This story is intended for reading by people who enjoy these stories, and is legal in your part of the world. You know whether you should be reading it or not, I'm not here to stop you.
The entire story is fiction, including all characters (though I wish they were real and I were a fly on the wall). They live in a world where pregnancy and diseases are not a real worry, but we don't - so be safe!
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SEVEN DAYS OF PLEASURE
Chapter 22 Cruise Day 5, Port Day (St. Thomas, USVI), night
Andrew awoke with a start. Something was wrong.
The ship's alarm was blaring, and Andrew could hear someone banging on doors in the hallways, shouting for people to wake up. The cabin was smoky, and for some reason, he was alone in bed - Eric wasn't anywhere to be found. He rolled out of bed and crawled to check first the bathroom, then the balcony. No Eric. He shivered, not only from cold - his naked form sprawled out over the floor - but also because something was very wrong, and he was very alone.
Trying to remember the emergency procedures from the first day of the cruise, Andrew attempted to remain calm. He crawled over to the dresser to get some clothes, but for some reason the drawers were empty. He moved to the closet, but only found a pair of lifejackets there. Getting increasingly worried, he decided that his life was more important than his dignity, so he grabbed a lifejacket and made his way out into the hallway.
It was nearly impossible to see, and the smoky air difficult to breathe. He could hear men shouting instructions in a number of languages, children crying and a general sense of panic. Where the floor met the wall, he saw the emergency lighting beckoning him to the right, so he crawled in that direction to the nearest stairway. The air was a little clearer here, and a crew member with a flashlight and reflective jacket was ushering the flood of passengers downstairs to the muster stations several decks below. People in various states of undress were doing their best to maintain calm, but panic was setting in - a ship with 3,000 passengers and 1,000 crew members was apparently on fire in the middle of the Caribbean sea, with only lifeboats to evacuate them. Everyone understandably wanted to get to their muster stations as quickly as possible, but the sheer mass of humanity in their way was causing some people to start pushing to get through. In front of him, Andrew saw a young boy, 7-8 years old dressed only in briefs, fall to his knees. Andrew picked him up before he was trampled, and the boy looked up at him with great relief, then pushed his way though the crowd to rejoin his parents.
Eventually, Andrew made it down to deck 7 where the lifeboat stations were. He was directed towards the theater to his assigned muster station, where presumably he would meet up with Eric. When he arrived there, Eric was not there, and Andrew really began to worry.
Everyone was lined up in their station, and attendance was taken. Once the last person had been checked in, Andrew heard the station leader radio that all passengers were accounted for at station 24. He fought his way to the front of the section, calling out that they were missing his boyfriend.
"Calm down, sir, everyone is accounted for," the station leader said to him, putting his hand on Andrew's shoulder to calm him.
"No, there's one more, my boyfriend isn't here," Andrew exclaimed. "Eric Stevens, cabin C324. Check again."
The station leader ran his finger down his attendance list, and found C324 on the list. "There's no Eric Stevens on my list, only an Andrew Farriss. Is that you?"
"Yes, that's me, but I swear to you, my boyfriend is not here, and he should be on that list. We're sharing a cabin."
Looking doubtful, the station leader spoke into his radio. "Station 24 to lead, come in." After the lead acknowledged him, he continued, "Sir, I have a gentleman here who says we're missing a passenger that's not on my list. Could you check the master role for a Stevens, Eric?" To Andrew, he asked for the correct spelling. "Sierra-Tango-Echo-Victory-Echo-November-Sierra, over."
"Hold... I have a Stevens, Michael and a Stevens, Karen, but no Eric."
The station lead turned to Andrew and said, "Sir, this is an emergency situation. I can't have you reporting that we have a missing passenger who's not on the ship. You'll have to... hey!"
Andrew burst past the man in a flat-out run back towards the stairwell. "To hell with them, if they won't look for him, I will," he thought to himself. Other crew members shouted at him to stop running and to get back to his muster station as he passed them, but he ignored them all. He ran back up the stairs to deck 10, back into the smoky corridors, since deserted. He dropped down to all fours and crawled back to the cabin he shared with Eric and banged on the door. He had forgotten his Medallion inside when he left. "Eric! Where are you?" he called out.
He leapt to his feet and immediately started coughing through the smoke. Ignoring it as best he can, he banged on doors up and down the hall, calling for Eric. The hallway was completely deserted - he was the only one there.
He found his cabin again and banged on the door again. Surprised to find the door ajar, he burst into the darkened cabin, the only light coming from the full moon through the balcony door. "Eric! ERIC!"
When he received no answer, he dropped to his knees, not knowing what to do.
"ERIC!" he called out one more time.
And then he felt a hand on his chest, shaking him.
"Andrew! Wake up! You're having a nightmare!"
