Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 16:06:03 -0800
From: Kris Chrandes <krchr@hotmail.com>
Subject: Our Own Island

As I think befits stories in the 'beginnings' section, this one is a
little slower paced and more about the build-up, and in fact has
very little sex in it compared to my others.

If you like the story, support the Nifty archive. All rights are hereby
donated to the archive. If you want to contact me drop a note to
<krchr@hotmail.com>. I may or may not answer, but feedback is
always read and appreciated.

Other stories by me:
   2011: gay/young-friends/sock-wrestling
   2010: gay/young-friends/the-cast
   2009: gay/college/2am-at-the-pool
   2009: gay/adult-friends/balcony
   2008: gay/beginnings/naked-on-film
   2007: gay/college/barefoot-in-the-stacks
   2007: gay/encounters/airport-feet
   2002: gay/young-friends/naked-boy (posted under a different name).

---

"So you get to stay here all the time, huh?" the guy said.

"That's right," I said. "When y'all are done partying I stay and clean
up. If I'm lucky I'm on my boat by nightfall," I pointed vaguely at the 25'
Catalina sailboat anchored a couple hundred yards off, "but sometimes
not. I've had to sleep here more than one night. And when there's a storm,
it can be pretty dicey."

"Still, doesn't sound so bad," the tourist said. "Work your ass off, but
peaceful at night I bet. At least when there's no storm."

"Yeah, it's the right job for me."

This guy was better than most but making nice with the tourists was my
least favorite part of this job. I didn't mind busting butt but bartending
I just endured. Here's the way it worked: The company I worked for owned
this flyspec pair islands in the Bahamas. They looked like a pair of
parenthesis which meant the water in the middle was sheltered and the
islands had some sand beaches on the inside. Also a small reef the tourists
could snorkel. The opposite sides were just sheer rock to the sea. Rumor
has it that it used to be a drug-smuggling waypoint but hell, what island
out here doesn't have a history?

Six days a week (the owner was a devout Christian) two power boats hauled a
load of tourists out to these islands from one of the resorts. They showed
up about 11am, hung around on the beach for 5 hours, got fed lunch and lots
of booze, and then the boats set off at 4pm.

My job was to get up in the morning and make sure the place was ready, and
clean it up again at night. First thing in the morning I'd remove any
debris from the beach, set up the chairs and umbrellas, and rake it
clean. Then I'd open the bar. This was the only structure on the island
except for the outhouses. Maintaining those was the only really unpleasant
task. The bar was built right on the beach and jutted out into the water on
pilings. It had a bunch of tables, a fully-stocked bar, refrigerators, and
a generator. I preferred to do the beach first before it got too hot. After
I was done with that I'd open the bar and start the generator to get the
fridges cooling down. In the height of summer it was so hot they were
barely ready before the boats arrived. But the boss hated it if I ran the
generator longer than necessary because the gas, like everything else, had
to be hauled out here on the speedboats. But while the fridges were cooling
I'd also flip on the satellite TV and watch one of the 24-hour news
channels.

This morning I was sitting back in one of the chairs watching the news when
I heard the boats. They never snuck up on me because part of the routine
was to play some stupid movie soundtrack as they came whipping around the
tip of the island into the sheltered area. I flipped the TV to a football
game and put the chair back. Behind the bar I pulled out my shorts and
t-shirt and got dressed then headed out to the beach. I hadn't worn shoes
since the last time I went to the big island a couple months back.

I waited, smiling as ordered, as the boats pulled up and grounded their
bows in the sand. I took the tossed line and tied it up to the stake, then
did the same for the other boat. The deck hands set out the plank so
today's batch of tourists could waddle down.

I gave my usual speech to both groups introducing myself and the island,
pointed toward the bar, and then headed there myself. The deckhands got to
haul all the supplies including lunch up to the bar, because we'd learned
what happened when we left the bar unattended. I gotta say that my boss was
one cheap bastard and sometimes hired complete morons for his boats, but
the current batch were all good guys and I liked 'em. Three islanders and
one Aussie. They worked hard, were nice to the tourists, and even nice to
me. I spent the rest of the day tending bar and watering down the drinks --
also per orders. There were the usual number of drunks by the end of the
day but none of them belligerent. This batch was off a cruise ship and they
seemed to have worked up a good alcohol tolerance already. And the lady who
showed up barfing on the beach -- there's always one but usually they don't
do it right at the end of the gangplank -- had finally accepted that there
was no other way to get home other than to get back on the boat.

