Beach Balls

by Tara Lain

  He shook hands with Ian, then hugged Bruce. Bruce clapped his back. “How the hell are you, handsome?”

  Adam smiled. “Hey, flattery will get you everywhere.” But they both knew that wasn’t true. Adam liked the tall, lanky Texan, but no sparks flew.

  Carly put a hand on the new guy’s shoulder. “James, this is Gary Smith…. I thought you guys should get to know each other.” Carly winked.

  Adam shook the guy’s hand. Good firm handshake, and he looked promising. Just the height Adam liked, a few inches shorter than his six two. The body under Gary’s shorts and tank top was fit and tan. The guy had medium blond hair with phony streaks, but they looked good with his big brown eyes.

  Adam smiled. “Have you been in the water yet? How is it?”

  Gary shook his head. “Not yet. I’m too busy sucking up Carly’s delicious mai tais.”

  The problem with these parties was that the relative anonymity made conversation hard. Most of the usual chitchat about work and family got a little too close for comfort. Carly was the only one among them who was completely forthcoming about his identity. Of course, Carly knew who his guests really were. He just didn’t tell, which gave him huge clout he seldom exercised. When he did, he could get a judge appointed or a front-row seat at the Lakers when he needed it.

  Adam nodded toward the drink in Gary’s hand. “I think I’ll follow your lead.” He walked over to the patio bar, where a huge jug of mai tais and a giant ice bucket of various wines commanded the counter. He grabbed a glass and poured some of the sweet, potent rum and fruit juice. He usually drank scotch, but hell, this was a party.

  A hand touched his arm. He looked over his shoulder into Gary’s big brown eyes.

  Gary smiled flirtatiously. “I’ve only been to one of these shindigs before, but I kind of know the ropes. I know a good-looking guy like you is watching for the best hookup, and right now I may look like it. No offense to the other guys, but I figure you know them and have ruled them out for one reason or another. Anyway, I know you may not want to commit in case George Clooney shows up later. But I want you to know that’s okay with me. I’d be happy to fuck now. Or suck if you’re saving yourself.” He grinned. “And we can both change partners later. I love variety, see. I wouldn’t even be true to George. So… you wanna fuck?”

  Adam laughed so hard he sucked mai tai up his nose and had to cough. “I love a man who wants to be appreciated for his beautiful mind.”

  “Hey, I figure we’ve only got the weekend. Might as well make the most of it.”

  “Shit, yes.”

  “Shit yes you agree, or shit yes you want to fuck?”

  He smiled. “Both.”

  Gary pumped his fist. “Shit, yes!” Other men looked up from their conversations.

  Adam waved at them. “Hey, we’ll see you later, okay?”

  Bruce slapped his leg. “Yee-haw. Not that’s what I call getting down to business, baby.”

  Adam just grinned and followed Gary into the house with the sound of the other guys’ laughter floating behind them. He stopped inside the huge great room. “My place or yours?”

  Gary grinned. “Mine’s closer. C’mon.” He took Adam’s arm.

  “You have lots of supplies?”

  “Yeah, I’ve got ’em. But everybody’s clean. Carly checks the medicals.”

  “I still like condoms if we’re going to fuck.”

  “You okay with sucking latex-free? Because, baby, I love to suck.”

  Now that sounded promising. “You got it.”

  Adam let himself be dragged to Gary’s suite. It was on the other side of the hall from his and lacked beach access, but the French doors led to a beautiful garden.

  He barely got to notice the scenery. Gary closed the door and slammed Adam back against it. Adam’s shorts were down around his knees and his cock was headed straight for Neverland in about two seconds. Gary knew just what he wanted, and despite being three or four inches shorter and twenty pounds lighter than Adam, he had determination on his side.

  “Whoa!”

  Gary wasn’t kidding about loving it. He made deep moaning and mewling noises as he sucked, licked, and pumped. Hell, you’d have thought he was the one getting sucked, he was so into it. But Adam wasn’t complaining. He just closed his eyes and surrendered to some much-needed sexual bliss.

  WHAT A great day. The sun reached through Adam’s skin right to his soul. The kayak bobbed on the small waves, and splashes of cool seawater made him gasp. The water didn’t usually warm up until September, so maybe he should have brought a wetsuit. But Carly’s didn’t fit him, and Adam had been in such a hurry, he’d forgotten to pack his own.

