The Hitchhiker in Panama (Love and Wanderlust Book 1)

by Liz Alden

  He dropped one of the cardboard tubes and the scroll unfurled, revealing printer paper taped together, making the scroll a meter long. In a deep, booming voice, inexplicably tinged with a British accent, Jonas read:

  “Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye. I am King Neptune’s representative, sent to escort the ship Eik on its journey from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere. King Neptune demands a sacrifice to be made for safe passage across the equator. Who dares to go first?”

  Eivind stepped forward and saluted King Neptune. “I am First Mate Eivind.”

  I grabbed an invisible skirt hem and curtsied. “I am Lila, a hitchhiker.”

  “A hitchhiker? How rebellious of you. Very well, I shall hear you plead your case.”

  Eivind sat in the corner of the cockpit bench and I sat behind him on the backrest. He strummed his ukulele a few times before breaking into the opening bars of “Over the Rainbow.” I joined in singing—I’m not very good, but I kept up with it and Eivind sang the melody, complementing my voice.

  When we were done, the rest of the crew applauded, and we bowed for our audience.

  “Very good,” said King Neptune. “Who is next?”

  Elayna stepped forward. “I am Elayna, a deckhand aboard Eik.” She reached into the bag by her side and pulled out three oranges. “I will juggle for my passage.”

  While we weren’t moving quickly, Eik did bob and sway in the waves and I watched in disbelief as Elayna started to juggle the three oranges. She planted her feet wide in the cockpit at the helm and tossed each orange up. As the boat moved, she swayed her hips or bent her knees, gimballing her body to stay level.

  With each trick, we gasped and clapped until one particularly bad lurch knocked the oranges off balance enough that they tumbled to the floor around the cockpit. We all scrambled after them, laughing and attempting to catch them before they went overboard.

  “Nicely done, nicely done.” King Neptune applauded. He turned to Marcella. “And what do you have to present to appease King Neptune?”

  Marcella saluted. “I am Marcella, galley wench extraordinaire. And I have a special treat for King Neptune—and the crew!”

  Marcella disappeared downstairs and returned with a plate full of mini tarts. Each tart was delicately swirled with whipped cream, and as I bit into mine, the sweetness of the chocolate mousse inside hit my tongue.

  Everyone made appreciative yummy noises while we ate our bite-sized treats. Jonas—I mean King Neptune—ate the last one. Then he swallowed and wiped his hands off.

  “I am pleased to announce that King Neptune has deemed you all worthy pollywogs and has granted you permission to sail over the equator and into the southern hemisphere.”

  We all cheered, “Huzzah, King Neptune! Bravissimo!” and Eivind wolf-whistled loudly.

  Jonas turned to Marcella. “King Neptune declares that some libations are in order.”

  Marcella disappeared downstairs again and handed us our plastic wineglasses and a chilled bottle of sparkling wine. King Neptune poured us each a glass.

  Eivind climbed out to the back of the boat with the bottle of wine and, holding his glass in one hand and the bottle in the other, tipped the bottle to spill some wine overboard, a tithing to King Neptune. We raised our glasses in a toast.

  “To crossing the equator!”

  We drank and laughed, teasing one another over our talent shows. Elayna told us she had picked up juggling from a man she’d hooked up with once in the Mediterranean—he had been an entertainer on a cruise ship.

  “Okay, it is hot under this toga.” Jonas broke character and stripped his toga and beard off. He sat at the helm, keeping an eye on the chartplotter. After a few minutes, he downed the last of his drink, climbed to the back of the boat, and lowered the swim ladder down.

  “Is it really safe for all of us to go swimming?” I asked.

  “We are going to set up a line,” Jonas answered, “floating from one side of the boat to another, a big loop. We will swim near the loop. With the sails down and no wind, Eik will be gently bobbing along.”

  He pulled a line out of one of the cubbies in the cockpit and went to work setting it up. When both ends were tied to the boat, he tossed it overboard.

  “Roll the sail in.”

  Eivind cranked down on the winch and the genoa furled up. Eik slowed.

