I’d removed my suit jacket and dress shirt and was wearing only my undershirt with my trousers rolled up to my knees. Arden suggested I change into something more casual while he started dinner. I ventured below deck. I’d brought only a duffle bag and my laptop, choosing to put everything else in storage. I still hadn’t brought up my idea to Arden. Perhaps I was waiting for a sign.
We ate grilled fish and potatoes on the top deck while watching the sun set over the water. I caught him up on our friends and what they’d been doing in his absence.
“Franco and Marquis are going into business together,” I said.
“Really?”
I nodded. “It’s all very hush, hush. I’ve never known Franco to be able to keep a secret before, but Marquis is terribly private, so…”
“And Liam, is he still dating Travis?”
“The lumberjack, yes. I still haven’t quite figured him out, but he seems to be good for Liam, and they’re happy together.”
He asked a few more questions about my work, and I answered him. We were laid out on our backs on the fiberglass deck. Arden glanced over at me, and there was something in his expression which prompted me to say, “Come closer.”
That was really all it took because suddenly, Arden was tangled in my arms again. We kissed, unhurried, relearning one another. I missed the sunset but enjoyed the flush of pink on Arden’s skin and the way the dying light turned his hair a fiery golden hue.
“Let’s go down.” He dragged me by hand below deck and started removing his clothing. The light from the hatch revealed his chest, thicker now from manual labor and a less restrictive diet. There was a patch of golden-brown hair between his pectorals and a similar decoration on his groin. He looked more manly, and if possible, even sexier.
“You look good with body hair,” I told him, drawing my hand along his pecs and down to his plumping cock. “Golden everywhere.”
“You too. I like your beard. I think you should keep it.”
“I’m glad.” I stroked my chin. It had grown out of laziness, but I’d paid a barber to trim it up before leaving New York. Had to look good for my man.
“I was hoping we might end up here,” he said.
“In bed?”
He smiled shyly. “Yes.”
“I haven’t wanted anyone since you.” I wasn’t trying to force a confession, only be completely transparent in my feelings for him.
“No, me neither.”
“I’ve never made love on a boat before.” I took his hand and drew him closer.
“It’s not so different from on land,” he said with an impish grin. “You could probably get used to it.”
“I think so.” My mouth drifted along his collarbone and settled on his neck. I tasted him—salt, sunshine, and sweet, verdant springtime. As if jinxing myself, a wave hit the hull and rocked the boat. I pitched and would have toppled over had Arden not caught me by my shoulders.
“Still have to get your sea legs,” he said.
“How long does that usually take?”
“Could take a while,” he teased.
“I’ve got time.”
And we had time. We spent hours that night, rediscovering each other. Arden was relaxed and playful while I was intensely aware of his every noise and gesture. His light, airy moans rounded out my more graveled ones. Arden was mercurial as the sea, and I was the weathered rock that bore him.
I spread him and prepped him with my mouth, tongue, and fingers. Arden shuddered and quaked like a virgin, then, when I entered him, he arched his back and howled like a man.
Suddenly, I was inside him, and it all made perfect sense.Wemade perfect sense. As elemental as land and water converging at the shore. I called to him and he answered, as he always had. Harmony and balance and the easy give and take between us that was not only born of mutual respect, but of a need to satisfy one another’s desires. He didn’t hold back, but gave freely, gave meeverything. I would love this man my entire life.
At its completion, with our bodies still coupled in perfect bliss, I held him close and whispered, “I love you, Arden Evans.”
“I love you too, Michael. I’m so glad you’re here and that you found me.”