The deckhands helped me clean up, and we hauled up the garbage to the
boat. I stood on the beach and waved as they pulled off to the shouted "did
you have a good time?"

When they were out of sight I walked back to the bar where I'd saved myself
a bit of dinner. The deal was I could have any leftover food (because it
was garbage anyway) but no booze. My other supplies were carried here by
whichever deckhand seemed somewhat reliable this week as I had to pay him
in advance and hope he still worked for the company by the next day, and
that he'd gone shopping for me. But like I said, this was a good batch and
I was well stocked.

The first thing I did at the bar was shut off the generator. I loved this
part. It sputtered out, the humming stopped, and all I could hear was wind
and waves again. I dropped my shorts and took off my t-shirt and put them
back away behind the bar. I settled back in a chair nude to eat my leftover
dinner. When I was done with that I started cleaning up. I had to inventory
all of the booze, sweep, and batten the place down. About 6pm I stepped out
(I lied to the guy, cleanup really didn't take that long) to police the
beach. I was picking up a few stray bits of trash and was stacking chairs
when I saw a figure in the distance. I stopped to stare wondering if we'd
forgotten a tourist. That had never happened before as both me and the
deckhands took a careful count. I stared stupidly at him wondering what to
do when I saw him collapse in the sand.

I dropped the trash bag and ran toward him. He was a youngish, rail-thin
guy, maybe a teenager, and he didn't look that great. He was wearing only a
pair of shorts and was sunburned, though not much more than my usual batch
of tourists.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Luis," he said, weakly.

"How did you get here?" I asked.

"Water, please."

Stupid of me. I was busy wondering who he was meanwhile he was maybe dying.

"Can you walk some more?" I asked. "We should get you out of the
sun. There's food and water up at the bar."

"Yes," he said.

I helped him up and he staggered down the beach leaning against me. I set
him down in the shaded area while I went inside and got a bottle of fancy
mineral water. Boss would be pissed, but I'd just deduct it from the count
the next day and pretend a tourist drank it.

I told him to sip slowly and he did. When he had a little down and had
stopped coughing I asked him if he was ok.

"Yeah," I think so. "I wasn't actually out there that long but I didn't
think I was going to make it."

"So you shipwrecked?"

"Yeah. Kind of."

"My boat's over there," I said pointing to the anchored sailboat. "I should
radio this in. I'm sure people are looking for you."

"No," he said. "Please, the people who are looking for me... I don't want
them to find me."

"Are you in trouble?"

"Yeah, I'm a drug runner. Or I was. The boss accused me of stealing the
stuff to use it. I didn't. I've never touched the shit. I just help smuggle
it. They were gonna kill me before we got to port I was pretty sure, so at
night I took an inflatable life raft and some supplies and jumped. I
floated with it until the boat was out of sight, then I inflated it and
started paddling the other direction. I had looked at a chart earlier and I
thought we were near Cat Island but I guess they took a different way this
time. Or I miscalculated."

The story took him a long time to tell he was so weak.  He kept pausing to
take a sip of water then cough.

"How long were you out?"

"Not sure. Three of four days."

"You did pretty well," I said.

"I thought I'd prepared, but I couldn't take more than a couple bottles of
water and a sun blanket. They'll figure out what happened when they find
the raft missing, but I hope that'll take a while, and that they won't know
where I went. Actually I don't know where I went. What is this place?"

I gave him a quick summary of this little tourist trap and what I did.

"So you are out here by yourself?" he asked.

"Yes, until tomorrow morning anyway."

"That must be why you're naked."

I looked down and laughed. I'd forgotten.

"Sorry about that," I said, but I made no move to get my clothes. "I'm not
used to having company."

We sat in silence for a while then I said, "Well, you got lucky to land at
this place, but I'm not sure what to do with you. First things first,
where's your life raft? We need to do something with that in case people do
come looking for you."

