Gap Year - 14. Chapter 14

February 1, 2004

The Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Will

I woke up alone in my bed and sighed. It had been two days since Connie went back to Sydney, and while I had been calm and mellow when he said goodbye, now that he was gone, I really missed him. I knew he felt the same way, since I got a bunch of texts and emails from him. I sighed, stretched out, then threw on some sweatpants and a T-shirt, deciding that was good enough attire for breakfast. Based on the look Stef gave me when I walked into the main room, I may have been wrong about that. Stef and Grand were sitting out on the veranda eating breakfast, so I went outside to join them.

“Good morning,” I said as pleasantly as I could manage.

“You are ready for the day?” Stef asked, as he eyed my disheveled state.

“I’m ready for breakfast,” I said grumpily. I went over to the breakfast bar they’d set up and loaded up a plate, then sat at the table with him and Grand. They’d both been reading papers: Stef’s looked like a business report, while Grand’s looked like an academic journal article. As soon as I sat down, they both put down their articles, which made me a little nervous, since that meant they were about to talk about something serious.

“I would like to discuss our schedule with you,” Stef said in a formal manner. I relaxed after he said that; scheduling shouldn’t be the beginning of a crisis.

“Go on,” I said, even as I stuffed food into my mouth.

“I need to be in New York by February 6,” he said.

“That’s in just five days!” I said, wrapping my brain around his timing challenge.

“Your mathematical skills are still in top working order,” Grand observed sarcastically.

“Thank you,” I said to him with a smarmy look.

“Perhaps you would like to demonstrate that by interpreting these tables for me,” he said, handing me the article opened up to the results section.

“Maybe later,” I said, making him smile. I spent a lot of time with him on that stuff, and I was starting to understand it, but it would hurt my brain right now. Stef gave us a frustrated look since he was trying to stay focused. Normally he was the one who would chatter and get us off track, so it was pretty funny to see him get annoyed at us for doing the same thing to him.

“The New York Fashion Show starts on the 6^th,” Stef said. “I was not sure if you were planning to attend, but if you did, then you should probably plan to fly back with us.”

“And the flight would be more comfortable,” Grand said, rambling on just to annoy Stef. “That plane was so well equipped that it was as if I were at home.”

“I love the way it’s laid out,” I agreed, aiding the cause of bugging Stef. “I didn’t think I’d ever find beds so comfortable in a plane.”

“Are you going back with us or not?” Stef demanded, finally frustrated. We laughed for a bit, then got quiet as I pondered what he was asking.

“Hard to leave this place,” I said. My eyes stared out toward the sea. It was an idyllic setting, with the morning sun reflecting off the infinity edge pool, which seemed to act like an open invitation to the beach and ocean beyond.

“I am truly glad that we came here,” Grand said. “I have found it to be both relaxing and educational.”

“They also have a good spa,” Stef said.

“I’m not sure if I’m ready to go back yet,” I answered honestly, figuring I’d get a really irritated response from him, but he just smiled gently and reached forward to pat my hand.

“It is entirely up to you,” Stef said.

“Can you let me think about this today, and I’ll let you know what my plans are tonight?”

“That is fine,” he said. “We were planning to head to Sydney tomorrow for a day, then fly out on the 4^th. We’ll gain a day going back, just enough time to stop at Escorial, then off to New York on the night of the 5^th.”

“You’re very organized,” I noted.

“I think it would be more accurate to say that Tom is,” Stef said. “That was a good recommendation. I am glad I heeded your advice.”

“He seems like a good dude,” I said.

“I agree,” Stef said. “And he is quite handsome.” He said that last sentence with a bit of a leer.

“He is,” I said. “So if I hook up with him, does that mean you can’t hook up with him, and then you’ll resent me forever because of it?” I teased.

“I would certainly not want to restrict anyone else’s sexual activity,” Stef said.

“Even mine?” Grand asked. He was in a playful mood, which was pretty funny.

“I have never restricted you before,” Stef said, getting all bitchy. “Are you implying that I have?”

“I think, Stef, that he was just being funny,” I said evenly, to calm him down. “He’s been in a playful mood. I think it’s cute.” That got a frown from Grand, which predictably enough made Stef chuckle.

“Let us do some research on your original question by consulting with our sage,” Stef said, and stared at Grand.

“You are asking me to decide whether it is alright for either one or both of you to engage in sexual relations with Tom?” Grand asked stuffily.

“That is the ruling that we seek,” I said formally.

“Then I will issue said ruling now. It is not okay for Stef to sleep with him because he is his employer. It is not okay for me to sleep with him because I am in a position of power over him. It is, however, okay for Will to sleep with him, provided it is consensual and provided that Tom does not feel it is something he must do to retain or advance in his job,” Grand said.

