Caribbean Heat

by David Horne

  “It sounds complicated.”

  “It was,” Graham said. “We never had a talk about it or anything.”

  “Oh,” Lawrence said.

  “Anyway, I’m sure we would have broken up, given enough time. Or we would have just stayed together the way we were because neither one of us wanted to have more of a commitment to each other. Hence, having a boyfriend when I was marrying age.”

  “So you wanted to get married?”

  “I guess,” Graham said, shrugging his shoulders. “I just thought I would be there by now. I didn’t particularly want to get married to him, though.”

  “You just wanted to get married,” Lawrence repeated.

  “Well, you can’t exactly blame me, right? It’s a lonely existence, this,” Graham said. “You move in and out of places like this, trying to help people, but where does that leave you? Everyone goes home eventually, leaving you behind.”

  Lawrence looked him up and down.

  “What?” Graham asked.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “You just didn’t strike me as the vulnerable type.”

  Graham laughed, a quick, short, slightly humorless chuckle. “I’m not,” he replied. “You just bring out something weird in me.”

  “Must be weird,” Lawrence said, swallowing. “Having another gay guy around.”

  “Oh, it’s not because you’re gay,” Graham said, shaking his head. “Or not just because you’re gay. I’m sure it helps. But you seem nice and I like you and it’s been a long time since I’ve felt comfortable enough to talk to anyone about this kind of stuff.”

  Lawrence could feel his cheeks getting warmer. “I like you too,” he said, his voice quiet.

  Graham giggled, his voice quiet. Other than the wind around them, and the water, he couldn’t hear anything. Lawrence was about to ask him out—he didn’t think that Graham would say no, because he had just told him that he liked him, but the only way he would find out if Graham was really interested in him was by asking him out for a date.

  “So do you want…” He trailed off. Asking Graham out might not have been a good idea. What if it didn’t work out? On the other hand, they were both adults, they could handle it if it didn’t. Surely, they could be friendly with one another if things didn’t work between them. Still, Lawrence had just arrived, and he didn’t want to get too far into something that might affect his performance there.

  Graham raised his eyebrows, looking at him questioningly. “Do I want what?”

  “To take a walk,” Lawrence said quietly. That wasn’t a date, but a walk along the beach was a good start. They would get to know each other and depending on how it went, Lawrence would decide whether to ask Graham out or not.

  Graham nodded. “Sure,” he said. “Sounds good.”

  Lawrence got to his feet and extended his hand to help Graham onto his. His skin was soft and warm in Lawrence’s hand and for a second, Lawrence didn’t want to let go of him. But he did and Graham shook himself off, trying to get the sand off his clothes.

  “It’s so dark here,” Lawrence said quietly. “You’d think they’d have built more houses on the beach.”

  “They had, once,” Graham replied, grabbing the plastic bag and standing next to Lawrence. “But the earthquakes here are bad and islanders heard tales from their ancestors of large waves taking down the entirety of their homes. A lot of what people on the skerry do is about mitigating for upcoming disaster. So even though the sea here is beautiful, the beach is stunning, people don’t live here. They work here, sure, they fish and they sell things, but for an island, the beach is surprisingly and weirdly empty.”

  “It’s like a creepy TV show,” Lawrence said. “With the parallel universe.”

  Graham laughed. “Yeah, a little,” he said. “Except that everyone is so nice and polite that it doesn’t feel like that most of the time.”

  “Unless it’s at night and you’re out here by yourself,” Lawrence replied with a smile.

  “Or with a random man you barely know,” Graham offered, smiling back at him. Even in the darkness, Lawrence thought that he looked gorgeous, and without thinking about it, he reached out and grabbed his hand. If he had thought it through, he would have never done it, and once their fingers were interlaced, Lawrence didn’t dare move away from him. Graham could have jerked away, but he didn’t. Instead, he held Lawrence’s hand back, his skin soft and warm against Lawrence’s.

  “I don’t know,” Lawrence said. “I’m getting to know you.”