  He adjusted his tanks and then tossed the small sand anchor over the side. He was probably far enough out to see some great fish. Plus he really enjoyed the peace. He loved being underwater for the quiet, loved the way the whole world slowed down and waved at him.

  The serenity was so different from his daily life. So different from last night! He chuckled. Man, Gary had sucked him dry. Or so Adam had thought until they’d had dinner and gone back to the bedroom, where he’d returned the favor by hammering Gary’s ass into submission. Even Gary the Energizer Bunny had finally said uncle, falling asleep on his back with snores that shook the walls. Good thing Adam hadn’t planned on sleeping with the guy. He’d crept back to his suite, crawled into bed, and slept like an honest man.

  Adam awakened full of energy, longing for sunshine and water. The rest of the house was still asleep or at other pursuits. He’d found Carly’s tanks, mask, and fins, and here he was.

  The sand anchor seemed secure. He tumbled over the side.

  Wow! The cold water struck every nerve. He gasped and bounced, trying to get used to it. A swell splashed him in the face, and he tasted salt. He rinsed his mask, put it on, and stuck in the mouthpiece. The air rushed into his lungs. He let go of the kayak, and the buoyancy vest took him down.

  He loved this moment. The murky water seemed impenetrable at first. Then his eyes and skin began to adjust. Fish darted in small schools, not much different in color from the blue-brown water. He wasn’t too deep, only twenty-five feet or so, and the water became clearer as he got to the bottom. Hillocks of sand met small gardens of kelp with shiny silver residents.

  Bubbles rose up around him as he breathed. He didn’t have a plan. He just wanted to see stuff and drift…. Coral grew close to the bottom, and he swam down to peer at its brightness against the brown sand. He looked around. Nothing too interesting. Maybe if he got a little closer to the drop-off….

  He grabbed the anchor cord and hauled the kayak with him as he swam, checking out a big halibut on the bottom. Cool. Maybe he’d see a thresher shark. A bit farther, kelp blocked his way for a few feet, and he skirted the patch of weed.

  Movement, but not a fish. Is that a diver? Adam swam toward the wavering outline. No bubbles. Couldn’t be a diver. A shark? Excited, he swam closer. No, it was a person. The diver’s wet-suited back was to Adam. The tall, lanky guy seemed to be studying something closely.

  How the hell did he get around so freely? His tanks were small, light. Rebreather tanks, probably. That system reused the exhaled oxygen and scrubbed the carbon dioxide. Rebreathers didn’t need such big tanks because nothing was wasted. Plus no bubbles. Adam had never seen a rebreather rig up close. Not a lot of sports divers used them.

  Who was this guy? He might as well be standing in his backyard, he looked so at home. What’s he doing?

  Adam floated a little closer. He caught his breath. An octopus. The guy was looking at an octopus. Maybe better to say he was kind of dancing with it. The octopus still had a few of its arms inside a hole in some coral, but the rest were waving from side to side, kind of like it appreciated the guy but was telling him not to come too close.

  Okay, Adam was losing it. Anthropomorphizing an octopus.

  His bubbles flowed upward as he swam closer. The other diver turned, his movements languid. His hand rose up towar
d Adam, warning him off.

  Well hell, it’s not his octopus. Adam swam to the right, and the guy blocked him. Asshole. Adam rushed to the right again and got around him just in time to see the octopus pull back into its hole and disappear. Shit!

  He turned toward the guy. Hell, all he’d wanted to do was see the fucking octopus. He put his hands on his hips, trying to show his pissed-off-ness. The guy shook his head and waved his arms at Adam. Double asshole. Adam turned back toward the hole where the creature had vanished. Maybe he could get the critter to come back out. He swam forward.

  A hard hand grabbed his arm.

  Damn. Who did this guy think he was? Adam whirled as ferociously as the ocean, a mask, regulator, and two huge tanks would allow, and the other diver backed off with his hands up. Adam frowned and then realized how stupid that was. The man couldn’t see his expression. The octopus was completely invisible, so there wasn’t much going on. Adam wouldn’t get in an underwater fistfight over a vanished cephalopod.

