Copyright 2001. Disclaimer:
a) The following story is a work of fiction, and the rights of this series belong to its author.
b) If you are breaking one or more of your local laws by reading this, don't read any further! And,
c) hello again, it's me.
Chapter 3. Beach Anyone?
The wind blew across my bare chest, cooling me as the sweat rolled off in drops. I could feel one drop in particular as it slowly made its way towards my navel; the feeling made me want to itch and I wiped my stomach with the palm of my hand. For a moment, I let a finger circle my belly button and play with the soft hairs it found below it. The sensation was soothing, and I pretended the hand belonged to someone else.
Intending to take full advantage of the cool breeze and the bright clear skies, I lay back onto my towel, trying to find a position that not only fit the contours of my body, but one that also kept most of me on the towel and out of the sand. I had put on sunscreen before I left the house, so I could apply it with my clothes off and catch all the areas without anyone watching the struggle I went through to put it on; I never was sure if I had my back covered or not. What I wouldn't have given for the right person to help. Though no one could see it at the moment, my tan line was obvious, and I secretly wished for the privacy to make my tan uniform. Although, I had to admit a sunburn down there would be good reason to keep my shorts on. Besides, I probably couldn't apply the sun tan lotion without jerking myself off. If college and work didn't keep me occupied, I'd probably never leave my room. Thinking of jerking off reminded me of the night that Jase and Zach invited me over to watch a movie. We all ended up in a pile on the couch, then moved to the bed when the movie ended. I had a great time, and I wouldn't have believed it would happen, but they actually let me join them. . .in sleep, that is. We ended up snuggling together all night, with me sandwiched in the middle. Funny how reassuring a simple thing like physical touch can be; I ended up embarrassing myself with my reaction to being that close to them, but they both laughed it off and treated me the same as always. They cared, no question about it.
A seagull landed near me and eyed me as he debated whether or not I had food. I ignored him. He squawked. We looked at other a little while longer, then I laughed to myself and gave in, breaking off a portion of my sandwich for him to eat. I believe in persistence, and the little guy just wouldn't take no for an answer. Lying back onto the towel, the sun felt good; I had my favorite tunes on my player, and, for the moment, not a care in the world. The small beach wasn't particularly crowded today, not that I would have cared; the reason I came here at all was because it was never crowded. I rolled onto my stomach, stretching, and dug my toes into the sand as I folded my arms together above my head. The sun caressed my back, turning me into jelly as I lay there distracted by the sounds from the tiny speakers in my ears. The waves lapping at the beach were so gentle I could hardly hear them at all, and only the noise from the airport nearby intruded. When a plane took off, it would cross the beach and cast a brief shadow on the ground below. Maybe I should take up flying; it would be cool to look down on the city and try to see where I lived.
A shadow fell across me, and I wondered momentarily why I didn't hear engine noise. The shadow stayed in place and coughed, causing me to open my eyes. Blinking, the sunlight blinding me, I barely made out the shape of someone kneeling next to me. Caught by surprise, I did an impressive job of sucking in my breath and rolling backwards off my towel onto the sand. Something hard was underneath me, and I realized it was my CD player. I extricated it from underneath me while glaring at the intruder.
"God, I'm sorry." He held his hands out, palms facing up in apology.
"Jeez, you scared the crap outta me! What do you want?"
"Didn't mean to, just, um, I just wanted to ask if the spot next to you was taken?"
Dammit. A whole beach to choose from, and this jerk wants to be my neighbor. As my eyes adjusted to the light, though, I could see that he was a guy about my age, and kind of cute. He was wearing a baseball cap on backwards, a pair of black Speedo trunks, and had his backpack slung across one shoulder as he waited for a response. Sunglasses like mine, too. . .had I seen him somewhere before?
I picked up the CD player and brushed it off, while trying not to look to upset. "Um, ok with me I guess. My name's Eric."
"Chris. And thanks. And dude, I'm really sorry I scared you. Nice reflexes, if I was dangerous, that is."
He smiled, holding out his hand, and the day suddenly became a little brighter. College? Work? Maybe that was it, hadn't he been at the cafe recently? I couldn't be sure, since I saw a lot of people there, and lots of guys passed through.
I recovered my sense of humor. "This frown," and I pointed to my face, "is me NOT laughing."
"Got it--want me to brush some of that sand off your back?"