“Not consensual?” I demanded, feigning outrage.

“That is my ruling,” Grand said, picked up his article and started reading.

“Do not worry,” Stef said, winking at me. “I have broken rules before.” That cracked me up.

“So you’re bringing him home with us?” I asked.

“I am, although I have thrown our HR department into a bit of upheaval with visa requirements and the like,” Stef said.

“No pain, no gain,” I said. “Seems that you told me a while back that some people were worth fighting for.” He’d said that when I was asking him for money to give my former guard, Pat, to fight his legal battles.

“Indeed they are,” Stef said. “What are your plans for today?”

“I think I’ll just hang out here on the island,” I said. I’d been diving yesterday, and while I could go snorkeling again, just hanging out here had more appeal.

“We are staying here today as well,” Stef said. “I am planning to have dinner aboard the ship tonight to say goodbye to them.”

“I hope we’re not bailing on them too early,” I said. It seemed like they’d spent a lot of time and effort to get here.

“We are on schedule, so they know the plan,” he said. “They are sailing tomorrow to Brisbane to collect another charter customer.” I nodded in agreement, then got up and walked back to my room.

I changed into shorts and put on tennis shoes then packed up my hiking backpack. I made sure I had spare shorts, an extra T-shirt, sunscreen, a towel, water, and my dugout. I zipped it up, threw it over my shoulder, then walked out of the beach house. There was a trail that led out of the resort, and they had a wooden stand as it left the resort proper that contained maps of the network on the island. I took one of those and got off the beaten path as quickly as I could, then pulled out my dugout and took a few hits. Now that I was really stoned, the map made a whole lot less sense, and I had a hard time figuring out where the fuck I was. But there was no one else where I was, so I just laughed at myself and wandered around.

I got tired of walking on the hill so I decided to take the path down toward the water and ended up in a remote part of the island, one with a beautiful beach. It was amazing to be here in this paradise with no one else around. I actually took a few minutes to look and make sure I was all alone. I felt kind of mischievous so stripped off my clothes and instead of putting on my bathing suit, I just went naked. I went swimming, having a blast in the small waves. I finally hauled myself out of the water and spread out my towel on the fine sand, put on some more sunscreen, and sat there with my arms behind me propping me up. While I was drying off, I used that time, sitting naked on this remote beach, to contemplate what to do.

I loved Australia and I really loved this island, but with Connie gone, it had gotten lonely. Tom was focused on his job now, and there weren’t a lot of young people at this resort for me to strike up friendships with. On top of that, I wasn’t sure I even wanted to do that. I had been pretty invested in Connie, and the thought of getting to know someone else right now seemed exhausting. I sighed and stood up, then put my shorts and tennis shoes back on.

I was going to smoke some more pot, but I decided to wait until I got near the main path so I could actually find my way back. I choreographed that plan and walked back into the resort freshly stoned. Even though I’d hiked all over this island, I still felt antsy, like I needed to burn off more energy. Conveniently enough the gym was in front of me, so I went into the locker rooms to stow my backpack, then went out to the weights. It was no surprise that Tom was there. “Hey mate!” he said in his friendly way.

“Hey there,” I said. I followed him through his routine, which fucking wore me out. He was as bad as Connie. We took a shower and ended up in the steam room, where we jacked off together.

After we came, he smiled and then got up and took a shower. I waited a few seconds, then followed him. When we were done with that and drying off, he simply said “Good work out, mate.” He said it just like he was talking to someone he’d met out there, a casual acquaintance. It was weird because even though we were buds and were together a lot, it seemed that to him hooking up in the steam room was like a random encounter with someone anonymous. He was acting just like he would have in that situation, where as soon as we were done, he acted like nothing happened. I internally rolled my eyes, thinking this was like Tony used to be, where he’d get off with me and then flee from the room. With Tom, he didn’t run away, but instead of changing the venue he changed the relationship so we were now simply buds. Lucky for him I understood him and didn’t flame his ass.

We strolled through the resort on our way back to the beach house. It felt weird not to be talking at all, so I opted to start up a conversation. “You excited to move to the US?”

“What are you talking about?” he asked, and stopped in his tracks to stare at me. “I’m not moving to the US?”

“I’m sorry, I guess I assumed you were,” I said, feeling embarrassed at sticking my foot in my mouth. Did that mean he’d decided to turn down the job? If that’s the case, then it was okay for Stef and Grand to sleep with him, I thought playfully.

