Cruising for Trouble

by Alexander, Romeo

  Leaning down I run my lips over his, hearing him groan. I part his lips with my tongue and wrap my hand around to cup the back of his head and pull him closer. When he steps to me and wraps his arms around my waist, our cocks slide along the length of each other. We both moan and shiver as the heat between us joins as one. I can feel him trembling in my arms and I reach out with my other hand and yank the covers down, pulling him back onto the bed with me. We break off the kiss long enough so he can lie down beside me, and then we’re touching again.

  “Please, I can’t do this again, I need…”

  He begins kissing down my chest, something I hadn’t expected. I thought I’d have to coax him into each act, but the lower his mouth gets with his hot, wet tongue, the more I forget about who’s in charge here. Tensing slightly I feel his body shift, feeling his warm breath on my dick. The anticipation is worse than the light flow of air. I grip the bedspread with one hand, and the back of his head with the other. I don’t push him down, I don’t want him to balk and be freaked out. The feather light touch of his tongue when he flicks it out and runs it under the ridge at the head of my cock is enough to make me gasp and squirm. I’d assumed he’d never done this before, but the bashful way he does it again, slowly, lightly, is enough to torment me for the next few minutes. I can’t rush him. By the time I feel his lips wrap around the head, I’m leaking pre-cum onto the bed and he watches it, fascinated before he darts his tongue out to taste it.

  My eyes roll back in my head when he slides the tip in his mouth. He holds it there, like he’s not sure what to do. I’m on the verge of begging for something, anything, some sort of friction, but he seems to have taken cues from when I sucked him off the other night. He bobs his head up and down the length of me and I shake so hard, it feels like the whole bed is vibrating.

  Going to bed the other night having been denied, combined with his hesitant pulls on my dick is driving me to the brink of insanity, but he continues to work me over with his mouth. I let my head fall back when he pulls the tip out of his mouth with an audible pop and asks, “Am I doing this right?”

  I groan and claw at his shoulders, needing his mouth back on me. Looking down between his legs his dick is as hard as mine, just as aroused. There’s a trail of fluid dripping down and landing on the bed. He looks down where my gaze is and then his whole face turns red. I see his fingers twitch, like he wants to cup himself and hide.

  “Don’t!” I moan. My voice is so raw I don’t sound like myself.

  He drops his hand to the bed and then lowers his head and I close my eyes, feeling the pressure of his mouth, only this time with a little more enthusiasm and confidence. It doesn’t take long for him to work me over. I know I’m getting close and when I feel him reach up with his right hand and cup my already swollen, tight balls, I cry out.

  “David, I’m going to come!” I try to give him a warning, a heads up that if he isn’t prepared for it, he might want to back off now, but he sucks harder. It makes me see spots in front of my eyes as I start to come. I’m too lost in my own ecstasy for a moment, and only when I start to come down from my high do I wonder if he’s alright.

  “David,” I whisper his name over and over, but he looks up when he’s finished, and all the things I am trying to say to him and ask him but have no words for are there in his eyes. He’s smiling, and so I have my answer, but the relief from the ache has me intoxicated with satisfied desire. My limbs feel loose and my eyelids are heavy.

  David looks around like he’s not sure what to do next, so I point to the nightstand drawer where I keep an overnight bag. “Lube, condom,” I whisper, and he understands what I’m trying to say. Rolling onto my stomach, allows him access and control of the situation. I have no doubt he’s never done this before, so I murmur, “Go slow. Take your time.”

  I feel his palms on my ass, then the chilly drip of fluid as he uses the bottle. He touches me, and I jump, then feel the pressure of his fingers as he starts to prepare me. He takes his time, to the point where I can feel myself growing semi-erect again. I think it’s more so he can prepare himself for what’s about to happen, and I am okay with that, but I close my eyes when I feel the thick head of his cock pressing against me. He stiffens and pauses when he meets resistance, but I nod my head, encouraging him to continue, feeling a puff of breath on my back when he pushes inside.

