like white pants to display what a man had if they were tight, and since his were, as I said, very tight, they were very distracting. I glanced and saw the very nice bulge and it was getting bigger.

Of course, taking this in, was a very obvious thing to do, and Kent didn’t miss a trick.

“Like what you see, handsome?” He said, pressing that lengthening bulge against mine. I am six feet two, no more, no less, and Kent was maybe an inch shorter. My bulge pressed down on his, both of them shifting from the pressure which sent a wave of pleasure up to my brain.

“I do. I do love cocks, Kent.” I admitted, trying to keep this impersonal. But… sorry, my friend, I only just broke up with Dan and I am not really in the mood. Besides there is Clarence to think about,” I said, lightly.

Kent’s perfect blues looked back at me from a couple inches away. “You feel like you're in the mood, sexy Captain.” He purred. “And you know you don’t have to worry about Clarence. He is so afraid I am not social enough he just loves it with someone shows me some affection, particularly if I seek it. Clarence loves to please me.”

Kent pressed in and bit my lower lip delicately, tugging on it, as he ground slightly up against me, our stiffening cocks shifting again from the contact.

“Well, I for one, would rather not test that just now.” I said, stepping away. “Come on, Kent, lets go below. I’m starved.” I said, giving him an easy smile.

Before he could answer, I adjusted myself and headed to the aft companionway, choosing to get to crew’s mess by the galley from that direction.

Kent followed, but as he did, he said, “Well I am starving too. You have no idea. He can barely get it up, anymore, unless I fuck him. And you have no idea how long it’s been since I fucked that little …” he choked himself off from saying more, and I nodded to myself. I was going to stay away from that little drama if it killed me. I felt sorry for Clarence.

I began really looking forward to tomorrow. One more day of collecting passengers and crew and we would be out at sea, where I could use my very legitimate duties as skipper as a buffer at need.

 CASS

There he was! I had to smile as my roomy from my junior year of college apparently saw me first. He was already waving, his white teeth gleaming from in a devilish smile.

Heedless of others in the airport, he ran up to me and practically bowled me over.

“Cass! Amore mio! So good to kiss you!” He grinned just before laying a sensual smooch to my lips with his own.

“Hey, isn’t it supposed to be so good to see you?”

“Why say that when I really want to kiss you?” He reasoned, cocking his handsome head in that playful devil may care way of his that always made me smile.

All he had on besides slim cut tight black jeans, a t shirt and a denim jacket, was a backpack.

“Do you have luggage?”

“Nah! Why should I need luggage? I have you to keep me warm. You did say come and pretend to be your boyfriend, so here I am. Only I am not pretending!”

I laughed and shook my head. “Alright, lets grab a taxi, we should have plenty of time.” I said, with a glance at my watch. Alejandro’s plane had been an hour and fifteen minutes behind schedule. Airlines these days were running perpetually behind.

“Come on.” We jogged down the terminal to get to the shuttle and taxi stations. I was grinning. My call to Dad had yielded better results than I could have hoped for. The only thing was, it was either get a partner to share the experience, hence the presence of Alejandro Lamas, my very sexy Spanish / Italian hunky roommate and best friend of my college days. Alejandro had been my roommate, my more than occasional sex partner, and study mate when we were both in the same classes. Alejandro wanted to be a poet and was looking for anything that would support his poetry habit.

Apparently, my phone call had caught him when he was getting a little desperate for a job. Free tickets, a free ride for two months or more, and maybe a job after it? He had hopped aboard without any extra persuasion at all.

As luck would have it, there was a line of taxies. We got the third one, hopping in back. I gave the very hot looking young African American driver the location and after a moment, tapping it into the car computer, we were off.

“Caro, you have told me not very much about what I am doing here. All you have said is that I get free room and board for some months with a good possibility for a job. What job and what am I doing, or… is it whom? I may like sex, but I am no whore, my beautiful friend.”

“Well, as you heard, we are going to Rehoboth”.

“Si, I heard that, yes.” He said, his accent sounding so sexy. As always in any car, I was becoming aroused, and his voice always got me right under my balls when I heard it.

“Hmph, you and your mysteries. If I were not so desperate for money, I would have been telling you to let me out, except I could not afford a return ticket. Besides, I don’t want to go back. Everything is so expensive there. I might say I am not a whore, but I was seriously reconsidering that option when you called, my friend.”

“I am sure you would have been very successful, you sexy stud.” I told him.

