Overboard (14 page)

A
fter the tour
guide had herded everybody onto the bus, Sebastian snuggled up against Duncan as it headed through the city on its way into the heart of the countryside. Duncan pulled Sebastian’s arm up against his chest. Everything was right in the world again.

The guide explained that the bus ride would take a couple of hours but that he would point out several highlights along the way.

The exhaustion of the events of the previous day snuck up on Duncan and Sebastian as the bus hummed along the two-lane roads weaving through the pretty area. Duncan looked out of the window and fought against his drooping eyes. He wanted to see as much as possible.

Beyond the little coastal town where the ships dropped the tourists off, the people in the rest of the area seemed to live in a state of borderline poverty. Despite the troubles that Duncan knew they must have, everyone looked happy as they played soccer with their kids in the streets, hung clothes on the line to dry, or sold fruits and vegetables on the street corners.

Duncan asked Sebastian, “Do you think you’re really gonna be okay without all your family money?”

Sounding nearly half asleep, Sebastian said, “Of course I will. We’ll just make our own money.”

Duncan gently shoved Sebastian in the ribs. “I’m serious. What will you do if you piss off your dad, lose access to all that money, and our business struggles? What happens when you have to live like a regular person?”

“I don’t really know. I guess I’ve been kind of trying to avoid thinking about it. It’s a fair question, but I like to think that the two of us will figure it out together. I mean, look at these people here. They have almost nothing and still are able to find ways to enjoy themselves despite their difficulties. It will probably be a big shock for me, but I have to do it. I have to be my own man. I can’t be Daddy’s boy forever.”

Sebastian sounded sincere. Whether he actually would be able to give up his lifestyle was a different problem, but it seemed like he was going to give it a real try.

Duncan draped his hand his arm over Sebastian’s shoulder and pulled him in tighter. “We’re going to be fine. It sounds like you’re thinking about this the right way.”

As the two men drifted to sleep, though, a part of Duncan still worried that the transition would be harder for Sebastian than the confident man could anticipate. What would Sebastian do when he realized how difficult earning his own money would be? Would he fly back to Daddy or fight through the trouble and work it out with Duncan?

A problem for another day.

Duncan woke before Sebastian. He looked out the window. Instead of pyramids, he saw that they were in a heavily wooded area. Oddly, he saw large iguanas up in several of the tree branches.

He poked Sebastian awake. “Check it out. Instead of squirrels, they have iguanas. Better watch your nuts.”

Sebastian stretched and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “Are we there yet?”

“Not quite. Look over there. Iguanas. Just sitting on the tree branches.”

Sebastian leaned over Duncan’s body. Duncan loved the smell of Sebastian’s cologne. It reminded him of beaches. He hoped that it wasn’t expensive stuff that they wouldn’t be able to afford when they got back home. Or maybe things would work out okay with his dad and Sebastian could ask for more for Christmas and birthdays.

“Wow. That is weird. What are they doing up there?”

“They probably heard you were coming, and decided to get a good view. It’s probably not every day someone as pretty as you comes along.”

“Aww. That’s so sweet. Flattery will get you nothing but kisses though.”

Sebastian kissed Duncan. Duncan’s lips were loving the frequent meetings with Sebastian’s soft lips. He kissed Sebastian back when he tried to pull away.

“That’s all the payment I was looking for.”

“See? If we don’t have any money, we’ll still be fine. There’s plenty of ways to have fun without any money.” Sebastian’s hand traced up the inside of Duncan’s leg.

As much as Duncan ached to let the hand keep rising, he reached down and stopped it. Kissing in public was one thing…

“It looks like we’re here.”

The pyramids popped into view on the other side of a large opening when the bus turned a corner. They were a little smaller than Duncan had imagined, but they looked very old, weathered, and definitely magical in their own way. But then again, he decided, maybe everything was a little bit more magical with Sebastian at his side.

Sebastian was clearly more interested in Duncan than the tour. He frequently grabbed Duncan’s hand or his ass or pulled him down for another kiss when they had a second alone. Outside of those interruptions, though, Sebastian left him alone enough to enjoy the tour.