  The other diver still watched Adam closely.

  Shit—done. No octopus. No peace. He might as well go back to Carly’s and have sex. With a push of his foot, he swam toward the surface.

  A half hour later, he lay on the sand, still annoyed about the asshole and the octopus. Why had the guy been like that? They could have shared the creature.

  Oh well. He should go back inside and get another hit of Gary, but it felt good just lying on the sand. He’d purposefully chosen a stretch of beach without many kids. Less noise but still close to Carly’s.

  He raised himself onto an elbow. Everyone else would be up by now. Way up. Maybe he’d see who he could find. If he was honest, Gary was almost too much of a good thing. The guy swore he wouldn’t care or be jealous. Of course, he’d had heard that before. He shrugged and glanced over at the kayak full of Carly’s scuba gear. Might as well get to it….

  There he was—rising from the sea like some merman. Not a bubble. Not a ripple. The diver just appeared, manifested by Neptune. It had to be the octopus guy, right? A tall, slim figure strode through the shallow water, navigating the surf like it wasn’t there. Like it couldn’t drag him down and out to sea.

  Octopus-man stopped at the waterline and pulled off the tanks, unfastened the hood of his wetsuit and shoved it back, then shook his head like a dog and fluffed out light brown curls that surrounded his head like a halo.

  Perfect, because from this distance the guy’s face looked totally like an angel. Wide eyes, full lips, and high cheekbones that gave him a slightly hollow-cheeked look. The diver walked a few more steps and dropped the rig, then dragged down the wetsuit, revealing a long, lean body, thin but well-muscled, like a long-distance runner He must spend a lot of time in the sun if he was a diver, but his skin was only a pale tan. Man, under his bathing suit he would be alabaster.

  What else was under that bathing suit?

  Adam forgot to be pissed. The guy started to gather up his stuff, and Adam jumped up. “Excuse me.”

  The angel face turned toward him. Neutral. Maybe he didn’t recognize him from the underwater encounter.

  Adam took a couple of steps toward him. “Hey, I’m the guy you chased off the octopus down there. I know you got there first and all, but hell, all I wanted to do was see the thing. You didn’t have to make a huge deal out of it.”

  A crease appeared between the arched eyebrows. “Your bubbles. They were bothering her. I’d been coaxing her out for over an hour, and then you came barging in like some hippopotamus.” The guy picked up his tanks and started walking.

  “Wait!”

  Angel face stopped and looked back.

  Okay, why did I stop him? “I’m, uh, sorry. I didn’t realize. I just saw the thing and really wanted a better look.”

  “There’s a nice aquarium in Long Beach.”

  “Hey, I said I’m sorry.” He walked up to the man. The diver had an inch or more on Adam. Funny, he wasn’t used to looking up. Adam stuck out his hand. “Ad—uh, I’m James.”

  The guy stared at the offered hand, then his gaze dropped to Adam’s feet and slowly rose. Talk about appraisal. Shit.

  Adam assumed he was weighed and found wanting.

  A long, lean hand grasped his. “Sky. I’m Sky.”

  “You’re a diver?”

  “Obviously.”

  Jesus. This guy was tough. “I meant by profession.”

  “Yes, among other things. I’m a rebreather diver.”

  “I figured that was a rebreathing rig. I’ve never seen one before.”

  Silence. And not a comfortable one. The guy just stared at Adam with slightly narrowed, stormy eyes. Adam looked back at Sky, his mind working without his permission. “Uh, there’s a bar up there at the hotel. Maybe I could buy you a drink to apologize.”

  “It’s 10:00 a.m.”

  “Bloody Mary? Mimosa?”

  He got a tiny curve of the lips for that. Sky nodded toward his tanks and wetsuit. “Sorry. I don’t want to haul this stuff around. And you’ve got your kayak.”

  Adam pointed toward Carly’s. “It belongs up there. Tell you what. Help me haul it back to the house, and I’ll go in and get us some fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice and bring it out. You stay with your gear, and I get to say I’m sorry.”

  He got that level gaze again. The guy’s big eyes were just like his name. Sky blue on a very cloudy day. “Sure, why not? I love grapefruit juice.”

