by Liam Ward
Finally, I was in up to my waist and had adjusted to the water’s temperature.
“Let me see that,” Wayne said and motioned towards my tube.
Even though he was in the water deeper than I was, he still stood over me. Wayne set his tube down and allowed the flow of the water to keep it pinned to his leg. I handed him my tube.
Wayne held the inner tube steady and waited for me to take my seat. I sat back and the tube comfortably held me. My legs were now partially out of the water and the sun warmed my thighs. Wayne still held onto my tube. I tilted my head back to look up at him. He bent down and kissed me in a somewhat awkward upside down kiss. The water wanted to carry me away on the tube, but Wayne’s large hands were on my shoulders. I reached my arms around his neck and held him there for a while longer. I wanted him to move his hands down to my body. I wanted him to touch what he wanted to touch. But we let each other go for the moment.
When Wayne looked up, he realized that his tube had floated downstream and was skittering against the cattails that lined the riverbank.
“Aw... shit,” Wayne said. He quickly trudged through the water but realized that he was moving too slow to catch the runaway rubber, so he jumped in and swam to catch up with the tube.
I floated lazily behind him and laughed. Wayne’s muscular back bulged and rippled as his arms effortlessly pulled him through the water. The tube bounced off a fallen tree and moved towards the center of the river. Wayne caught his tube. He looked back at me and grinned while sticking his arms out of the water and flexing his large biceps for me.
“That’ll teach ya,” I said.
“Don’t count on it,” Wayne replied. He stood still for a moment and waited for me to float downstream to him. As I neared him, he sat down into his tube and used his arms to paddle closer to me.
There was not one scrap of fat on Wayne. His abs were well defined even while sitting. I was envious of his youthful form, but I also realized that I probably never looked as lean as he did, even when I was young.
Wayne reached over, grabbed my tube, and pulled me close to him. “And you didn’t even help me get my tube. What if I’d have drowned?” Wayne asked jokingly.
I took the point of his chin and turned his head towards me. Wayne had big brown eyes and long eye lashes. His nose was prominent but was proportional to the rest of his face. Trying not to tip over on my tube, I leaned towards Wayne. “I’d have to give you CPR,” I said and launched myself at Wayne to kiss him. My tube shot out from underneath me like a football leaving a kicking tee. I faceplanted into Wayne’s chest and felt my legs dangle in the deep water below me. I couldn’t feel the bottom of the river and clung onto Wayne’s muscular torso and arms as we were carried downstream.
Wayne laughed and held me tight.
Chapter Twelve - Wayne
Floating relaxed me. My tired limbs were buoyant and relieved from the day’s pressures. I was no longer thirsty, the sky above was clear, and a beautiful woman was by my side. I almost let a mosquito suck my blood to share the love.
“It’s been too long since I’ve done this. We used to float down this river about every other weekend when I was in high school. Damn good fishing out here too,” I said.
“This is relaxing. I can’t believe I’ve never done this,” Mary said.
“Really?” I asked. My skin chilled as we entered a stretch of river that was shaded by trees.
“Yea. I wasn’t very outdoorsy as a kid. But I’m 37, so that excuse doesn’t really cut it. I just don’t use my free time wisely, I guess. Too much time wasted in the office,” Mary said. She cupped her hand and moved it through the water.
Free time was an odd concept to me. My work happened on my parents farm and my fun usually took place there too. The line between work and fun was blurry — some days I complained about this. However, hearing Mary describe the rigid and monotonous rhythm of her days made me grateful for my life.
“It doesn’t sound like you enjoy your job. Is it stressful or boring?” I asked.
Mary let out a sigh. “Sometimes stressful. Mostly boring. I just feel like I show up, things appear on my computer screen and I try to keep people happy. I feel like I’m trading hours of my life for a little bit of money. Crammed in that office all day — it kills me,” she said.
“I’m sorry,” I said. I knew nothing about working in an office. It didn’t sound overly physical but sitting in an office chair all day sounded tiring. “Is there a way out?” I asked Mary. I stole an occasional glance at her beautiful chest.
