Wild Fiction

They took it in turns to steer while it was daylight. After the sun had set in a ball of fire below the western horizon, the boys dropped the spinnaker. James started the engines and they motored through the night with the auto-pilot engaged. Conrad set the radar with a two-mile warning and James pulled the short straw and slept next to the instruments in the cockpit.
Rebecca had already taken over the port aft cabin and wished the boys good night while they were setting up emergency parameters and procedures for the evening. Conrad dumped his bag in the mid-port cabin and quietly opened the door to Rebecca’s cabin and let himself in.
‘Rebecca,’ he said while letting his eyes became accustomed to the darkness. There was no reply or movement. He found her body with his hands and the aid of a slither of moon that was pushing a weak light through the hatch. She was covered with a thin silk sheet. He ran his hands over her form and could feel that she was naked underneath it. ‘Rebecca,’ he said again, this time a little more loudly. He put his ear down next to her mouth and listened to her deep breathing. She was fast asleep. His kissed her on the cheek and then on the lips. There was still no movement. He ran his hands from her stomach and up to her breasts and let his fingers encircle her nipples through the sheet. Suddenly he felt very guilty and pulled himself back against the door and stood staring at her motionless outline. The erection in his shorts made it uncomfortable to stand up straight and he bent over slightly before pulling off his shorts and standing naked at the door. His mind was racing with one thought, one subject and it did not want to let him out of that cabin. He threw his head back against the door hitting it with a loud thud. He rubbed his hand over the back of his head massaging the bump that he could feel developing already. ‘Rebecca,’ he said quietly and almost to himself. ‘Please wake up.’ There was only the faint rise and fall of Rebecca’s chest as she breathed in and out. Conrad ran a hand down the door, found the latch, and pulled on it. The door opened and he forced himself out and into the corridor connecting to his cabin.
He spent a restless night tossing and turning. Three times during the night he went out to the cockpit and looked around at the dark sky. Heavy black clouds covered up most of the stars. A hole in the clouds allowed the new moon to push its pale light onto the sea. James was fast asleep on the bench next to the steering wheel. Later, he eventually fell asleep, tortured by dreams of sirens that were always one step ahead of him. Naked nymphs taunted him, tempted him, and beckoned him to feast on the carnal knowledge of their pneumatic bodies.

Chapter 22

Large drops of tropical rainwater came flying through Rebecca’s open hatch and exploded on her face. She jumped up gasping at the rude awakening and latched the window shut. The downpour echoed on the roof of the cabin like machine gun fire. She pulled on her bikini and went upstairs and into the galley. James was making pancakes on the hob and Conrad was at the wheel. The engines had been switched off and they were sailing again. ‘Are we flying the spinnaker?’ she asked testing her new-found boating knowledge.
‘No, we’re beating into the wind so we have a genoa and single reefed mainsail up. Can’t you feel the different motion of the boat?’
‘Yes, we’re rocking a lot more. It isn’t very nice.’
‘Yeah, we’re heading more into the waves now. Are you ready for a pancake?’
‘Thanks,’ Rebecca pulled a raincoat on and walked out to the cockpit and stood behind Conrad. ‘So, what’s our ETA?’
‘Min 6 hours, max 10 hours and we should be at the entrance to the river,’ he smiled at her.
‘You’re looking a bit tired,’ she said before positioning herself behind him and massaging the muscles between his shoulder blades. She rolled her knuckles up and down the ridge of his spine before slipping her fingers into his hair caressing his scalp. She felt the bump on the back of his head.
‘What happened here,’ she said tracing her finger around the lump. ‘It must have hurt, whatever it was.’
Conrad turned his head from side to side looking out to sea and she lost the spot where the lump was that she was feeling. He did not say anything.
‘Are you going to tell me where you got that nasty bump from?’ Rebecca persisted and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pressed the side of her head against the back of his neck.
‘I was careless, I knocked it in the cabin, I don’t even remember when,’ he snapped back at her.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said letting go of him, the smile disappearing from her face. ‘I was only trying to be nice.’
Conrad looked pained. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I shouldn’t have been so short with you. I didn’t sleep very well, I’m sorry.’
‘That’s okay,’ she gave him a kiss on the back of his neck.