He tucked his laptop in the trailer and put a fresh worm on his hook. At least fishing didn’t require any concentration beyond how to rig his line. He caught one small catfish, which gave him something to clean for dinner.
At six, he ignited the propane grill and opened a new packet of Fish Crisp. He ignored the sound of a vehicle coming down the lane behind his trailer—the park might be empty of campers, but the boat ramp was busy this time of day.
“Can I join you?”
Raj jerked around at Robbie’s voice.
He stood on the other side of the grill, holding up a ziplock bag. “I brought perch. Yesterday’s catch.”
“What are you doing here?”
Robbie shrugged. “Inviting myself to dinner. I’d have called, but we haven’t gotten around to exchanging phone numbers.”
Raj couldn’t see any good reason to send him away. “You rented a car to come down here?”
Robbie grinned. “Well. Not like there’s public transportation. Cab would’ve cost twice as much.” He held out the plastic bag.
Raj hesitated only a moment before taking it. “I guess we’re having dinner then. Since you’re here.”
“If I start talking, trying to explain—will you lose your appetite?”
“Go ahead.” Raj rinsed the fillets under cold water from the outdoor tap and added them to the catfish he’d filleted earlier, shaking them all in the crispy coating.
“Have you ever been to Inclusive?”
Raj jerked his gaze away from the fish. “What?”
“It’s a nightclub in St. Albans. Gay-friendly is what they call themselves. I guess because St. Albans is, you know, small.”
“You’re asking me out on a date?” Raj frowned at the grill and laid tin foil on it. A date. At a club. If Robbie thought this was supposed to change his mind, he’d chosen the wrong tack.
“I told you I’m not in the closet anywhere but here.”
Raj sprayed the tinfoil with grease. “Inviting me to a club isn’t going to convince me, Robbie. It’s easy to be ‘out’ in a room full of strangers.”
Robbie’s eyes widened. “Oh. I never thought of that.” His eyebrows drew together into a frown, and Raj looked away. Robbie could be so sweetly adorable; he had to remind himself that wasn’t enough.
“Raj…”
A part of Raj found the desperation in Robbie’s voice gratifying, but he ignored it. He concentrated on the fish instead. It was delicate and easy to overcook.
“What can I do?”
“Seriously?”
Robbie suddenly found his feet very interesting. “What if—if my father takes it badly. I won’t be welcome here.”
It was Raj’s turn to shrug. “I guess that’s possible.” He set out two paper plates. “Tell him or don’t, it’s your life. I’m just not interested in being someone’s dirty little secret.”
“I— No. God, I’m screwing this up. Raj, I’m going to tell him. I don’t know what it is between us, but I’m not going to lose it over something I should have done already, okay? I just— I’m trying to explain why I haven’t done it already.”
As immature as this was, as impatient as Raj felt, he couldn’t help also feeling a little sympathetic. He pushed a plate into Robbie’s hands and asked, “How did you originally plan to tell him?”
“I…um.” Robbie’s cheek flushed, and his stare shifted to where Raj was turning the fillets. “In my head, I’d just show up some weekend with ‘someone special’ in tow and say, ‘Dad, Wanda, this is my boyfriend’.” He shrugged again. “Dad wouldn’t have a hissy fit in front of a stranger, and he’d have the whole weekend to get used to me and a guy, instead of a girl. Then on Monday, he’d likely come down on me like a shitstorm, but…”
Raj’s mouth twitched. “You figure that’s the best way?”
“Probably not. Anyway, it won’t work now because they already know you, and Dad wouldn’t hesitate to freak out.”
Raj studied Robbie’s face. Had he heard that right? “I’m…someone special?”
“Duh.” Robbie blushed bright red.
Chapter Seven
Robbie arrived at Port Stephen about six on Thursday, a dozen tiny Canadian flags on the seat beside him that he picked up for tomorrow’s Canada Day barbeque. He saw Raj standing by his firepit and raised his hand to wave cheerfully. His grin faded as he realized Raj was talking to a pretty girl, who was all flirtatious body language.
Raj caught his eye, and Robbie thought he saw some desperation in his. He pointed to his parents’ trailer and hefted his bag. “Who’s that?” he asked Wanda.
