Pulling Strings

Chapter 2

The next morning, I looked at Chris over breakfast. Oscar had cut fruit, made blueberry and sweet-corn muffins, grilled a couple rashers of bacon and brewed Jamaican-roast coffee.

Every time I looked at Chris I’d get that feeling down in my core, and my panties would be soaked. She just had that effect on me.

When I’d pushed her away last year to make her take the concert tour, I’d been devastated. I’d spent the entire time she was preparing and then touring going nowhere. I mean, I went to Wall Street when I needed to and I’d talked to clients when it was necessary, but I didn’t go shopping or to the theater like I used to and I didn’t take any other calls. I was a recluse who basically sat on my terrace and read. I read magazines mostly because Chris’s picture was in most of them and I read her reviews, which were always superlative. The only place I went during that time was Schenectady because I knew she was playing there and I had to see her. I got a seat about half-way back where I could see her and watch all the other faces around me enjoy her playing. My heart swelled with pride…and loneliness.

I continued my reclusiveness until she walked back into my life and told me to stand up and kiss her. She said that she loved me and knew I loved her and that she’d never do another concert unless she could share it with me. Since then, we’d been together every day.

“Let’s sunbathe this morning,” I suggested.

“Sure. Nude?”

I had to chuckle. “Unless you want tan lines to show with your new bathing suit, you have to.”

“Well, as long as you can keep your hands to yourself,”

I was amazed! “Are you trying to tell me I can’t touch you?”

“Not out in the open! You told me that last time we were here.”

I sighed. “It’s too bad you have such a good memory.”

“We can always stay in the stateroom,” she suggested with that look in her eye.

“Oh, choices!” I moaned. “Do I want to get sun or make love to you?”

“We could do both…one after the other. It’s just what we want to do first.”

“s*x…sun…sex…sun,” I considered, weighing each in my hands.

“When you put it that way…” Chris said as she took my hand. We ended up back in the stateroom.

As soon as we were in there and the door was shut, I started to unbutton her blouse, but she threw my hands aside.

“Oh, no. You were the top last night.” She leaned in to kiss me. And oh! Her kisses always made me weak. I almost stumbled as she pushed me back toward the bed.

I looked up at her as I landed on my back on the bed. She was such a beautiful woman. How did I ever end up this lucky?

* * * *

It was almost noon when we at last settled onto the fore deck.

“Did I tell you today that I love you?” she asked as we lay back onto our towels.

“You may have mentioned something about it. I wasn’t really listening at the time.”

“What were you concentrating on?”

“I don’t remember,” I leered at her. “You were doing something with your hands.”

“And you love my hands.”

I reached over to kiss her. “I love everything about you.”

We leaned back and started to soak up the sun. We’d been to a tanning salon before we left, and had just slathered each other with suntan lotion, so our tans had an excellent start.

The strength of our relationship astounded me. I had never loved, nor ever been loved, with this much intensely. Even the ten-year difference in our ages didn’t seem to matter. Neither of us could get enough of the other. It was ridiculous how much we wanted.

* * * *

“Ms. Car?” we heard about a half hour later. “Oscar says to tell you that lunch is ready.”

“Thank you, Brian, but you don’t have to stand back there to tell us.”

“That’s all right, Ms. Car.”

“Are you nervous to see women naked?” I had to chuckle to myself.

“Uh…no…of course not,” he stuttered. “I just thought you wanted some privacy.”

“This is privacy, Brian,” I told him. “This is my yacht, we’re somewhere between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea and there’s not another boat in sight. That’s as private as it can get. Now come out here and tell us what you need to tell us.”

The tall blond slowly walked up the side ramp, his eyes still looking out onto the water.

“Oscar wants to know if you want lunch out here or in the dining room.”

“Brian—” Oh my God! A virgin? Or just a Puritan? “—look me in the eyes.” I was smiling.

It took a moment, but he at last turned and looked into my face. You could tell he was trying to not look anywhere else.

“Now look down my body,” he did, quickly, then looked away. “And at Chris’s.” His face probably couldn’t get redder.

“You see, there’s nothing about us that unlike any other woman, maybe not in the same proportions but we have everything every other woman does.”

He took a deep, deep inhale and still looked away.