He described the position and I jogged off down the beach. It was around
the bend up after the sand ended and caught up in some rocks. I was
impressed that'd he'd survived in this. It looked like a two person raft,
but still it was just a survival raft not a real lifeboat. I freed it from
the rocks and, with some difficulty, managed to tow it around the rocks by
wading/swimming back to the beach. When I finally staggered back to the bar
I had some small appreciation of what Luis had been through.

When I got back, Luis had slumped down on the decking asleep but his
breathing was strong and steady. Looked like no matter what I had a guest
for the night. There was not much chance of getting him to my boat, so the
porch of the bar seemed the best place for him to sit. I went and got a
couple of chair cushions and tried to wedge them under his head and lay him
out flat. I left the water bottle beside him then turned my attention back
to the raft.

It was bright orange and had a water-activated strobe light. It was
designed to attract attention. I looked around and there was no obvious way
to let the air out. Probably that's not a feature you'd want on a life raft
full of delirious people. The simple thing to do was puncture it with a
knife and sink it, but for someone who'd spent as long on the water as me
that was a hard thing to do. I had nowhere to store it though. Whether Luis
was a good guy or not he was probably telling the truth about bad people
looking for him and I didn't want to meet them any more than he did.

Reluctantly I took a knife from the bar and stabbed it. Maybe I could patch
it later if we needed it. Then I pushed it under the bar pilings and threw
a large rock on top of it to sink it to the bottom.

I usually went back to my boat at night but not always, so I had a few
supplies at the bar and I decided to wait here with Luis. I finished
cleaning the beach and my usual chores then got some more cushions and lay
down next to him.

I woke up a lot through the night and kept checking on Luis. He barely
moved but his breathing remained steady. When I awoke the next time at dawn
he was up and looking at the horizon.

"How are you?" I asked.

"Ok."

"Look, I have to get the beach ready for the tourists, and I imagine you
don't want to be seen. We need to get you over to my boat."

Luis agreed and followed me stiffly to where I'd tied up the dinghy. I
rowed him over to my sailboat and showed him around. Most of the forward
cabin which was meant as the main sleeping area was taken up with
supplies. I tended to be out here a while. I normally slept on the bench in
the main cabin.

"It's nice," Luis said.

"Thanks. It's not much but it's home. I have to go back and do the tourist
thing. I suggest you stay out of sight and rest. I'll come get you when
they're done for the day." I showed him where the supplies were
located. Told him to drink water slowly and eat lightly. It's harder than
people think recovering from exposure.

I was taking a risk trusting him. I mean there wasn't really anything
stopping him from taking off with the boat and leaving me stranded but I
believed his story. And I thought there was a good chance I could get to
him if he started trying to get under way. Even firing up the small engine
took some preparation.

I did the morning routine and was there to greet today's batch of
tourists. I smiled and did the usual shtick with them. I'm sure that I
glanced at my boat more than usual, reassuring myself that it was still
there. I saw no sign of Luis and it all started to feel like a dream. When
today's batch of tourists were gone I rowed out and checked on him. He was
sitting below deck reading an old paperback John D. MacDonald novel. Most
of my books were electronic now but I kept that one around. He of course
heard me coming but stayed below reading until he saw me. Then he smiled.

"How are you?" I asked.

"Feeling much better," he said. "Shall I come help you?"

"No need to help, but you probably want off the boat. I saved some dinner
for you."

I rowed him back to the island where we ate leftovers sitting at one of the
tables. Luis told me about how he'd joined the smugglers as kid. He had no
family left and didn't really mind the work. He was morally ambivalent
about the drugs themselves. And the people weren't really all that
bad. Most of them were just trying to make a living, until the new boss got
suspicious of him and it all turned ugly. In return I told him about my
much more pedestrian life and how I ended up with the boat and working
here. I craved the time away from people but didn't have the funds to be
completely isolated. When I'd built up enough savings I'd be taking off
again though.

"Plus," he said. "You don't have to wear clothes."

I laughed. "Well, that has two purposes. One is that I don't really have a
way to do laundry out here except in the ocean, so the less I have to wash
stuff the better. Second is I just like it."