  “Just a few moments left!” Jonas called out. “Three . . . two . . . one!” He pulled out a bullhorn and blew it. Eivind hooted and leaped off the back into the water. He splashed and resurfaced, howling.

  Jonas rolled his eyes. “Your swimming pool, ladies.”

  I let Marcella and Elayna stand on the edge first. They both leaped into the air together and squealed as they splashed around. I eyed the ocean carefully as I stepped down onto the swim platform. The water was so clear, I could see everyone’s legs kicking, keeping them on the surface. Eivind was further out, toward the loop, but he dove down and kicked, propelling himself back to the stern.

  “Oh, Jesus,” I muttered under my breath.

  “Darling.” Eivind chuckled. “Are you scared?”

  “Okay, it’s unreasonable. I know that the boat is not going to float away and I’m not going to drown and nothing is going to eat me. But it’s still scary.”

  “Do you want a snorkel mask?” Jonas offered from above me. “Maybe it will help you to put your face under the water and look down.”

  “No, I can do this.”

  “Do you want to jump together?” Eivind called up.

  I considered. “Yeah, okay.”

  “Okay.” He climbed out of the water and offered me his hand. I gripped it tightly in mine. “On the count of three. One. Two. Three!”

  Eivind and I leaped off the step and out into the Pacific Ocean. We both splashed under and resurfaced, hair slicked onto our faces, laughing at the cool slide of water on our skin.

  “Do you want to hold on to me?”

  I nodded and he welcomed me in for a water-treading snuggle. I wrapped my arms and legs around him and he kicked hard, keeping us afloat.

  “It scares me more than I thought it would. It’s so endlessly deep. Like looking out into space or something.”

  “I am proud of you.” Eivind kissed my cheek and I grinned at him.

  Jonas threw some toys out: a few pool noodles, a beach ball, and, at my request, a snorkel mask. I disengaged from Eivind and donned the mask.

  I put my face below the surface of the water and looked down into the abyss. The water was blue, blue, blue, with beams of light streaming down from the surface.

  To my right was Eik, floating peacefully in the water. I could see her bottom! Thanks to my little sailing book, I could identify the keel, a heavy flange in the middle of the hull balancing the boat upright, and the rudder, a rotating board at the stern we used to steer.

  We splashed around in the water until we grew tired or cold. When Eivind climbed out, Jonas hopped in, putting a mask and weight belt on, free diving down to inspect the underwater parts of the boat.

  There was a hose in the cockpit that provided fresh water for us to shower with. We took turns rinsing the salt off our skin and toweling ourselves dry, sharing two beach towels between the four of us.

  “This is a big bruise.” Eivind traced a finger gently over a blue-and-purple spot on my thigh.

  “I know. I think I ran into the kitchen counter? I have another one here.” I pointed at my shin.

  Eik moved constantly under my feet, making it hard to stay balanced, and I often walked around like a drunken sailor.

  “I have a few too.” Marcella twisted her arm around so I could see a fading yellow spot on the back. “We call them boat bites. For when Eik jumps up and gets you.”

  “Boat bites. I love it.”

  When Jonas climbed on board, he and Elayna began to set the sails again, Eik picking up speed and back on course. Marcella began preparing dinner, and Eivind and I slid back downstairs for a rest. We fell asleep quickly, rocked by the
boat and tired from our biggest adventure in days.

  After dinner, we watched the sunset together. Jonas came up last, carrying a stack of papers.

  “I have something for you all.” He looked down and read from the top paper. “Marcella.” He handed it to her. “Lila. Elayna.”

  The paper was burnt at the edges, with tea stains and soot smudges. I read the print:

  I, Captain Jonas, declare that Lila Ryan has crossed the equator aboard the good ship Eik. She has been declared worthy by King Neptune, and a capable crew member by her captain.

  00°00.000 North, 088°54.484 West

  Jonas had signed his name below it as the captain, and Eik’s official stamp sealed it. Opposite, a line was indicated for King Neptune, and a stylized wave served as the signature.

  It brought tears to my eyes. Looking up, the rest of the crew was misty-eyed as well.

