by Thom Collins
Dominic murmured agreement. In the natural light of morning, Arnie saw more clearly the tints of amber and gold in his brown eyes. His beard had grown a little overnight and, with his less than perfect morning hair, it gave him a sexy, disheveled appearance, which made him even more attractive.
They were comfortable seeing each other like this, ungroomed and unstyled.
An unexpected question popped into Arnie’s mind. Had Gabriel ever stayed over like this? Had he enjoyed early mornings in this bed too? From what Dominic said, it seemed unlikely. Does it matter? That was before we ever met. Dominic had a past. They both did. They were adults with a fair amount of history between them. Arnie shoved the thoughts of Gabriel aside. It wasn’t the time. There was a conversation he’d have to have with Gabriel at some point, for the sake of their friendship, but he didn’t have to think about it now. Everything could wait.
Dominic had noticed the change in his manner. “You look troubled,” he said. “Anything wrong?”
“Not at all,” Arnie smiled. “Far from it. Right now, everything is perfect.”
Dominic shuffled closer, entwining their legs. “If you’re worried about what happens next, you shouldn’t be.”
“Worried is the wrong word. I know what I want to happen.”
“Good. Because I want to continue what we’re doing. I want you. I want to get to know you properly. You and your family. AJ. We have other people to consider, circumstances beyond our control—I’m aware of all of that. Believe me when I tell you this—I’m prepared to wait. I’ll give you all the time and space you need. As long you feel the same, the waiting will be worth it.”
“That’s just it,” Arnie sighed. “I don’t want to wait. I want you now. I want this now.” He patted the bed, then waved his arm around the room. “You know I’ve never had a boyfriend. Not a real one. There’ve been affairs and casual relationships, similar to what you had with Gabriel. All on the quiet with no chance of anything meaningful developing. You’re the first man I’ve met who makes me want more. I want to take it further. Go on dates to restaurants and movies. I want you to come with us when I take AJ to the beach or for a burger.”
“I’ll give you all of that,” Dominic said. “You only have to ask.” He leaned over and kissed the tip of his nose. “And there are no skeletons in my closest. There’s nothing bad that’s going to come out and bite you in the press. I work, I write, I mess around with boats—that’s all there is to me.”
“There’s a lot more to you than that. You proved it more than enough last night.”
He grinned. “What I’m saying is, don’t worry about me. Do what you have to do for the sake of your boy, and I’ll be here for you when you’re ready.”
“You’re too good to be true,” Arnie said, moving his hand to Dominic’s butt.
“I hate to tell you this, but you’re gonna have to lay off that.” He wriggled his arse for emphasis. “For this morning at least. I am sore as hell after last night.”
“Sorry,” Arnie said, moving his hand away.
“There’s nothing to be sorry about.” He laughed. “I’m just not that used to it, that’s all. Especially to someone as big as you.”
Now Arnie laughed. “To be honest, I feel the same way too. Last night I couldn’t get enough, but this morning my butthole is saying what the hell were you thinking.”
They rolled onto their backs, side by side, and gazed at the ceiling. This is enough, Arnie thought. The sex had been incredible, but there was something more extraordinary about lying naked next to another man and being one hundred percent comfortable with him.
“I’ve got an idea,” Dominic said. “Though you may think it’s too soon.”
“Tell me.”
“You could bring AJ by the station later. I’m going in this afternoon to do some maintenance on the boat. Why not drop by? I’ll show him around and let him sit at the wheel. I’m sure he’ll enjoy it. Most young lads do. And it’ll allow him to get to know me. Then it won’t be such a shock when he finds out we’re seeing each other. Unless he hates me, of course. In that case, this plan could be an utter fail.”
“AJ won’t hate you. He’s a good judge of character. Just like his dad.”
As he thought about it, Arnie realized it wasn’t a bad idea. AJ was already interested in the lifeboat. Before they’d even come this summer, he’d asked if his granddad could arrange a similar kind of thing. It had all been so hectic that until now there hadn’t been an opportunity. And Dominic was right. It would allow them to get to know each other better before dropping the bombshell on the boy.
Arnie rolled over, swinging his leg across Dominic’s body, to sit up and straddle him. Dominic’s eyes widened in surprise.
“All right,” Arnie said. “You’re on. I’ll ask him, and if he’s interested, I’ll bring him along after lunch.”
Arnie ground his hips, letting the weight of his balls fall on Dominic’s stomach. His cock hardened.
“What’s this?” Dominic asked, wrapping his fingers around the stiff flesh.
“I reckon I’ve got about three hours before I have to think about being a dad again. Our arses may need a rest after last night, but my mouth and hands are good to go.”
Dominic threw back his head and laughed loudly. “Then we should make good use of the time. Let’s get to it, Daddy.”
* * * *
Cyrus answered the door when Arnie arrived to collect AJ. His brother-in-law did not try to hide his contempt. “They’re through there,” he said, turning his back and heading upstairs. Off to his study, Arnie guessed, where he’d work all day, even though it was the weekend.