  “Right,” Graham replied. “And that’s when you’re going to be appropriately scared.”

  “How scary can you be?” Lawrence said, shaking his head.

  “I don’t know. I’ve been told I can be kind of reckless.”

  “Is that so? Because so far, your personality seems to me like the height of cautiousness.”

  “Are you accusing me of being boring?”

  Lawrence moved his head from side to side. “Not boring,” he replied. “More like… tame.”

  “How dare you,” Graham said, laughter in his voice. “Take it back.”

  Lawrence shook his head. “No,” he said. “Look, I try my best not to lie to people and…”

  Graham let go of his hand, his brows knitted in mock outrage. “I reiterate, how dare you.”

  “Brits can’t take a little honesty, huh?”

  “I’ll show you tame,” Graham said. He grabbed the bottom of his shirt and moved it over his head, and Lawrence stared at him through narrow eyes. The man was shirtless in front of him for the very first time and Lawrence cursed the dark night sky. His eyes were used to the lack of light, but he would have given almost anything to see him in the light of day. Lawrence thought that he was done, but his jaw dropped open when he saw Graham undo the buttons on his shorts. Soon, Graham was standing in front of him wearing nothing but underwear. He couldn’t see what he was wearing that well, but he thought they were briefs. Of course Graham would be a briefs man. But then, Graham grabbed the waistband of his briefs and moved them down his legs. He was standing completely naked in front of Lawrence, his clothes on the beach in front of him, and Lawrence’s heart was beating fast.

  “Last one in is a rotten egg,” Graham said, turning around and running toward the sea. Any other time, Lawrence would have balked at the very thought of running to the ocean when it was so dark. He was an okay swimmer, but he knew that the chances of getting rescued out there, when it was so dark, and he wasn’t wearing any reflective clothing or surfaces. Not that it would have made that much of a difference, since there was no lifeguard to rescue him if things went wrong. He wasn’t just worried about himself, though, the worry extended to Graham because Graham had already run toward the ocean and he had jumped in without much regard for his own safety. Smiling, Lawrence thought that Graham definitely wasn’t tame, then started to take his own clothes off. There was no way that he would let this pass him by, not when it was an opportunity that may never present itself again.

  He got undressed so quickly that he was almost surprised at the speed himself. Then he ran toward the pitch-black sea, joining Graham where he was splashing around. He hadn’t expected the water to be as cold as it was, but he still pushed through until he was standing in front of Graham’s body. Graham was taller than him, so while the water reached Lawrence’s waist, it barely covered Graham’s crotch. Lawrence tried his best not to look at Graham’s crotch, but he could hardly stop himself. Graham was so beautiful. Now that he was close to him, he could take him in with his eyes, and he spent a long time ogling him. He felt a bit weird doing it, sliding his gaze down his chest, which was strong, and down his stomach, which looked delicious—though he wasn’t flexing and he wasn’t the most fit guy Lawrence had ever seen, the little bit of extra meat suited him, and it was clear that he took care of himself. Lawrence liked it better—gym bunnies weren’t exactly his type, he had always thought that if someone had that much time to go to the gym, they were probably sacrificing other, more i
mportant areas of their lives and he didn’t get that whole part of gay culture—and his mouth watered as he stared at Graham. His gaze drifted down to his cock, but he couldn’t see a thing. The water was dark and as much as his eyes had adjusted to the night, and as much as the stars helped, they still didn’t allow for him to see Graham’s cock, which as far as Lawrence was concerned, was a tragedy. He was hard himself and he was sure that Graham couldn’t see it, but he was hoping that he was assuming he was, because this entire situation felt extremely erotically charged, though they had hardly touched each other. Only when Lawrence had touched his hand had he felt Graham’s skin on him, and his touch had been electrifying, but he hadn’t been expecting them to end up like this.

  He wondered what would happen next. They were just there, looking at each other in the slightly cold water, their faces close but not too close. If Lawrence wanted to kiss him, he would have to lean over and grab him, and that felt like too much. He was still being cautious, though they were both naked in the water already. Graham smiled at him, saying nothing. “Who's tame now, bitch?”

