Beyond the Sea (13 page)

“
Just wanted a change. Slower pace.”

“
Do you miss it? Flying jumbo jets?”

Brian didn’t have to lie this time. “No.”

“
Have you ever had any emergencies happen? Before this one, I mean.”

Brian sliced through a few inches of tape—and right into his thigh. Sucking in air, he bit back a gasp. “Shit.” The cut was just above his knee and below the hem of his cargo shorts, which had hiked up. “It’s fine, it’s fine.”

“
Let me see.” Troy was at his side. “Not too deep, I don’t think. I’ll get the kit.” He scrambled up.

“
Don’t know my own strength,” Brian joked lamely. He pressed his hand over the cut, which was a few inches long. “That knife is amazingly sharp. For the record.”

Troy returned with the first aid kit. “Once the bleeding stops, we should put iodine on it. Let me see.” He bent his head and peered close at the cut before putting a small piece of bandage over it and pressing down. “Should be okay.”

Troy’s palm was hot, his fingers against Brian’s knee. “It was a careless mistake.”

Deepening his voice, Troy scowled. “You can make a mistake once. Do it twice and you’re walking home.” He laughed ruefully. “That’s what my dad used to say. I was in a local production of the
Wizard of Oz
when I was a kid. I was the Tin Man. Totally went up on my lines when I met Dorothy and stood there like a deer in the headlights. In the car after, Dad told me his little mantra. I never missed my lines again.”

“
Your dad was pretty intense.” Troy still pressed his hand firmly, and it was sweaty, but Brian didn’t mind.

Troy laughed. “That’s one way to put it. Hey, how’d you end up in Sydney?” Leaning over, he checked the cut, his breath tickling Brian’s skin.

“
Seemed like a good place at the time. Nice weather. Seafood. Rugby on TV.” The other side of the world from everyone he knew.

“
When did you move there?”

“
Three years ago. I rent a tiny apartment in the burbs. Sydney’s expensive. But I have a private terrace with flowering trees between me and the neighbors.” He chuckled. “I’m sure that all sounds rather sad to you. You probably have a mansion.”

“
No, it sounds…idyllic. And I don’t have a mansion. Ty and I bought a house in Malibu, but it’s not that big. I mean, it’s really nice, don’t get me wrong. Four bedrooms, and it’s right on the water. I know how lucky I am to live there. Although we’re hardly ever home since we’re on the road so much. Mom didn’t see why we couldn’t keep living with her when we were in LA. My dad bought their house after the TV show got picked up for season two, and it’s not like it isn’t big enough. But I just couldn’t stay in my teenage bedroom after I turned twenty-four, you know? And Ty was dying to get out. Although maybe he should have stayed at home.” He shook his head. “Sorry, I’m babbling.”

“
I don’t mind.”

Troy opened a little package of iodine and cotton. “This’ll sting.” He dabbed it gently.

Brian winced. “Hardly feel it.”

“
Uh-huh. You don’t need to be all tough, you know. It’s just me.”

“
I know.” He smiled as Troy taped on a bandage, his tongue between his teeth. “Strange, isn’t it?”

“
That you took engineering and can barely build a teepee? Totally.”

Brian found himself laughing. “
Aeronautical
engineering.”

“
So you could build us a plane?” Troy teased.

Smiling, Brian nodded. “Better than a teepee, apparently.”

“
Just messing with you. What were you going to say?”

“
Oh, nothing.”

Troy poked Brian in the side after patting down the last bit of tape. “Tell me.”

“
Was just going to say it’s strange that I only met you a few days ago.”

“
I know, right?” Troy packed up the first aid kit. “I read once that trauma can bond people together really quickly. Being scared together and stuff. It’s apparently a good idea to go ride huge roller coasters on a first date.”

“
Makes sense. Where’d you read that?”

“
Knowing me? Buzzfeed.”

Brian laughed again. “Well, I guess our first date is one for the record books.”

“
You definitely know how to show a guy a traumatic time.” Troy’s smile vanished and he flushed, glancing at the cliff. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t joke.”

“
Gallows humor. It’s okay.” But Brian felt a rush of guilt as well as he thought of Paula. Had it really only been
days
? Life had taken on an utterly surreal aspect, as if they existed in some twilight zone where the rest of the world had vanished beyond the blue horizon.

“
Well, we should finish this.” Troy motioned to the teepee. “What do we use to cover up below the blanket? There’s still a foot exposed at least.”

“
I was thinking we could weave together palm fronds around the wood?”

“
See? There’s that engineering degree in action.”

“
Yes, palm fronds are often used in aircraft.”

Laughing, Brian carefully cut more tape, and they worked together side-by-side as birds sang in the treetops and a gentle breeze came off the waves.

For a few heartbeats as Troy focused on the white net hanging above him, he had no idea where he was. Then it hit him in a rush—crash, island, teepee, Brian, sand. So much sand, no matter how they tried to brush it away. Acid flooded his gut and he wished there were Tums in the first aid kit.

This was the fourth day now. How much longer would it take the rescuers to find them? How was his family? The band? His friends, the fans. Was Tyson all right? Would this send him on a bender? Did his brother know he loved him? Troy had said it before he left, but did Ty really
know
it?

He reached out his right hand automatically, but instead of finding his phone on the nightstand, his fingers brushed the mosquito net. He’d started each day for years by checking his messages, but now he laid there blinking in the gray light. The large net was designed to be hooked to the ceiling, and they’d rigged a loop of duct tape. The net draped down, which was much preferable to sleeping with it wrapped around them.