“You mean the cute girl flirting with Raj?” she asked as if there’d be no one else he could mean.
He turned around to hide his blush, dropping his duffel in the corner by the sofa that was his bed. “Yeah, don’t remember seeing her before.”
“Jealous?” He heard the smirk in her voice.
“What? No! Why would I be?” Christ, did she suspect? One brief moment of panic gave way to relief. That would make his confession so much easier. When he got up the nerve to make it. Soon.
“Raj saw her first,” she chuckled.
Ah, that form of jealousy. “Well. It depends—she’s pretty, but she might have an annoying habit or something.” He was disappointed and annoyed at his disappointment. Wanda guessing still wouldn’t save him from having to come clean to his father.
“Her name is Chelsey; she’s Terry’s youngest daughter. Usually finds Port Stephen so boring.” Wanda clearly found the whole thing hilarious.
Robbie didn’t. What if Raj was bi? He’d never asked because right up until two minutes ago the fact that he liked Robbie was all he’d needed to know. “I should go say hi,” he said. “I’m sure they haven’t reached the three-is-a-crowd stage yet.” He made a joke of it. “Besides, it’ll be nice to have another person around this weekend who doesn’t have one foot in the grave.” He winked at Wanda, and she swatted at him.
“Hey,” Robbie said as he approached Raj’s firepit.
Raj looked both hopeful and desperate, which soothed away any residual jealousy. Chelsey gave him a thorough head to toe and turned back to Raj, obviously finding Raj’s tall, dark, and handsomeness preferable. She tilted her head to look Raj in the eyes and smiled.
But Raj’s eyes were meeting Robbie’s, and Robbie smirked. He’d have picked Raj of the two of them as well. “Robbie Wales,” he said affably, sticking his hand out to Chelsey.
Her smile was significantly cooler, but she said, “Chelsey Deyoung. My dad has a trailer on the hill. I was just saying to Raj that it’s so nice to see people under thirty around here.”
Robbie knew Raj was only a couple years away from thirty, and he gave his tall, dark, and handsome lover a big grin.
“Are you going to fireworks in Port Burwell tomorrow night?” she asked Raj.
“I, that is, Robbie and I had planned to go.”
“Oh. Oh, cool. Mind if I tag along?”
Robbie bit back a sigh. So much for his hopes of a romantic Canada Day with Raj.
Turned out he was right about Chelsey having an annoying habit—she never left Raj alone.
Raj said to Robbie, “Wanna go watch that movie?”
Robbie perked right up. “The one we been meaning to watch?” The infamous DVD. Or really any excuse to be alone with Raj, even if they actually watched a movie.
“Ohhh! What movie?” Chelsey asked, all bright-eyed.
Raj caught Robbie’s eye, and he knew Raj was trying to think of a movie she would hate. “Jackass Two,” he said.
“Cool, I love those movies!”
“I dunno,” Robbie said, “What about that World War Two movie you mentioned?”
“Pearl Harbour?” Chelsey asked, eyes wide with enthusiasm.
“You know, it’s such a beautiful day,” Raj said, rather too cheerfully, “Let’s go to the beach instead.”
“Awesome!” Chelsey said. “Gimme a sec to grab my bikini.”
She ran off to her father’s trailer, Raj and Robbie watching her go with matching unhappy faces.
“When did we become babysitters?”
Robbie glanced over his shoulder to see how close Wanda might be before saying in a low voice, “You know she wants you.”
Raj pursed his lips, the corners of his mouth turning down. “Even if I had the slightest interest in women, she’s ten years younger than me,” he replied just as quietly.
“Eight,” Robbie said, torn between annoyance at Chelsey and amusement at Raj’s reaction.
“Whatever. At least at the beach we can steal a minute alone.”
“Wanna borrow a pair of my swim trunks?”
Raj’s confusion was also funny.
“You don’t want her to get a look at you in the tiny bit of spandex you call a bathing suit, do you?”
“Oh, god, no.” He slipped his hand into Robbie’s just long enough to squeeze. “You’re almost the perfect boyfriend.”