  Lawrence laughed, throwing his head back. “Did you just call me a bitch?”

  “I call it like I see it,” Graham said, furrowing his nose.

  “I’ll prove it to you,” Lawrence replied, pushing him softly with his palm on Graham’s chest. His chest was harder than Lawrence had been expecting and he wanted to keep his hand there, but pushing him playfully was more than enough. He dropped his hand to his side and moved slightly closer to Graham, looking up at him so that his gaze was right on his eyes.

  When Graham spoke, Lawrence could feel his breath on his nose, tickling his skin. “Oh, yeah? What are you going to do, huh?”

  “I’m going to race you,” Lawrence replied. “And I’m going to show you who’s boss.”

  “Okay,” Graham said. “I mean, I disagree, so…”

  “Let’s raise the ante,” Lawrence replied. “If I win, I get something. And if I lose, you get something.”

  Graham smiled, biting his lower lip. “What kind of thing did you have in mind?”

  “I don’t know,” Lawrence replied, his heart beating fast. “How about a date?”

  “If you win?”

  “Yes.”

  “With me?”

  “Who else would I be talking about?” Lawrence said with a giggle.

  “Fair point,” Graham replied. “If I win, I want a kiss.”

  “A kiss?”

  “Yes,” Graham replied. “If I win, you have to kiss me.”

  Lawrence smiled. He wasn’t going to say that he would have kissed Graham even if he hadn’t bet on it, but he liked that Graham had finally expressed interest in him like that. He hadn’t been sure—then again, Lawrence was legendarily clueless, and he realized that because Graham had literally stripped naked in front of him after talking about his boyfriend.

  “Well?” Graham asked after a little while.

  “Yes,” Lawrence said. “Deal.”

  “Here to the restaurant?” Graham asked. Lawrence eyed the restaurant, the one bit of twinkling light on the beach, and then nodded. They had walked quite a way away from it and Lawrence didn’t think that getting there would be particularly difficult. It was a little far away, but not too far, and he could easily beat Graham’s ass. He would have loved to give him a kiss, so any outcome was a good outcome, but he would have much preferred a date that ended with a kiss instead of the kiss by itself.

  “Let’s go,” Lawrence said. He moved his feet off the ground and started to swim quickly toward the restaurant, not even letting Graham say anything about starting. Graham caught up to him in no time. Lawrence could hear the splashing next to him and he began to quicken his swim, his chest strokes getting faster and faster, his legs propelling him forward. He barely noticed when he left Graham behind, though it had to be quickly, because he wasn’t hearing the splashing anymore after a little while. He finally moved his head out of the water, looking up at the light of the restaurant, which was getting closer and closer. He looked behind him, trying to spot Graham splashing, but he couldn’t see him anymore. He couldn’t hear him, either, and he was starting to get worried.

  “Graham?” Lawrence said, his mouth dry. He waited for a response but nothing happened. Swallowing, Lawrence started to move around the little space that he was in, his feet touching the ground. He didn’t think that anything serious had happened to Graham—or at least he hoped that it hadn’t—because he wasn’t able to hear him.

  “Graham!”

  “I’m okay!” Graham said from far away. He had stopped swimming, just like Lawrence had thought, and he was standing there, awash with darkness. Lawrence could hardly see him, but he could hear him at least.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m just—I think something bit me,” Graham replied, his voice barely loud enough for Lawrence to hear it.

  “Okay,” Lawrence said. “Stay where you are, I’m on my way.”

  “Sure,” Graham said.

  Lawrence was already breathless. He had already spent the majority of his energy in trying to win the race. Now that Graham sounded like he really needed him, he was struggling to get there quickly. He could have walked, but it would have taken him even longer, and he wanted to get there as soon as he could. It felt like it took him forever, but it could only have been a couple of minutes. He was finally standing next to Graham, looking at him, and even in the darkness of night, Lawrence didn’t think that he looked like he was okay. He needed to take a closer look at whatever was going on, but Graham is gritting his teeth, saying nothing.