  Son of a bitch. “C’mon.” Adam grabbed the end of the kayak, and Sky picked up a side and his own gear too. After a short, awkward haul, Sky dropped off and let Adam take it the rest of the way to Carly’s. Adam looked over his shoulder and saw Sky sit on the sand facing the surf, his curls rippling in the light breeze off the water. Adam stowed the kayak and headed into the house toward the kitchen, hurrying. He didn’t want Sky to give up and leave.

  Well, hell. He stopped in the dining room. What am I doing? This man was not really friendly, Adam had no reason to think he was gay, and even if Sky was gay, he was not what Adam would define as his type. Why had he even spoken to him?

  And why the apology? His beautiful face? Adam didn’t like pretty guys, usually. And he didn’t go for tall and lean. Short and built was his type.

  Different. Yes, Sky seemed different from anyone he knew. For some reason different was very appealing.

  Adam scurried into the kitchen past a startled Waldo, grabbed the pitcher of fresh-squeezed juice from the refrigerator, poured two glasses, waved at Waldo, and went out the kitchen doors to the beach. He didn’t really want to run into the other guys just yet.

  Sky hadn’t moved. He leaned back on his forearms facing the ocean, his head turned up a little toward the sun.

  Adam walked up behind him. “Here ya go. As promised.”

  Sky sat up and reached for a glass. “Thanks.” He took a sip. “Wow, good. Fancy too.” He lifted the cut crystal glass, clearly admiring it. Yeah, maybe that hadn’t been the best choice for the beach, but Adam had been in a hurry. A big hurry.

  He grinned back, sat on the sand beside Sky, and sipped his juice. It really was delicious, with that tart-sweet flavor only grapefruit had. He nodded toward the spot up the beach where they’d met. “Are you doing underwater research?”

  “Yeah. That’s one of my locations.”

  “Do you specialize in octopuses or something?”

  “Among other things. Until you came along.”

  Adam eyed Sky, who was smiling. Sky jerked his head toward the house. “Do you live there? It’s quite a house.”

  “No. It’s just a friend’s house. I’m here for a weekend house party.”

  Sky looked back toward the sprawling beach “cottage” spread out around its patio and lawn, which verged on the sand. Carly and two of his late-arrival guests were sitting in chairs on the patio, eating breakfast. Adam didn’t see Gary, who was probably doing his vacuum cleaner imitation on someone else.

  Sky stared back at the ocean and took another drink. “I don�
��t see any women.”

  Okay, so why had the guy made that observation? “That’s because there aren’t any.”

  Sky took two more sips. He seemed to be savoring every mouthful. He glanced toward Adam and then away so fast his eyes seemed to bounce. “You gay?”

  Two could play that game. Adam took a slow sip of his juice. Was he going to share his carefully guarded secret with a stranger? Hell, why not? He was James today. He could be gay. “Yep.”

  They both drank simultaneously. Apparently Sky digested the information with the citrus. Only the waves broke the silence.

  A standoff. So Adam would ask the obvious because, frankly, he was dying to know. “You gay?”

  “Yep.”

  Adam looked toward Sky and got the full blue-gray gaze. Then Sky smiled. The storm clouds broke. It was like he’d been given a gift—white, beaming with dimples for miles.

  There was no possible way not to return that smile, so Adam did. “That’s nice to know.”

  “Yeah.”

  They went back to sitting and sipping.

  Adam got to the bottom of his glass. “I don’t suppose you’d like to come in and meet the other guys. I mean, it’s no big networking thing. Everyone kind of stays to themselves, if you know what I mean. But you could have a drink… of grapefruit juice.” He cast a sideways grin at Sky.

  At least he got a smile back. “Thanks. Can’t. I have some business to attend to today.”

  “Underwater?”

  He shook his head, curls bouncing. “Dry land.”

  Okay, one more shot. “Uh, there’s going to be a cocktail thing around seven if you happen to be free.”

  “Here?”

  Adam pointed at the terrace. “Right there.”

  “Could I just show up? No one would mind?”

  “No. It would be fine.” I hope.

  “I can’t say. There’s a chance.” He looked at Adam. “I guess you’d need to know for sure.”