  He’s thick, and as I feel him sink into me farther and farther, the pressure builds tantalizingly. I wedge my hand under my stomach and massage the heaviness it feels like he’s putting there. The weight of him on my back feels good, and he braces his palms on either side of my shoulders. I’m taller and a little broader than him, but in this position, it puts his face level with mine. Turning my head to the side, he kisses my temple and cheek. I flex my muscles, so he can feel the pull, which causes him to groan, and I know he’s pushed himself to the limits of his desire. He pulls out, slowly and steadily and pushes back in the same way. This goes on for a few moments until my lips are moving, trying to tell him it’s okay to go faster, a little bit harder, but his own resolve snaps first. He picks up the pace and the sounds of our flesh coming together fill the room.

  “David!” I groan into the pillow, and saying his name seems to tip him over the edge but I’m glad. As short as it is, he was just as aroused as I was last night and the euphoria that comes with knowing I’m his first is almost more than I can take.

  David freezes on his last thrust into me and whimpers, like he’s not sure how to control the fact that he’s about to come. I help him by squeezing and pulling him in a little bit deeper, and then his body collapses and he’s moaning as he shudders on top of me.

  As his body convulses, I feel him warm inside me and sigh into the pillow. When he’s done, he pulls out and rolls onto his side and I reach out with my arm, pulling him to me. I kiss his forehead, letting him know I’m alright and that I’m glad we finally found common ground in desire.

  He seems reassured with the feel of my arm around him, and I can still feel the tremors in his body as he closes his eyes and buries his face in my chest. Here’s the need for reassurance I’d been expecting. David sighs and I put my chin on top of his head, feeling how heavy my eyes are from exhaustion. I’m just drifting off to sleep when the door crashes open, startling us both awake.

  My heart pounds loudly in my chest as I notice the gun pointed at us and hear the person wielding it snarling. “Where are the diamonds! Get up! Get up! Put your pants on and give me the damn diamonds!”

  I look over at David, who scrambles into his pants and stands with his hands in the air. I pull my own dress slacks on as quickly as possible and stare down the barrel of the gun when I stand back up.

  “Diamonds? What diamonds? What are you talking about?” I ask, hearing the shake in my voice, but the man holding the gun clicks the safety off and then it’s as if David’s hyperventilating is drowned out, the low thrum of the engine under our feet seems tinny, and even the voice of the perpetrator seems muffled and distant.

  “I want the diamonds, and I want them now. You have thirty seconds and then I’m going to shoot you.”

  16

  David Andrews

  I feel my heart hammer in my chest when the thief enters the room and points the gun at Alex. Scrambling to put my pants on, not wanting it to be the reason we get shot, I fumble with the zipper and it gets stuck in the cloth, so I have to abandon zipping my pants all the way and put my hands up.

  Alex seems so calm as he puts his pants on and looks at the perpetrator, and I gasp, recognizing the bartender from the dining room.

  “You have thirty seconds to give me the diamonds, or I’m going to shoot you,” the bartender says.

  Alex continues to look calm when he says, “Who are you? What are you talking about? I don’t have any diamonds.”

  “Don’t lie to me, Aaron. I know who you are, and I know you’re supposed to meet me on this cruise to buy the diamonds, but I’ve decided it’s just easier to take them and l
eave instead.”

  “Leave? How are you going to leave? We’re in the Atlantic Ocean.”

  Alex’s question seems so nonchalant and logical, it makes me pause. How can he be worried about something like that right now? Just give the guy what he wants! I know that’s ludicrous, Alex doesn’t have any diamonds, does he?

  “That’s not the point. Give me the diamonds or I’m going to shoot you, Aaron!” the guy waves his gun around in Alex’s face, and I can see his face is purple with rage by the moonlight.

  “I’m not Aaron!” Alex insists. “He’s my twin brother. You have us mixed up. Please!” I see Alex’s gaze slide to me and I continue to remain frozen where I am.

  “I don’t believe…”

  At that moment, the door bursts open and a man identical to Alex walks in the room.

  “I heard shouting,” he says as the bartender turns on him and we both look slowly between Alex and Aaron. He’d been telling the truth. Aaron is identical to Alex, except the way they dress. I should have known it wasn’t him in the hall.