He’d given up caring what Cyrus’ problem was. Homophobia or jealousy—he couldn’t decide. It was Cyrus’ issue. If they could get through the rest of their lives, barely talking, faking civility for the sake of his sister, that was good enough for Arnie. He didn’t care for the man Cyrus had turned into. Let him rot in his own poison if that’s what he wants.
He followed the sound of excited squeals and shouting to the back of the house. AJ was in the garden with his cousins and the dog. Sophie sat in the conservatory with her iPad and a tray of coffee, keeping an eye on the kids through the open doors.
“Morning,” Arnie said.
Sophie put down the tablet and took off her glasses. “Good morning.” She smirked. “And how was last night? From the look on your face, I’d say you enjoyed yourself.”
“Whatever happened to discretion?”
“Between siblings? There’s no such thing and there never was. Tell me all about it.”
“No way. You’ll blab to our mam and then it’ll be all over town by this evening.”
Sophie’s eyes widened in delight. “So there is something to tell. Come on, spill.”
“Thanks for babysitting,” he said, changing the subject. “Everything go all right?”
“They’re all still in one piece, as you can see.” She gestured outside. “No disasters. So, come on, you can at least tell me if you’re going to see him again.”
“Who?”
“Dominic Melton.”
“Who’s he?” he asked nonchalantly.
“You’re cruising for a bruising, big brother.”
“Look, I don’t want to make a fuss, and I don’t want everyone gossiping. It’s early days. Very early. Can we just let things be and see what happens?”
Sophie poured him a cup of coffee. “You’re being cautious, and I know why. Your skanky ex is all over the morning news again today. Tara was a mistake. If it wasn’t for AJ, I’d say she was the biggest mistake you ever made. But Dominic is nothing like her. He’s perfect for you. I’ve thought so for ages. Long before I heard a whisper that you might be into him. Go for it. You won’t regret it this time.”
“We’ll see.”
“I’m right. I’m telling you. And if you don’t go for him, then I might just trade in Cyrus and steal him out from under you. Half the town will be green with envy when they h
ear about this. And the other half will be jealous of Dominic.”
“Let’s make sure they don’t hear about it for a while, eh? I’m serious. Let’s have some privacy while we figure things out.”
“I’ll keep quiet on one condition,” she said.
“Which is?”
“You grab this chance of happiness with both hands and hold on as tight as you can. You deserve it, Arnie. I mean it. I really want to see you happy, and I’m certain he’s the man who can do it.”
* * * *
AJ’s eyes widened in delight when Arnie suggested he could look around the lifeboat station and maybe get onboard the boat.
“Can I go out to sea?” he asked.
“No, not today. But you can sit in the driver’s seat and see how everything works.”
“Cool.”
Arnie drove him straight from Sophie’s into the town center. Sophie had said the kids had been up since six thirty and had their breakfast by seven. AJ claimed he was starving when they left the house. He took him to a small café on a side street just off the waterfront. Because of the location, it was popular with local people but less so with the tourists, which meant they should be left alone. AJ ordered a ham and cheese sandwich with a bowl of fries and a diet cola. Arnie, who’d had bacon sandwiches with Dominic a little over an hour earlier, asked for a pot of breakfast tea.
“Can we go on a boat sometime?” AJ asked.
“If that’s want you want, sure. They run trips along the coast from here in the marina. We can go one day this week if the weather holds.”
“Will we see sharks? Or killer whales?”
Typical AJ. The boy was always thinking about fearsome creatures. “I don’t think so, son. We don’t get many of them around here. There’s nothing to be scared of in the sea at North Point.”
“I’m not scared. I just want to see a big shark. Like Meg.”
“Who’s Meg?”
“She’s a giant shark,” he said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “We watched the movie last night. The Meg. It’s like a giant dinosaur shark. It was so cool.”
That explained the sudden interest. “Well, I don’t think we have ordinary sharks around here, let along monster ones, so we can relax on that front.”
Once finished, they left the car where it was and walked to the lifeboat station. As they passed The Lobster Pot, he saw a member of Gabriel’s team setting tables out front. There was a discussion he’d have to have sometime, but not today. He didn’t want to spoil what had been a nice morning by starting an argument with Gabriel. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that. Gabriel can’t have meant what he’d said to Dominic about going to the press. It was out of character. He wasn’t that petty—Arnie was sure of it.
He would ask his parents to look after AJ for a couple of hours on Monday and arrange to meet Gabriel for a coffee somewhere. This could all be straightened out. Neither of them had to make things difficult.
Dominic was already at the station when they arrived. The front doors were open and Noel was sweeping the path in front with a long-handled broom. Although it was less than two hours since he’d seen him last, Dominic was a feast for the eyes. He wore a pair of nicely fitting jeans and the customary navy polo shirt. He’d showered and trimmed his beard, and his hair was combed into its usual neat style. Very nice.
“Hello,” he said, smiling, friendly and not over-familiar.
“Hi,” Arnie said, as though they only knew each other in passing.
“You must be AJ,” Dominic said. “I’m Dominic and this is Noel—we both help around here.”
Noel gave a curt nod before getting on with the brushing. AJ glanced from Dominic to the boat behind him in the station. “Can I really have a look around?”
“Of course you can, come on. It’s this way.”