His eyes flew open in a panic to see Eric leaning over him, looking worried. Without a word, Andrew threw his arms around his boyfriend, put his head on Eric's shoulder and started crying, large body-racking sobs.
"Shhhh... it's ok, you're fine now... there there..." Eric held him and gently rubbed the back of his head, rocking gently. "You're ok now... nothing's going to hurt you..."
After a few minutes of being comforted by his boyfriend, Andrew had stopped shaking for the most part, and the sobs had dried up into the odd sniffle. Gingerly, he let go, and slowly pulled away to look at Eric, as if he'd disappear if Andrew moved too quickly.
Eric looked at him with great concern and waited for Andrew to collect himself.
"I... I'm sorry for scaring you, Eric," Andrew managed between sniffles.
"You belted out my name in your sleep, scared the bejesus out of me - but there's no need to apologize for that. I'm just glad you're ok now, and I want you to feel safe again."
"That was a horrible, horrible dream. I dreamed that there was an emergency on the ship, it was on fire, and I couldn't find you anywhere... sniffle I went to the muster station and they said you weren't registered on the ship... sniffle and I was so scared, so alone..."
"Awww, come here," Eric said, gathering Andrew into a hug again. "Everything's ok, I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere."
The boys cuddled together, wordlessly, while Andrew continued to pull himself together again.
Andrew hadn't let go of Eric since he had been awakened from his nightmare. Deep down, he knew it was silly, but he was afraid of losing Eric again, and by holding on to him, Eric wouldn't be taken away from him again. The boys laid there in the dark together, Andrew's head on Eric's chest, an arm draped over his body, and Eric's arm wrapped around his shoulders. All in all, he was starting to feel safe again.
"How're you feeling, bud?" Eric asked.
Andrew sighed. "Better, thanks... it was just so vivid. I thought it was real."
"I know, dreams can be so convincingly real, especially the bad ones," Eric said to his lover. "This may not be the right time to mention it, but there's something I want to tell you. I hate to say it, but this cruise is almost over. We both have to go home..."
Andrew sighed again. "Yeah, I know... this can't last forever, as much as I'd love it to."
"Let me finish. I spoke to my parents, and they've agreed that I can fly you in to New York whenever you want, as long as your mom's okay with it."
"What do you mean, fly me in?" Andrew raised his head and turned to look at Eric.
"Without trying to sound like an arrogant rich kid, my dad's company owns a jet for his personal use. He's said that I can use it to fly you back and forth to Michigan... that is, if you want to continue our relationship past the cruise."
"What.... just... wow. I have no idea what to say to that," Andrew started to tear up. "You really want to continue a relationship with me? Even halfway across the country?"
"Dude... do you honestly have to ask that?" Eric said. "Of course I do. I've never been this happy before. You and I are more than just boyfriends - you're my soulmate, if you believe in that kind of stuff. The yin to my yang. The Silent Bob to my Jay. The Robin to my Batman. The banana to my split, rather, the banana in my split, if you will," Eric grinned, finally rewarded with a smile from his lover. "The eagle to my turtle."
"I would die for that," Andrew said. "But I can't afford to pay for that kind of thing. That would cost a fortune."
"Were you not listening? It's a company jet, set aside for his personal use - or for his son's use, as long as it's not otherwise occupied. And the place in New York has plenty of room, so it's not like you'd be putting anyone out, either. The only thing is, he said that your mom has to be on board with it. He said he'll talk with her about it, if you wanted to take me up on the offer."
Andrew gulped and a tear rolled down his face. "Then yes, please, I'd like to take you up on the offer."
"I was hoping you would," Eric said, and squeezed Andrew's shoulders. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."
"Oh, shut up, you're so full of it," Andrew chuckled.
"What I'm full of is pee... do you think I can go to the bathroom, please? I don't want to leave you if you still need me here, but the bed may get a little warm and damp if I don't get up soon."
Andrew extracted himself from Eric to let him get up. Eric stood and padded off to the bathroom, the full moon shining on his bare behind.
"Eric?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for being you," Andrew said.
When Eric emerged from the bathroom, he found the balcony door open, and his boyfriend leaning on the railing. He gazed lovingly at Andrew, who was lit only by moonlight and looking stunning. "Feeling a little better, are we?" he asked as he stepped out onto the balcony, curled his arm around his lover's waist and pulled him close.
"I really do love you, Eric," Andrew said, wrapping his arm around Eric as well. "I wish there was more that I could do to express how much I appreciate you and what you mean to me..."
"Shhh... you don't owe me anything. I know you appreciate me, and you love me, and that's all I want."
The two boys stood there gazing out over the ocean, comfortable in their silence, simply holding each other.
Okay, I admit it, I'm a sucker for this part of the love story. If you want to drop me a note, drmoocow@gmail.com is where you can reach me.
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