“Sweetheart,” I continued, “Chris and I are not afraid to show our bodies in places that are private. We like to sunbathe nude and occasionally, we’ll walk around the yacht without all our clothes. But that’s only when we’re out at sea. We would never do that in public.”

“I understand, Ms. Car,” Brian said, looking down at the deck.

“The Captain probably also told you that we’re lesbians. Is that a problem for you?”

Brian’s eyes immediately snapped back to my face. “Oh, no, Ms. Car! That’s not a problem at all. I have a cousin what’s gay.”

“Then there’s no reason for you to be embarrassed by us, is there?”

“No, Ms. Car, I wasn’t embarrassed by you. I just didn’t know how to react to you when you…when you’re…”

“Naked?”

Brian let out a deep sigh. “Yes, Ma’am.”

“React to us the same way you would if we were dressed.” It sounded like the most logical thing.

Brian nodded. “Yes, Ms. Car, thank you.”

I looked over at Chris. “Lunch out here?”

“Sure.”

I turned back at Brian and nodded.

“Yes, Ma’am.” Brian hurried away.

“The poor boy, Car,” Chris said, shaking her head. “I don’t think he’s ever seen such blatantly, naked women before.”

“He must have had a magazine to look at.”

“But you know that isn’t the same,” she said, shaking her head.

“But this is my yacht and I want to be comfortable here. He can look all he wants, as long as he doesn’t try to touch. Don’t tell me it’s a problem for you?”

“Of course not. Damn, the entire island saw me in that bathing suit. There isn’t much showing here, that wasn’t covered by that. Besides, the new bathing suit you bought me is just as revealing.”

The first time we came to St. Lucia, I had bought her a bathing suit I really liked on her. It was a black string bikini with a thong. It didn’t hide very much. All it covered were her n*****s and the triangle of her crotch. I hadn’t planned it, but it had been the talk of the community and had gotten her mentioned in “What Sully Sees,” a gossip column that covered the visitors to the island.

“Yes, but I like the new yellow one on you better.” I smiled and leaned over to kiss her.

“Don’t start that, or we’ll have to take our lunch below,” she whispered.

I laughed as I rolled back onto my towel. I didn’t have a problem with being naked as long as the surrounding environment was right. I’d been on nude beaches on quite a few places and as long as everyone on the sand was there for the same reason, it was fine with me.

We heard someone coming up the side ramp, but it didn’t sound like Brian.

“What did you say to that boy?” Oscar asked as he set the tray down on the deck.

“That we like to be nude, so he’d better get used to it.”

Oscar laughed. “He didn’t want to bring lunch out to you.”

“Then he’s going to have to get over it or he’ll be flying back from St. Lucia.” I was adamant that I would not hide on my own property. Anyone who worked for me had to accept my relationship with Chris and our sexuality or he or she was out the door.

“I think he’ll be all right when he stops to think about it,” Oscar reassured her, “but not everyone’s like me and Sherm.”

“I know. You’re the best. I’ll try to be a little more discreet until he gets used to us. But he’d better get used to us soon. There’s only another day and a half until we get to the island.”

“I’ll have a talk with him.”

Oscar went back to the galley as we dug into the crab salad sandwiches he’d made.

* * * *

About an hour later, Brian again came onto the fore deck.

“Ms. Car?” he started, “The Captain says that you should come off here. There’s a large ship just over the horizon that will probably cause high waves or at least their draft will be rocky.” He pointed to the southwest.

“Thank you, Brian.” He seemed much more comfortable with our lack of clothes.

“And the Captain thinks there will probably be a large crew onboard.”

I laughed. “Then you don’t think we should risk staying out here?”

Brian smiled at me. “I wouldn’t, but that’s me.”

“Thank you, Brian. We’ll go below.”

“Do you need help carrying anything in?”

“Just take the dishes back to the galley. There isn’t much else.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” He reached down to place the dishes back on the tray and went back into the ship.

“He seems more comfortable,” Chris said.

“Oscar probably read him the riot act.”

“Well, it solved his problem.”

I nodded as I got to my feet. “Good. I hate to fire people”

We picked up our towels and headed below. Now that we were in our stateroom, I could touch her again.