“This isn’t a good weekend.” Robbie kept his voice soft and apologetic. He knew what ‘almost’ meant.
“I know,” Raj agreed softly. “But I’m still kind of pissed, because I’m sure if I kissed you like I want to right now, she might get the message that I’m not available.”
Robbie trembled at that, but the kind of kisses he wanted couldn’t be shared in public, no matter how out they were. He wanted hot soul-shattering kisses, the kind that involved naked flesh and—
He gusted out a breath. “I’ll get you a pair.”
“We can change in my trailer,” Raj said. “Let’s see how fast I can suck you off.”
Robbie’s eyes widened, and he scurried to the trailer, remembering to grab a towel. “Me and Raj and Chelsey are going to the beach, Wanda,” he said, finding her inside the trailer with a whetstone.
She winked at him and replied, “Have fun!”
Chelsey’s bikini didn’t leave much to the imagination, but Robbie had no inclination to imagine what little it hid. Her body was smooth, tanned, and firm, and if he’d been at all interested in girls, she’d have his interest. She preened and posed, but Robbie was more interested in Raj. Chelsey didn’t seem to notice that Raj’s heated glances were directed at Robbie—and vice versa.
She brandished a bottle of sun lotion in Raj’s direction and murmured, “Would you mind?”
Robbie snatched the bottle from her hand. “Allow me, milady,” he said gravely. “I happen to be an expert.”
Raj smirked.
Eyes locked on his lover, Robbie’s hands must have been a little too intimate on Chelsey’s back because she gave him a half-lidded look she usually reserved for Raj.
“You are good.”
Robbie bowed and turned to Raj. “Want me to do you?”
“When you put it like that”—Raj said with a snicker—“how can I say no?”
Robbie hesitated. “If we’re going to go swimming, let's do that first, so I don’t have to do it twice.”
“You can do me twice,” Raj said, still laughing. “Last one in is a rotten egg.”
Chelsey rolled her eyes and threw down her towel in front of the sun shade. “You guys are so gay. I’ll be working on my tan. Don’t get ice cream without me!”
They sprinted across the hot sand and fine gravel that made up the beach, splashing and laughing as they ran into the waves.
The Port Stephen beach met warm shallows that stretched many metres before the water reached an appreciable depth. By the time they reached water almost too deep to touch bottom, the shore was so far away the only thing they could distinguish was the bright orange of Raj’s sun shelter. Robbie put his feet down and stood up. The water broke over his shoulders but lower on Raj’s chest, as he stood facing Robbie.
“How do you swim in these?” he complained. “It feels like the water’s going to pull them right off me.”
“If the water doesn’t, I might,” Robbie said, closing the distance between them with a gliding step. He slid his hands inside the elasticized waistband and squeezed the firm muscles of Raj’s ass. “You are fucking gorgeous,” he managed to say before Raj’s mouth claimed his.
Robbie melted into the kiss, his lips parting to admit Raj’s tongue without thought, like blinking or breathing, a natural reaction he didn’t need to think about.
Their bodies had grown used to the water temperature—so well that neither had any trouble maintaining an erection. Robbie sighed into Raj’s mouth, and Raj responded by pushing a knee between Robbie’s legs.
“If I could breathe underwater,” Robbie said, his voice soft and shaky, “I’d return the favour.”
Raj smiled against his ear and nibbled gently at the base of Robbie’s neck.
The waves rocked them, like the water wanted them closer, and Raj’s hands tugged Robbie’s swim trunks down past his balls. “Mmm,” Robbie said, meaning good idea, but the words wouldn’t form. He did the same to Raj.
“I want you naked in the water,” Raj said, his voice low and sultry.
“Mmm,” Robbie agreed again. The waves made them sway together and apart, cocks bumping but not with nearly enough friction. He tried to get closer and almost lost his footing as the water rocked them again.
Raj’s knees bent—Robbie felt it—but he yanked Robbie off his feet anyway. His legs automatically wrapped around Raj’s hips. The next wave moved them as one, and there was plenty of friction now, and it seemed to heat the water around them.
“I learn the sexiest tricks from you,” Raj muttered, dark, golden eyes half hidden by long dark lashes. As if this had been Robbie’s idea, as if he’d ever done it before.