"Don't let me stop you," he said.

I thought about it for a minute. I couldn't tell what he was
thinking. Being guarded with your emotions was necessary in his line of
work I supposed. But what the hell. He saw me yesterday and I really didn't
care. I'd never been shy anyway.

"Ok," I said.

I stood up and stripped off, folding the clothes behind the bar as usual,
and came back to finish our meal. Luis seemed to take no notice of my
nudity. After we ate he did help me police the beach and get things set up
for the next day. Just as we were finishing up, a powerboat came through
the channel slowly, looking around. This wasn't all that unusual so I stood
on the beach and watched to make sure they didn't anchor
anywhere. Occasionally people did that. Usually I'd just warn them off, but
once in a while the owner has to send out the goons for a few days. I hate
that because I like having the place to myself. This boat just kept going,
accelerating away when he passed the tip of the island. It only belatedly
occurred to me that Luis should hide but he'd thought of that first and I
saw him emerging from the bar.

"It happens sometimes," I said. "They weren't necessarily looking for you."

"I didn't recognize them or the boat," he said. "But that doesn't mean
much."

He seemed rattled and kept glancing around as we rowed out to my
boat. There wasn't much to do but we sat reading until nightfall. I had
cleared a space amongst the supplies in the forward cabin and planned to
sleep there, leaving him the bench/bed in the main area. I didn't really
like being in the enclosed area, but it was ok.

Just after dark the wind kicked up a bit and a small squall rolled
through. There was some lightning and rain but not bad. I was always
nervous about the mast getting struck but other than that I enjoyed the
storm and I lay awake rocking with the boat. After a while I saw Luis'
silhouette in the hatch.

"Are you awake?" he asked.

"Yes. Are you ok?"

"Yes, it's just that.... It's silly, but can I come in here with you?"

"Yes," I said, "but there's not much room."

He crawled in and pulled himself up beside me where he lay, because of the
cramped space, on his side right up against me. This was a problem because
I was still nude and it'd been a while since I had any sort of physical
contact. Luis was definitely my type, but at this point it wouldn't take
much anyway. I think that barfing tourist might have been enough to get me
going. I tried not thinking about it but the more I tried to ignore it the
more I was aware of the warm body pressed against me. He smelled faintly of
the ocean and his breath was caressing my neck. I just laid there on my
back trying to breathe slowly yet I still felt my cock pulsing it's way to
an erection. I hoped he wouldn't notice.

Without warning his whole body jerked and he let out a sob. I felt like a
total asshole again. He wasn't in here to feel me up. He was in pain. The
excitement faded as quickly as it had come and I pulled him close to me and
said that it was ok. Luis put his head on me and cried. The kid was
probably still coping with the realization that he could have died out
there on the open ocean. It was only sheer luck that got him to occupied
land. Then there was that boat that came cruising through today and might
have had people who wanted to find him and kill him.

"I should go back to the bunk," Luis said.

"It's ok," I said again.

"I shouldn't have intruded," he said.

"Really. It's ok. I can't imagine what it's been like for you."

"Thank you. For saving me."

"I think luck, or God, or whatever saved you," I said. "But I'm glad to
help."

I don't know how long we lay there in total darkness. There were no light
or stars. Just the occasional burst of now distant lightning. Eventually
his breath slowed and he fell asleep. I lay there awake for a long time, no
longer sexually interested but worrying about Luis and wondering what I
should do with him. I wasn't due to leave here for another two months when
the main tourist season ended. It'd be hard supplying the two of us that
long. And I wasn't sure I wanted the company either. On the other hand, I
didn't know if I could trust the tourists and the deckhands to take him
back to the big island.

I'm not sure if I fell asleep or not but at some point I became aware that
Luis had gotten hard. Happened to all guys in their sleep I guess, but
because we were squeezed in with nothing between us but his shorts, I could
definitely feel the hardness against my thigh. I tried to resist the urge
to reach down and squeeze it. He moaned and moved a little bit, momentarily
pressing his hard cock into me. I felt my own stirring.

A few minutes later he said softly, "Sorry. I fell asleep on you."