“Well, no one’s said anything to me,” he said, and sounded annoyed. Then I understood what must have happened. Tom liked to know what was next, and Stef had probably dithered on telling him he was planning to hire him, and this was bugging the shit out of him. And Stef had probably done that because he was still grappling with all the visa and immigration issues.

“I probably shouldn’t have said anything, but I think that’s the plan,” I told him. “Would you do that, move to the US?”

“Fuck yeah I’d move,” he said. “I’d love to work for Stef, well, and I guess all of you.”

“If you work for Stef, you can still fuck me,” I said, flirting with him.

“I can, can I,” he mused, as if that would never happen. I laughed at him.

“Well, you can as long as it’s consensual and you understand I have no power over you.”

“That’s how it works, is it?” he asked, laughing at me this time.

“That’s how it works, and that’s why you can’t fuck Stef and Grand.”

“I can’t?” he asked and seemed disappointed.

“Not if you work for them,” I said. “Bad form in the US to sleep with your employees. You don’t want someone to think they have to sleep with you to keep your job.”

“What if the employee starts it?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I guess they probably still shouldn’t, but that would depend on how much willpower they have.”

“And how much do they have?” he asked playfully.

“Well, JP has a lot,” I said, then chuckled. “Stef, not so much.”

He laughed at that, since it was so spot-on about Stef, then he got serious. “You think they’d let me come stay with you all for a while instead of working for them?” he asked.

I stared at him, completely mind-blown. “You’re saying that the reason you want to go to America is so you can fuck them?”

“That’s what I’m saying,” he said. He gave me a foul look when he saw my shocked expression turned into a smirk. “What’s so fucking funny about that? They’re both incredibly fucking attractive.”

“Not to me,” I said, partly as a joke, and partly in a serious way to calm his ass down. “I have a suggestion for you.”

“This where you tell me to go fuck myself?” he asked, cracking me up.

“No, this is where I tell you that when you talk to him, tell him you want that to be part of your condition of employment,” I said. He looked confused. “Tell him you’ll only take the job if he’ll let you fuck him.”

“Maybe he won’t hire me, then,” Tom said logically.

“Maybe a cow just flew out of your ass,” I said. He rolled his eyes at me, but I ignored him and pulled out my key and walked into the beach house. We found Stef and Grand by the pool. Grand was in a lounge chair reading, while Stef was sunning naked next to him. “We’re back,” I announced, stating the obvious.

“I did not know you were together,” Grand observed.

“We’re not together,” I said, twisting the meaning of his words. “Don’t you think it’s pretty rude to ask people what the status of their relationship is? I mean, you don’t usually pry like that.”

“That is not what I meant,” Grand said, in his annoyed way. Stef chuckled.

“I hiked all over this island, did some nude sunbathing, then ran into Tom at the gym,” I said perkily. “So now we’re back.”

“Excellent,” Grand said in a sardonic way.

I focused my attention on Stef. “I’m going back with you.”

“I am glad. And are you going to New York as well?” he asked.

“I am,” I said. “Have to see if I can lure Patrick away from his girlfriend.”

“Homewrecker,” Grand said. I laughed again and headed back to my room, thinking about Tom, and how I’d totally called that wrong. I’d arrogantly assumed that Tom would be into me, and totally misinterpreted his mere casual interest. I gave myself shit for being an asshole for a while, called Connie and left a message for him, then got ready for dinner.

Dinner was a lot of fun, and I was a little drunk when I got back to the room. I looked at my phone and saw that I had a message from Connie, so I played it. “Will, I am so sorry, but I’m out of town with some mates and won’t be around when you’re here. And by the way, texting is better than phoning.” That killed my buzz enough to convince me to just crash for the night.

February 2, 2004

Sydney, Australia

Will

Stef had done some minor redecorating to his plane, but it still had the same layout. Stef’s bedroom and bathroom were in the very back of the plane, while there were two guest rooms to the front of it. There was an area with some large recliners for additional passengers, along with a nice bathroom for them to use. Then came the board room, which had a large round table and was used as a meeting area and dining room. We spent a lot of time there, because it was easy to do work on the table. That led into the “flying lounge”, which was the equivalent of a family or great room in the house. There were sofas and recliners arranged so one could talk to fellow passengers or watch the huge television that would rise up from the cabinet where it hid during non-TV hours. Beyond that was the galley, another bathroom, and then the cockpit.