Duncan had a great time learning about the old Mayan culture and getting a chance to walk through buildings that were older than any he’d ever seen.

“Duncan, come in here for a second,” Sebastian whispered when they found themselves at the back of the group.

The group continued single file through a narrow passageway. Sebastian pulled Duncan down a different passageway that led to the outside of the structure.

“Look at that view,” Sebastian said.

On their side of the pyramid the ground quickly fell away. The city had been set high on the top of a hill. The side they had walked in on was much shallower than the steep drop going out the back side.

“Come on. Let’s go see what’s down there.”

Duncan pulled his hand away and shook his head. “No way. No how. That looks way too dangerous. Who knows what kind of animals are out there? And with all those dead tree branches and roots one of us probably roll an ankle and we’ll get stuck down the hill, unable to get back up to the group before we get eaten by something.”

“But you’re my mountain man.” Sebastian whined. “All those flannels. This is like your home away from home.” Are you afraid of a little danger?”

Duncan considered Sebastian’s challenge. It probably would be fun, and very private, to go exploring together. But not during a tour in another country, hours from the ship. He didn’t want to get separated from the group and miss the bus ride back.

“You’re the most dangerous thing I can handle today,” Duncan replied dryly. “Come on. I want to go see the rest of this pyramid.”

Sebastian followed without further complaint. He seemed to be thinking about something. When he finally spoke several minutes later, he said, “You really think I’m dangerous?”

“I don’t think so anymore. I did when we first met. You seemed like a hunter trying to catch a game prize. I figured once you had me stuffed and mounted on your wall, you’d forget I was there and go off to find a new trophy.”

“You don’t think so now?”

Duncan chose the easier answer.

It’s true more than half the time.

“If I did, I wouldn’t be spending time with you. I would’ve used you to get me on the ship, and would’ve ditched you every time I had the chance.”

Sebastian pretended to flinch. “Ouch. I guess I deserve that. Up until I met you, I was a bit of a prick to the people I dated. Well, more than a bit I guess. You’ve made me an honest man, Duncan.”

The honesty and vulnerability in Sebastian’s voice startled Duncan. Sebastian really had seemed to realize what he wanted in life and was trying to get it.

Duncan loved being the thing that Sebastian cared so much about that he would be willing to throw away his bad-boy past.

Before long, the tour guide said they were done with the official part of the tour, but everyone could explore on their own for about an hour before they stopped at the gift shop on their way back to the bus.

Duncan and Sebastian held hands while they walked across a field in the middle of the structures that must have been used for sporting events.

“So there’s this spot over here,” Sebastian said pointing to a spot above them. “It’s kind of a special room. Let’s go see if we can get to it and I’ll tell you what I learned about it.”

“How in the world would you know anything about these pyramids?” Duncan asked, but he followed anyway. Knowing Sebastian was going to make up a story didn’t make Duncan less interested in hearing the tale.

“What? You think you’re the only person that has interests about things?”

Duncan hoped he hadn’t really hurt his boyfriend’s feelings.

Sebastian laughed. “Just kidding. I do happen to know one thing about this place, but it’ll sound better if I tell you inside the room.”

The climb was more dangerous than any of the others they had done during the trip. Duncan doubted that they were actually supposed to be there. The guide hadn’t forbidden them from going anywhere, though, so Duncan figured it was one of those do-it-at-your-own-risk type of things. He was sure the waiver they had signed covered the tour company for when people got hurt doing stupid stuff like that.

They had to pull themselves up onto a ledge to get to the balcony. From there, Sebastian led the way into a very dark room. The two men stood inside for several seconds letting their eyes adjust to the light.

“Okay. Here’s the thing. This is the Love Chamber. Legend says...”

“Bullshit. I’m not believing one word of this. You can’t just pull me off to some dark room and make up some Mayan legend.”