"It's ok," I said. Even though I could still feel him against me, the
darkness was so complete it felt like I was talking to a disembodied voice.

He seemed to realize that his erection was pressed up against me and pulled
back a little.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"It was just a dream," he said. "I guess I was dreaming and um, I got
stiff."

"It happens," I said, trying to sound like it's no big deal. "Happens to me
all the time."

"I should go back to the bunk," Luis said.

"You can stay here if you like. It'll be dawn in a couple hours."

He seemed to relax a little and pushed back against me. He was definitely
still hard and so I was I now. If he kept crawling in here nights it was
going to be a couple months of blue balls for me. I think he fell back
asleep or was at least silent.

The storm was long passed but it was still a little choppy and the boat was
rocking. Luis added a bit of motion to it and was rubbing himself lightly
against me. I didn't feel like stopping him. We went on like this for what
seemed a long time.

Without any warning I felt something warm against my thigh. It took me a
moment to realize he'd just ejaculated. Maybe as a wet dream. A moment
later he pulled away and rolled on his back despite the tight space.

"Oh god. Oh god. I'm sorry. Don't... I'm sorry. I didn't mean... "

"Relax," I said. I was actually kind of amused. "It's ok. It happens."

He continued to apologize, seeming genuinely fearful. Then he started
crying again. This was really unfair. I had no idea what was going on with
the kid. He was trying to scramble out of the bunk but he seemed a little
disoriented. I finally grabbed him, taking a minute to find his arm in the
dark, and said, "Wait. What's going on?"

"You've been very kind to me. And I didn't mean to do that. It was a dream
and I..."

"Calm down," I said. "You had a wet dream. It's no big deal. It happens
when you don't have sex or let off the steam yourself once in a while."

"I know," he said, calming down a little. "Well, the second one. I wouldn't
know about the first."

"What?"

"I'm a... I've never..."

"You're a virgin?" I asked.

"Yes," he said.

"How old are you?"

"Nineteen."

"And you've never..."

"No. I've been a smuggler since I was 12. My only chances were
prostitutes. The other guys, that's what they all did. And they think
that's what I did too, but I never went through with it."

"That's ok," I said. "It's fine."

"But..."

"Lay down," I commanded. "You'll hurt yourself trying to get out there
now. You'll just have to live with jizz in your shorts until dawn."

He did as I said and lay back down beside me, touching me no more than he
had to. I was still kind of amused.

"So, can I ask what you were dreaming?"

There was total silence, then finally, "Do I have to say?"

"No, of course not," I said. "It's not my business. I'm just curious."

"It was you," he said very softly. I thought that probably only the
intimacy and the illusion of privacy in the total darkness could make him
admit this.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," I said. "A virgin, eh? Can I show you what you've been
missing?"

After a long moment he said, very softly, "Yes."

I rolled up on my side and reached out a hand, placing it lightly on his
chest. I felt him tense. I ran my hand lightly across his nearly hairless
chest and brushed over his nipples. Then caressed the side of his neck. He
tried to move around and put his other hand on me but I stopped him.

"We'll get to that," I said. "But for now it's all about you. Just enjoy
it."

I ran my hand down his chest, skipping over his shorts and touched the top
of his leg. I stroked his legs and ran my hand up his inner thigh. He
gasped. I flexed my foot bringing it up to touch the sole of his foot and
pushed his whole body upward. He again tensed his whole body. I put my hand
directly on his crotch and felt his restored erection and the wetness of
his last orgasm. I lifted the waistband and started to pull his shorts
down. He lifted his hips and helped me. Rather than letting him kick the
shorts off I pushed them all the way down his legs caressing him the whole
way. I pulled his shorts off and dropped them by the door, then ran my
hands all the way back up his leg and onto his hip. I grabbed his cock
firmly. Luis moaned.

His cock was nicely sized and uncircumcised. I pushed the foreskin back and
forth resting my inner arm on his legs and hips. He'd turned his head
toward me and I kissed him on his lips while he came for the second time. I
squeezed and felt the pulsing and wished I could have him in my mouth. Luis
moaned more and shot half a dozen times before relaxing.

"Does this mean..." he began.