Arnie followed and was soon ignored as AJ became enthralled with Dominic and the lifeboat. It surprised him to see that Dominic had such an easygoing manner with children, considering he had no close family of his own. Then again, hadn’t he said they often welcomed schools and youth groups for tours around the station and to educate them on water safety? He was a natural.
He helped AJ onto the boat and followed him in.
“Are you the captain?” AJ asked.
“I’m the helmsman,” Dominic said.
“What does that mean?”
“I drive the boat. Come along here and I’ll show you where I sit.”
He let AJ take the seat in the stern beside the engine and hold the wheel. “Where does the captain sit?”
“We don’t have a captain. Our boat isn’t big enough to need one. We’re all a team with different jobs to do.”
“If you do the driving, you must be the closest thing to a captain, mustn’t you?”
Arnie was pleased to see AJ getting on so well with him, too. AJ didn’t know the real reason behind this, but it was a start, to see if they had a connection. If AJ had acted like a brat or given Dominic attitude, they’d have a challenge in their hands going forward, but the way they were behaving, everything looked good.
Maybe I can have this. It seemed too much to hope for. For the longest time, Arnie had ruled out the possibility of a relationship. Since taking full charge of AJ, he’d put his own desires on hold and hadn’t dared consider it. He supposed things were different now. AJ was older. He would soon be ten. And while Tara might be acting up, things were pretty settled elsewhere. AJ was happy at school and at home. There were no tantrums or hissy fits. He was a good kid.
There’d never been a better time for Arnie to consider the real possibility of having a boyfriend.
That was all it would be for now. A consideration. This was a very tiny step in the right direction. Not even a step—just a toe over the line. There was such a long way to go.
It’s a start, at least.
“Have you seen any sharks when you’ve been out in this?” AJ asked.
“Sure,” Dominic said. “Sometimes big ones.”
“See,” AJ hollered at Arnie. “I told you there were sharks.”
“I’m not sure that’s helping,” Arnie said to Dominic.
Dominic winked in response and continued the tour.
Afterward, while AJ was in the main station with Noel, looking at models of previous lifeboats, Arnie and Dominic went to the kitchen to fetch them drinks.
“That went well,” Dominic said. “Don’t you think?”
“I think it did,” Arnie said, sliding up to cop a feel of Dominic’s butt and plant a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you. He likes you, I can tell.”
“I like him,” Dominic said, pulling Arnie in for a proper embrace. “He’s a nice kid with a genuine interest. You should see some of the little shits we get coming through here. They couldn’t give a toss about the boat or what we do. We’re just an inconvenience when they’d rather be playing on their phones. AJ didn’t look at his phone once.”
“That’s because he doesn’t have one. He has a tablet for playing games, but it stays at home. I don’t allow him to bring it out with us.”
Dominic raised his eyebrows. “That must make you very popular.”
“I’ll keep it up as long as I can. I’ll have to give in eventually, in another year or two, but for now, I want him to enjoy being a boy. There’s plenty of time ahead for him to grow up. I’m glad he’s still into dinosaurs and monsters. I was the same at that age.”
“There’s something we have in common. I was too.” Dominic put his arms around Arnie, pulling him into a loose embrace. “It feels good, doesn’t it? All this? Meeting AJ?”
Arnie kissed him on the mouth. “It does. Better than I ever imagined.”
It was true. Following the stresses of the last few weeks, allowing himself to lower his guard and fall in love was the last thing he’d expected. Things were looking up. He hoped they’d stay that way.
Chapter Seventeen
“Can we go for a walk on the beach?” AJ asked.
They
had just come out of the lifeboat station and Arnie was about to head toward where he’d left the car. The good weather of the morning was on the turn, with rapidly developing clouds coming in on a stiff breeze from the sea. The temperature had dropped several degrees since their arrival but was still pleasantly warm in the marina.
“I thought you wanted to watch a movie this afternoon,” he said.
“No. I want to see the caves under the point.”
“The what?”
“The caves under the point. I heard they go right beneath the house we’re living in. There are tunnels where smugglers and Vikings used to hide their loot and treasure.”
Arnie tried not to laugh. “Who told you that?”
“Everyone says it.”
“Everyone, eh? There are some small caves along the coast, but not the kind you’re thinking of. Just little recesses where the sea has cut into the rock. No tunnels.”
AJ didn’t believe his old man. “Can we go for a look, anyway? Please.”
“Sure we can. Don’t get your hopes up too high, that’s all I’m saying.” He took AJ’s hand. “Come on, we need to cross the bridge first.”
They went over to the north side of the river and followed the harbor wall until they reached the path that led to the beach below North Point. The beach was quiet for a Saturday afternoon. Arnie expected there to be more people around, but as they walked down to the shore, he realized how cool the sea wind was. A decent-sized swell was throwing up some big waves, but there weren’t any surfers around to enjoy it.
“Did you have fun with the lifeboat?” he asked, as they headed north along the beach.
AJ was excited and Arnie had to step up to keep pace with the little guy.
“It was cool. Did Grandad used to be a lifeboat man?”
“He did, yes. Not in that boat, though. It’s fairly new, but he used to go out on rescues all the time when I was your age.”