Sebastian laughed, “No. This is legit. Real deal. I looked it up back on the ship when I heard we were coming on this excursion. Anyway this is a Love Chamber. The Mayans put this spot here because this room was the most difficult spot in the village to get to. Not impossible, but still a challenge. But if a young couple came up here, they could have one chance at a kiss to prove that they were true loves in the eyes of the gods. If the gods were offended by their union, the gods would smite them. But if the gods blessed their union, the lovers would be able to return to the village and start preparing for their wedding.”

“So what you’re telling me, let me get this straight because this sounds important, is that if we kiss in this room, and the gods are offended, the gods will kill us. But if we survive, you think I’m going to marry you? I don’t know which part of that I’m supposed to believe the least, or be the most afraid of.”

Sebastian smiled cockily, reminding Duncan of those smiles from the speed-dating night. Except this time instead of playing a mind game with Duncan, Sebastian was genuinely trying to woo him.

Duncan let himself be wooed.

“Okay. Let’s give this love kiss a try.”

Duncan crossed himself and moistened his lips.

Knowing that the story had to be made up, the kiss still made Duncan a little nervous. It felt official, even if it was bullshit. His palms sweated while he waited for the kiss.

He hadn’t really thought too far into the future because he hadn’t sorted out how he actually felt about Sebastian.

He knew they were planning to start the business together. He knew that he was interested in continuing to date Sebastian and it seemed that Sebastian returned the feelings. But Sebastian was hinting at an eventual marriage. That was a whole different level. Crazy to even think about so early in their relationship.

Now that he had started though, Duncan couldn’t stop thinking about it. For the distant future, of course.

No need to rush anything.

To silence the voices in his head, Duncan pulled Sebastian to him and kissed him as if his life depended on it. He poured all of his tension onto Sebastian’s gentle lips.

Time stood still in that magical room.

Only Duncan and Sebastian and whatever gods might be watching existed.

Eventually, Sebastian pulled away. “Damn,” he said. “If I’m going to be smitten, that kiss was totally worth it.”

The two men looked up at the ceiling as if awaiting their judgment. No lightning bolts struck them. Nor were there any sign of locusts, or any other ancient calamity.

“Well it looks like we’re official.” Sebastian said.

“As official as we can be,” Duncan allowed himself to agree.

They both walked around the little room, wondering what the other was really thinking.

The sound of the loud blast from the tour guide’s bullhorn pulled them back to the moment. It was time to leave the magic of the pyramids and finish up the rest of the tour.

Both men dragged their feet a little as if they were perfectly willing to leave the world behind and just be alone together forever in old Mayan ruins.

They were both still quiet in the gift shop and during the ride home, Duncan started dozing off, but Sebastian seemed oddly wired.

Both men seemed completely happy though, and that was all that mattered.

B
ack on the ship
, Duncan headed straight back to the cabin for a nap. Despite sleeping on the bus, he was still exhausted.

“Sleep well, my prince,” Sebastian said. “I’m going to head to the casino for a little while so I don’t end up keeping you awake.”

“Do you think that’s such a good idea?” Duncan asked, still worried about Sebastian’s reliance on his dad’s money.

“Probably not. But I’m going to do it anyway. I won’t go crazy and I’ll stay at the cheap video poker machines.”

Duncan was too tired to tell Sebastian that what he was doing was wrong. He couldn’t even tell if it was wrong. Who was he to judge what people did with money they had access to?

What he did know was that Sebastian would need some time to adjust.

“Whatever, player. Just stay out of trouble.”

Sebastian, being more discreet now that they were back on the ship, patted Duncan on the shoulder.

“The only trouble that I want is back here in the room. I’ll be careful. One hundred dollars max.”

Duncan nodded and headed toward their room. He was proud of Sebastian for at least considering that he might need some kind of limits in his life. That seemed like a big step for him.

He did worry about what would happen when Sebastian had free run of the ship on his own. All of their magic moments had happened when the two of them were alone. He might find another man, or find some other way to put their relationship in trouble.

Duncan couldn’t drag himself out of bed, though. Sebastian would be fine. He would come back and the two of them would wake up in the morning, snuggled against each other.