  Lawrence touched his arm, to call his attention and to see if he was sweating, but it would have been hard to tell anyway because his skin was still covered in droplets of salt water. “What happened?”

  Graham shook his head. “I’m not sure.”

  “Come on,” Lawrence said. “Let’s get you to dry land. Where does it hurt?”

  “My leg,” Graham replied.

  “I’m going to have to take a look at it,” Lawrence said. “I can’t help you in the water.”

  Graham winced.

  “What’s wrong?” Lawrence asked.

  “It’s just, uh,” Graham said with a whimper. “It just hurts to put my weight on it. I can kind of float and tread water for a bit, but I’m not going to be able to do it for too long.”

  Lawrence smiled. “Don’t worry about that,” he said. “I got you, okay? Just go ahead and lean on me.”

  “Okay,” Graham said. Lawrence grabbed him by the waist, holding him close, and Graham slung his hand over Lawrence’s shoulder. Graham was taller and bigger than him, so Lawrence struggled to help him, but Graham was doing a relatively good job helping himself and soon they had arrived back on the beach. It was only then that Lawrence remembered that they were both stark naked and that neither one of them had gone anywhere near where they had left their clothes. Lawrence knelt and deposited Graham softly on the sandy beach, smiling at him when he did.

  “Where does it hurt?”

  “My leg,” Graham said. “Near my shin.”

  “I’m going to be right back,” Lawrence said. “I have to go get my phone so that I can use the flashlight to look at you. It’s too dark to look at the wound.”

  “Okay,” Graham replied. “Don’t take long, okay?”

  “Don’t worry,” Lawrence said. “I won’t.”

  “Actually,” Graham said, biting his lower lip. “Maybe take your time. I have a feeling I’m going to enjoy watching you walk away.”

  “Shut up, Graham,” Lawrence said quietly, with a smile, and got to his feet. He ran toward their clothes, grabbed his phone out of his pocket, and used the light to guide his way back to Graham. Even though Graham was clearly in pain, holding his leg close to his body, Lawrence loved looking at him like this. He had an incredible body, his legs were long and muscular, and his arms were marked with lines. Accidentally—almost accidentally—Lawrence shone the light over Grah
am’s entire body and saw his semi-hard cock. The water was cold so it wasn’t like Lawrence had been expecting a lot and he was trying hard not to ogle him when he was like this. After all, Graham had suddenly, and strangely, become his patient for now.

  He lit his leg, big red lines of patchy skin on his leg. Lawrence knelt down to look at him more closely. “I think you were stung by a jellyfish,” Lawrence said. “But you’re going to be okay.”

  “Good,” Graham said. “I know I’m just being a big baby, so please don’t look down on me.”

  “Hey, now,” Lawrence replied. “I know that jellyfish stings hurt.”

  “You’ve been stung before?”

  “No,” Lawrence said, shaking his head. “But I am a doctor.”

  “Ugh, why does it hurt so much?”

  “Because they stabbed you before injecting venom into your body,” Lawrence said. “I’m not an animal venom expert, but I know it’s supposed to hurt like a bitch. Don’t worry, though, we can get some treatment done. I’m going to wash your leg with some saltwater so that the injury isn’t activated and then I’m taking you home and we’re putting some calamine lotion on it.”

  “Okay,” Graham replied.

  “We need to make sure you have no scrapes anywhere,” Lawrence replied. “We don’t want you getting an infection.”

  “Right,” Graham said with a chuckle. “And I’ve already used my antibiotics allowance for the month.”

  “Don’t make me hurt you,” Lawrence said. He ran back to where their clothes and Graham’s plastic bag was, filled the plastic bag with saltwater, and washed Graham’s leg thoroughly. It was completely medical, not at all about his attraction for Graham, and he worked quietly and quickly as he washed his injury.

  “Yikes, this jellyfish really had it out for you,” Lawrence said when he was done washing the sting. “You’re okay to talk, right? Okay to breathe?”