  The bartender takes a minute before it dawns on him as well that there really is a mix up. He points the gun at Aaron and growls. “I want the diamonds and I want them now.”

  Aaron doesn’t bother to put his hands up, but stares at the man with the gun, who grows angrier the longer he has to wait.

  When neither Aaron nor Alex move, the bartender seems to notice me. “Alright, if the two of you won’t give me those diamonds, I’ll shoot him,” he points the gun at me and I see the glint of metal in the moonlight. It’s strange, the thoughts that go through my head as I stare down the barrel of my own death. I wonder, did I have a good run? If it all ends now, am I satisfied with the way I’ve lived? The things I’ve done? I look at Alex who is standing there so calm and so brave, and I regret not having admitted to myself before tonight that I am gay. I regret not having given such a caring man more time and taken a chance on a relationship with him.

  What will happen when this makes the news? There’ll be no denying my secret will be out. I’m not sure I’m ready for the world to know, having just admitted it to myself, but in a way, I’m glad I had the time with Alex, as short as it’s been. I just wish I’d been granted more time. I hear the shuffle of the bartender’s boots on the carpet and I look down then back up. My dad gave me that hat to wear with pride and I’m going to be proud of all of the things in life that I do.

  I look the bartender right in the eyes and he sneers at me. “Sorry to have broken up what I’m sure was a romantic evening, but I have a love, too, you know. I love money, and right now, they are standing in the way of me getting it.”

  I nod, not needing to answer him. I’d already guessed at his motivations. I’m just now wondering what Aaron’s are. He hasn’t moved a muscle since coming in the room. The more I look between him and Alex, the more I see the slight differences. He’s more haggard looking than Alex. Alex is so calm and collected, and Aaron looks like the rabbit caught and ready to bound away. Where Alex has laugh lines, Aaron has lines of stress and anxiety, like life on the edge has given him one too many creases.

  I turn my attention back to the bartender. “Shooting me still doesn’t guarantee you’ll get the diamonds,” it’s my only plea for my life. I know the kind of man I am. I’m the one my father shaped me to be. A hard worker, resilient, determined, and kind. I’ve worked hard to emulate that, and I’m determined not to kowtow to this man like I have the other aspects of my life that my mother instilled in me. Kindness, love and humbleness. I’ve been a coward when it comes to my own sexuality, there is no way I’m going to be a coward and beg now.

  “Aaron, please!” Alex begs.

  I glance at Alex who’s looking at his brother. His face is passive except for his eyes. His eyes are doing the pleading for me and I think for a moment, maybe Alex is showing everyone it’s okay to feel for someone and rely on someone. He’s relying on his brother to do the right thing. If he believes so much that Aaron will do the right thing, then maybe I can believe in Alex, too, and face the world when they learn my secret.

  Aaron looks at the bartender and slowly reaches down to his pants. He pulls out a small black leather case and tosses it on the bed. We all glance at it, it’s a small makeup case with a golden G on the front. I think Gucci, but it’s hard to tell in the low light.

  “Take them. Take them and leave us alone,” Aaron whispers.

  The bartender keeps the gun trained on me and slowly makes his way to the bed, watching Aaron the entire time. I see Alex look at the gun and shake my head, almost imperceptibly. The bartender looks like he’s considering Aaron to be the most dangerous threat to his escape, and he wouldn’t anticipate Alex making a move for the gun, but there’s no need for him to be a hero. We’re more likely to come out of this if he lets the bartender have the diamonds and run.

  The bartender fumbles around on the bed and finally closes his fingers around the case. He makes his way slowly to the door, ordering Aaron to move around him and stand with us. When he gets to the door he opens it, peeking into the hall while still aiming the gun at us. Then he turns and begins sprinting down the hall. No one moves for a moment and before I can stop him, Alex takes off at a run after the bartender.