A wave broke against the back of Raj’s head, splashing water into both their faces. Robbie sputtered, wiping at his face with one hand, the other still wrapped around Raj’s neck.
Raj chuckled and kissed him. “Some night when the lake is calm, we’ll come out here and do this again.”
Robbie felt the muscles in Raj’s thighs flex as Raj braced his feet on the fine gravel bottom of the lake. It amazed him how little it took, and then he had no time to be amazed as Raj leaned far enough back to slip an arm between them, taking them both in hand.
Robbie tried to swallow a whimper, unsure of how sounds carried across the water, but his need vocalized itself, as if his voice was connected to all the nerve endings zinging with pleasure. He released his legs slightly, giving Raj more space to squeeze and tug, slide and squeeze, and adding his hand to help.
He pressed their foreheads together, gasping into Raj’s open mouth, swallowing Raj’s harsh, short breaths, his eyes closed against the water breaking over them.
Pleasure pulled Robbie’s body taut. Buoyancy kept him from slamming into the heated slippery friction of Raj’s hand around their dicks, so his release took him by surprise. His back arched, his mouth opened to yelp, and Raj pulled him close for a pillaging kiss. The tension and shuddering releases of Raj’s body under his legs told him Raj hadn’t been far behind him.
They held each other, panting.
“Never done that before,” Robbie muttered against Raj’s ear.
“Me neither. You lasted longer than you usually do.”
Robbie coughed up a laugh. “Still didn’t have any warning. I swear being with you is like being fifteen again.”
“In more ways than one,” Raj said, but he didn’t sound entirely disapproving.
“Next weekend, I promise,” Robbie said, solemnly drawing an X shape over his chest.
Raj grinned as another wave broke over their heads, and Robbie finally let go of Raj with both arms, so they could wipe their faces.
They exchanged foolish grins, and Raj raised one hand above the surface of the water. “We should probably pull up our pants and head in. We’re turning pruney.”
“Wait. While your pants are down, I want to, um, teach you another water game,” Robbie said. “Can you float?” He was sure what he had in mind wouldn’t work with waves this deep, but maybe, if Raj was serious about
coming back on a still night…
“On my back?”
“Yeah.”
“With swim trunks around my knees?”
“Good point.” Robbie grinned and dove under the water, finding Raj’s legs and tugging the trunks all the way down. He nudged one of Raj’s legs and almost gasped when Raj slid his foot out of the shorts. He came up for air, grinning. “Now. On your back. Don’t lose my swim shorts.”
His face unreadable, Raj hesitated only a second before lying back on the water.
Robbie’s breath caught, seeing Raj in all his naked splendour, floating on the water. “Fuck, you’re gorgeous.”
“You’re repeating yourself.”
“I lack sufficient vocabulary to tell you how fucking gorgeous you are,” Robbie said, moving between Raj’s legs. He drew his fingers along the smooth inner thighs and stared at Raj’s cock, soft now, breaking the surface of the water a little and looking like a nice snack. In water not quite so deep, with gentler waves, he’d like to do just that. He settled for a sucking kiss on one thigh, wishing he dared to leave a mark.
Raj twitched away. “Water’s too rough.”
“Yeah,” Robbie agreed. “But definitely worth exploring another time, don’t you think?”
“Pervert.” Raj disappeared below the surface, likely to put his swim shorts back on.
Robbie did the same, hauling his shorts up. At least there was nothing to wash off, he thought with a smirk. “I need a nap,” he said when Raj surfaced, shaking water from his hair and eyes.
“Don’t sleep in the sun, or you’ll be too burnt Sunday night to roll around in my sheets.”
“That would be a tragedy.”
Robbie was gathering his clothes Monday morning when Raj, his voice heavy with sleep, said, “Early, isn’t it?”
He shot him an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you. I need to go next door and…” He gestured down his body. “Shower.”
“I have a shower. Big enough for two.” Raj’s voice was suggestive, sultry.
It had never occurred to Robbie that he could have sex before work. Would it somehow show? If it did, would his coworkers know him well enough to notice?
The Lure of Port Stephen Page 5