"Yeah, that'd be nice." I turned my back to him gratefully, reaching over my shoulder to swipe at the sand, which had stuck to my sweaty, sunscreen covered body with a vengeance. Chris unzipped his backpack and brought out a towel which he used to lightly brush the sand from my back. Reminded me of my grandma, how when I was little she would towel me off after a hard day's play at the beach; I missed the excitement that such trips had always brought with them. She also brushed lightly, like Chris was doing now, using gentle sweeping motions to avoid grinding the sand into my skin.
He finished, and we both went about straightening our towels and belongings next to each other, but with a couple of feet in between. Chris threw out his towel, letting the breeze catch it. When it was on the sand, he knelt and tucked the corners neatly under to pin it down. Hmm. So that's the way to do it. I did the same to my towel while he pulled off his shirt and got comfortable. Lying back, with his body supported on his elbows, Chris joined me in watching the sailboats moving quietly back and forth across the bay.
"Sure is nice out today, isn't it?"
"Definitely."
"Come here often?"
"Not often, but it's a nice beach when you want to avoid the crowds."
Chris smiled again, and looked around. "I'd say you'd have succeeded if it weren't for me." He laughed, then added, "crowd, party of one."
I laughed. "I know this sounds lame, Chris, but you look familiar to me. . .you ever been to Bayshore?"
"The cafe off Camellia Street? Yeah, `bout a week ago. I stopped on my way home."
I thought for a minute. "You were the guy talking to Zach, right?"
"That would be me. He's a really nice guy, you know?"
"Yeah, he and Jase both."
"Jase?"
"Yeah, the two of them own the place, along with Zach's sister."
"Zach said he lived upstairs, does, ah. . .Jase live there too, by any chance?"
Great, a loaded question. I swallowed, and said, "Yeah."
"Ahh." Chris was silent and I looked over at him as he scratched his chest.
He had a nice body, as far as I could see, which was certainly a lot of it. He reached down and scratched his crotch absently. I watched in fascination as he adjusted himself through the material of his shorts. He turned back to look at me.
"I saw you before the cafe, once. I passed you on the sidewalk over there," he pointed to the east, "about halfway maybe. You, um, looked depressed."
"You saw me?"
"Yeah, I have a thing for faces. I almost stopped, but I didn't want to intrude."
"You mean, like today?" I felt embarrassed, and a little uneasy by his noticing and also for being singled out on the beach. It must have showed on my face, because he apologized again, laughing.
"Sorry, I wasn't following you or anything weird. I live a couple blocks over that way and just wanted to catch some sun. Didn't know you were here until I walked up."
I shrugged. "Nah, it's ok. I had a bad day that day. Let's just lay out, ok?" I popped my ear pieces back in and returned to the serious business of relaxing. I'm not unfriendly, really. I just felt awkward, and couldn't think of anything else to say. It was a perfect day really, the warmth from the sun loosening my muscles and making me drowsy, and it was inevitable that I ended up dozing off. After what seemed like hours later, I turned over to catch the other side. As I did so, I caught a view of Chris on his back, one leg stretched out in front with the other tucked underneath. The wind stirred, and the leg of his shorts billowed enough to catch a brief glimpse of the darkness underneath. Instantly intrigued, I wondered if it really was coincidence he was here and lying stretched out next to me. Almost like a 69 position. My cock started to rise, so I quickly rolled onto my stomach to keep it down and went back to sunning myself. When I shifted again, Chris was sitting up and digging through his pack.
"Want half a turkey sandwich?" He waved the wrapper in my direction.
"I'm ok, I brought something." I sat up, and we ate together in silence. Most of the boats were still out there, though a few had returned to the marina. It felt good to have someone to eat lunch with; I decided Chris was just being friendly, and my earlier fears dissipated. I was practically in his back yard, anyway. It's only natural that he might come here too. He finished first, watched me as I ate the last bites of my sandwich, then took a swig from his water and we sat in silence. After a few minutes, he announced that he had to take off.
"Well, it's been nice hanging out with you, maybe we can do this again sometime, Eric."
"I don't get a lot of free time, dude." It sounded unnecessarily harsh, so I quickly added, "but feel free to stop by the cafe anytime."
He grinned. "Buy me coffee?"
"You wish. If you live on the island, you can afford to buy your own."
"Fair enough."
Chris waved as he walked away, and I found myself wishing he could have stayed a little longer. I wished I could have been nicer, too. What was wrong with me? I was all rough on the outside and never seemed to be able to say the right thing. I sat back down for a while longer, then sighed and collected my things, fighting off feelings of loneliness as I got onto my bike and set off for home. Next time. . .