Damn I’m lucky. She’s so sexy.
“I don’t know. There aren’t many other jobs around here. At least none that pay well. I’d like to finish paying off my house before I find something else,” Mary said.
I put my hand on her thigh. “How long is that?”
Mary took a deep breath. “A little under five years probably,” she said.
“Jeese. That seems like a long time to be unhappy,” I said. I searched for something more compassionate or prescriptive to say but came up empty-handed. Mary had entered my life only a few days prior, yet she was already someone that I cared deeply for. “Are you looking for other jobs?” I asked.
“Everyday. There’s nothing. Things are much slower here. There were a lot of jobs to pick from in Chicago. I keep praying for a design position to open up where I’m at, but so far, I’ve had no luck. Don’t find many creative jobs this far north,” Mary said.
A cold culture.
We rounded a bend in the river and the intense sun showed itself. I had no doubt in my mind that Mary would be sunburnt after this float. Her skin was shielded in the office environment and hadn’t had a chance to harden to the sun.
“What about you?” Mary asked.
I raised my eyebrows at her. I had no damned clue about my future. Ambition was present but direction was lacking. There was the practical path forward on my parents’ farm. Or there were the many unknowns. An exciting lot of rag tag jobs: oil rigs, wind turbine farms, construction, seafood processor. The longshot was an education.
“You had mentioned becoming a vet? Is that something you’ll pursue?” Mary asked.
“I’d like to, but don’t know how I’d pay for it. That’s a lot of schooling,” I said. I did have some money saved up, but it wasn’t nearly enough to leave home, support myself, and attempt to pay for school.
“Well, you could try to do it cheap, but you can’t let the cost scare you away from going. Just don’t spend your student loans on bullshit and get a job,” Mary said.
I couldn’t help but smile. Mary was very feminine but had a tough side. She seemed like she could fend for herself. “Yea, I suppose you’re right. I just don’t know where I’d go.”
“A city like Lansing or Chicago or something,” Mary said.
“Right.” There was nothing stopping me from going to college. Besides an obvious truth. “I think it would be hard for my family. I’m the only son. My father is active, but he always needs someone else around. There’s a lot of work on the farm,” I said.
“I can imagine it’s a lot of work,” she said. Mary ran her hand back and forth through the water. She had such a miraculous shape. I wanted to be behind her with my arms wrapped around her. I was eager to feel her soft body pressed against mine.
“Did your parents wonder where you were going?” Mary asked.
“Yea. I told them that we were going for a float,” I answered.
“They find that weird?”
“Not that I could tell. Did you think I’d try to keep it a secret?” I asked.
“I guess I kinda thought you might try to keep us a secret, but it makes me feel good that you’re not. I’m nearly your mother’s age. They had of said something about that,” Mary said.
“Not really. My father didn’t care one bit,” I said.
“He seems like a really sweet guy.”
“He is pretty chill.”
“What about your mom?”
“She’
s a little protective, but she wasn’t too upset,” I said.
“I hope not. I can’t have your mother mad at me.”
“She’s definitely not.”
“Good. Because you’re pretty cool and I want to see you more,” Mary said.
I felt golden. Emboldened, I propped myself up, grabbed onto Mary’s thigh for balance, and kissed her. I wasn’t sure if I should leave my eyes open or closed, so I alternated between the two and occasionally met Mary’s eyes.
Chapter Thirteen - Mary
I jumped off my tube and trudged through the water towards the riverbank. The river bottom was visible, which set my mind at ease. At the riverside, knee-deep water met a short wooden sea wall; its boards were green with algae and held back a steep, lush hill.
Wayne threw both of our tubes onto the shore and hopped over the sea wall. He turned around and offered me help out of the water. His wide chest and big arms were near my face. Too tempting. I planted a kiss on his pec.