Tom had been avoiding me all morning, pretending to be busy. Well, that wasn’t entirely accurate, because he actually was busy: anytime Stef traveled it was a production. But even though he was busy, I could tell he was avoiding me. He walked from the back of the plane through the board room, where we were sitting, to the front of the aircraft, presumably so he could talk to the pilots. I waited a second then went into the flying lounge to ambush him when he came back. I looked at the artwork in this big room, noticing that one of Marc Carmine’s paintings had found its way onto this plane. That was a good sign, because it showed that my father was truly over him, and that there weren’t hard feelings, or at least none that were visible. I noticed that the sofa and chairs in here had been replaced, which was no surprise, since Stef was a one-man decorating machine.

When Tom was done, he made to breeze past me, but I stood in front of him, forcing him to stop. “I need to tell them we’ll be landing in thirty minutes,” he said urgently, as if it was vital that he convey that information.

“Does this mean you worked things out with them last night?” I asked. He made to move around me but I stood my ground.

“That’s what it means,” he said grumpily.

“And did they agree to your terms?” I asked. He gave me a nasty look because this is what he didn’t want to talk about.

“I agreed not to say anything to anyone,” he said quietly.

“They made you promise to keep quiet, did they?” I challenged. He nodded. “Was last night fun?”

“Oh yeah,” he said, grinning. I shook my head as I let him pass, then chuckled at how Grand and Stef were trying to be all sleuthy. They’d pay for their secretiveness when the time was right, I mused, making myself chuckle.

Grand and Stef got the news we were landing and decided to move up to the flying lounge, so I went back to the other room, got my stuff together, and joined them. “Beautiful city,” Grand said as he peered out the window of the plane. We were on approach to the airport, and our flying route had been perfect to give us a spectacular view of Sydney and its surroundings.

“I love this place,” I said. I was excited to be back here, even if only for a bit, and excited to stay at the same hotel. That place was the bomb.

“I have arranged for us to do dinner tonight with Nick Politis,” Stef said. I swallowed hard at that.

“I suspect we will find that interesting,” Grand said, giving me crap.

“Anything’s possible,” I said, then turned my attention to Stef. “How do you know this guy?”

He was about to speak, then he noticed Tom was there. “I will share that with you later.”

“Sounds good,” I said, but I caught Tom’s eye, and he seemed a little deflated by that. “I think I may skip that and just enjoy my last night on the town.”

“I am worried that Mr. Politis will feel insulted that you did not join us,” Stef observed.

“I think he will understand, and that way you can all gossip about me while I’m not around,” I said.

“It is a bit arrogant of you to think that you will be the star topic of our dinner conversation, don’t you think?” Grand asked. He and Stef were both glowing today, and he was in an especially good mood, which was no doubt a result of their fuck last night. I controlled myself and didn’t say anything about it.

“You can tell me if I was right tomorrow,” I said.

We landed and with amazing efficiency we were loaded into a limousine. Stef had left most of his wardrobe on the plane, so we could actually fit our suitcases in the trunk. We all looked out the window intently. For Stef and Grand, they were seeing a place that was basically new to them, while for me it seemed nicely familiar. Everything at the hotel went smoothly; the concierge met us at the door with our keys so we could go straight up to our rooms. “This is a nice hotel,” Tom observed.

“It is,” I agreed. “Thank you for getting me the same room I had last time I was here.” I was stoked about that. It was next to Stef and Grand’s suite, but it didn’t connect, which was probably a good thing. Their suite was incredible. It was huge and had even better views than my room did.

“When you have unpacked and are ready, come join us,” Stef said, his way of dismissing me as he dove into getting himself organized.

“As lunchtime is almost here, let us hope neither of you is too dilatory,” Grand said.

“We’ll go fast,” I said, getting a frown from him because I was making fun of his big vocabulary. I went to my room and sat on the couch, a big smile on my face. I loved this place, and it was good to be back. I pulled out my cell phone and texted Connie, telling him that we were in town and that I was staying at the same hotel in the same room.

He texted me back. “Wish I was there. Enjoy Sydney.” I stared at the words and how stark they were, then sighed and went over to see if Stef and Grand were ready for lunch.

“I hear there is an excellent restaurant here in the hotel,” Stef suggested.

“The food here is good, but we need to go out and about,” I insisted.

“Why would we need to do that if good food is right here?” he asked.

“Because that way you can see more of Sydney,” I said. “I ate at this outside-bistro-like place and it was okay, but maybe Tom knows somewhere better.” I told him the name of it and he frowned.

“We can do better,” Tom said. We strolled out of the hotel and walked over to the Opera House.

“I was here at the grand opening of this place,” Stef said. “I even met the Queen.”