Troy shifted, realizing he had morning wood for the first time since the crash. It pushed against the soft material of his boxers, and he automatically skimmed his hand over his belly and through the trimmed hair at his groin to take hold of his dick, tugging and making his balls tingle. With his left hand, he caressed his bare chest and brushed his nipples, and—

Brian shifted and mumbled, and Troy’s hands froze, his heart skipping. Brian was a foot to his left, curled toward the other side of the shelter. He breathed deeply and seemed to still be asleep. Feeling like a kid with his hand in the cookie jar, Troy lowered his arms to his sides, shifting and stretching his neck, willing his erection to fade.

On top of the fronds they’d put over the sand, they’d spread out two of the flannel blankets from the plane, keeping one for sitting outside. They had no pillows, but they’d have to deal. Troy’s back was sore from sleeping on the ground, but the sand was soft and it could have been worse. There was just enough room to stretch out his arms and legs and not touch the sides of the teepee.

Gray light ringed the bottom of the round shelter where they hadn’t finished installing palm fronds yet. It was time consuming, but it was something to do other than obsess about rescue.

Not obsessing was something Troy was failing miserably at in the murky hours of dawn, turning boner-killing scenarios over and over in his mind as his stomach rumbled.

What if no one came? What if they stayed on the island forever? What if they got sick, or hurt? What if Brian died, and Troy ended up alone like that Tom Hanks movie? What if he never saw his family or friends again? What if—

Stop! Be in the fucking now!

He shouted at himself in his mind, breathing hard and his pulse humming. He wanted to tear off the net to escape the shelter, but he forced himself to carefully and quietly slip out from under his emergency blanket and the net. The shelter was too low to allow him to stand up straight, and he stooped to edge through the open space they’d left as a door.

It hadn’t rained that night, and their campfire still smoldered a few feet away. The bigger signal fire had almost burned out, and he hustled over to stoke it with fresh wood. He mused that they’d have to devise a cover for the wood to keep it dry. Another project to keep them busy that hopefully they’d never really need because they’d be rescued any minute now. Yes, whisked away to the nearest resort with feather beds and hot showers and food, glorious food.

Troy tugged off his boxers before wading into the cool, gentle ocean swells. The parrots would arrive soon, honking over their breakfast, and he was glad to be awake before them. After he pissed, he stood in the chest-deep water and tried to enjoy the peaceful moment and not think about anything else but then and there. He dug his toes into the sandy bottom, feeling the fine, watery grains, and inhaled the salty air deeply.

He touched himself idly, and soon he was hard again. The way the water caressed his skin lit him up, his nipples peaking as he stroked his shaft and toyed with his balls. He breathed shallowly, lips parted. There was something liberating about jerking off in the ocean all by himself. Troy wanted to moan and cry out; he loved being loud during sex. Loved his partners being loud too. Pants and moans and groans heightened the intensity and made his orgasms so much more powerful.

He was close when Brian crawled out of the shelter in his boxers and gave him a wave. Again, Troy whipped his hands away from himself. With a shaky smile, he managed to wave back. He knew his face had surely gone red, but Brian was near the trees. Even with the clearness of the water, he was too far away to have any idea what Troy had been doing below the surface. Had Brian jerked off as well without Troy noticing?

A little ripple of excitement zipped through him, and before he could talk himself out of it, Troy’s hand returned to his cock. He backed up until the water was almost to his neck and went to town. The urge to come was overwhelming, even as he watched Brian putter around, gathering wood and kindling.

Realizing it was super weird to be watching Brian while he jerked off, Troy turned and faced the sea. The water flowed around him, between his legs and caressing his sac. He strained for release, staring at the clear horizon as his body tightened. When he came, the wave of pleasure had him gasping softly, and he shuddered, still stroking.

The chorus of honks erupted behind him, and Troy jumped, losing his footing and falling below the surface. Sputtering, he came up and wiped his face, laughing to himself. He turned to spot the swarm of colorful feathers in the trees. Brian stood near them, his head tilted back as he watched. The sun peeked over the other side of the jungle, the sky getting bluer beyond the splash of yellow and orange. Troy wished he could take a picture and upload it to Instagram.

What if they don’t find us?

“
Stop it,” he muttered. “They will. They’ll find us. Shut up.”

Soon, he wore the board shorts, his skin already dry in the growing heat. Brian had put on his cargo shorts before setting more coconut to cook. They sat on the flannel blanket by the fire waiting, and Troy wove together two fronds.

“
That’s a nice song,” Brian said.

Flushing, Troy realized he was humming again. “Oh. Um, thanks.” It was the chorus of a song he’d never named. Even after his dad died, he hadn’t gone back to the folky guitar-driven music he heard in his head. He’d been too busy, he told himself. Yet here on the nameless island, fragments of the songs he’d written as a teenager echoed once more.

Fortunately, Brian didn’t press it. “Definitely need to fish today,” he said. “I figure when the tide goes, I can walk out and get closer to the reef. There should be a ton of fish there.”

Troy frowned. “Isn’t that where those super poisonous sea snakes are too?”

“
From what I remember, but they don’t usually bite. Of course now I wish I could google it, but alas.”

“
God, I really, really miss the internet.”

Brian laughed. “Me too. Look, I’m sure it’ll be fine. Pretty sure it’s one of those, ‘if we don’t bother them, they won’t bother us’ situations. We need to eat some real food.”