He grinned and put his hands under my arms. Wayne’s overwhelming power hoisted me onto the grass. We both stood and he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close to his hard chest. A towering figure, he looked down into my eyes. “Thanks for coming with me cutie,” he said.
“Of course. That was a lot of fun,” I said. It had been quite relaxing and I felt that Wayne and I were growing closer.
Wayne took my hand and led me up the slope. Grass clippings clung to my wet feet and ankles. The crest of the slope opened to a narrow yard behind an old looking building. A small hand painted sign read The Riverside Store. The back of the store had a large unpainted porch with a table and chairs. Windows on the second floor contained plants and suncatchers — I thought that someone likely lived above the store.
Roma was tied up near the porch. The beautiful horse nickered as we approached her and the buggy.
Two white towels sat on the buggy’s dull cloth seat. Wayne grabbed one of them, opened it up and wrapped it around me. His embrace warmed me and we kissed. Wayne’s hands found my ass through the towel and squeezed my cheeks like a cat kneading a blanket.
Our kiss was interrupted by my stomach’s growl.
Wayne looked at me with one eyebrow raised. “You hungry cutie?” he asked.
“Starving. What’s good to eat around here?” I said. I had driven by this strip of businesses before but had never stopped at any of them. They looked a little run down and uninteresting.
“Charlie’s Bar has some pretty good burgers, if that sounds good to you?” Wayne asked.
“It does,” I said.
“Cool. I’ll make sure that Roma is okay to wait for us a little longer. You warm enough?” Wayne asked.
“Yea. I don’t have any clothes to change into. Do you?” I asked.
“Shoot uhh... We’ll just get the burgers to go and eat on the ride back to your car,” Wayne said.
“Sounds good,” I said.
Wayne chuckled to himself. “Bar food on the ride back. Totally lacking romance. I should’ve planned something better,” Wayne said.
“Oh whatever, I’m not high maintenance. I’m just happy to be with you.”
“Good,” Wayne said. He stuck the towel underneath his waistband and dried himself. The thought of wet cotton shorts and underwear made me itchy; I wasn’t sure how Wayne was able to tolerate it. He finished drying himself and then tucked the towel around his waist like he was fresh out of the shower. His tan and muscular torso was accentuated by the white towel.
I wrapped my towel around myself and tucked the top in to hold it up. I was sure that I didn’t look nearly as good as Wayne.
Roma stomped her front hoof and moved her head around. I wondered if the horse was tired of waiting. Wayne rubbed Roma’s face. “We’ll be right back. Sorry I’ve kept you waiting so long,” he said to the horse.
I occasionally talked to my car, but Wayne’s relationship with his horse, which was not simply a pet, but also his mode of transport, was intimate. Wayne picked at something in Roma’s mane and ran his fingers through the long black hair a few times. He looked towards the sky as if he were checking for rain and then looked at me.
“Ready?” Wayne asked.
“Sure am,” I said. I noticed that Roma watched us as we walked away.
The path around the store consisted of tan pavers with marigolds on either side. We rounded the store and looked down the street. There were at least five other buildings on the street. On a squat and rundown looking building, a painted wooden sign read Charlie’s Bar and Grill. We followed a cracked sidewalk down the street. As we got closer, I could see that the building’s windows were filled with sun-bleached beer ads and lifeless neon signs. The dirt parking lot was filled with pickups and motorcycles. Large wooden doors, which were riveted with iron squares, marked the entrance to the bar; compared to the rest of the downtrodden building, these doors seemed oddly ornate.
Wayne held the door open for me and I walked into the dimly lit room. The bar smelled dank and greasy, but the conditioned air felt fantastic after being in the summer heat. Even in the dimly lit bar, I could see that I was burnt and the skin on my arm was starting to feel tight and painful. I doubted that Wayne would be burnt whatsoever.
The bar was on the far side of the room. It was long and faced with rough sawn wood. Silver stools with cracked black leather tops waited at the bar for thirsty patrons. Wayne led me to the bar and we sat down. He grabbed a menu from the nearby stack and set it between us. The menu was a one sided laminate. A simple selection. I considered ordering myself a drink but didn’t want Wayne to feel left out.