He smirked and looked pleased, like a cat stretching. “Well, maybe, but I have you to thank for not dipping into such a degrading and humiliating existence, yes, Amore mio?”

‘’ Absolutely.” I said, clamping my lips shut and looking out the window. Alejandro went back and forth between Italian and Spanish. His father was Spanish and his mother, an Italian beauty. I had met her once last year. Thankfully, his English had vastly improved, so that he seemed to have excellent command of it. But I was glad he still had that accent. It was so sexy.

“You are a shit, keeping me in suspense, Ass Alexander.” He declared after a moment, purposefully dropping the hard c from my first name.

I just laughed. He rolled his eyes but smiled back. It was good to be with someone with a light heart after sharing that large house with its aura of gloom after Jake left.

JAKE

I was in the head taking a piss, when there was a knock and Keith called in to say, “Hey Skipper, Marty Hall is here, and two other passengers are with him.”

“Oh? Ok, be right up.” I hurriedly washed my hands, zipped up and made my way out to the Helm station just in time to see three men approaching the boarding ramp. It was cold and all three wore jackets with hoods. One of them was Marty, I could guess by his familiar quick pace, his whip chord compact five-foot seven build. He was shorter than Clarence, but his presence made him seem far taller.

As he reached the top of the Ramp, I leaped down to greet him, even as Jim appeared to join Kieth who was already there.

This was good. We only had one more set of guests and a crew man to arrive, and we could maybe embark early. I was not liking the weather forecast. A nasty Hurricane had formed in the Atlantic heading for Cuba, and the track seemed to suggest it would hit the East Coast. I wanted to be someplace more protected than here, if I could manage it, possibly as far up a river on the Chesapeake bay in the lee of some high land as I could get us.

“Jake, so good to see you, my friend.” Marty cried out as I met him in a warm hug, his head pressing into my upper chest. “You ready for us Skipper?”

“Absolutely, were just waiting on one set of guests to arrive and one of our crew. I’d like to get us out of here and snug way up a river on the Chesapeake as soon as possible,” I told him.

“Which guests? I’ll give them a call and tell them to boot it in gear.”

“Will Lawton and his partner, David.”

“OH, oh well, I am not surprised at that. Will and David have been in the thick of divorce proceedings. It was messy. Will Lawton will be showing up by himself. I am not sure he knows we in a bit of a hurry though.”

As if remembering he had two guests with him, he looked around, startled., “Oh, yes, we have two guests. Jake, meet the son of a friend of mine who owns a resort Island in the Florida Keys. I think you may know him already.”

A hood flipped back, and a shaggy wavy fall of platinum blond hair appeared above a sexy male face of angelic beauty, wearing a dimpled delighted grin.

“Alejandro Lamas, and Cass Alexander.” Marty finished.

I hardly noticed the dark haired and bearded young man. I was shocked by Cass.

What the fuck? Just for a moment of flash of anger slashed through me, and I felt the blood drain from my face. Cass’s crystal pale blue eyes widened, and a frown creased his forehead. Dammit!

“I am sorry, jake, I didn’t call you to warn you. I hope this is ok.” Cass said softly.

Marty looked back and forth. “Is there a problem?”

“No! No, not at all. I was just surprised, that’s all. I had no idea Cass had a connection with you.”

“His Dad, as I said,” Marty said.

“Of course.” I plastered a smile on my face and reached out a hand. “Good to see you Cass, and you, too." I said to the other young guy, "er... what was your name, again?”

Alejandro, Alejandro Lamas,” The devilishly handsome dark haired young man said, his eyes taking me in with an interest I well recognized.

“Alejandro was my roommate in college last year and my close friend.” Cass said.

“Close friend, pfft. I am his boyfriend.” Alejandro announced, and he jabbed Cass in the side.

“Ow, well, yes, my boyfriend. Er, sorry baby.” Cass hissed to Alejandro, who arched an aristocratic brow and sniffed.

Boyfriends. Hmmm, that was... good. I felt relief sweep through me. That was one pressure I didn’t need to deal with, right? I was glad for Cass. His young man seemed nice, and fun. Good!

“Welcome aboard, both of you. You're in cabin five. We’ll be having lunch in an hour, but feel free to bug Keith here for something to drink and snack if you need something.” I quickly introduced Jim and Kieth to the two latest passengers.

Marty got off his phone, having stepped a bit away to call the last passenger. “William Lawton is on his way and says he should be arriving in the next forty minutes.”

“Great!” Two crew members, Lev Teralt, and David Lamb had arrived late the night before. And early this morning, two guests, Miles Standish, and his partner Lawrence Patten had arrived and were sleeping off their early arrival and jet lag, below.