  “Alex!” I shout and run after him. We weave in and around halls and through rooms as Alex and the bartender have a few moments head start. They’re faster than me with their long legs, and I run around a corner they’d just passed near the crew members cabins to the rear of the ship and stop quickly, putting my hands in the air along with Alex and Aaron. The bartender is getting up from the floor with the gun in his hand and snarling at Alex.

  “Stay back! I mean it. If you try to prevent me from leaving again, I’ll shoot you!”

  Alex holds his hands up and I see his chest rise and fall. He’s breathing heavily from exertion and nods to the bartender who opens a side door in the hall we’re in. I hear the rush of wind and water and watch as the bartender, bag and gun in hand, descends a ladder to what must be a boat below. In another moment, we watch as a small vessel speeds away from the cruise ship. The bartender must have had this planned all along.

  Alex turns back to us, grinning, and I feel the heat rise in my cheeks.

  “What were you thinking?” I demand.

  “I had to get them back. I couldn’t let him get away. Are you okay?” he looks me over and I feel my head nodding.

  “Yes, of course. Well, no, not really. Alex, had to get them back, the diamonds? Are you crazy? He got away anyway. You shouldn’t have chased after him like that, he had a gun!”

  Alex looks at his brother and then bends, retrieving a small black bag from under the lip of ladder that ascends to the deck above us. “No, he didn’t. I had to get them back for Aaron,” he turns to Aaron and hands him the bag. “You’re my brother, and although you do some of the stupidest things, I couldn’t let you go down for this.”

  Aaron opens the bag Alex hands him and we all stare in awe at the shining diamonds inside.

  17

  Alex Keys

  I watch in horror as the gunman turns the gun on David and explains that if we don’t hand over the diamonds, he is going to shoot him. It takes another moment for the entire ordeal to sink in, and then I hear David calmly explain to him that it wouldn’t matter anyway. Well it matters to me! I look at Aaron, who remains inscrutable. The truth of why he’s here is finally out, and whether David realizes it or not, I do. I don’t know where he got the diamonds from, but he intended to sell them to make money to give to the housing development company and pay off the debt he owed. He’s doing it to keep our mother safe.

  I catch Aaron’s eye and plead with him. “Aaron, please!”

  He slowly reaches for his pocket, and I see a hint of understanding and acceptance dawn in his eyes. Mother means the world to us both, and we’ll stop at nothing to make her safe again, but right now, the person I care about, David, is the one in danger. I need Aaron to see what that means to
me. It takes staring down the barrel of a gun to learn some universal truths about oneself, and what I’ve learned is that I’ve been an idiot getting caught up in reputations and people’s judgmental opinions. Let them judge. It has nothing to do with my talents as a stylist, and it has nothing to do with David’s abilities as a producer. The truth that I know in this moment is that I want David in my life. I’m ready for a long-term relationship, and I’m tired of men who use me and move on. I don’t get that feeling from David. I get a lot of confusion and hesitancy, sure, but he’s just learning his sexuality and I’m okay with that. What I am not okay with is if anything happens to him because of someone’s greed, Aaron’s included.

  After what feels like an eternity, Aaron pulls a small black bag from his pocket and I frown at it. It looks so similar to the overnight bag on my nightstand David had pulled out to retrieve the lube from. I look at the small gold G and can tell from where I’m standing that it isn’t quite the same bag. The one difference that no one, not even Aaron, might pick up on, is my bag has a cursive G and this one doesn’t.

  The thief grabs the bag after fumbling around for a moment and then cautiously makes his way to the door. It gives me just enough time to formulate a plan, a stupid one, but a plan that might get us all out of this mess. When he takes off running, I’m hot on his heels after grabbing the bag from the nightstand.

  He runs, looking over his shoulder and he snarls at me when he sees I’m chasing him. My pants cause me to get snagged on some hooks along the walls when we race down the corridors to the kitchen. We burst through the doors and race through the dark kitchen, where the scent of spices and food hits my nose. The floor is slippery where it looks like it’s just been mopped, and I slip and slide as I try to keep up with the thief. He takes the stairs leading down to the crew members’ cabins two at a time, and I have to hold the rails as I race after him. He doesn’t seem to notice what I’m holding in my hand.