“What’re you thinking?” Wayne asked.
I quickly breezed over the menu. “Cowboy burger sounds good. Oh, sweet potato fries too. You?” I asked.
“Umm… I’ll probably have to do the wings. I’m feeling something spicy,” Wayne said.
I ran my hand up Wayne’s back and through his hair. He jolted slightly at my touch, as if I had surprised him. His innocence was cute — the same innocence turned me on. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed movement near the kitchen doorway, and turned to see if the bartender was coming to take our order.
Rather than seeing a seasoned and grizzled bartender, a young and petite server appeared. She had blonde hair, a low cut shirt, which showed ample cleavage, and a smile on her face. Her tight body would keep men enthralled for many years to come.
“Hi, I’m Nancy. What can I get y’all started off with?” the server asked. Nancy was stunning. She was probably Wayne’s age, maybe a little older. I noticed that her eyes lingered on Wayne longer than they did on me. That was not surprising. It was likely a health code violation for him to be in the restaurant shirtless, but no one was complaining. Wayne was a handsome man. She probably thought that I was his mother.
“I’ll just have water,” Wayne answered.
“Water for me too,” I said.
Nancy quickly poured two red plastic cups and set them down on cocktail napkins. “Are you two visiting or from the area?” she asked.
“We’re local,” I said. I realized that I may have sounded curt and continued. “Just got done floating down the river.”
“How was the water?” Nancy asked. She looked to Wayne for an answer.
“Great. Couldn’t have asked for a better day out either,” Wayne answered. “Actually, can I get a Coke? In a to-go cup please?” Wayne asked Nancy.
“Of course,” Nancy said. She walked to the soda fountain. Her round ass bounced in her form-fitting black dress pants. The neon blue strings of her waist apron were tied around her little waist and formed a neat bow on the small of her back.
I glanced over at Wayne to see if he was looking at Nancy’s ass, but I found that he was still looking at the menu. I questioned my jealous feelings. They were unjustified, but I felt like a lottery winner driving to collect for their winning ticket — I was afraid that someone would take Wayne away from me.
He looked up at me and smiled. “Man, now I d
on’t know if I want wings,” Wayne said.
“Oh yea?” I asked.
Nancy returned and set Wayne’s Coke down in front of him.
“Thank you,” Wayne said to her. He turned back to me and put his hand on my leg. “I think you’ve convinced me to get a burger.”
Chapter Fourteen - Wayne
A grease blotted brown paper bag sat on the floor of the buggy. The bag was filled with crumpled wax paper, empty ketchup packets, and used napkins. We had eaten our fill and melted into the buggy’s seat. Mary and I were both exhausted from the day’s activity. The sun was low in the sky but the evening’s air was warm. Roma’s hooves clopped on the pavement. We were half of the way back to the roadside park.
“Uhhh... I ate too much,” Mary moaned. She rubbed her belly through her blue bathing suit and laughed.
Her curvy body shook a little when she laughed and I loved it. “Yea, that greaseball of a burger filled me up,” I said. I wanted to kiss her happy belly and leave a trail of kisses down to her lush mound. I fantasized about pulling the little piece of blue fabric to the side and tasting her. Mary’s round and succulent body was inviting. She filled the one-piece swimsuit in a fantastic way. The sides of her large boobs were visible and her sunburnt cleavage was mesmerizing. Mary had many curves and I wanted to explore them all.
“Thanks for dinner cutie,” Mary said.
“I’ve gotta keep my woman happy,” I said. I cringed after the sentence had left my mouth. ‘My woman’ implied commitment and that hadn’t been agreed upon. I hoped that I hadn’t scared Mary or weirded her out. I tended to come on a bit fast.
Mary smiled, widened her eyes, and quickly replied, “You make me very happy.” She slid towards me, rested her head on my shoulder and put her hands on my arm.