“I’ve met lots of queens, too,” I said, winking at him. Tom then led us through the park, and we strolled along, just enjoying the beautiful weather and the green space. We walked further down Oxford than I’d gone before until Tom guided us to a cool looking place with outdoor seating. It was pretty crowded, but the hostess led us right to a prime table, one that had clearly been reserved. “Pretty lucky this table was open,” I said to Tom.

“Luck needs a bit of help now and then,” he said, cracking me up.

“Thank you,” Stef said, and patted his shoulder. “Look at all those shops.”

“After we eat, we probably have time to hit some of them up,” I said.

“That is certainly not on my tour schedule,” Grand said.

“You are no fun,” Stef remarked in annoyance. We had a great lunch, made better by the scenery as either hot or interesting people strolled in front of us. When we were done and ready to leave, Stef veered to the right instead of to the left, taking us further away from the hotel.

“Where are you going?” Grand demanded.

“I want to see what they have in that store,” he said, pointing at a unique looking boutique. “It will not take long.”

“Why don’t you and Tom go back, and Stef and I will spend a bit of time here and then meet you,” I said. I was wondering how Stef would react to that, since he liked to have security around when he was in public, but he seemed relaxed.

“That is a good plan,” he said, and put his arm through mine, dragging me off.

“You are comfortable with only me to guard you?” I asked, switching to French since it was just the two of us.

“There is something about this city, or at least this place right now, that makes me feel safe,” he said. I nodded in agreement. We walked into the boutique which was empty but for the two of us. There was a scrawny redheaded dude who seemed to be in charge, and in no time at all he and Stef were chattering away. There was also a tall guy who was obviously built, with brown hair and nice biceps, who was focused on arranging shit on shelves.

I walked up to him and smiled. “Can I help you, mate?” he asked, with a silky deep Australian-accented voice.

“What do you think would look good on me?” I asked, flirting with him.

“Besides nothing?” he asked, flirting back, then looked nervous, as if he’d broken some retail code of honor.

“Maybe,” I said.

“These,” he said, and hastily grabbed a pair of dark gray pants. They were like chinos but more formal.

“Show me where I can try them on,” I said. He led me to the back area where they had two dressing rooms, which were designed so that when you were in there, no one could look under the door or anything and see you.

“Here you go,” he said, holding the door open.

I grabbed his shirt gently and pulled him in after me. “I think I need you to help me.”

“He’ll be looking for me soon,” he said apprehensively, referring to the guy he worked with.

“He’s busy, and so are you,” I said. For some reason, I’d figured him for a top, but that’s not what he wanted. That took a bit longer, since I had to work my big dick into his ass. For a bottom, he was pretty tight. Still, he was a fun ride, and ten minutes later found us sheepishly sneaking out of the dressing room, trying to act like we hadn’t just fucked like crazed bunnies. I gave him a couple of hundred Australian dollars. “Buy yourself something cool.”

“Thanks, mate,” he said, then sauntered off.

“There you are,” Stef said, strolling up to me with a bag. “I found some interesting things here, and some wonderful pants for you.”

“Awesome,” I said. I carried the bag for him and followed him out of the store.

“I was wondering where you had gone,” Stef said, trying to make it seem like he was solving a major mystery.

“I fucked that brown haired dude in the dressing room,” I said, making him laugh.

“It seems we both found something of interest in that store,” he said. “I think that if I am to be ready for dinner, we should head back.”

“Sounds good,” I agreed, so we started walking. “What’s the deal with Politis? Did you sleep with him?” There were people around us, but we were speaking French, so I wasn’t too worried about eavesdroppers.

“I did not,” he said. “I came down here with Greg on our honeymoon, such as it was, and we were both quite faithful to each other.”

“If the Australian boys were as hunky then as they are now, that was a major achievement,” I said.

“They seem more attractive now, but it did take a bit of willpower,” he said, making me smile. “Several of the men with us from the Hollywood crowd were especially fond of straight men who would fuck them.”

“I’m fond of straight men who fuck me too,” I said, making him giggle.

“That is where I met him. He and a few other young, rugged men were there with us, and rumor has it they performed quite to everyone’s satisfaction,” Stef said.

“So he met you then, and just assumed that you knew he was fucking those other dudes, and that’s made him willing to not piss you off,” I concluded.

“I think, rather, it has made him cautious around me,” Stef said. “I have never thrown it in his face.”

“I didn’t mean to imply that you would,” I said, since he seemed insulted that I thought that. “That isn’t your style.”

“It is not,” he agreed. “He did seek me out a few years ago when he had problems with a medical company and needed some help.”

“So in addition to maybe knowing he whored himself out to some gay dudes when he was younger, you also rode in like a white knight and saved his ass,” I concluded.

“That is an apt description of the situation,” he said.