"I think you're still technically a virgin for now."

At this point though I seriously needed release so I rolled over on my back
and started to stroke myself. Luis did not try to stop me, but he put a
hand lightly on mine and felt me stroking myself until I unleashed across
my own chest. We fell asleep like that, my hand on my cock and his hand
over mine.

When I woke up it was light out and I panicked. On the bench in the middle
the sunrise usually wakes me up. I looked at my watch though and realized
it wasn't too late and I still had time to do all of the necessary
chores. Luis was gone and I had dried cum on my chest. I got up and climbed
out on deck. Luis was sitting near the bow and looking out at the water. I
said good morning and he greeted me weakly. Before I talked to him I wanted
to wash up. I dove off the side and swam around for a minute just washing
myself off with seawater and my bare hands. When I felt somewhat clean I
climbed the stern ladder back up to the deck and stood drip drying. Luis
looked at me then turned back to the ocean.

I walked up behind him and asked, "Are you ok?"

"Yes," he said flatly.

"I'm sorry," I said. "About last night. You were looking for comfort and I
took it too far. We're stuck together here for a bit but I won't touch you
again."

This made him turn around.

"No," he said. "It was my fault. I..." He turned away to the sea again.

"We can talk more later," I said. "But in the meantime you have my promise
that I won't touch you again unless you want me to. And I'm sorry but I
have to go do my job. I'll come get you when they're gone and get you for
dinner."

"Thank you," was all he said.

I got in the dingy and rowed to shore.

I had to rush to get things ready but it wasn't that big a deal. Other than
that it was a normal day. A pretty reasonable batch of tourists. One of the
deckhands commented that I seemed a little off but I told him that the
storm had kept me up. That seemed to satisfy him. When the boats finally
turned the corner and were out of sight I sat down heavily. I didn't really
even have the energy to do the normal chores but then I remembered I had to
go get Luis for dinner. I did the minimal routine of tidying still
dressed. It wasn't until I stepped out on to the porch that I realized
it. Boy was I really off. What was wrong with me? That wasn't even my first
handful of bicurious cock which later regretted fooling around with me. I'd
get over it, but of course I'd still have to deal with him until I could
get him to the big island safely. I think I felt a little guilty. Even
though he'd crawled in there with me it felt like I'd forced myself on him.

I went back inside and stripped off my clothes and put them away behind the
bar, then went back outside. It felt like a relief to be nude again. It was
normal, and normal is what I wanted right now. I was walking down to where
I'd beached the dinghy when I saw him in the water. He was swimming to the
shore. That was kind of a surprise. I'd swam the distance myself plenty of
times but I guess this meant he was feeling better. I waved and stood
waiting for him but I got another surprise when he started to rise out of
the water. He was nude.

I'd held his cock last night but I hadn't been able to see it. He was such
a thin guy that it looked big by comparison. His dark pubic hair was matted
down too which helped. I'd vowed I wouldn't touch him but there was no way
to stop me from enjoying this sight.

I waited until Luis approached. When he was a few paces away I said hello.

"Hi," he said, and stood a little awkwardly. I looked down at his crotch
despite myself. He said, "I cleaned my shorts this morning in the water
because, you know. And they were finally dry. Didn't want to get them wet
again. Besides, I wanted to fit in around here."

"Ok," I said and grinned. "Fine with me."

"Also," he continued, "I did a lot of thinking. I'm sorry that I imposed on
you last night."

"You didn't impose on me. I, I feel like I took advantage of you. You've
been through a lot and it was unfair of me. And just to make it clear you
don't owe me a thing. You can stay here until we can get you back to the
big island safely." I'd been rehearsing that in my head all day, but it'd
sounded better in my head. "If you're willing to let the deckhands know
about you, that could be the day after tomorrow."

"Huh?"

"Tomorrow is Sunday. No tourists on Sunday."

"Oh," he said.

There was a long silence. Luis looked around at the beach.

"So this tonight and tomorrow we have this island all to ourselves?" he
asked.

"Yes."

Luis took a step closer and looked into my eyes. "You said you wouldn't
touch me unless I asked."

"Yes."

"I want you to touch me," he said.