  Jonas and Eivind embraced, muttered Norwegian passing between them. Pulling back, they smiled at each other and clapped shoulders.

  With a glance at Elayna and Marcella, the three of us crowded in and gave Jonas a group hug. He laughed and hugged us back.

  Downstairs, Eivind brought some tape into our cabin and posted our certificates on the wall. Stepping back, we both admired them.

  I intertwined my fingers with Eivind’s. “You have a good brother.”

  Thirty

  The next afternoon, I woke up from my second nap of the day to find Eivind reading next to me in bed. I quickly checked the pillow under my face for drool—it was dry—and sat up.

  “What time is it?”

  Eivind rolled over and glanced at his phone. “Four forty-five. We still have a few hours before dinner.”

  I grunted and buried my face back into my pillow. Eivind chuckled and resumed reading, but a few minutes later I rolled over and grabbed my e-reader too. I snuggled into Eivind’s body and he wrapped an arm around me.

  “No more sleeping?”

  “Yeah, nah. I’m awake. I’ll see how it feels reading for a little bit.”

  We read quietly together for a few minutes, but then Eivind put his book down. His fingers came up and stroked my hair while I read. He rolled into me a little and kissed my forehead, my temple, and down to my ear.

  “How do you feel?” he whispered.

  I smiled. “Not as good as you, but I like where this is going.”

  Eivind plucked my e-reader from between us and set it down behind him. When he returned, he cupped my jaw with his hand, tilting my face up. His lips coaxed mine open for a deep, sweeping kiss, and we both inhaled.

  “If you feel too seasick, tell me, yes?”

  I nodded and pulled him back down to my mouth. Eivind rolled over me, his hands pushing up my tank top and wedging between my back and the bed.

  We kissed and panted, grinding together through our clothes, trying to find an impossible rhythm while the boat moved around under us. Eivind was patient, but his body strained harder the longer we went.

  I pushed him off me and began to undress: no finesse, no teasing. Thankfully, Eivind stripped too, and we tumbled back into bed together.

  My head rested on his forearm; his legs tangled with mine. Eivind’s hard cock rested against my hip, a touch of dampness on my skin while his fingers trailed over my torso.

  His hand slid between my legs and he groaned at the wetness he found there. Teasing me, he used a gentle touch and I gasped, pulling away to breathe. Eivind moved to kiss down my neck, then gently sucked on my shoulder.

  His fingers slid around me and into me over and over again, and my body strained, pinned down beneath his hips.

  Finally I begged, “Please!”

  “Show me exactly how you like it,” he rasped in my ear.

  I put his finger to the perfect spot and applied just the right pressure. A few strokes and I cried out, coming underneath him.

  Cool air touched my skin where Eivind had been. I turned my head to watch him roll on a condom and he crawled back onto the bed, kneeling between my legs. He put a hand on my thigh, pushing my leg up. I moved my other leg up too, opening myself further. Eivind guided himself in and pressed deep, his eyes clenched shut in pleasure.

  He gripped both of my thighs, spreading my legs wide and pushing my knees closer to my chest. Tilting his head, he gazed down as he delivered a slow stroke in and out of my body.

  He did it again, and I watched his abs as he rolled his hips, the muscles contracting and releasing.

  I reached for a pillow and pulled it down, using it to prop up my head so I could watch Eivind better. I tilted my hips a bit more, and I could fully see our bodies joining.

  Eivind shifted to give himself a better angle and grip and he started stroking, building up a rhythm. With every press, I wiggled a little further up the bed, until Eivind had to adjust again. He pulled out, pressed his hands on my butt cheeks, and pushed me all the way up the bed.

  “Hands on the wall,” he commanded.

  I pressed my palms into the wall as Eivind pushed back in. With us working together, he thrust harder, building us both up. Eivind squeezed the back of my thighs with his hands.

  “Lila,” he panted. “Can you come again?”

  I repositioned and used one hand on myself. Eivind swore, his eyes round and dilated, watching me touch myself. He kept up the pace, driving me steadily toward climax.

  “Fuck! Lila, hurry!” he pleaded.