I looked at Jim and he looked at me. “You know Jud Bodeen, never early if he can help it. But this time I will tell him to get it in gear, get here or be left behind.”

“I’d rather not leave crew behind.” I said a bit tightly.

Jim jerked a nod. “He doesn’t live all that far away, just North of Rehoboth. If I have to, I will drive up and kidnap the lazy shit.”

We grinned at each other. I knew Jim would do just that if he had to. The big man didn’t bluff.

Forty minutes later, a slightly out of sorts Jud Bodeen, sauntered up the ramp in a deep red flannel shirt, grey jeans that displayed his own equipment in an eye-catching way. I had to love the current crotch hugging styles. He had to be wearing a cock ring, the way that bulge jutted out. Gorgeous, with wavy brown hair that framed his stunningly handsome face. One look at him, and you knew Marty Hall had a talent for finding hot young men to work for him.

“Hi yall, whats the fuckin hurry, Skip?” He asked in his thick southern Kentucky drawl as he sauntered up to us as if we had all the time in the world.

“Possible weather precautions, Jud. Get your gear stowed and get back on deck. We’re casting off.” I said quietly.

“Oh yeah, I was watchin the weather report about that storm east o Cuba. I don’t think we got nuthin t worry over, yall.” He said. He might talk with a slow drawl, but he was quick, I had to give him that.

Jim strode up with a glare on his face. “Bout time you got here. Stow your gear and your gab. You heard the skipper.”

“Uh yessir.” Jud said, ducking his head.

Jim and I exchanged looks for a moment, and then Jim turned went up to the helm station and pressed a button. A chime rang over the hull. “All hands-on deck. Prepare for departure,” Jim said, his booming bass reverberating over the yacht's intercom.

Moments later the “Enchanter’s” crew four young men, were all on deck, Jud running up last.

I moved to the helm station and clicked the com, as passengers began appearing in the cockpit, looking around. With them was Will Lawton, looking handsome, but just a bit shadow eyed, and a touch lost. I could sympathize, one soon to be divorcee to another.

I pressed the ignition, starting the ship’s auxiliary jet engine. Yes, “Enchanter” had a jet engine. No expense had been spared to cut down on drag and props caused drag. Besides which, Marty was environmentally conscious, and our electric powered jet engine fit his demands, and pleased mine as well.

The hum of the engine stirred the air. “Take in Lee lines,” I said, and just in case my crew had forgotten Jim bellowed, “Starboard lines, lads.”

With that done, I said, “Haul in Port Lines and take in.”

Lev a red-haired boy pulled us slowly to the dock with the other boys helping on other port lines,  A ship this big didn't respond to puny humans asking to slide sideways easily. Lev jumped to the dock, along with David Lamb, his partner. They quickly un-cleated those lines and jumped back aboard, gathering the dock lines in and coiling them for stowage. I took a last look to be sure all lines were clear before walking back to the controls and hit reverse, giving the engine a bit of throttle.

After a moment the ship began gathering way astern. With her bow away from the sea and the tide, this was the best way to back out of our Teahead dock. After a few moments we were clear, the bowsprit alone still with the Teahead area.

I shifted us into forward and after a moment spun the wheel hard over, kicking our stern to port and leeward. Once we were sidling back the way I wanted, I then put her in reverse again, backing her out and clear of the docks and the yachts docked to them.

Once the rudder bit with some sternway, she pivoted nicely, the bow swinging our and around. Now we could turn and head to sea. I sighed. It was good to have a ship under my hands again, and this ship I particularly loved.

As the ship gathered way forward, I called, “the Flag Kieth.”

“Aye Captain.” A few minutes later the Enchanter’s purple flag rose with its Wizard’s Pointy hat and wand with a blazing star rose up the mast. The flag was as much iridescent as purple, incorporating all the colors of the rainbow, if a bit darkly. I knew of no other flag like it, and personally loved it.

Jim appeared at the helm deck.

“How is the engine?”

“Hissing like a cat with gas, Skipper.” He said, and I laughed. That was Jim's way of describing our auxiliary jet engine.

I looked down at the passengers and crew, out past the thick black carbon alloy masts, feeling the breeze of our passage build. I wanted to raise our sails there and then, but caution won out. Better to get clear of the harbor first. It was cold, that breeze.

“Good to be heading out, Skipper.” Jim said softly, beside me.

“It is at that, Jim. It is at that.”