  Our eyes connected and a few seconds later my body curved up and clenched around him, my knees trying to squeeze together, and I whimpered into my orgasm.

  Eivind ground into my hips and came. He twitched and shuddered, his hands squeezing me to the point of pain.

  Finally we both collapsed, Eivind’s weight pressing me against the bed, our breath coming out ragged in each other’s ear. He lay limp for a moment but then tried to push himself up. I wrapped my legs around him before he could pull out, and I tugged him back down above me. He huffed a laugh into my neck but settled against me.

  I savored every inch of my sweaty skin rubbing his. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against him, working to catch my breath. My fingernails ran over his head, massaging his scalp.

  When Eivind was in danger of slipping out, he pulled back and away, taking care of the condom. We both used the head and cleaned up before returning to lounge nude in bed. I dozed off and on, Eivind reading beside me until the knock sounded for dinner.

  When it was time for Eivind’s night watch, we strapped on our harnesses and went upstairs. I sat in the corner while Jonas briefed Eivind, and said good night as the captain went downstairs.

  Eivind fiddled around for a few minutes at the helm. I read in the corner, and we settled into the quiet. Since my seasickness had disappeared, I’d been spending most of my time reading, finishing a book or two a day.

  “Lila,” Eivind said, interrupting my reading. “I have a surprise for you.”

  “Yeah?” I perked up. “What’s my surprise?”

  “Follow me.” Eivind grabbed two pillows and climbed over the bench seats to the back of the boat. Eik had a wide-open space on the back, and we clipped our tethers in and lay down on the deck, pillows under our heads.

  “Holy shit.”

  Eivind chuckled next to me and grabbed my hand. “The moon has been up on my shift so far. Tonight it has set already.”

  Stretched up over us were thousands of stars. More stars than I had ever seen in my life, from horizon to horizon.

  “Look over there.” Eivind pointed to my right.

  I squinted. “What is that? A cloud?”

  “No. It is the Milky Way.”

  We stayed on deck for the rest of the shift. Eivind played around with a stargazing app on his phone, pointing out constellations and naming stars. I spotted a shooting star out of the corner of my eye—a flash so bright but so quick.

  After Marcella took over the watch, I reluctantly went inside, and we got ready for bed. Eivind fell asleep quickly, and I watched him, pondering all the
parts of the world he could show me.

  Thirty-One

  I woke up to footsteps and shouting above me. At the foot of the bed, Eivind struggled to throw clothes on in his excitement.

  “What’s going on?”

  “The fishing rod is going off!”

  I listened carefully and heard a high-pitched whirring coming from the stern. Eivind left the room and hurried to the cockpit while I got out of bed and dressed. A few days ago, Eivind and Jonas had begun putting the fishing lines out first thing in the morning and, after sunset every night, reeling them back in.

  Upstairs, I found the whole crew on deck. Jonas held the fishing pole and cranked the reel with one hand. The tip of the rod curved down toward the water and Jonas struggled.

  With a surge, the line started to feed out a little bit, the reel clicking.

  “No, no, no, no.” Jonas muttered. He turned a knob on the side of the reel.

  “Not too tight!” Eivind said.

  “Ja, ja.”

  Eivind bounced on his toes, cheering his brother on. Jonas fought and broke out in a sweat.

  “Do you want me to take a turn?” Eivind asked.

  “Nei,” Jonas grunted, never taking his eyes off the rod.

  As it pulled closer, we could see it on the surface: a flash of silver and yellow swimming behind us.

  And then the fish darted down. I couldn’t see it anymore. The tip of the rod bent further, and Elayna gasped behind me.

  “No!” Eivind howled. “Come back here, you fucker!”

  Jonas just gritted his teeth. His persistence paid off: soon the fish was at the surface again, this time close enough to grab.

  Eivind retrieved a gaff from one of the lockers. Marcella laid a tarp over the back deck and had a sheathed filet knife nearby.

  Leaning out, Eivind grasped the line with a gloved hand and swung the hook. I couldn’t see what happened, but it must have been a hit. Eivind let go of the line, grabbed the gaff with both hands, and heaved hard.